South Korea's vice finance minister on Friday warned of growing inflation risks in the face of rising oil prices and hopes for an economic recovery. But First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said inflation is not likely to sharply rise in the short term as recent price hikes were led by a supply shortage of farm products amid the pandemic. "Inflation risks linger as global liquidity has increased in the process of responding to the pandemic and inflation expectations have risen amid h

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday on overnight Wall Street losses, as investors were disappointed by the absence of comments from the US Federal Reserve to help stave off inflation concerns. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 39.41 points, or 1.29 percent, to 3,004.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.11 percent as yields of the US benchmark 10-year Treasury surged above the 1.5-percent threshold. In Seoul, t

South Korean conglomerate SK Group will set up a company to run a real estate investment trust, or REIT, this month, according to reports Thursday. A REIT owns or finances real estate property to generate income, and allows investors to partially own valuable real estate and receive dividends. SK Holdings, the holding company of SK Group, is expected to obtain approval to establish the REIT later this month. After setting up a new subsidiary as early as this month, it will likely launch a RE

Hong Kong-based private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners has been selected as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of South Korea’s online recruiting portal Jobkorea. According to sources Thursday, Affinity and Korean private equity house H&Q Korea will ink an agreement over the transaction of a 100 percent stake in the company roughly valued at nearly 900 billion won ($800 million). Affinity beat out private equity peers MBK Partners, CVC Capital Partners and TPG Capital As

South Korea should adopt fractional share investing in order to enhance financial inclusiveness and diversify asset portfolios of real estate-reliant small investors, the head of a local fintech firm suggested on Thursday. By allowing investors to buy less than a full share, investors with a tight budget can have more chances to invest in blue-chip stocks that used to be out of their reach, Kakaopay CEO Ryu Young-joon said during a seminar held by Rep. Lee Kwang-jae of the Democratic Party of

Consulting firm McKinsey & Company on Wednesday said they have hired Park Joong-ho, former head manager of Oliver Wyman’s Korea office, as a new partner here. Park worked at Oliver Wyman, a consulting firm specialized in financial services companies, for 15 years and led the company for more than three years until December 2020.  At Oliver Wyman, he provided consulting services to financial institutions and governmental organizations in areas such as digital transformation, glo

South Korean stocks snapped its two-day winning streak Thursday as investor sentiment weakened over concerns of increasing US Treasury yields. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 39.5 points, or 1.28 percent, to close at 3,043.49 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 16.8 trillion won ($14.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 505 to 358. Foreigners sold a net 928 billion won, w

Union demands FSS chief resign over “failed personnel management”

South Korea’s per capita gross national income dropped for the second consecutive year in 2020, central bank data showed Thursday, deflating anticipations of further growth after the figure surpassed the $30,000-mark for the first time in 2018. The nation’s GNI per capita as of end-December last year shed 1.1 percent on-year to $31,755, in terms of dollars, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. This marked the first time the figure dropped for two years in a row sin

South Korean digital health platform developer LifeSemantics said Thursday it is looking to raise up to 12.5 billion won ($11.11 million) worth of fresh funds by going public. The firm plans to make a market debut on the nation’s tech-heavy Kosdaq market at the end of this month. Founded in 2012, LifeSemantics has focused its business on health information and technology, and artificial intelligence-powered programs. Its main platform “LifeRecord” provides MyData, digital ther

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea jumped 33 percent in February from a year earlier on robust sales of German cars, an industry association said Thursday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles climbed to 22,290 units last month from 16,725 a year ago despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. The three bestselling models last month were the Mercedes-Benz E 250 sedan, Volkswagen Jetta 1.4 TSI sedan,

South Korea has less potential to decarbonize autonomously than its Asian peers due to the insufficiency of its solar resources and seasonal variations in electricity demand, showed an analysis by Asia Investor Group on Climate Change on Thursday. Korea appears to require green energy imports to meet its decarbonization target to generate over 25 percent of new and renewable energy-powered electricity by 2034, from the current 7.4 percent, and to increase its new and renewable energy power gen

The number of franchise brands in South Korea rose 11.7 percent on-year last year as efforts to open new businesses remained solid despite the pandemic, data showed Thursday. The number of franchise brands reached 7,094 as of end-December, compared with 6,353 the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KTFC). Dining-out brands accounted for the biggest portion of 76.2 percent of all franchise brands last year, the data showed. The number of franchise

South Korea's share of the global car market remained unchanged in 2020 from a year earlier due mainly to sluggish performance in China, industry data showed Thursday. Sales by South Korean automakers accounted for 7.5 percent of the total in the United States, China, Europe and four other major overseas markets, the same as the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA). The unchanged portion came due to a drop of more than 30 percent in sa

South Korea on Thursday launched a new advisory body to promote its exports of nuclear power plants, which were boosted by its successful penetration into the Middle East market. The advisory body, composed of professors and industrial experts, will help South Korea set strategies in fostering nuclear energy as a new export engine, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country also launched a new website (www.k-next.kr), in which overseas partners can access information