This is the 52nd in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.K-pop juggernaut S.M. Entertainment has ramped up efforts to equip itself with TV series production capacities and stronger actor and actress lineups in response to a growing demand for South Korean TV content in the global market. On Wednesday, the firm confirmed two planned acquisition deals worth a combined 80 billion won ($74.9 million).Along with anticipation for improvement in t

The fate of Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai remains to be seen, as he faces a scandal with just a week left till the group’s shareholders meeting to vote on his third three-year term. Financial watchdogs have zeroed in on the banking group on allegations of recruitment irregularities, while a revelation by the group’s labor union has added fuel to the scandal, arguing Kim was engaged in wrongdoings in its recruitment process.An internal committee consisting of external dir

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission announced Thursday a set of plans to strengthen corporate governance rules for financial firms here, mainly to tackle a lack of transparency in nomination processes for chiefs at local banking firms.The plans to revise the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies, to be proposed by June, aim to prohibit the incumbent chief of a financial firm from joining an internal committee to nominate outside directors. It would also obligate o

Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku said Kumho Tire creditors’ demand to normalize the Korean tire manufacturer mainly by selling the firm’s majority stake to a Chinese firm is a “prerequisite” for the firm’s survival, during a press conference Wednesday.Choi called for the tiremaker’s labor union to comply with the self-restructuring plan in the making, amid the union’s opposition due to fears of employment insecurity and a technology le

The Financial Supervisory Service on Tuesday launched a special investigation into misconduct at Hana Financial Group and its subsidiary KEB Hana Bank in hiring entry-level employees.The move came a day after the watchdog’s former governor, Choe Heung-sik, offered to resign amid growing allegations that he was involved in the scandal during his stint at the banking group in 2013. A 15-day special in-house counsel team headed by FSS Deputy Gov. Choi Seong-il was launched Tuesday to loo

The chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, Choe Heung-sik tendered his resignation Monday, amid allegations of him arranging recruitment favors during his stint at Hana Financial Group, according to the FSS.The news came hours after a decision by the FSS to launch a probe into a scandal involving hiring at Hana Financial Group. Gov. Choe, who took office in September 2017, had served as Hana Financial Group chief executive from 2012 to 2014. While denying involvement in any wrongdoing,

In the wake of signs of US-North Korea and inter-Korean thaws, spearheading the latest rally of South Korean markets were stocks that previously had business ties with North Korea effectively severed. These firms, locally dubbed “inter-Korean business cooperation-themed stocks,” had either operated production facilities at Kaesong industrial park, been involved in joint efforts to build cultural parks at Mount Kumkang in the North or the Korean Demilitarized Zone, or been seen as lik

South Korea‘s research team unveiled Thursday it has developed a ledger-free blockchain system that runs on inter-device communication system featuring enhanced security, designed to tackle consumer inconvenience on existing blockchain platforms that stems from consensus delay and slow transaction speed.  The homegrown system, dubbed “PureChain,” will have an inter-node transaction go through both external confirmation between nodes, or those engaging in the transaction, a

KB Financial Group has solidified its position as South Korea‘s top banking group in terms of earnings and market cap, on the back of higher-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017 that led to a record-high yearly net income last year.Stock analysts have said the financial giant’s capability to carry out shareholder-friendly actions driven by its increase in capital, will stretch its lead in the domestic banking industry, ahead of Shinhan Financial Group that topped in 2

South Korean stock markets had a roller coaster day on Wednesday on foreign sell-offs, despite signs of inter-Korean rapprochement in the wake of South Korean envoys‘ meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un the previous day. Market watchers remained mixed on whether the North Korean momentum would lead to a long-term upward drive in the local stock markets,  On Wednesday, the top-tier stock market Kospi and the second-tier Kosdaq both fluctuated. Opening lower, both Kospi and Kos

