SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – All newly-built houses in South Korea will be equipped with earthquake-resistant structures starting in the second half of next year under the government’s comprehensive measures against the natural disaster, a related ministry announced Friday. The government has also decided to pour 2.8 trillion won (US$2.3 billion) by 2020 to [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – The home ownership rate in South Korea came to 56 percent in 2015, data showed Thursday. According to the annual data by Statistics Korea, 10.06 million households out of 19.11 million in the country owned homes as of Nov. 1, 2015. The latest data indicated that 44 percent of [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – Ending a decade-long legal battle. South Korea’s top court on Thursday confirmed the validity of the tax the government imposed on U.S. private equity firm Lone Star’s profits from its sale of a Seoul building, The Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision which approved the 64.8 billion won [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will take firm and resolute action to stabilize the local financial markets to prevent any fallout from the latest U.S. rate hike, the government said Thursday. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – Korea Exchange (KRX) trading board KOSDAQ announced Wednesday that it would start allowing businesses operating in the red to go public if they show positive growth potential – introducing a so-called the “Tesla condition” taken from Tesla Motors, which lacked capital initially but was recognized for its prospects, and [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s financial authorities on Wednesday approved a plan to establish the country’s first online-only bank, opening a new chapter in its banking history. It would mark the first time here in 24 years for a brand-new bank to be born, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The board of directors at seven major commercial banks decided Monday to implement a performance-based pay system – a controversial wage system introduced under the troubled Park Geun-hye administration. The seven institutions are Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank, KB KookminBank, KEB Hana Bank, SC Cheil Bank, and Citibank. Officials have [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – Despite an overall market slump, investors are scrambling to bet on stocks related to presidential hopefuls as an early election is deemed inevitable following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, data showed Tuesday. South Korean lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to impeach Park on Friday over a massive corruption and influence-peddling [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Crowdfunding is constantly spreading in South Korea as an effective option for both startups and investors, less than a year after the platform was introduced here, government data showed Monday. More than 100 firms, mostly those in the manufacturing, ICT and film-making sectors, have raised a total of 16.3 [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Bitcoin – once hailed as the world’s digital currency of the future – is gradually waning in popularity. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the amount of bitcoin in circulation at three of Korea’s largest bitcoin exchanges was 1.49 million from January to October this year, a number that [...]