The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the fintech industry. This is the fifth installment. -- Ed. When it launched a bitcoin exchange in January 2014, blockchain startup Coinplug was well aware of the volatility of the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin had hit $1,000 for the first time in history a few months earlier, and the price had risen by tenfold in the span of less than a year. The company also witnessed Mt. Gox, then a bitcoin exchange powerhous

South Korea‘s top financial technology mobile app Toss is poised to fill in “a void in the financial service industry” in the nation, providing users various services ranging from cash management accounts, credit score reviews, peer-to-peer investment and even bitcoin, according to app operator Viva Republica’s chief executive on Tuesday.“Korea has long suffered a void in the financial service industry,” CEO Lee Seung-gun said in the fintech startup’s fi

KEB Hana Bank, one of four major South Korean commercial banks, has attracted global attention through its private banking prowess mainly by taking advantage of artificial intelligence. By adopting a private banking service -- designed to manage wealth of the affluent through insurance, succession planning and investments in funds and properties -- for the first time among Korean banks in 1995, KEB Hana Bank has long been recognized as a leader in the sector in Korea. The bank‘s private ba

Since taking office in November 2014, Yoon Jong-kyoo, chairman of KB Financial Group, has turned KB Financial Group -- then reeling from a massive information leak -- into a top integrated financial services provider in South Korea, both in size and quality. Yoon’s aggressive takeovers following his pledge to strengthen non-banking units’ performance have since proven successful. KB Financial Group‘s net profit has increased 50 percent in two years, to 2.1 trillion won ($1.93 b

The boom in the stock market this year was so large that it has overshadowed the boost in share prices that occurred when listed firms bought back their shares, data showed Monday.The 54 share buybacks from 33 listed firms on the first-tier Kospi this year led to a 3.4 percent jump in firms’ share price on average. The Kospi, however, rose 5.4 percent on average over the cited period, according to data compiled by the Korea Exchange as of Nov. 29. Excluding four share repurchases of market

Expectations are rising that South Korea may achieve 3 percent on-year growth in nominal gross domestic product and surpass $30,000 in gross national income per capita in 2018, on the back of the strong global economy, experts said Sunday, citing data from financial institutions and think tanks.  The International Monetary Fund raised the economic outlook of Korea for 2018 to 3 percent in October, up 0.2 percentage point from that of April. On Tuesday, the Organization for Economic Cooperat

South Korean law firm HMP Law said Sunday it will hold a blockchain seminar on Dec. 15 to explore and compare the regulatory environments of different legal jurisdictions including Korea. HMP Law will invite legal experts from Korea, the United States, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland and Estonia to be speakers at the seminar. The speakers, including partner of HMP Law Ahn Chan-sik, will outline current legal frameworks and the future outlook.“As often happens, legal and regulatory sys

Field trips for Samsung Securities’ private banking managers, arranged by the fourth-largest securities firm in net worth in South Korea, have been the key to the PB managers’ deeper understanding of foreign investment destinations and their cultivation of investment opportunities, the firm said Thursday.The program dubbed “Samsung Securities Global Frontier” has made it easier for its private banking managers to get up-to-date issues in their investment destinations, it

Australian institutional asset manager IFM Investors announced Thursday it would open an office in Seoul to expand its client base in South Korea. The Melbourne-based company, which focuses on infrastructure equities and debts, will sell offshore long-term investment portfolios to institutional investors here. The Seoul office will be run by its in-house analyst Glenn Morey, Client Relationship Director Lee Ki-jeong and senior external adviser Hur Kyung-wook. The portfolios by IFM Investors

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange operator BITPoint Japan has launched a website in South Korea through a joint venture, stepping into a market that accounts for as much as 15 percent of global cryptocurrency transactions. Transactions made in Korea are worth 2 trillion won ($1.86 billion) per day on average.The joint venture, named BITPoint Korea, was founded in August by BITPoint Japan and Korean experts in equity and futures trading. In a press conference held Wednesday, the firm said it

