Kakao Bank, the banking arm of mobile giant Kakao, on Wednesday said that its board decided to extend CEO Yoon Ho-young’s term for another two years. Yoon has led the country’s second internet-only bank since 2016. On Tuesday, the board also appointed three new members -- Jin Woong-sub, former head of the Financial Services Commission, Oh Pyeong-seob, former vice president of KB Kookmin Bank, and Choi Soo-yeol, a partner at Samdo Accounting Firm.  By Park Ga-young (gypark@h

The booming adoption of digital coins by institutional players pushed the price of a bitcoin to new heights Wednesday. Bitcoin soared to a record high of 71.6 million won ($63,200) in the morning Wednesday, according to Upbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange that trades 184 coins. Wednesday’s rally came after a series of institutional endorsements from big players in various industries that began earlier this year. On Tuesday, PayPal, which has 375 million users, launched a

Bitcoin is reaching 70 million-won mark again Tuesday amid a global credit company’s digital coin endorsement. According to local crypto exchange Upbit, Bitcoin price rose above 69 million won ($60,860) as of 1:50 p.m., after falling as low as 62 million won on March 25. Tuesday’s Bitcoin rally came after Visa Card announced Monday that it would accept cryptocurrencies for credit card bills. In its pilot program, Visa Card will allow settlement of transactions in USD Coin, a st

Viva Republica, operator of the fintech app Toss, said on Monday that it will be launching public administration services in collaboration with the government to provide information on COVID-19 vaccination and fines for violating traffic rules. Starting from Thursday, users can check their turns for getting the shots from the service named “the Public Secretary,” Toss said. It also plans to offer vaccine-related information such as where to get vaccinated and updates on the vaccine

Klaytn, the blockchain project of Korea’s Internet giant, Kakao, said on Monday that it has partnered with OpenSea, the fast-emerging marketplace for nonfungible tokens. Klaytn, which is developed by Ground X, will begin to support Klaytn-based NFTs on OpenSea by the end of June. OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace for user-owned digital goods, which include collectibles, gaming items, domain names, digital art, and other assets backed by a blockchain. Unlike fungible cryptocurrenci

South Korea‘s public pension fund, the National Pension Service, delayed a decision on whether or not to increase the proportion of domestic stock holdings, amid mounting criticism over the fund’s selling streak. NPS investment Management, the fund’s highest decision-making body, held a meeting Friday to discuss the matter, but failed to reach an agreement on whether or not to raise the proportion of strategic asset distribution limit from the current 2 percentage points to 3

YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-suk’s grip on the firm has weakened after China’s ticket booking platform divested itself from the K-pop powerhouse this month. Shanghai Fengying Business Consultant Partnership has unloaded all of its 953,947 shares in YG Entertainment, dissolving a special relation status with Yang, a former CEO of the firm, a regulatory filing showed on Friday. The report showed that the combined stake owned by Yang and seven other related parties fell to 25.

Amid months of bullish cryptocurrency markets, digital coin trading volume is enjoying a stellar performance, raising expectations for a high market valuation of their businesses. The country’s two largest crypto exchange operators -- Dunamu and Bithumb Korea -- both recorded a hike in sales and revenue last year, backed by increased transactions from November, when the largest digital coin Bitcoin rose above 20 million won ($17,640) for the first time in 34 months. Dunamu, the operat

Blockchain industry experts urged the government to introduce detailed guidelines on real-name accounts required for all cryptocurrency exchanges under implementation of a new law known as the Specific Financial Transactions Act. Slated to take effect Thursday, the new rule obligates registration of all virtual asset operations, making it only possible for operators to conduct trades carried out with the real-name accounts opened via local banks. The new rule is introduced to prevent money l

The much-anticipated listing of Kakao Pay, the financial technology arm of mobile giant Kakao, could come as early as August, according to industry sources on Monday, despite recent hiccups in securing a license for personal data integration services, called MyData, from financial authorities. Kakao Pay was not included when the Financial Services Commission announced a list of 28 companies granted approval for MyData business. Kakao Pay’s rival Naver Financial and Viva Republica were

