SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing number of young South Koreans are struggling to cover even modest monthly interest payments due to job instability, data showed Tuesday. Some 24.5 percent of South Koreans in their 20s, who availed microloans for their sustenance, faced difficulties in meeting interest obligations as of Aug. 4, according [...]
SEOUL, June 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. was the most preferred stock as gifts among domestic investors last month, a local brokerage analysis showed Sunday. Shares in Samsung Electronics topped gifting stock services of the home trading and mobile trading systems operated by the country’s seven securities companies in [...]
SEOUL, May 21 (Korea Bizwire) — According to a recent study by Hanwha Life Insurance, the wealthiest individuals in South Korea possess rapidly growing assets, highlighting significant income inequality within the country. As of 2021, the top 0.1 percent of South Koreans boasted a net worth exceeding 7.68 billion won, while the top 1 percent [...]
SEOUL, April 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Debt among those in their 20s and 30s jumped more than 27 percent over the past three years since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, indicating they suffered financial difficulties due to rising home prices and an economic slowdown, central bank data showed Sunday. In the fourth quarter of 2022, overall [...]
SEOUL, March 29 (Korea Bizwire) – The amount of daily payments made with cards in South Korea grew about 13 percent last year as eased coronavirus-related restrictions boosted consumption, central bank data showed Wednesday. Spending made with credit, debit and prepaid cards reached a daily average of 3.1 trillion won (US$2.4 billion) in 2022, up [...]
SEOUL, March 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean card firms saw their net profit drop 4 percent last year compared with a year earlier, due mainly to steep interest hikes and concerns about an economic slowdown, regulator’s data showed Monday. The combined net profit of the big eight card issuers here, including KB Kookmin, Lotte, [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean credit card companies saw the number of customer complaints rise sharply in the fourth quarter of last year, amid rising controversy over the moral hazard of the financial firms, ignited by their payment of hefty performance bonuses. According to the Credit Finance Association of Korea, the nation’s [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The top 0.1 percent of wealthy individuals in South Korea earned nearly 70 times more than the median income earners in 2021, data showed Saturday. Statistics from the National Tax Service cited by Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the opposition Democratic Party also showed the share of the total income [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s household credit shrank at the sharpest pace in 13 years in the fourth quarter of 2022 amid high interest rates driven by the central bank’s monetary tightening to bring down inflation, data showed Tuesday. Outstanding household loans reached 1,867.0 trillion won (US$1.44 trillion) at the end of [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — With the anticipated introduction of Apple Pay, a mobile payment service from Apple Inc., Hyundai Card Co. held an “apple festival” to celebrate its status as the country’s sole service provider. The company held a surprise event on Monday, giving out apples to all employees at its headquarters in [...]