South Korea’s local currency edged down against the greenback on Monday on robust jobs readings in the United States that sparked an upsurge in the US dollar, and on renewed threats of a US-China trade war that put a dent in global risk-tolerance levels.The dollar-to-won currency exchange rate came to 1,123.5 won in closing Monday, down 0.2 percent compared with the Friday session’s close. A lower exchange rate translates into a stronger local currency. This drop marked an end to the

While South Korea’s stock market took a strong rebounding leap last week amid signals of trade war alleviation between the United States and China, analysts remained in a cautious note ahead of the midterm elections in the United States slated for Tuesday, fueled by concerns that news favorable to stock rallies might have come in disguise. Analysts issued warnings over the weekend on possible post-election volatility in the domestic stock market, saying optimism in the global financial mar

As South Korean companies have recently withdrawn their earlier plans to go public, concerns have been mounting that the lackluster initial public offering market remains exposed to lingering external uncertainties in the fourth quarter.Since October, two companies -- Dreamtech and Plakor -- said in financial statements they would withdraw from IPO plans, citing “the current stock market situation that makes it hard for investors to discover the price of a company.” Dreamtech, an ele

It has been a decade since South Korea started issuing short-term visas for foreigners seeking medical treatment here as part of measures to boost medical tourism.Since then, the medical tourism market has expanded rapidly, with the number of annual foreign visitors for medical treatment here rising 52.2 percent in the four years through 2017 to some 321,600, according to data compiled by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute.However, the number dropped by 11.7 percent on-year in 2017

SK Holdings has been recognized for the best practices in environmental responsibility, social responsibility and governance and for its shareholder-friendly approach and sustainability in entrepreneurship, the company said Thursday. SK Holdings CEO Jang Dong-hyun (SK Holdings)The firm earned the “A+” ESG rating from the Korea Corporate Governance Service for a second consecutive year in 2018. This year, KCGS evaluated ESG scores of some 930 listed companies and financial companies in Korea. A h

South Korea’s National Pension Service, the third-largest pension fund in the world, has taken over 5 percent in losses from domestic stocks from January to August, hit by the ongoing bearish trend in the local stock market this year.  The public pension fund, overseeing 650.9 billion won ($571.8 million) in assets as of end-August, yielded 2.3 percent return from its investments, according to its disclosure Tuesday. The NPS invests in various asset classes including equities and fixe

A new set of regulations for local banks is set to take effect Wednesday, with the aim of further slowing down the pace of South Korea’s household credit growth. The full-fledged enforcement comes after a grace period that began in March, during which commercial banks had to cap the volume of the high-risk retail loans they extended. Starting Wednesday, commercial banks are required to keep “highly risky loans” to individuals to no more than 10 percent of the volume of all hous

Stock markets in South Korea continued to slide for a fourth consecutive trading day, setting a new low for 2018 yet again, amid persisting downward pressure on markets at home and abroad. Analysts noted the unhindered pace of monetary tightening in the United States, Korea’s sluggish economic growth prospect and an escalating trade war between the US and China bode ill for a momentum for a swift rebound in stock index performance and a turnaround from foreign investor outflow.  The t

South Korean internet services provider Kakao confirmed Thursday its employees have created an in-house labor union that aims to challenge the company’s current wage system.Kakao marked the fourth information technology company in Korea to see an organization to represent workers’ rights, following Naver, Nexon and Smilegate. Prior to the launch, the union was affiliated with the Korean Chemistry & Textile Federation of Unions. (Kakao)“We respect the launch of the labor union and their activitie

This is the 62nd in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.There is growing anticipation for a turnaround in at Gamevil, a developer and publisher of mobile games, after the global market reacted positively to its recent releases and news of releases slated for the fourth quarter.On Friday, Gamevil’s stock price jumped sharply, closing 14.9 percent up from Thursday. Its market cap came to 361.4 billion won ($319.2 million), ranking 121s

Stricter compliance regulations are to be adopted for financial institutions within the watchdog’s jurisdiction to enforce stricter internal control and prevent errors and fraud, according to the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service.According to a preliminary set of measures unveiled Wednesday, at least 1 percent of the entire staff and executives in a financial institution should be assigned to compliance operations, while compliance officers must be executives of the company wit

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 23rd installment. -- Ed.For about a decade before Chung Woo-young founded mobile biometrics developer startup Winningi in 2015, he was a forensic technician who worked for the National Police Agency in South Korea. He was engaged in the nation’s project to collect and manage some 56 million fingerprint records of residents in the nation with a population of 51.2 mil

Facing a wave of mobile-first digital transformation, traditional media contents like recorded video, comic books and studio albums give way to live-streaming video services, webtoons and digital songs. Southeast Asian countries are no exceptions from such digital transformations, both posing challenges and heralding new opportunities to Korean business entities, Lee Sung-min, research associate at the state-led Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, told audience at a business forum hosted by The

South Korea’s stock markets were routed Thursday following a plunge in stocks at Wall Street amid surfacing doubts about current tech stock valuations in the United States and fears on lingering US-China trade war threats.Analysts said the market correction in the US triggered a ripple effect on Korean stock markets along with other Asian stocks, drawing concerns about what they call “the biggest external market risk.”Both the top-tier Kospi and the second-tier Kosdaq suffered

President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid said Wednesday its e-Residency program has the potential to expedite Korean business entry into the European Union by encouraging applications for the nation’s program that offers foreigners a digitally encrypted and protected identification system.E-Residency refers to a digital identification system that involves blockchain technology without the use of cryptocurrency, so people in and out of Estonia can apply for it regardless of citizenship or location.

The South Korean startup 8Percent, dedicated to peer-to-peer financing to individuals and small-sized business owners, announced Wednesday it had drawn a combined 6 billion won ($5.3 million) in investments from three venture capital firms. The investments will be used to develop new credit analysis models, advance banking system and improve the profitability of lenders -- or investors into notes of borrowers -- the company said. One of the venture capital firms involved was DSC Investment, whil

Ever since the decision two years ago to delay the closing time of the nation’s securities market by 30 minutes, market authorities and labor activists have been in a heated debate, with unions saying the extended trading hours place an undue burden on employees without conferring significant benefits in terms of transaction volume. The issue is to take center stage at this week’s National Assembly audit, with Korea Exchange Chairman Jung Ji-won having been called as witness to

Woori Bank, South Korea‘s fourth-largest commercial bank by assets, said Monday it has created an office in Singapore to streamline loan evaluation of offshore units across Asia. The office, dubbed “Asia Credit Analysis & Approval Debt Center” is designed to “improve loan approval (of offshore units) and expedite the decision-making process” of corporations in China, Vietnam and Indonesia, as well as branches in Hong Kong, India and Middle East nations, the bank

South Korea’s peer-to-peer financing startup Lendit said Thursday that it plans to allow investors and borrowers to trade notes that are not mature by establishing an online secondary market. P2P financing refers to a loan crowdsourced from investors seeking midrange interest rates, between 5 and 10 percent per year. The interest comes from borrowers’ debt servicing. Korea is home to 175 P2P financing platforms licensed as of end-August.The new system, dubbed the “Lendit Market

PHRA NAKHON SI AYUTTHAYA, Thailand -- Before a brutal Burmese invasion in the late 18th century, the city of Ayutthaya, the second capital of the Siamese Kingdom for four centuries, was a grand Buddhist city where international trade and art prospered. Its population rivaled that of contemporary London or Paris in its prime.  A large stone Buddha statue and headless statues sit in front of a prang in Wat Mahathat. (Son Ji-hyoung/The Korea Herald)Buddhist temples and royal relics were strewn acro