SEOUL, April 25, (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s leading non-life insurers are scaling back coverage for caregiver expense riders as soaring loss ratios threaten profitability. On April 24, 2025, industry officials confirmed that companies including Samsung Fire & Marine and Meritz Fire & Marine have reduced the daily coverage limit for caregiver expenses tied to [...]
SEOUL, April 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s top central banker has said global trade tensions sparked by the United States’ sweeping tariff policy are a major headwind for the country’s export-driven economy, and the issue will likely accelerate its efforts to diversify supply chains. Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Rhee Chang-yong made the assessment [...]
SEOUL, April 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s domestic consumption has entered a prolonged downward trend, driven not by short-term disruptions like COVID-19 or inflation, but by deep-rooted structural issues such as demographic aging, employment patterns, and industrial shifts, according to a new report released on April 23, 2025, by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and [...]
SEOUL, April 23, (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly one-third of insurance policies in South Korea are canceled within two years, with long-term contract retention rates significantly trailing those of major global markets, according to a report released April 22, 2025, by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The report, titled “2024 Insurance Sales Channel Performance and Supervision [...]
SEJONG, April 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s national debt without available payment resources is projected to near 900 trillion won (US$634 billion) this year, the government said Sunday. The country’s national debt is expected to reach 885.4 trillion won in 2025, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy [...]
SEOUL, April 18, (Korea Bizwire) — Woori Bank has officially entered South Korea’s budget telecom market with the launch of its new mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service, WooriWON Mobile, which began operations on April 18, 2025. To mark the launch, Woori Bank is offering promotional benefits worth up to 300,000 won for new customers [...]
SEOUL, April 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks finished higher Friday as investors bet on smooth tariff negotiations between the United States and its trading partners. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 13.01 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 2,483.42. Trade [...]
SEOUL, April 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The head of South Korea’s financial watchdog has vowed to push ahead with a series of steps to boost fairness and transparency in the capital markets, as well as shareholder value, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said Tuesday. In a meeting with dozens of bankers and financiers in Hong [...]
SEOUL, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Volatility in South Korea’s foreign exchange market surged to its highest level last week since the country extended trading hours for the won–U.S. dollar market, data showed Sunday. The weekly fluctuation in the won–dollar exchange rate reached 67.6 won during the second week of April, which marked the highest [...]
SEOUL, April 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Exchange announced Friday that it will list three exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on April 15, 2025, all focused on companies involved in the development of humanoid robots. The funds, managed by Samsung Asset Management, KB Asset Management, and Hanwha Asset Management, mark a growing investor interest in next-generation [...]