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 [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Exchange said Friday it will introduce three new stock indexes tied to artificial intelligence on Sept. 8, underscoring how rapidly the technology is reshaping investment strategies across industries. The indexes — the KRX Sovereign AI Index, the KRX-Akros AI Power Infrastructure Index, and the KRX AI Semiconductor Index [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Illegal private lending and debt collection crimes in South Korea have more than doubled in the past three years, with authorities warning that exploitative lenders are increasingly preying on financially vulnerable groups such as young job seekers. According to data released Thursday by Rep. Han Byung-do, violations of lending [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — With South Korea’s stock market stuck in a holding pattern, investors are pouring money into bond-focused exchange-traded funds, underscoring a shift toward safer assets amid global economic uncertainty. According to Koscom data released Thursday, Samsung Asset Management’s KODEX Money Market Active and Korea Investment Trust’s ACE Money Market Active [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Worker productivity at South Korea’s five largest commercial banks jumped nearly 27 percent in the first half of 2025, topping 200 million won ($147,000) per employee for the first time, according to regulatory filings. The gains narrowed a long-standing gap with internet-only banks, whose per-capita profit, while still higher [...]