South Korea’s impact investing scene is facing a call for a standardized tool to measure the social impact a startup generates via its business, as the demand to address social challenges is on the rise and more young entrepreneurs are looking to take on the challenges. Such a tool is key to leveraging social ventures’ impact and sustaining their solution for international problems in the long run, in order to assure investors that their investment goes to the right social ventures,

Seoul-based Shinhan Asset Management said Thursday it plans to implement an equity investing framework associated with the environmental, social and governance factors for its domestic large-cap equity funds. Starting in May, 16 publicly pooled domestic equity funds managed by the fifth-largest asset management firm in South Korea must have at least 70 percent exposure to stocks that received the integrated ESG ratings of “BB” or above. The same strategy has so far been exercised

The volume of container cargo processed at South Korea's seaports rose 1.3 percent on-year in the first quarter of 2021 as global trade continued to recover from economic jitters sparked by the new coronavirus pandemic, the country's oceans ministry said Thursday. Container cargo processed at the seaports reached 7.29 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in the January-March period, rising from the previous year's 7.19 TEUs, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. TEU stands

The daily turnover of South Korea's securities market soared more than 18 percent in the first quarter amid a stock market rally, data showed Thursday. According to the Korea Securities Depository, the daily amount of local stock and bond transactions settled by the agency averaged 30.7 trillion won ($27.5 billion) in the January-March period, up 18.5 percent from three months earlier. Compared with a year earlier, the daily turnover was up 6.9 percent. The average daily turnover of the count

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday as investors sought to buy oversold stocks after the benchmark index took a breather the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 20.69 points, or 0.65 percent, to 3,192.35 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came to a strong start after the Kospi slumped 1.52 percent the previous session under increased valuation pressure. Investor sentiment remained strong, backed by rosy speculations about soli

Experts say tax hike inevitable to cover soaring public expenditures

Founders and leaders of 17 rising startups in South Korea were picked as young innovator by the Forbes in a survey that listed 300 successful entrepreneurs under age 30, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Wednesday. The list of startups includes SelectStar, Codeit, Carpenstreet, Sleek, TableManager, Devotionfoods, Happy Moonday, Glorang, The Carbon Studio, ReDwit, Classum, Juni Essentials, Neubility and Sentbe. SelectStar, which provide AI-backed data collection and annotation service, was

Six out of 10 new crypto investors in the first three months of the year were in their 20s and 30s, a report showed Wednesday, raising concerns that the surging market volatility could pose risks for young amateur investors. The number of newly opened accounts on the nation’s top four crypto trading platforms -- Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit -- came in at 2.5 million between January and March, according to the report released by Rep. Kwon Eun-hee of the opposition People Power Part

South Korean stocks snapped their seven-day winning streak to plunge 1.5 percent on Wednesday, as investors attempted to cash in recent gains. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 49.04 points, or 1.52 percent, to close at 3,171.66. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.7 billion shares worth some 16.7 trillion won ($14.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 597 to 277. Foreigners sold a net 1.43 trillion won, while ret

No coal power plants will be profitable in South Korea before the end of their expected lifetimes -- 30 years on average -- indicating coal power plants face a dismal financial future, a study showed Wednesday. An increase in renewable energy penetration in Korea and the newly introduced greenhouse gas emission cap system here are expected to trigger a significant decrease of coal power plant capacity factors, according to a report dubbed “End in sight: How South Korea can force coal off

South Korea's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) saw their exports touch a fresh high in the first quarter on brisk overseas demand for medical products and chips, government data showed Wednesday. SMEs' overseas shipments totaled $27 billion in the January-March period, up 12.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. It was the highest-ever amount for the first quarter and exceeded the previous first-quarter record of $25.2 billion in

The number of employees in the food service segment declined by the most in the May-October period of last year due to the fallout of the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The number of people employed at restaurants and eateries reached 1.54 million in the cited period, 179,000 fewer than the previous year, according to Statistics Korea. It marked the largest on-year decline since 2013, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. Workers in the food service segment accounted for

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday after the benchmark stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session, increasing the valuation pressure. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 23.07 points, or 0.72 percent, to 3,197.63 points. The Kospi quickly fell through the 3,200-point mark with the opening bell as foreign and individual investors sold stocks to lock in gains. The stock index gained for the past six days until Tuesday amid expectations of a global econo

South Korea's exports jumped 45.4 percent on-year in the first 20 days of April as shipments of chips, autos and oil products remained solid amid an economic recovery, customs data showed Wednesday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $30.9 billion in the April 1-20 period, compared with $21 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 31.3 percent on-year to $33 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $2 billion during the cited period

South Korea's exports of kimchi touched an all-time high in the first quarter of the year thanks to its popularity amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. Overseas shipments of kimchi came to $46.57 million in the January-March period, up 54.3 from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. It represents the largest-ever quarterly figure and breaks the previous yearly record of $42.08 million registered in the second quarter of last