SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Workers at KB Kookmin Bank, a major South Korean lender, will go on a general strike next month for the first time in 19 years, its labor union said Thursday. Around 96 percent of some 12,000 unionized workers voted in favor of the walkout in protest of the management’s [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Real estate experts forecast a market downturn throughout the country next year, although some see a chance of an increase in prices in the capital area, a survey showed Wednesday. According to a report from KB Financial Group’s research institute, 70.5 percent of 112 people specialized in the property [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — The financial regulator said Sunday it can give preliminary approval to two Internet-only banks in May next year, but hinted that only one group could receive approval if another group is unsuccessful. Two Internet-only banks — K-Bank and Kakao Bank — were launched last year, challenging traditional banks in [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The cryptocurrency market, already reeling from a free-fall in the values of key digital currencies, was dealt another blow on Friday as officials at South Korea’s No. 1 cryptocurrency exchange were indicted for offering fraudulent transactions and swindling money from investors. The three officials at Upbit — a board [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — New data shows that wealthy South Koreans are more indebted than ever, meaning that so called “the rich getting richer” phenomenon in household debts is becoming ever more serious. It is estimated that the top income bracket borrowed additional money to purchase real estate, but higher housing prices led [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The financial regulator said Friday it will encourage banks to provide mid-rate policy loans worth 1 trillion won (US$886 million) to desperate borrowers from next year, as part of ongoing efforts to relieve their debt burdens. About 3 million borrowers, who have no option but to borrow money from [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The economic gap between North and South Korea has become even more significant this year. According to Statistics Korea, South Korea’s income per capita in 2017 was 23 times larger than that of North Korea. Considering the fact that the gap was 22 times in 2016, the gap grew [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The financial watchdog said Thursday it has revised its guidelines to allow borrowers to make online requests to banks for lower loan rates starting in 2019. Currently, borrowers with a good credit score must visit a physical bank branch to ask a bank to cut their loan rate. From [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Korea Bizwire) – South Koreans use online banking services more than 100 million times a day via computers or smartphones, exceeding 53 trillion won (US$46.9 billion) in transactions, as an increasing number of customers are going online to check bank statements, wire cash, and get a loan. The Korea Institute of Finance [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean economy has one of the highest portions of individuals running their own stores and shops, and they are getting pushed to the brink by a slumping economy and policy missteps, market watchers said Monday. Data from Statistics Korea put the number of self-employed people at some [...]