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 11th installment. - Ed.Since last year, South Korea’s financial watchdogs warned retail investors about crowdsourcing funds for peer-to-peer project finance, saying that their repayment capabilities could only be determined on projected cash flow without collateral.The high return -- often at above 10 percent -- that the instrument promises to the lenders, triggered

SK Holdings decided in a board meeting Monday to hand over the controlling stakes of its brokerage arm worth 51.5 billion won ($47.9 million), or 10 percent of the firm, to Seoul-based private equity firm J&W Partners.If the deal gets the nod from the Financial Services Commission and J&W Partners manages to acquire all the shares until February 2019, SK Group will be free of regulatory drag for failing to divest itself of a financial arm. SK Holdings, a major shareholder of SK Securitie

Prosecutors in South Korea have decided not to indict commercial bank KEB Hana Bank for offering preferential loans to Chung Yoo-ra, according to a news report Monday.Chung, 22, is a daughter of Choi Soon-sil, ex-president Park Geun-hye’s longtime confidante who was sentenced to 20 years behind bars in February for a corruption scandal which led to the impeachment of Park last March. KEB Hana Bank issued a standby letter of credit worth 386,600 euro ($476,200) to Chung in 2014, when she wa

This is the 51st in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.An upbeat forecast for the first quarter of this year appears to have catalyzed the bull run of Studio Dragon, the creator of South Korean megahit series such as “Misaeng,” “Guardian,” “Signal,” and most recently, “A Korean Odyssey.”Behind the forecast is the projected income from rights sales of latest hit series to global internet ente

President Moon Jae-in retained on Friday Lee Ju-yeol, the incumbent Bank of Korea Gov. and the head of Monetary Policy Committee, to serve another four-years for the nation‘s central bank, sending the market a sign that it will not pursue a drastic change in its monetary policy.Cheong Wa Dae said the decision to reinstate Lee as the BOK chief signifies Moon’s willingness to “ensure neutrality and independence” of the central bank.The reappointment came amid the South Kore

South Korea‘s top-tier stock market Kospi retreated 1 percent on Friday, while the local currency strengthened, in part on fears over heightening tariff threats by US President Donald Trump triggering a possible trade war.On Friday, the Kospi came close to breaching 2,400 mark by closed at 2,402.16, down 1 percent compared to the previous trading day. The market maintained a losing streak for three consecutive trading days since Tuesday. Korean stock markets closed on Thursday for a nation

For centuries, Korea has been a quake-free zone, but recent events have caused that to change. Of the 10 earthquakes in South Korea that registered 5.0 or higher on the Richter scale in its four decades of state measurement, half occurred after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake off the coast of Japan.The record 9.1-magnitude undersea quake, a subsequent seismic sea wave or tsunami and aftershocks have claimed over 15,000 lives in Japan. However, it also had an impact on tectonic activities in countries

South Korea has submitted a document hitting back at a claim by a US trade group representing its pharmaceutical industry that Korea’s drug pricing policies favor its domestic industry, ministries said Wednesday.The document was prepared by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and submitted Thursday to the US Trade Representative, a US counterpart in the bilateral free trade deal, by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, according to a ministry spokesperson. In the 36-page document submitted

Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon’s recent series of visits to Asian countries appears to be laying the ground for more business opportunities there. Cho has held talks with leading figures of Asian countries, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Feb. 18 and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Feb. 8.Following Cho’s meeting with Modi, Hyosung announced a plan to build its first spandex plant in Maharashtra, India. The move is expected to serve as the “cornerstone” in penetrati

´South Korean brokerages’ combined yearly net profit in 2017 hit a 10-year high, mainly on the back of a stock market boom that led to an upshot in revenue from brokerage fees and trades of shares and derivatives, data showed Tuesday.The total net profit for the 55 securities firms came to 3.83 trillion won ($3.57 billion) in 2017, up 79.6 percent from a year prior, according to a preliminary set of data by the Financial Supervisory Service. The figure was the highest since 2007, whe