SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing number of young South Koreans are struggling to cover even modest monthly interest payments due to job instability, data showed Tuesday. Some 24.5 percent of South Koreans in their 20s, who availed microloans for their sustenance, faced difficulties in meeting interest obligations as of Aug. 4, according [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s major banks have recently reported multi-year record profits. Ironically, they are now implementing voluntary retirement programs, even for employees in their 30s. At Shinhan Bank, labor and management recently reached an agreement on voluntary retirement conditions. They have decided to accept applications for several days, starting this [...]
SEJONG, Aug. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The government is considering extending a tax cut scheme on fuel consumption, which is set to expire this month, through December, sources said Tuesday, amid soaring energy costs and high inflation. According to the sources, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has been mulling extending the measure and plans [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — K-Bank, a South Korean internet-only bank, reported Monday that its second-quarter net income dropped 31 percent from a year earlier on increased loan-loss reserves. Net income stood at 14.7 billion won (US$11 million) in the April-June period, compared with a net profit of 21.3 billion won a year earlier, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean banking sector has become entangled in a series of massive corruption scandals, revealing serious weaknesses in its internal control systems. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Wednesday launched an emergency investigation after receiving allegations that employees of DGB Daegu Bank, located in the southeastern city of Daegu, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of retail investors accessing mobile trading systems (MTS), or smartphone trading, is rapidly rising amid sharp fluctuations in the share prices of secondary battery materials producers. According to industry sources, the daily active users (DAU) for five major brokerages — Mirae Asset Securities Co., Samsung Securities Co., [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) fell by the most among major economies after Japan and Sweden last year, data showed Wednesday. The country’s per-capita GDP dropped 8.2 percent on-year to come to US$32,142 in 2022, according to the data analyzed by the Bank of Korea based on [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean online lender Kakao Bank said Wednesday its second-quarter net profit soared 44 percent from a year earlier on growth in interest revenue and an expanded customer base. Its net profit stood at 81.9 billion won (US$63.6 million) in the April-June period, up from a profit of 57 [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — The market capitalization of South Korea’s conglomerates soared more than 350 trillion won (US$273.8 billion) this year amid a bullish trend in the country’s stock markets, data showed Tuesday. The combined value of a total of 338 listed companies owned by 73 business groups reached 1.77 quadrillion won as [...]
SEOUL, July 26 (Korea Bizwire) — An interagency investigation team was launched Wednesday to crack down on cryptocurrency-related crimes, officials said. The joint virtual asset crime investigation unit will start operations at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office, staffed by 30 investigators from seven government agencies and bodies, including the prosecution, the Financial Supervisory Service, [...]