SEJONG -- South Korea said Thursday it will step up efforts to stabilize supplies of face masks, as demand has soared over the spread of the novel coronavirus. Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom told a meeting with relevant officials that the government will also take stern measures against those who hoard face masks or illegally ship them overseas. Currently, South Korean firms have enough materials to make about 10 million masks per day, Kim said. Earlier this month, the government app

Barings Asset Management Korea has named its Chief Investment Officer John Park as its joint head in a revamp to pursue efficiencies in management. Park will serve as one of BAMK’s two representative directors along with the incumbent CEO Ike Bae, as the firm adopts a multiple representative director system. The board approved the plan Wednesday. Park will lead investment management and support client relationships, while Bae will continue to lead the overall corporate management, inclu

SEJONG -- South Korea's tax agency said Thursday that it will launch an investigation into buyers of expensive homes over alleged tax evasion. The National Tax Service said it will start the probe into 361 people who are suspected of evading taxes or illegitimately raising money to buy homes. For instance, a 30-something person, who recently purchased a home in Seoul's affluent Gangnam district, is suspected of illegally receiving money from his or her mother. In the toughest steps ever to

SEJONG -- South Korea will speed up its implementation of privately funded infrastructure projects this year in a bid to spur economic recovery through investment, the finance ministry said Thursday. Vice Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol made the remarks at a meeting on infrastructure projects with relevant officials earlier in the day. A total of 62 infrastructure projects worth 5.2 trillion won ($4.4 billion) will be implemented this year. The government aims to start 50 percent of the pro

Banking group attributes performance to balanced portfolio, successful ASEAN expansion

Job market uptrend likely to be affected by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak: minister

Shares of both Barunson E&A, the production company of Oscar-winning “Parasite,” and the entertainment division of stationery and restaurant conglomerate Barunson hit a new 52-week high Wednesday. Barunson E&A shares touched 3,815 won ($3.24) -- up 880 won, or 29.98 percent, from the previous session. The firm had previously peaked by the daily limit of about 30 percent for two straight trading sessions. Baruson’s stock price also spiked 29.87 percent, to hit 4,435

A graduate school aimed at nurturing digital finance specialists will be launched in Seoul’s financial district of Yeouido in September, in a joint project between the Financial Services Commission and the city government, officials said Wednesday. Stressing that the financial service sector is going through a major transformation with information technology, the two will fund 19 billion won ($16.1 million) for the project that is designed to provide a two-year graduate and six-month non

NH Financial Group, a major Korean banking group, vowed Wednesday to increase its global assets by nearly five times to 6 trillion won ($5.1 billion) by 2025, as part of its new global expansion strategy. According to the financial giant, its overseas assets stood at nearly 1.4 trillion won as of the end of December. It also plans to increase its net profit to 160 billion won in the same period, which came to 28.9 billion won as of December. NH Financial said it would expand its overseas

Lifeplus, a joint brand of South Korean conglomerate Hanhwa Group’s financial businesses, bagged two awards at the world’s prestigious International Forum Design Award 2020, according to Hanhwa Life, an insurance firm and a key subsidiary, on Wednesday. The brand, launched in 2017 for the conglomerate’s financial units -- including life insurance, general insurance, stock brokerage and asset management -- won the awards in the two categories of communication design a

Busan Metropolitan City said on Wednesday it plans to inject a total of 205.6 billion won ($174.4 million) this year to launch a new technology hub in South Korea’s second-largest city and back the startup ecosystem in line with the nationwide venture boom. The fund is a combination of the state-budget of 82.7 billion won, 84.3 billion won from the private sector and the rest coming from Busan. It is meant to finance early-stage startups to help them overcome the negative cash flow at it

Techstars Korea, a South Korean unit of Colorado-based global startup accelerator Techstars, said Wednesday applications for its first accelerating program in the nation will close on March 1. The first batch of Techstars Korea, composed of 10 startups, will take part in a 13-week accelerating program in tech hub Pangyo starting June, along with mentorship and a combined $120,000 seed funding. Techstars has joined hands with Hillstone Partners for the program. Startups adept at lifestyle tec

SEJONG -- Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings said Wednesday it has kept South Korea's foreign currency credit ratings unchanged at "AA-" with a stable outlook. Fitch's rating for South Korea has been AA-, the fourth-highest level on its sovereign ratings table, since 2012, when the rating agency upgraded it from A+. "Korea's rating balances robust external finances, steady macroeconomic performance, and a record of sound fiscal management against evolving geopolitical risks

SEJONG -- South Korean exports of information and communication technology products dropped for the 15th straight month in January due to sluggish shipments of chips, displays, and mobile devices, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of related goods moved down 7.2 percent on-year to reach $13.4 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Asia's No.-4 economy imported $8.82 billion worth of ICT products in January, resulting in a trade surplus

  Online credit card spending by South Korean consumers rose 44.5 percent in the fourth week of January, amid fears of the novel coronavirus outbreak, industry data showed Tuesday. According to data compiled by eight credit card issuers -- Shinhan, Samsung, KB Kookmin, Hyundai, BC, Lotte, Woori and Hana -- the combined online spending reached some 2.5 trillion won ($2.1 billion) following the Lunar New Year holiday. The total online spending in the same week last year amounted to 1.73