The number of listed cryptocurrencies has soared in the past four years, as the rapid rise of the price of Bitcoin attracts investor attention to digital assets. However, investors should be cautious as digital coins easily get listed and delisted. Upbit, one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, launched in October 2017 with only one digital token -- Bitcoin -- but it now has 114 coins trading on the platform. Bithumb had eight digital coins in May 2017, but now it trades 1

South Korea is mulling whether to introduce multiple voting rights for shareholders as a way to help local startups attract large-scale investment and maintain stable management, according to public officials and politicians on Tuesday. Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups Kang Sung-cheon said the government was working on ways to legalize differential voting rights, which are popular among countries with many unicorn startups. A unicorn startup refers to a fledgling company valued at over $1

Viva Republica, South Korea’s leading fintech startup, officially launched a mobile stock trading system Monday. Toss opened the service preliminarily a month ago for 640,000 preregistered users, about 70 percent of whom are in their 20s and 30s. The stock trading service, which aims to attract young and new investors with easy-to-use interfaces, is incorporated into Viva Republica’s payment app Toss. “We aim to provide a satisfying investment experience for new investors as

South Korean companies, from startups to big companies, could benefit from Indonesia’s latest infrastructure initiatives and trade deals, the country’s ambassador to South Korea told The Korea Herald in a recent interview. The ambassador was referring to Indonesia’s first sovereign wealth fund worth $5 billion, to be managed by Indonesia Investment Authority. The first phase of the fund’s investment will focus on toll roads, airports and seaports, but the focus will b

Near Cheonggye Plaza, Seoul’s iconic recreational area along the Cheonggye Stream, top coffee brands from Starbucks to Blue Bottle Coffee compete toe-to-toe, luring coffee lovers with distinctive flavors, brand images and cozy sofas for a relaxing moment. While coffee giants engage in an invisible war, one lesser-known coffee franchise is taking a different tactic, with a signboard that reads, ”Get a free cup of coffee if paying with the cryptocurrency Paycoin.” A 40-somethi

Woori Financial Group plans to issue environmental, social and governance hybrid bonds in South Korean won after gaining top credentials, the company said Sunday, joining a growing list of investment firms tapping into the fast-growing market. The financial company said it plans to issue ESG bonds in the form of hybrid securities after acquiring ST1, the highest grade for sustainable financing in a five-tier grading system, from Korea Ratings, a credit rating company. Woori plans to decide the

South Korea should adopt fractional share investing in order to enhance financial inclusiveness and diversify asset portfolios of real estate-reliant small investors, the head of a local fintech firm suggested on Thursday. By allowing investors to buy less than a full share, investors with a tight budget can have more chances to invest in blue-chip stocks that used to be out of their reach, Kakaopay CEO Ryu Young-joon said during a seminar held by Rep. Lee Kwang-jae of the Democratic Party of

Consulting firm McKinsey & Company on Wednesday said they have hired Park Joong-ho, former head manager of Oliver Wyman’s Korea office, as a new partner here. Park worked at Oliver Wyman, a consulting firm specialized in financial services companies, for 15 years and led the company for more than three years until December 2020.  At Oliver Wyman, he provided consulting services to financial institutions and governmental organizations in areas such as digital transformation, glo

The resurgence of cryptocurrency trading as well as upcoming changes in law that mandate investments in bitcoins be made with accounts under real names are likely to provide new opportunities for commercial lenders seeking new income sources. But many are still reluctant to make ties with crypto exchanges, citing risks in the volatile market and lack of confidence over forging partnerships with smaller crypto exchanges here. Currently, three banks -- Shinhan, NH Nonghyup and K bank -- are in p

Bitcoin declined Friday, falling below 53 million won ($48,100) in the week that the largest cryptocurrency is suffering its worst pullback in a year.   　 The digital currency fell to as low as 52.88 million won in the afternoon, plunging almost 20 percent from Sunday’s record high of 65.84 million won.  Bitcoin’s volatility coincided with a slump in stock markets with investors wary over a sharp rise in US bond yields, hurting steep valuations of tech companies. The te