SEOUL, July 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Executives at South Korea’s major financial holding companies are reaping substantial gains from their personal stock purchases, as share prices of leading banks surge to record highs. According to financial industry data on Tuesday, three of the nation’s top four financial groups — Shinhan, Hana, and Woori — all [...]
SEOUL, July 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s powerful business conglomerates, or chaebol, continued a controversial pattern in 2023: funneling excessive dividends to owner families through privately held affiliates, some of which posted losses, prompting renewed concerns over shareholder inequality and market distortion. According to audit reports filed with the Financial Supervisory Service and reviewed [...]
SEOUL, July 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s financial authorities are preparing a sweeping overhaul of capital regulations to curb excessive bank lending in real estate and steer financial resources toward high-growth industries like artificial intelligence and biotechnology. According to industry officials on July 13, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) is reviewing plans to raise [...]
SEOUL, July 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Short-selling positions in South Korea’s stock markets have surged to their highest levels since the full resumption of short-selling in March, signaling a rise in bearish bets even as local equities continue a months-long rally. According to data released Saturday by the Korea Exchange, net short interest in the [...]
SEJONG, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s latest euro-denominated foreign exchange stabilization bond (FESB) offering in London has garnered record-breaking demand, signaling strong global investor confidence in the country’s fiscal and economic outlook under its newly inaugurated administration. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the €1.4 billion issuance on June 26 attracted [...]
SEOUL, July 3 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s National Assembly on Thursday passed a revised Commercial Act aimed at strengthening minority shareholder rights, a move welcomed by financial markets as a potential catalyst for resolving the longstanding “Korea Discount” that has weighed on domestic stock valuations. The legislation, which had previously been vetoed under the [...]
SEOUL, July 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks rose for a second straight session Tuesday as investors welcomed signs of progress in trade talks over the United States’ tariff scheme and were keen on a potential revision of a shareholders-friendly law. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Financially troubled MG Non-Life Insurance Co. may be put back on the selling block after the country’s financial regulator and the company’s labor union tentatively agreed on the matter, industry sources said Monday. In May this year, the Financial Services Commission said it has decided to liquidate MG Non-Life [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean central bank on Monday lifted restrictions on local institutions investing in foreign currency-denominated bonds issued for domestic use, known as kimchi bonds, in an effort to improve foreign exchange liquidity, officials said. Under the new measure, foreign exchange institutions, including foreign exchange banks, securities firms and [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — As smartphones and online platforms become the dominant gateway to financial services, a new academic study has found that digital transaction literacy is the most crucial skill for sound personal financial management—outweighing traditional financial knowledge or attitudes. According to research by Professor Yang Se-jung’s team at Sangmyung University, published [...]