Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang pledged to make Korea a top investment-friendly country in the world during the 5th AmCham Doing Business in Korea Seminar 2023 held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Wednesday. “Through various efforts such as establishing a support system for boosting corporate investment and attracting foreign investment, the Korean government will make Korea a country where global companies can boldly plan future investments,” Minister Lee said during

Last Sunday in Seoul’s bustling Hongdae district, a couple in their 20s walked into a crowded Baskin Robbins store, and inquired if they could pay using Apple Pay. Moments later, their payment went through and their faces beamed with joy. “The hype was real. It (Apple Pay) is so fast and convenient. We are addicted to the ‘ding’ sound that we hear when the payment goes through on Apple Pay,” the couple said. Apple Pay made its official debut in Korea on March 21, al

The Korean trade lobby group on Tuesday warned that Korea's trade deficit could expand by up to $41 billion by the end of the year in the worst-case scenario. If South Korea's export slump persists until the end of the year, Korea International Trade Association sees that the annual export volume could fall by up to 8 percent as well. "While the automotive, shipbuilding and petroleum industries are expected to recover after the second quarter, the semiconductor, computer and dis

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo on Monday hinted at adjusting interest rates as part of efforts to ease the growing financial burdens of customers. Ham, at a meeting with executives across affiliates to mark his first anniversary in office, emphasized the need to thoroughly review the system that determines interest rates and fees for financial products. He also urged executives to be more flexible in reviewing interest rate reduction requests from customers and to preemptively tac

The state-run trade promotion agency, Kotra, held a Global Logistics Investors Roundtable event to boost global logistics firms’ investments in Korea, and especially Busan, at the Westin Josun Seoul on Thursday. The event was organized jointly with the Busan Port Authority and the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority. Nine global companies, including German logistics firms DHL Supply Chain and DB Schenker, Japan's Nippon Express and Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk, atten

Kyobo Life Insurance CEO Shin Chang-jae has been named as the recipient of the 2023 Insurance Hall of Fame Laureate award by the International Insurance Society, the company said Wednesday. The latest feat is especially meaningful for the 70-year-old CEO as he follows in his father's footsteps to win the top industrial honor. His late father Shin Yong-ho was the founder of Kyobo Life, and won the same award in 1996. The company said it is the first case that both a father and son have bee

Global tech giant Apple kicked off its mobile payment service Apple Pay in Korea on Tuesday, with more than 170,000 iPhone users rushing for registration earlier in the day. “We're so thrilled to bring Apple Pay to our users here in Korea with Hyundai Card as our first issuer,” Duncan Olby, who is in charge of Apple’s digital wallet services outside America, said in a press conference held at the Hyundai Card Understage in Itaewon, central Seoul. “Users can start p

This is the third installment of a series of interviews on chiefs who run overseas units of Korean asset management, banking and securities companies, examining their key strategies for global expansion. -- Ed. IBK Bank Indonesia, buoyed by upbeat sales in recent years, is now ready to focus on a burgeoning niche in the largest economy in Southeast Asia -- loans for small- and medium-sized enterprises. “We aim to innovate the corporate finance market in Indonesia by using Korea&rsquo

Fair Trade Commission Chairman Han Ki-jeong on Monday vowed that the antitrust regulator will seek ways to protect Korean consumers from the possible negative influence of the EU’s new law targeting global big tech companies. The EU’s Digital Market Act, which will come into force this year, aims to prevent global tech giants from abusing their market power and ensure a higher degree of competition. This law includes tighter restrictions on collecting data. If companies fa

A retired police officer, who wished to be identified by his last name Park, 63, believes “60 is the new 40.” “After retiring from my job I started watching over kids as a ‘school sheriff’ at an elementary school nearby. I just was not used to staying at home without a job,” Park told The Korea Herald. Last month, the number of overall employed workers increased by 310,000 on-year, and this rise was largely led by workers like Park, who are in their 60s, a

