SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – A hike in the base rate by the South Korean central bank is expected to increase funding costs of local businesses, a report said Tuesday, amid the recent trend of monetary normalization. According to the report published by the Korea Institute of Finance (KIF), if the Bank of Korea [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government has been developing a system that is likely to start banning the use of anonymous accounts in cryptocurrency transactions from around Jan. 20, financial industry sources said Tuesday. The system is a part of follow-up measures after the government announced last week a set of [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 28 (Korea Bizwire) – Loan guarantees among affiliates of South Korea’s large business groups sank in 2017 from a year earlier, the country’s corporate watchdog said Thursday. The total corporate debt payment guarantees made among units of 31 conglomerates reached 257 billion won (US$239 million) as of May 1, down 20 percent, or [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – A surge in life insurance cancellations in the past five years is one symptom of the economic downturn and financial hardships faced by South Korean households. Provided by the Korea Life Insurance Association (KLIA), records show there were 6.59 million life insurance policy cancellations last year, 54.1 percent more [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Total assets held by South Korea’s private insurers surpassed the 1,000 trillion won (US$926 billion) mark in 2016, 94 years after the first firm started operations, industry data showed Monday. The 2016 insurance statistical yearbook released by Korea Insurance Development Institute, showed combined assets held by local insurance agencies [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – Financial authorities will ramp up efforts to crack down on moneylenders targeting young people and seniors from next year. According to the Financial Services Commission (FSC), a special task force will be launched as part of a joint effort with the Ministry of the Interior and the Seoul Metropolitan Government [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean central bank will take a more prudent stance on tightening its monetary policies in the future by checking the pace of economic recovery and inflation pressure, minutes from the latest rate-hike meeting showed Tuesday. The Bank of Korea’s (BOK) monetary policy board meeting for November raised [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s corporate watchdog is looking into whether Mirae Asset Group, a major financial service provider, is violating regulations over inside transactions among its affiliates, industry sources said Friday. The current law forbids inter-affiliate trading within a business group where the controlling family holds more than 30 percent of [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — An interest rate rise in South Korea will increase the debt repayment burdens of vulnerable households who over-extended themselves on mortgages during the low rate period, the central bank said Thursday. “In general, household and corporate borrowers will be able to afford an increase in debt repayment incurred by [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Only 3 in 10 South Koreans currently use desktop online banking, while the majority have turned to mobile banking services accessed via smartphones and tablet PCs, a new survey has found. According to data provided by pollster DMC Media, around 28 percent of South Korean bank account holders aged between [...]