SEOUL, March 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s combined household, corporate, and government debt—known as national total debt—has surpassed 6,200 trillion won, according to the latest data released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). As of the end of the third quarter of 2024, non-financial sector credit, measured in Korean won, reached 6,222 trillion won, [...]
SEOUL, March 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean companies could boost their corporate value by increasing shareholder returns, precisely because of their currently low level of shareholder protection, according to a new analysis by the Bank of Korea released on March 17. The central bank’s report, titled “The Impact of Shareholder Return Policies on Corporate Value,” examined [...]
SEOUL, March 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s household debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio was the second highest among major nations, following Canada, amid growing concerns about rising household borrowing amid weak growth and domestic demand, data showed Sunday. The debt-to-GDP ratio for South Korea came to 91.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, [...]
SEOUL, March 14 (Korea Bizwire) — More than half of South Korea’s listed companies received no coverage from securities analysts last year, with research reports heavily concentrated on large-cap stocks and companies listed on the country’s main KOSPI board. According to data released on March 13 by the Korea IR Association’s Corporate Research Center, while the [...]
SEOUL, March 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid China’s rapid advancements in high-tech industries, South Korean investors are increasingly turning to Chinese stocks, fueling a surge in trading volumes, according to Chinese state media. China Central Television (CCTV) recently reported, citing data from the Korea Securities Depository, that the total trading volume of Chinese mainland and [...]
SEJONG, March 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Financial authorities in South Korea have announced new measures to encourage domestic investment and support the won’s value, including raising the mandatory domestic stock investment ratio for specialized Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) and lifting restrictions on won-denominated “Kimchi bonds”. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, Financial Services Commission, Bank of [...]
SEOUL, March 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The amount of insurance payments collected in insurance frauds climbed to an all-time high last year, prompting authorities to step up efforts to curb such practices, the financial regulator said Sunday, Insurance scammers took a record 1.15 trillion won (US$794.6 million) through wrongful filings in 2024, up 3 percent [...]
SEOUL, March 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid a prolonged economic downturn, a vast majority of South Korean businesses anticipate a financial crisis in 2025, according to a new survey by the Korea Employers Federation (KEF). The survey, conducted in January among 508 domestic companies with at least 50 employees, revealed that 96.9% of respondents expect an [...]
SEOUL, March 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly 1 in 3 large companies in South Korea have reported a deterioration in their financial conditions this year compared with 2024, a survey released Thursday showed. The survey conducted by Mono Research on the country’s top 1,000 firms in terms of sales found that 31 percent of the [...]
SEOUL, March 5 (Korea Bizwire) — The premium on South Korean gold prices, which had been trading more than 20% above international rates, has rapidly declined, leading to heightened market volatility. At one point, domestic gold prices dropped at 15 times the rate of global gold prices, triggering increased investor caution. According to the Korea [...]