Video game developer Krafton Inc. is slated to debut on the country's stock market this week, marking one of the largest initial public offering (IPO) events this year. The developer behind the global hit "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" (PUBG) will go public on the main bourse Tuesday, with its offering price set at 498,000 won ($433.99). The firm is valued at 24.35 trillion won based on the offering price, set to become the No. 1 gaming stock here, dethroning the current top cap NCS

SEJONG -- Payments made with cards in South Korea expanded 7 percent in July from a year earlier despite a resurgence of coronavirus infections, a report showed Monday. Spending made with credit, debit and prepaid cards issued by major card firm Shinhan Card Co. stood at 14.1 trillion won ($12.3 billion) in July, up from 13.1 trillion won a year earlier, according to the report from the office of Rep. Park Kwang-on of the ruling Democratic Party. It was up 11.4 percent from the same month in 2

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as an estimate-beating improvement in US jobs data increased concerns about an early tapering. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 15.98 points, or 0.49 percent, to 3,254.38 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment weakened as US jobs data in July logged a steeper hike than the market consensus, fueling investor worries that the US Fed may pivot from its dovish stance and consider accelerating its timeline fo

South Korea's newly appointed Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said Monday he will make efforts to promote multilateralism in global trade and cope with the looming protectionism by expanding the country's free trade network. "We plan to play a leading role in establishing a new multilateral economic-trade regime in the Asia-Pacific region, which will emerge as the key pillar of the global economy in the future," Yeo said in his inauguration speech. In line with such efforts, Yeo added the

Seoul-based private equity house MBK Partners founder and chairman Michael Byung-ju Kim has pledged to donate 30 billion won ($26.5 million) to the Seoul Metropolitan Government to build a public library in Seoul, MBK Partners said Sunday. The gift represents the first case where an individual‘s donation covers the entire cost of building a civic institution by Seoul’s municipal government, MBK said in a statement. The Seoul Public Kim Byung-ju Library, named after the donor, wil

An exchange-traded fund managed by US-based Invesco Investment Management sold 2.4 percent in Nexon GT just a day after its founder Kim Jung-ju stepped down from the top post of gaming giant Nexon’s holding company NXC, a filing showed Sunday. The instrument, Invesco Elwood Global Blockchain UCITS ETF, unloaded 837,817 common shares of Nexon GT -- the only South Korea-listed subsidiary of NXC -- to cash in 10.3 billion won ($9 million) on July 30. The equity ETF dedicated to blockchain i

South Korean political figures were cleared of any involvement in the nation’s high-profile 1.6 trillion won ($1.4 billion) hedge fund fraud, which centers on the effectively defunct private equity firm Optimus Asset Management, prosecutors announced Sunday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office said that it had dismissed charges Wednesday against three ex-Optimus advisers of accepting property through arrangement and assisting fraudulent activities. They are Lee Hun-j

Number of stock-trading accounts tops 50m on investors’ strong appetite for investments

South Korea’s food price inflation in the second quarter ranked the third highest among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, data showed Sunday.  The prices for groceries and nonalcoholic beverages surged by 7.3 percent on-year in the April-June quarter, the fastest gain since 2011, when food prices rose 7.8 percent in the same period, according to data compiled by the OECD and Statistics Korea. Far above the OECD average of 1.6 percent, this on-ye

The South Korean economy is facing heightened uncertainty as the recovery of domestic demand is likely to slow amid a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, a state-run think tank said Sunday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is on a recovery track amid solid exports, but the toughest-ever virus curbs, in effect due to the fourth wave of the pandemic, may dampen improving domestic demand, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). "The intensifying s

The American economy is likely to bounce back quickly once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, former US President Barack Obama has said during an interview with a Korean media outlet. “As soon as the public health situation improves ... I think the possibility of bouncing back more quickly rather than a long path toward economic recovery is more promising,” Obama said, appearing virtually on the local talk show “Monthly Connect” by cable channel tvN Friday night. Comparin

South Korea’s Hana Bank said Friday it has launched a special task force to foster businesses and attract younger customers in the virtual metaverse. Hana’s decision comes as local commercial banks have been hopping on the metaverse bandwagon as they believe it will become a financial landscape where millennials and Generation Z will actively engage in. The task force will review cooperation with local tech businesses, offering related services and seminars for its private bankin

Buyers’ sentiment for Seoul apartments hit its highest point in five months this week, despite the government’s tightening measures, data showed Friday. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, an index gauging the balance between supply and demand for homes surged by 0.3 point this week, from 107.6 to 107.9. When the index exceeds 100, demand for homes is stronger than the supply available in the market. The data suggests that the market is defying the government’s attemp

South Korean stocks retreated Friday for a second straight session as investor sentiment weakened over concerns about the spreading new coronavirus. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 5.77 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 3,270.36 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 931 million shares worth some 15.2 trillion won ($13.3 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 464 to 355. Foreigners bought a net 55.6 billion w

A day after new leadership for South Korea’s two top financial regulators was announced, the new chiefs on Friday expressed concerns about the nation’s growing household debt and its looming effects on the economy. Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Jeong Eun-bo, speaking at an event marking his appointment, warned of “a perfect storm of risks tied to so-called zombie firms, financial instability of the self-employed and a possible price correction due to a housing bubble.&rd