SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s economy is expected to rebound in 2026, driven by easing uncertainties and accommodative policies, an official from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Wednesday, calling on the country to put in efforts to revitalize domestic consumption and accelerate structural reforms to further boost growth. “Prolonged domestic political [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean regulators said Tuesday they had broken up a sophisticated stock manipulation scheme involving some of the country’s wealthiest business operators and financial insiders, in what is being billed as the first major case under President Lee Jae-myung’s new crackdown on market abuses. The Financial Services Commission, the [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s semiconductor rally is spilling over into smaller suppliers, as investor optimism over improving memory prices boosts not only giants like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix but also makers of materials, components and equipment. On Monday, Samsung Electronics closed up 4.77 percent at 83,500 won, touching an intraday [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to lower its benchmark interest rate for the first time under President Donald Trump is fueling cautious optimism in Seoul’s financial markets, with analysts predicting improved liquidity and renewed foreign inflows — but also warning of lingering risks tied to trade negotiations. On Wednesday [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean shares extended their record-breaking run on Tuesday, closing more than 1 percent higher on strong foreign inflows and a surge in chip stocks. The Korean won also strengthened sharply against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 42.31 points, or 1.24 percent, to [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing number of South Koreans in their 40s and 50s are turning to individual Treasury bonds as a preferred tool for retirement planning, according to new data from Mirae Asset Securities, the sole distributor of the instruments. Figures show that 39.3 percent of investors in such bonds over [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s corporate bond market is showing renewed strength as expectations of interest rate cuts fuel demand for higher-yielding securities, driving credit spreads to their lowest levels of the year. According to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association and Infomax, the spread between three-year AA- corporate bonds and equivalent [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s financial watchdog cautioned retail investors on Tuesday about the risks of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), even as the market for such products has expanded more than fourfold in recent years. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the nation’s ETF market reached 232 trillion won ($168 billion) in [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will remove cryptocurrency trading and brokerage from its list of industries barred from receiving venture business status, signaling a shift in how the government views the digital asset sector. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Tuesday that the Cabinet approved revisions to the Enforcement Decree of the [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s central bank, in coordination with the government and the country’s largest lenders, is preparing to test the use of central bank digital currency (CBDC) for distributing public subsidies, a move officials say could curb misuse and improve accountability. According to financial industry sources, the six major banks [...]