Lee Yong-woo, co-chief executive of South Korea’s largest neobank Kakao Bank, said Sunday he had agreed to join the ruling Democratic Party in an apparent bid to run in the general elections here in April.The accompanied move to quit the mobile-only lender comes at the cost of his stock option -- 520,000 shares in the commercial lender that may be converted to at least 2.6 billion won ($2.2 million) starting March 2021.  “I’m confident that the Moon Jae-in administration&r

FSS to keep tight grip over asset manager throughout dispute settlement process

Key indexes may determine country’s growth performance in 2020

Hanjin KAL, the holding company of South Korea’s No. 1 air carrier Korean Air, is likely to face a proxy fight over its management, after it welcomed affiliates of builder Bando Group as major stakeholders.Eyes are fixed on whether Bando will act in favor of either of late Hanjin Chairman Cho Yang-ho’s scions in the shareholders meeting in March.Incumbent Chairman Cho Won-tae’s tenure is set to expire by March 2020. The successor’s reappointment appears to be facing uncer

A consortium led by South Korean biopharmaceutical company Green Cross has been selected as the preferred bidder for the majority stake sale of UBCare, the nation’s No. 1 electronic medical records system vendor. The investor group, composed of Green Cross and Synaptic Investment, is looking to buy some 52 percent stake in UBCare from venture capital firms STIC Investment and Kakao Investment, according to investment banking sources on Friday. The shares are roughly valued at 200 billion w

Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix -- South Korea’s largest chipmakers -- which hit record highs last week should gain momentum this year on the back of the global semiconductor market’s recovery, according to analysts. Samsung shares closed at 59,500 won ($51.20) Friday, outperforming the previous all-time high of 58,600 won the previous day.Meanwhile, its crosstown rival SK hynix shed 0.1 percent from the previous trading to close at 98,900 won, failing to extend its rally

South Korea's exports to Iran dropped nearly 90 percent from a year earlier in the first 11 months of last year, the fastest rate among the top 20 export countries, data showed Sunday.In the January-November period, Seoul's shipments to the Middle East country came to $259 million, down 88.6 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the data from the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.The amount still marked the 14th largest, but the rate the drop was by far the hi

South Korean stocks are expected to trade higher next week on eased concerns over a conflict between the United States and Iran, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,206.39 points on Friday, up 1.37 percent from a week earlier.Earlier this week, Seoul shares lost ground sharply after Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, was killed in a US drone strike, which led to a hike in global oil prices. Although South Korean shares rebounded

Three individual investors have filed criminal complaints against representatives of Lime Asset Management, Shinhan Investment and Woori Bank, accusing them of fraud and capital market law violations in the sale of private equity funds, the investors’ legal representatives said Friday.Local law firm Hannuri said it had filed complaints with the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office against six officials from the three companies on behalf of the three investors.Lime Asset is accused o

Shares in Samsung Electronics again climbed to a record high Friday on an outlook for an earlier-than-anticipated recovery in global demand and prices for chips, while foreign investors continued to net purchase local stocks for a sixth consecutive session.Samsung, the world's No. 1 memory chipmaker, surged 1.54 percent to close at 59,500 won ($51.23), one day after spiking3.17 percent to reach the highest level since its listing in 1975. The broader KOSPI advanced 0.91 percent to close at

South Korea will speed up its budget spending in the first quarter as it seeks to revitalize the economy through large-scale investment projects, a vice finance minister said Friday. Vice Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said it is most important for the economy to gain recovery momentum this year, backed by the government's expansionary fiscal policies. "The government will focus on spending in social infrastructure and job creation in the first quarter," Koo said, according to a statem

South Korea’s finance minister said Friday that the government would continue to monitor the situation in the Middle East and would respond firmly to any threats, while reassuring them that the tensions would have a limited impact on the economy. “We will closely monitor the volatile situation in the Middle East along with the market trend and respond firmly if necessary, as related uncertainties continue to exist,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said in

Foreign investors snapped a four-month selling streak to net purchase South Korean stocks in December but continued to reduce their investment in local bonds for a third month, central bank data showed Friday.Foreigners net bought $660 million worth of local stocks in the month, marking a sharp turnaround from a net selling of $2.44 billion the month before, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Foreign investors had net sold local stocks for four consecutive months since August, dumping

South Korea's outstanding state and special bonds grew at the fastest rate in four years in 2019, largely due to government efforts to make up for a cut in tax revenues, data showed Friday. The outstanding amount of bonds and debt issued by public institutions rose 5.3 percent from a year earlier to 1,020.4 trillion won ($879.7 billion), according to the data from Koscom Corp., the system manager of the South Korean bourse operator, Korea Exchange.By type, the Asia's fourth-largest economy net i

South Korea is closely monitoring tensions in the Middle East, although a conflict between the United States and Iran is not escalating, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday. Hong said volatility at local financial markets showed signs of easing as the US and Iran moved to defuse tension, but uncertainties remain. The government is "closely monitoring the situation and will take actions if necessary," Hong told a meeting with economy-related ministers.  However, Hong said ther