Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Seoul stocks rally on recovery hope, coming earnings report season
South Korean shares rallied Monday on hopes of economic recovery led by the government's extra budget and possible robust earnings from tech companies. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 35.52 points, or 1.65 percent, to close at 2,187.93. Trading volume was high at about 659 million shares worth some 12 trillion won ($9.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 573 to 267. Foreigners sold a net 258 billion won and indivi
July 6, 2020
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Open banking service subscriptions surpass 20 million
The number of open banking service subscriptions in Korea has surpassed 20 million, more than 70 percent of the nation’s economically active population, reflecting rapid expansion across the finance sector, authorities said Monday. Launched in December 2019, open banking services enable bank customers to use banking services of different banks via a single smartphone application. Currently there are a total of 72 service providers, including commercial banks and financial technology comp
July 6, 2020
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Local fashion house targets W60b IPO despite COVID impact
The Nature Holdings, a lifestyle outdoor firm known for its National Geographic licensed fashion brand, said Monday it is looking to raise as much as 60 billion won ($50.2 million) from its initial public offering on the tech-heavy Kosdaq this month. The firm is offering around 1.2 million shares in the price band of 45,000-50,000 won, CEO Park Young-jun said in a press briefing. The exact share price will be determined Thursday through the book building process before investors can apply on J
July 6, 2020
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NH NongHyup receives final approval to launch Myanmar branch
South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank said Monday it has received final approval from Myanmar’s financial authorities to launch and operate a subsidiary in the Southeast Asian country. The announcement comes 10 months after the lender submitted an application to the Central Bank of Myanmar, which handles financial supervisory of state-owned, private and foreign banks in the country. NH NongHyup has been operating a microfinancing institution in Myanmar since 2016 and has worked as a st
July 6, 2020
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Samil PwC names new co-chief
Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, South Korea’s top accounting firm, said Monday it has appointed a new co-representative to take charge of marketing. Partner and deals leader Bae Hwa-joo will serve as chief executive officer for marketing, while Yoon Hoon-soo will head the organization’s overall management. Assurance leader Yoon was named as CEO in April, as competitor Bae offered his resignation in the eleventh hour amid a neck-and-neck rivalry over the top post. The company may app
July 6, 2020
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Seoul stocks open tad higher on parliamentary approval of 3rd extra budget
South Korean shares opened slightly higher Monday, following parliamentary approval of the third extra budget meant to support the pandemic-hit economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.84 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,161.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The gains came after the National Assembly passed a 35.1 trillion-won ($29.3 billion) extra budget Friday. The supplementary plan is designed to mitigate the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
July 6, 2020
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Minimum investment amount for private equity funds forecast to rise
South Korea will likely increase the minimum amount of investment for private equity funds from the current 100 million won ($83,373) to 300 million won as early as next month in its efforts to protect individual investors on the heels of a series of alleged fraud cases linked to funds in South Korea, according to news reports on Sunday. The Ministry of Government Legislation has been reviewing the measure, which will be included in the planned revisions of the nation’s Financial Investm
July 5, 2020
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[Herald Interview] Investment guru sees opportunities in post-COVID era
In his first public letter in 10 years, South Korea’s value investment guru Chen Kang in March urged fund investors to remain unperturbed by the coronavirus uncertainties and search for where purchasing power would flock to in the post-coronavirus era. The investor with over 30 years of experience in stock investing added this was a way of targeting value creation even in trying times. “Investors should keep an eye on how daily life evolves, because that’s where the future of
July 5, 2020
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HK-based hedge fund’s liquidity crisis spooks Korean investors
Gen2 Partners, a Hong Kong-based hedge fund, has notified South Korean financial institutions of a fund freeze regardless of the deadlines for fund redemption, according to news reports Sunday. This comes as its flagship fund using a leveraged scheme suffered losses due to the coronavirus outbreak, facing a liquidity crunch. The Korean entities dedicated to pooling investor money for Gen2 Partners’ multistrategy funds include brokerage houses Shinhan Investment, Kiwoom Securities and S
July 5, 2020
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[News Focus] Will Kospi be alright when short sellers return in September?
