Park Hyeon-joo is recognized as the brains behind the launch of Mirae Asset, one of Korea’s first asset managers to launch mutual and real estate trust funds in the country. As the founder and chairman of the firm, Park -- a graduate of Korea University in business administration -- worked his way up the corporate ladder at brokerages, and gained a keen trading sensibility. But like any great entrepreneur who has changed the world, Park was not alone in his quest to found Mirae Asset. The firm i

South Korea is not likely to get its stock market included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International’s Developed Markets in the long run, as the financial authority remains unchanged over its currency exchange regulations, financial regulators and analysts said.The MSCI announced Tuesday in New York that the global index provider will not include Korea on its “review list” for potential reclassification of its stock market to advanced status at least until after 2017.“The recent changes announ

As the vote over whether Britain should leave or remain in the European Union is drawing near, analysts are issuing a series of warnings that Britain’s EU exit, or “Brexit,” would have a severe impact on the global economy.A Brexit would also deal a blow to Korea, whose biggest free trade partners include the EU, as investors are expected to pull their funds out of Asian markets exposed to risks stemming from Britain’s EU referendum.Confidence has already begun to be negatively affected with Kor

This is the 12th in a series of articles analyzing major companies by market capitalization traded on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market. -- Ed.Driving down the road when suddenly an ambulance screeches by with red sirens flashing and calling out to clear the way, another driver would naturally see the special vehicle belongs to a nearby hospital, without thinking of where it came from.Actually, almost all of the ambulances on the road speeding by in Korea come from KOSDAQ-listed tech company Autech.A

The market was caught by surprise from the central bank’s earlier-than expected rate cut last week, providing support to the government’s policy on corporate restructuring amid a gloomy economic outlook.With the Bank of Korea lowering its base rate to record low of 1.25 percent in addition to committing to offering 10 trillion won ($8.5 billion) for policy bank recapitalization, analysts say it is now the Finance Ministry’s move to further cushion the economy from the negative outlook with expan

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Bank of Korea will inject 12 trillion won ($10 billion) both directly and indirectly via a fund into policy banks to finance the restructuring of debt-laden shipping and shipbuilding companies.Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said Wednesday that the government and the central bank have agreed to pursue restructuring through a mix of fiscal and monetary measures, adding that BOK will provide 10 trillion won as a loan to the Industrial Bank of Korea.With the

Unlike Korea’s shipping and shipbuilding industries, the domestic steelmakers may not face immediate credit risks given that their problems have more to do with overcapacity in the market.The government, therefore, put the steel industry on a different watch list last April, urging the companies to voluntarily and preemptively improve their finances by reducing costs associated with equipment and inventories to offset overcapacity. The financial regulator also suggested them to restructure via m

Drastic times call for drastic measures. As the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development suggested, it is time for the global economy to take a “comprehensive and collective action” to tackle and overcome the low-growth trap.South Korea is no exception to this global downward spiral, as over the last couple of weeks a series of statistics have clearly showed its key economic data, such as employment, production, consumption, inflation and now growth, pointing south. The Bank of Kore

Korea’s overall production and consumption fell last month on the back of slow manufacturing and retail sales, despite a slight pickup in the services industry led by the finance and insurance sectors, according to Statistics Korea on Tuesday.The index of all industry production, which tracks industrial production, services, public administration and construction, stood at 110.9 in April, down 0.8 percent from the month before.“Low production and an increase in finance reflect a change in activi

The second possible inclusion of U.S.-listed Chinese blue chips, including Alibaba and Baidu, into the Morgan Stanley Capital International’s Emerging Markets index on May 31 is expected to trigger capital outflows from Korea’s stock market, analysts warned.With increasing exposure to Chinese tech and consumer heavyweights on the $3.5 trillion global index, institutional investors such as pension funds are bound to realign their equity portfolios to growth stocks such as those from China, the wo

Established in 2005, NongHyup Bank’s agriculture financial consulting service has provided assistance to farmers nationwide in analyzing their financial statements to help them effectively manage their income and cash flow.The consulting unit of NH Bank offers 3,226 comprehensive financial services, and has handled more than 3,650 cases involving asset management and consulting. NH Bank’s consultant provides financial consulting to a farmer. (NH Bank)This year, it has set a target of 3,500 compr

South Korea’s annual economic growth fell out of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development top 10 for the first time in nine years in 2015.Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew 2.6 percent last year, ranking 12th, behind Eastern European economies including the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, according to the OECD. The Czech Republic grew 4.2 percent last year, while Hungary 2.9 percent and Poland 3.6 percent. The country’s growth was also lower than that of small economies such

ING Life Insurance will be extending its sales offer by the end of this week to fuel more potential bids for the insurer owned by Korean private equity MBK Partners following lower-than-expected buyout interests, according to news media citing investment banking sources.MBK and ING could not be reached for comments. Morgan Stanley is the sales manager of MBK’s ING Life Insurance.Only about three companies at home and abroad submitted their letters of intent for the insurer on Monday. MBK seeks t

Shares in Korea and other emerging markets are forecast to lose ground as foreign investors are likely to pull out their funds ahead of a possible rate rise in the U.S. next month, analysts said Monday.The global market is anxiously awaiting the next Federal Reserve meeting on June 14-15 when the U.S. central bank will decide whether to raise or keep its rate steady, depending on market data especially its job rate.In a meeting last month, members of the Federal Open Market Committee sent the mo

Korea’s top financial regulator said Friday that regardless of the deadline, Hyundai Merchant Marine should seek to continue negotiations to reduce charter fees with foreign shipowners, hinting at giving the ailing shipper more time to settle deals. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with regional bankers, Financial Services Commission Yim Jong-yong said, however, that if negotiations are not successful, HMM will be put under court receivership.The government had initially given the shipper u

South Korea’s Ministry of Finance said Thursday that it has agreed with the central bank to consider deploying a mix of fiscal and monetary measures that will enable them to flexibly recapitalize policy banks through direct and indirect financing.In their second task force meeting presided over by Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok in Seoul on Thursday, officials from the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission saw the need to inject capital both directly and i

With Korea’s economy facing the internal risk of an aging population, the country faces another serious issue at hand that could potentially further weigh down its growth potential -- a slowdown in China.In a report, Standard & Poor’s warned that Korea will be the third-hardest-hit country by China should the world’s second-largest economy see its annual growth fall to around 3.4 percent from 2017-20.In this worst case scenario, the aggregate growth rate of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, whose b

Korean politicians, economists and government officials are expected to engage in debates on whether to further increase workers’ monetary contribution to the country’s national pension, and increase taxes for sustainability.This comes as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recommended Asia’s fourth-largest economy to increase taxes and the social safety net pension system on expectations of growing social spending due to the aging population.However, observers say issues c

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has urged Korea to pursue reform and innovation through policies aimed at sustaining growth and boosting small and medium-size enterprises and start-ups amid a slowdown. In its economic outlook report, the OECD said Monday that Korea will need to further implement fiscal and monetary stimulus to “sustain expansion,” while trying to maintain fiscal soundness by increasing tax rates on expectations of rising social spending due to the aging

Various scenarios have emerged as to how the government and the central bank will recapitalize policy banks for the restructuring of shipping and shipbuilding companies.However, the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission have not yet devised their unified action plan, although they have confirmed their differences over the issue.Despite the goal of reaching a compromise in bank recapitalization by next month, the central bank’s stance remains unchanged. It sugg