Shin Chang-jae, Kyobo Life Insurance chairman and chief executive, will be awarded the French Legion of Honor Thursday for his contribution to fostering cultural exchanges between France and South Korea, the firm said Wednesday. Shin will receive the Chevalier merit from French ambassador to Korea Fabien Penone at French Embassy in Seoul.Shin, 64, was recognized for establishing the Daesan Foundation in 1992 and serving as a chairman of the nonprofit organization, designed to translate and promo

HWASEONG, Gyeonggi Province – Though many don’t realize it, South Korea’s most populous province has long relied on Japanese seeds for rice production. As of last year, Akibare and Koshihikari crop seeds from Japan grew on some 80 percent of 784.8 square kilometers of rice paddies in Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds the capital and is home to some 330,000 farmers. Confronting the need to curb reliance on Japan and cultivate seeds most suitable for Korean soil, the Gyeonggi Province Agricultura

BEIJING, China -- Beijing‘s largest agricultural and marine wholesaler Xinfadi Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market has benchmarked South Korea’s state-led Garak Wholesale Market, focusing on its auction system and quality inspection process, according to the market operator chief Zhang Yuxi. “Chinese farmers should get involved in not only harvesting products but also selling them, so as to maximize their profits,” said Zhang, 68, board director of Beijing Xinfadi Agricultural Products.Zhang Yu

CHIBA, Japan -- To meet the pace of the aggressive growth of the indoor farming industry in China and the United States, both South Korea and Japan should bet bigger on industry innovation, a Japanese expert said.Toyoki Kozai, professor emeritus of Chiba University and president of the Japan Plant Factory Association, told reporters that Korea should spur efforts to invest in smart indoor farming technologies.“Indoor horticulture farms are attracting an increasing level of investment, especially

Equity funds in Korea gain on bull market, bond funds dwindleBy Son Ji-hyoungStock market momentum and a looming key rate hike by the central bank in South Korea drove up domestic equity fund investment, while leaving local bond funds bearish, data showed Sunday.Riding the stock bull run in both the first-tier Kospi and second-tier Kosdaq, private and public equity funds in Korea had 78.6 trillion won ($72.3 million) of net assets as of Wednesday, according to data compiled by the Korea Financia

Riding on the expansion of the premium children’s goods market, red ginseng products for children have been gaining popularity among parents here, according to Korea Ginseng Corp.For over a decade, the state-run company has targeted children with signature red ginseng extract products under its signature CheongKwanJang brand. A Korean kid consumes Korean Red Ginseng Kids Tonic. (KGC)“In Korea, it is common for parents to feed herbal supplements to their children to help them build up their immun

This is the 45th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- EdMid-stage osteoarthritis treatment developer TissueGene’s market cap rose by more than 2 trillion won ($1.84 billion) within three weeks of making its debut, becoming the fifth-largest firm on South Korea’s second-tier Kosdaq market Friday. The stock performance of the Maryland-headquartered firm reflects a market-wide biotech boom built on overheated investor anticipation

South Korea‘s top financial watchdog on Thursday unveiled measures to enhance external auditors’ independence, by making it mandatory for auditors to add risk assessments on auditors’ reports.A task force under the Financial Services Commission, steered by the watchdog‘s vice chairman Kim Yong-beom, said that from 2019, an accountant in an auditor’s report must include key audit matters such as risks from revenue recognition, as well as clients’ actions after

Standard Chartered Bank Korea is promoting a fixed deposit product online that offers an interest rate of up to 2.3 percent, before tax, the bank said in a statement Wednesday. The interest rate of the product will go up according to the amount of deposits raised through the promotion.  If the product raises more than 100 billion won ($91.7 million), the bank will offer an annual interest rate of 2.3 percent for depositors, with the minimum rate guaranteed at 1.7 percent even if the volume

Ahead of the free trade deal revision talks with the United States, Korea’s trade minister vowed on Tuesday not to take a step back in the looming farm sector renegotiation deal.“(The government) is now taking a strong stand on agriculture sector, and will not retreat any further,” Paik Un-gyu, minister of trade, industry and energy told reporters Tuesday in the administrative city of Sejong.This echoed Korea‘s trade negotiator Kim Hyun-chong’s remark in October tha