SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has drawn investment worth a combined US$1.15 billion from seven North American firms in the semiconductor, battery and energy sectors, which is expected to help strengthen supply chains of key items and boost bilateral economic ties, the industry ministry said Friday. The investment pledges were made during [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday that it has found around 10 trillion won (US$7.22 billion) worth of dubious funds sent abroad via local banks in transactions suspected of being linked to cryptocurrency markets. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said that it has conducted a probe in which it [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The amount of payments made electronically posted a two-digit growth in the first half of this year, central bank data showed Wednesday, as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted more people to engage in contact-free commerce. The daily average amount of electronic financial transactions came to 802 billion won (US$575 million) [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of offline offices run by financial firms in South Korea declined more than 1,000 over the past year as the use of mobile services spiked amid their fast transition to digitalization, data showed Tuesday. Local financial companies, including banks and insurers, had run a total of 15,924 [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean prosecutors said Sunday that Do Kwon, the wanted founder of Terraform Labs accused of fraud following the massive collapse of the firm’s cryptocurrencies in May, is “obviously on the run” and not cooperating with the investigation. The remarks came in response to Kwon’s claim in a tweet [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan voiced cautious hope Saturday for a “compromise” over a new U.S. law aimed at reducing inflation that has unnerved South Korea by excluding electric vehicles made outside North America from tax benefits. He raised the possibility of a breakthrough on the controversial matter after the [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s overseas direct investment rose 13.1 percent on-year in the second quarter of this year amid the post-pandemic economic recovery, data showed Friday. The value of investments made overseas by South Korean companies reached US$19.26 billion in the April-June period, up from $17.03 billion a year earlier, according [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s major insurance companies are releasing a string of new insurance products associated with health management, based on expectations that their long-term profits will increase if customers are healthier and require less treatment for diseases and other health issues. KB Insurance Co., for example, released a special contract [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans’ use of internet banking services grew 6.9 percent in the first half of this year from six months earlier as customers preferred financial services through mobile devices, central bank data showed Thursday. The daily use of online banking services, including mobile banking, reached 18.82 million cases in [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid the upward trend in interest rates, South Korean banks have released a string of high interest rate deposit and installment savings products. Such products, however, have complicated preferential conditions, making it difficult for depositors to receive the highest interest rate. Welcome Savings Bank, for instance, released a 12-month [...]