SEJONG -- An eye-catching issue in the nation’s economy is whether the growth of gross domestic product will bounce back in the second half of the year after touching a bottom in the first half. While GDP growth was minus 1.3 percent in the first quarter, compared to the previous quarter, there is a possibility that the coming figure for the second quarter (April-June) will also post negative growth or dip further. Exports fell by 11.2 percent in the first half, on an on-year basis. For
July 5, 2020
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Number of fake banknotes in S. Korea further dips in H1
The number of fake South Korean banknotes found here continued to decline in the first half, and the combined face value of the counterfeits also dropped sharply, central bank data showed Sunday. In the January-June period, the number of counterfeit banknotes found here came to 129, down 19.4 percent from 160 bills found a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The half-year tally marks a steady decline since the second half of 2017. The combined face value of the counterfeits f
July 5, 2020
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Seoul stocks likely to face volatile sessions next week: analysts
South Korean stocks are expected to face choppy trading next week amid signs of a global economic recovery and the rising number of new coronavirus infections, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,152.41 points Friday, up 0.83 percent from a week earlier. "The gap is narrowing between the stock index and the real economy," said Daeshin Securities global strategist Moon Nam-joong. "The improved US jobs data seems to have gi
July 4, 2020
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Seoul stocks close higher on economic recovery hopes
South Korean shares closed higher Friday on hopes of economic recovery buoyed by better-than-anticipated economic indicators from major economies, including the United States. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.04 points, or 0.80 percent, to close at 2,152.41. Trading volume was moderate at about 754 million shares worth some 8.5 trillion won ($7.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 529 to 307. The gains were led
July 3, 2020
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SK Biopharmaceuticals shares spike for 2nd day in row
SK Biopharmaceuticals, the largest initial public offering of this year so far, continued to perform strong Friday, soaring to a daily limit of 30 percent in the second trading session. The bio unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group began trading at 127,000 won ($105.75) per share, then spiked 38,000 won, or 29.92 percent, to reach 165,000 won in early trading hours. Throughout the trading day, the stock price continuously maintained, while marking its market capitalization of more than
July 3, 2020
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Seoul stocks open tad higher on US jobs data
South Korean shares opened slightly higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street led by estimate-beating US jobs data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 4.76 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,140.13 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Major US stock indices closed higher on surprising US jobs data. The NASDAQ Composite gained 0.52 percent to a fresh record high of 10,207.63 on Thursday (New York time), following reports that the US jobless rate in June fe
July 3, 2020
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Seoul stocks close higher on recovery hopes
South Korean shares closed sharply higher Thursday on hopes of an economic recovery fueled by improved US economic indicators. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 28.67 points, or 1.36 percent, to close at 2,135.37. Trading volume was high at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 10.4 trillion won ($8.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 671 to 176. Foreigners sold a net 13 billion won, extending their latest selling
July 2, 2020
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Regulator to crack down on pooled funds to restore investor trust
The Financial Services Commission, South Korea‘s top financial regulator, said Thursday it would carry out an all-out inspection of all privately-pooled investment schemes in a preemptive measure to protect financial consumers from exposure to unanticipated risks. The target of the scrutiny will be 10,304 pooled funds and 233 investment houses dedicated to privately pooled funds as of the end of May. The total inspection is scheduled to be completed by September, while investment firms w
July 2, 2020
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As largest IPO of year, SK Biopharmaceuticals makes strong market debut
In the largest market debut of the year, SK Biopharmaceuticals was listed on the nation’s main bourse Kospi on Thursday, with its share price soaring to a daily limit in the first trading session. Buoyed by the growing market interest in the bio industry as well as increased capital flow to the local stock market, the initial public offering of the SK subsidiary marked the highest offering deal since the 1 trillion-won market debut of Celltrion Healthcare in 2017. SK Biopharmaceuticals
July 2, 2020
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Seoul to set up online data platform to fight viruses
The government said Thursday it plans to establish a so-called “bio data station” -- an online data platform for biotechnology -- in a bid to accelerate research and development in the emerging sector. Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki mapped out the plan for the biotech platform at an emergency economic meeting in Seoul. All the data linked to results of state-run research projects will be registered at the online hub for drug development and research projects including
July 2, 2020
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Seoul stocks open higher on pharmaceutical gains
South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, led by pharmaceuticals. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.86 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,119.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading. SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., the largest IPO offering of the year so far, spiked 29.59 percent on the day of its debut. Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics surged 4.26 percent, with Celltrion spiking 3.87 percent. Most large caps were in positive terrain. Market bellwether
July 2, 2020