The South Korean government’s plan to launch a “bad bank” to ease the burden on individuals struggling with loan or debt repayment has drawn mixed reactions. Some view the initiative as a safety net for the financially vulnerable and a means to reduce the strain of bad debt on the broader financial system. Others raise concerns over moral hazard and potential fiscal pressure on the economy. A bad bank is not a traditional bank; it is a special-purpose financial entity created to acquire and mana

While foreign investors have poured into South Korea’s major banking stocks over the past year, Woori Financial Group remains an outlier. Unlike peers KB, Hana and Shinhan— whose foreign ownership ranges from 60 percent to nearly 80 percent — Woori is the only top-tier financial group with less than 50 percent foreign ownership. As of Tuesday, foreign investors' total stake in Woori stood at 46 percent, compared to KB Financial Group’s 78 percent and Hana’s 67 percent. The gap, despite a broad r

South Korea is poised to create its own stablecoin, backed by growing support for a won-pegged version under newly-elected President Lee Jae-Myung, even as debate continues over early adoption risks and fears of lagging behind. Stablecoins have become a major focus in financial circles, capturing the attention of commercial banks, fintech firms, central banks and lawmakers alike, as momentum builds for a version pegged to the Korean won. A stablecoin is a type of crypto asset linked to the value

The Korean won has been staging a sharp rally, reaching its strongest levels in seven months in June. However, further appreciation beyond the 1,300-per-dollar threshold appears limited as economic headwinds persist. Earlier this year, the won weakening past 1,400 per dollar was considered the “new normal.” But the local currency has since gained ground, with its average exchange rate in May standing at 1,390.7 won per dollar, dipping below 1,400 for the first time since November. On Thursday, t

It's now clear that Korean beauty has far outgrown its modest local beginnings. Last year was truly a banner year for the industry, with cosmetics exports surging 20.3 percent to $10.2 billion, ranking third globally behind the US ($11.19 billion) and France ($23.26 billion), according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Zooming in on US-bound exports last year, Korea’s stature continues to rise: The country is not only in the top three in global exports, it ranks first in the world’s large

Samsung Electronics is again facing speculations that it may spin off its foundry business from the broader semiconductor division, amid concerns over the same conflicts of interest that drove Samsung Biologics to split its biosimilar business and contract drug manufacturing. Last week, Samsung Biologics, the biotech arm of Samsung Group, announced it will spin off its biosimilar subsidiary Samsung Bioepis into an independent entity. Once the deal is completed, Samsung Biologics will only retain

Glass substrates, long viewed as a promising next-generation component in advanced chip packaging, are now nearing real-world deployment, as Samsung Electronics signals a transition away from conventional silicon interposers. According to industry sources Wednesday, Samsung plans to adopt glass substrate interposers for its advanced semiconductors by 2028 to “meet customer demands.” While the company neither confirmed nor denied the development, it stated, “We are investing in (research and deve

Since South Korea’s democratization in 1987, power has swung back and forth between conservative and progressive forces with a certain rhythm — roughly every decade. These shifts have often been triggered by public discontent over corruption, economic crises, and leadership scandals. In more recent years, however, that rhythm has noticeably accelerated, signaling an era of increasingly unpredictable and chaotic politics. The upcoming snap presidential election, set for June 3, is taking place ju

Signaling a new chapter in digital finance, the Bank of Korea last month launched "Project Han River," a pilot program for its central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Running from April through June, the trial invites 100,000 individuals to test tokenized deposits, with roughly 60,000 participating as of Monday, according to the BOK. The Korea Herald also took part to see how the system works in practice. The first step involved opening a digital wallet through one of seven participating banks,

SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest telecommunications provider, confirmed on April 22 that its internal systems were breached in a hacking attack, raising concerns over a possible data leak involving universal subscriber identity module (USIM) cards. As public anxiety continues to grow, the company has rolled out a three-tier protection plan that includes an upgraded fraud detection system, its existing USIM protection service and free USIM card replacements upon request. Since the free replaceme