Tour product sales via internet show signs of rebound

　Retail investors bought more than 1 trillion won ($854 billion) worth of Kakao shares for three days from Wednesday to Friday, when they fell 15 percent amid record short-selling triggered by mounting concerns over tightening regulations.   The country’s fifth-biggest in market capitalization has been targeted for massive short selling due to a rapid price fall last week over the political move to regulate platform giants,  Foreign investors also dumped shares worth 749.8 bill

Big tech companies grew quickly in the pandemic-hit year of 2020, with many people working from home and purchasing more online, as well as tech giants cutting costs where it matters less and investing in areas that extend their advantage. The growth of the IT industry and increasing power of the tech giants called for tightened regulation of the online platform market worldwide. The US administration appointed Lina Khan, who first attracted attention as a critic of Amazon, as FTC chair. US Pr

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit said Sunday that it was looking closely at cryptocurrency exchanges on the verge of shutting down. The unit is under the Financial Services Commission, the country’s financial regulator. The regulator, in cooperation with the police and financial institutions, aims to prevent those exchanges from walking away with users’ money parked in their accounts. Any exchanges that fail to register with the FSC by Sept. 24 must inform users by Friday th

South Korean stocks are likely to come under selling pressure next week amid concerns about the spreading virus variant and regulation fears that had led to massive sell-offs of giant platform companies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,125.76 points Friday, down 2.35 percent from a week ago. The weekly loss came as an increase in the country's new coronavirus cases raised concerns of an economic slowdown, in addition to regulatory move against fintech compa

Koh Seung-beom, the new chairman of the policymaking Financial Services Commission, met with the heads of South Korea’s five biggest banking groups on Friday to discuss whether to further put off loan repayment schedules for households and companies reeling from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. No conclusion has been reached yet, but Koh and the group executives agreed on the importance of inclusive financial policies to boost “cooperation between economic players for mutual

Demand for apartments in South Korea’s capital and the surrounding areas continued to rise for two consecutive weeks, despite the central bank’s latest rate hike and financial institutions’ efforts to cut back lending, data showed Friday. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, the index measuring supply and demand for apartments in Seoul and the surrounding area inched up 0.4 points on-week to 112.1 as of Monday, extending gains for two consecutive weeks. It had gained 0.9

With politicians and regulators joining forces to strengthen monitoring of fast-growing IT platforms, shares of South Korea’s two tech giants plummeted Thursday, losing a combined 19 trillion won ($16.2 billion) in just two days. Naver, the country’s third-largest company by market capitalization, declined 2.56 percent, or 10,500 won, to close at 399,000 won Thursday, adding to a 7.87 percent fall recorded the previous day. Kakao plummeted 7.22 percent to 128,500 won after losing 1

Government aims to complete sale of its share in Woori within the year

South Korea's key stock index tumbled more than 1.5 percent Thursday amid virus concerns and uncertainties from the expiration of options and futures. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 48.29 points, or 1.53 percent, to close at 3,114.7 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 910 million shares worth some 17.3 trillion won ($14.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 655 to 214. Foreigners sold a net 318 billio

The total loan extended to Koreans in their 20s and 30s to pay their “jeonse” rents more than doubled since President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017, data showed Thursday, reflecting the reality of young people ditching hopes to buy homes, and rent instead. Jeonse is a rental system where the tenant hands over a large lump sum to the landlord -- on average, about 65 percent of the value of the property – for usually two years and does not pay rent. The deposit is returned to

The Export-Import Bank of Korea on Thursday held a joint seminar with the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy to discuss business opportunities in Southeast and South Asia.  The event was aimed at supporting domestic companies’ entry to four major countries in the region -- Indonesia, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh -- which have come into the limelight in the wake of the government’s “New Southern Policy,” the state-run bank said in a statement. 

Standard Chartered Bank Korea has named Lee Eun-hyung, former journalist and ex-spokesperson of the Trade Ministry, as the new chair of its board, the lender said Thursday. Lee replaced Oh Jong-nam, a former adviser at local law firm Kim & Chang who was the board chair for three years. Lee’s term as the board chair ends Sept. 2022. She is the first female chair of the board, the bank said, noting that the decision was to reflect the growing demand for gender diversity in the boardro

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday amid concerns about the spreading virus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.54 points, or 0.36 percent, to trade at 3,151.45 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. South Korea reported 2,049 new coronavirus cases Thursday despite the highest level of virus curbs in most part of the country. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged down 0.13 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix fell 0.94 percent. Internet p

If South Korea passes a carbon tax bill in line with global standards, local companies, particularly those in heavy industries that emit high levels of carbon dioxide, may face between 7.3 trillion won ($6.26 billion) and 36.3 trillion won in additional taxes, a local credit rating agency said Wednesday. The carbon tax bill is currently pending in the parliament. The financial costs will be even higher with the implementation of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, sa