SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s wealthy population continued to grow last year, exceeding 476,000 individuals with more than 1 billion won (about $760,000) in financial assets, according to a new report that highlights widening asset gaps and a renewed appetite for stock investments despite a climate of economic uncertainty. The 2025 Korea Wealth [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Household borrowing from South Korean banks grew at a slower pace in November as tighter mortgage regulations began to cool the heated property market in the Seoul metropolitan area, according to new data released Wednesday by the Bank of Korea. Outstanding household loans came to 1,175.6 trillion won ($799.6 billion) [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Shares of South Korea’s two largest memory chipmakers rose sharply on Monday amid mounting expectations for robust fourth-quarter earnings, reflecting renewed investor confidence in the artificial intelligence–driven semiconductor cycle. SK hynix closed 6.07 percent higher at 577,000 won on the Korea Exchange, recovering the 570,000-won level for the first time [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Four major financial firms will likely see their interest income decrease for the first time since 2020 this year due to tighter lending rules aimed at curbing surging housing prices, data showed Sunday. KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Hana Financial Group and Woori Financial Group are expected to [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Woori Bank has begun displaying Bitcoin price data alongside exchange rates and stock indexes on the electronic board inside its main dealing room in central Seoul, the bank said Friday — a first among South Korea’s commercial banks and a notable sign of the industry’s growing embrace of digital assets. [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Tax authorities said Thursday they will investigate more than 2,000 cases involving the transfer of high-value properties in upscale areas of Seoul over suspected tax evasion, amid tighter government regulations on real estate lending. A total of 2,077 property-transfer cases in the districts of Gangnam, Mapo, Yongsan and Seongsu [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s stock market has endured a stretch of whiplash in recent weeks, but low-volatility and high-dividend investment products have emerged as rare winners amid the turbulence. According to data released Wednesday by the Korea Exchange, the TIGER Low Volatility ETF rose 7.1 percent from Nov. 3 to Dec. [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s major business lobby warned that companies may face nearly 27 trillion won (US$20.4 billion) in carbon-credit purchasing costs over the next five years under the government’s newly announced emissions trading allocation plan. The climate ministry swiftly rejected the estimate, calling it an exaggerated projection based on flawed assumptions. [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid heightened foreign-exchange volatility this year, South Korea’s major banks have taken markedly different approaches to managing currency risk, newly released filings show. According to third-quarter disclosures from the country’s four largest lenders — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori — all maintained “long” positions in foreign currency, meaning they [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s construction downturn is continuing to weigh heavily on the nation’s banks, with major lenders reporting persistently high levels of bad loans tied to the troubled sector. According to third-quarter disclosures released on Wednesday, the country’s five major banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — [...]