KB Financial Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry jointly to provide special loans for small and medium-sized enterprises making environmental, social and corporate governance efforts. KB Financial Group Vice Chairman Yang Jong-hee and Woo Tae-hee, executive vice chairman of the KCCI, gathered at the KCCI headquarters in Seoul on Thursday to sign the memorandum. "Based on this MOU, KB Financial Group plans to provide various and ex

Toss Securities announced Tuesday that it has named Kim Seung-yeon, general manager of TikTok’s Southeast Asia global business solution, as its new CEO. Born in 1980, Korean American Kim is known to be a marketing expert with over 15 years of experience in the field. “Our current CEO Oh Chang-hoon wants to focus on his original CTO position and contribute to the firm further in that capacity. Although Oh still has remaining tenure, we have decided to name a new CEO,” a To

Ahead of the long-awaited Korean debut of Apple Pay later this month, all eyes are on whether Hyundai Card, the official partner of the mobile payment service for iPhones, will raise its market share to outpace bigger rivals Shinhan Card and Samsung Card. Credit card companies compete head-on in a crowded market here. According to the Credit Finance Association, Shinhan Card was the largest credit card issuer with 19.6 percent as of the fourth quarter of last year, closely followed by Samsun

US-based investment management firm BlackRock has become the third-largest shareholder of South Korean brokerage house Samsung Securities, a filing showed Thursday. BlackRock’s 12 affiliated entities hold a total of 5.46 percent stake (4.87 million shares) in Samsung Securities as of Feb. 28, according to a disclosure filed with the Financial Supervisory Service. A minority shareholder with at least 5 percent of shares in a company is subject to filing obligations as a block holder of th

South Korea’s JB Financial Group said Thursday that it is against activist fund Align Partners’ demand for dividend expansion. Align Partners, which holds a 14 percent stake in JB, is the financial firm's second-largest shareholder. “In order to boost shareholder benefits in a sustainable way, excessive dividend expansion could hurt corporate value as well as shareholder interests,” JB said in a statement. The latest announcement comes after Align Partners submitte

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho on Wednesday pledged to continue efforts to eliminate regulations that do not fit global standards. “The Korean government will work on removing hurdles that hinder US business operators from establishing Korea as a regional headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region,” Choo said at a special luncheon event held at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas Hotel on Wednesday. “To turn Korea into a No. 1 foreign investment destination, we will strive to

IT giant Kakao on Tuesday announced a tender offer for SM Entertainment’s shares held by minority shareholders at a price higher than what Hybe previously offered amid an intensifying race to win over the management rights of the K-pop powerhouse. Kakao and its subsidiary Kakao Entertainment offered 150,000 won ($115.55) per share with a goal to additionally secure up to 35 percent (some 8.3 billion shares) of SM Entertainment. This tender offer begins on Tuesday and ends on March 26. Th

K-pop powerhouse Hybe’s initial plan to gain stable management control over rival company SM Entertainment by buying more shares through a tender offer fall through. On Feb. 10, Hybe announced a tender offer for SM Entertainment’s shares held by minority shareholders. It offered 120,000 won ($92.60) per share with a goal to additionally secure up to 25 percent (5,951,826 shares) of SM Entertainment. The tender offer ended March 1. Hybe was only able to acquire 233,817 shares throug

More than 90 percent of real estate experts predicted a decline in housing prices this year, while 1 in 2 said the housing market could see a rebound next year, according to a KB Financial Group report released Sunday. The report said transaction prices of houses nationwide fell 1.8 percent last year, a first in 10 years. Daegu showed the highest decline with 5.2 percent, followed by Daejeon with 4.4 percent and the greater Seoul area with 2.7 percent. The number of transactions also plunged alm

K-Bank, a South Korean internet-only bank, posted record-high profits last year, extending gains after it swung to black for the first time in 2021. The bank recorded a net profit of 83.6 billion won ($63.7 million) in 2022, marking a 272 percent increase from the previous year's net profit of 22.5 billion won, according to K-Bank on Thursday. K-Bank’s net profit in 2021 was a turnaround from a loss of 105.4 billion won in 2020. It was the first annual net profit that the internet-o