One in 5 South Koreans face the risk of becoming addicted to smartphone use, according to a poll by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Of 28,575 people between 3 and 69 years old, 19.1 percent fell into the potentially at-risk or high-risk addiction categories in the survey conducted between August and October last year. They could suffer physical and mental withdrawal symptoms. The proportion of those at high risk rose from 17.8 percent in 2016 to 18.6 percent in 2017.By age, teens made up the th

South Korea’s major banking groups are actively seeking mergers and acquisitions to expand their nonbanking business, in an effort to diversify incomes in light of volatilities in the main banking sector.Faced with the government’s efforts to lower lending rates, banks here have been turning their attention to diversifying their portfolio, focusing on acquiring nonbanking finance firms, such as loan service providers and credit card firms.The latest move was made by KB Financial

Nonghyup Financial Group Inc. said Thursday its net profit reached an all-time high last year, surpassing the 1 trillion won ($888.9 million) mark for the first time.Net profit of the financial group reached 1.22 trillion won in 2018, up 41.8 percent from a year earlier, the group said in a statement.The best-ever performance since the group's establishment in 2012 is attributable to the growth in interest income and commission fees and lower loan-loss provisions. Its interest income rose 9.9 pe

Jobless rate hits record-high for January since aftermath of global financial crisis

South Korea’s tech-heavy secondary bourse Kosdaq has been buoyed in recent weeks by foreign investors’ increased interest in the nation’s biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. According to the nation’s sole stock exchange operator Korea Exchange on Wednesday, overseas investors’ net buying of local shares on the Kosdaq, from Jan. 23 to Monday, amounted to 490.5 billion won ($437.6 million), a stark contrast to their decision to net sell stocks worth 606.1 billion won

Global credit card giant Visa is planning to open a new innovation center in South Korea as it seeks to expand partnerships with local financial technology startups to develop the next generation of payment solutions.“Korea is considered an epicenter of fintech innovation. To pursue a more meaningful fintech-big tech collaborative business model, we are planning to establish an innovation center here,” said Patrick Yoon, country manager for Visa International Asia Pacific Korea, duri

South Korea's jobless rate rose to 4.5 percent in January as the pace of hiring slowed, government data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign of an economic slowdown in Asia's fourth-largest economy.The unemployment rate marked the highest level for any January since 2010, when the corresponding figure stood at 5 percent, according to Statistics Korea. The South Korean economy added just 19,000 jobs in the first month from a year earlier, the fewest since August last year when employers added jus

Shinhan Financial regains No. 1 banking group title, overtaking KB Financial

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has revealed Tuesday that the most expensive real estate in South Korea is the Nature Republic cosmetics store located in Myeong-dong, Seoul, valued at 183 million won ($163,000) per square meter. This is the 16th consecutive year it has held the position, dating to 2004. The second and third most expensive lots were also located in the Myeong-dong vicinity: the Woori Bank headquarters (177.5 million won per square meter) and Uniqlo’s Chu

With the National Pension Service apparently determined to pressure companies with “stingy” dividend policies to change their ways, investors are viewing it as an opportunity to seek out new targets with the potential for high payouts, while businesses are concerned on excessive management intervention. Signs of change were spotted as the NPS began exerting its shareholder rights through the stewardship code over Hanjin KAL on Feb. 1, followed by its demand for Namyang Dairy to incre

Samsung Electronics is expected to cough up some 16.8 trillion won ($15 billion) in corporate tax this year, its regulatory briefing showed. This is up 20.1 percent from the previous year, and 2.4 times the number from 2015.The record-high tax was attributable to its all-time high operating profit of 58.9 trillion won fueled by the memory chips sector boom last year, coupled with a revised tax code that raised the maximum tax rate from 22 percent to 25 percent for companies with over 300 billion

Market regulators call for exclusive regulations for new fintech sector

Shinhan Financial Group has decided to form a consortium with Viva Republica, the operator of the popular mobile payment app Toss, to enter South Korea’s internet-only bank business, the financial holding firm said Monday. The consortium will place a bid for a preliminary license to clinch the right to operate the nation’s third internet-only bank, it said. The Financial Supervisory Service is slated to accept applications March 26-27. Shinhan said its decision to team up with T

Woori Bank, a major South Korean commercial lender, said Monday its net profit for 2018 soared 33.34 percent from a year earlier on the back of growth in interest income.　Net profit came to 2.04 trillion won ($1.81 billion) in 2018 on a consolidated basis, up from 1.51 trillion won a year earlier, the lender said in a regulatory filing.　Its operating profit jumped 27.22 percent on-year to 2.74 trillion won, a record high, the bank said, while noting that its yearly sales fell 16.05 percent to 19

The preliminary bidding for Lotte Capital, the loan services unit of Korean-Japanese conglomerate Lotte Group, takes place Tuesday, with the country’s major banking groups and private equity funds expected to participate. Lotte Capital is one of the three Lotte companies currently on the market. The two remaining firms on sale -- Lotte Card and Lotte Non-Life Insurance -- already held the preliminary bidding on Jan. 30, with a number of conglomerates and PEFs showing interest. Among the th