South Korea‘s top financial technology mobile app Toss is poised to fill in “a void in the financial service industry” in the nation, providing users various services ranging from cash management accounts, credit score reviews, peer-to-peer investment and even bitcoin, according to app operator Viva Republica’s chief executive on Tuesday.“Korea has long suffered a void in the financial service industry,” CEO Lee Seung-gun said in the fintech startup’s fi

South Korean stocks rose Tuesday on the back of net purchases by local institutional investors. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 8.45 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 2,510.12. Trade volume was moderate at 387 million shares worth 5.82 trillion won ($5.37 billion).The local stock market opened lower, following a overnight sell-off in the US tech stocks. But the KOSPI turned positive as local institutional investors continued t

South Korea's per-capita gross domestic product is expected to surpass $30,000 in 2018 on brisk exports of chips and other positives, Goldman Sachs said Tuesday."Unless there is any big change in South Korean and global export conditions, South Korea's per-capita GDP will likely break the $30,000 level next year for the first time," Goldman Sachs economist Kwon Goo-hoon said in a news conference on the country's 2018 economic outlook.South Korea would achieve the landmark for the third

South Korea's smoking rate will likely drop this year, as sales of cigarettes have fallen due to a big increase in the price of tobacco in 2015, an official source said Tuesday.Citing the need to discourage smoking, the government increased taxes on cigarettes by 2,000 won ($1.70) per pack, effective Jan. 1, 2015, raising the price to 4,500 won per pack.The smoking rate for males over 19 years old fell to 39.4 percent in 2015 from 43.1 percent a year earlier, the first drop since 1998, when the

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday pledged efforts to expand the country's exports, especially by small and medium-sized firms, in his address to mark the annual Trade Day."Trade is a mainstay of our economy. Trade is making the heart of our economy beat strongly this year," the president said.Moon commended local exporters for breaching the US$1 trillion mark in annual trade, the sixth largest in the world. He noted South Korean products' global market share is expected to reach a recor

South Korea's current account surplus contracted in October from a year earlier due mainly to a decreased surplus in the goods account and an increased deficit in the service account, central bank data showed Tuesday.The country's current account surplus reached $5.72 billion in October, compared with a surplus of $7.69 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The BOK said the goods account surplus narrowed to $8.6 billion in October from $9.16 billion a y

The South Korean government said Tuesday it will submit a plan on the renegotiation of the free trade agreement with the United States to the National Assembly on Dec. 18.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has completed two public hearings to collect opinions on the five-year-old deal called KORUS FTA and discussed related issues with 20 ministries and organizations Monday.Submitting a plan to the parliament would effectively wrap up the domestic procedures needed for opening talks with

South Korea has become the world's sixth largest exporter, moving up two notches from 2016, on the back of brisk sales of memory chips and a rally in oil prices, the trade ministry said Tuesday.Exports by Asia's fourth-largest economy jumped 16.5 percent in the first 11 months of this year, surpassing the $500 billion mark on Nov. 17, the fastest pace on record, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.The ministry expected total outbound shipments to reach a record high of $575 billion t

Debate ensues over licensing of cyber currency operator

SC Bank Korea, the Seoul subsidiary of London-based Standard Chartered Group, is putting asset management at the center of its retail finance business. In order to provide universal wealth management services to a wider range of consumers, the bank has secured about 30 additional specialists to the wealth management sector this year. The traditional profit structure of Korean banks is nearly 90 percent reliant on interest margins, but SC aims to break that structure by making 40 percent of its p

The Korea Herald has organized the first Global Finance Awards, recognizing that strengthening competitiveness in South Korea’s finance industry and establishing an ecosystem on par with global standards are required for the nation’s economy to make a new leap forward in the era of the “fourth industrial revolution.” This award is meant to acknowledge outstanding individuals and companies that have pioneered the global market and provided convenient financial services wit

KEB Hana Bank, one of four major South Korean commercial banks, has attracted global attention through its private banking prowess mainly by taking advantage of artificial intelligence. By adopting a private banking service -- designed to manage wealth of the affluent through insurance, succession planning and investments in funds and properties -- for the first time among Korean banks in 1995, KEB Hana Bank has long been recognized as a leader in the sector in Korea. The bank‘s private ba

As an independent investment entity consisting of asset management, securities, insurance and real estate, Mirae Asset currently operates a global network in 12 countries, including 11 overseas subsidiaries. As of the end of October, it was operating roughly 130 trillion won ($119.33 billion) through its global networks, according to the company.　Stepping up its pace to strengthen its growth engine, Mire Asset has been expanding further into overseas markets, strengthening operational competitiv

Since taking office in November 2014, Yoon Jong-kyoo, chairman of KB Financial Group, has turned KB Financial Group -- then reeling from a massive information leak -- into a top integrated financial services provider in South Korea, both in size and quality. Yoon’s aggressive takeovers following his pledge to strengthen non-banking units’ performance have since proven successful. KB Financial Group‘s net profit has increased 50 percent in two years, to 2.1 trillion won ($1.93 b

Hanwha Life Insurance is solidifying its position as a global financial company by expanding its reach into Vietnam, China and Indonesia with localization strategies. “We are improving our global competitiveness by hiring the bulk of the staff as local employees who have good knowledge of the local insurance and financial market, along with better communication skills and stronger bonds with local life planners,” said a Hanwha Life Insurance spokesperson. Since the first launch