South Korea has floated more bonds associated with environmental, social and sustainability issues this year than in all of 2020, setting an annual record in the fast-growing market, data showed Thursday. Since January, 116 Korean entities issued green bonds, social bonds and sustainable development bonds worth a combined 60.6 trillion won ($52.3 billion), according to data compiled by the Korea Exchange. This beat the previous annual record of 58.9 trillion won floated by 23 entities in 2020

Naver’s mobile messenger Line’s blockchain subsidiary said Thursday its crytocurrecy Link will be listed on the country’s exchange Bithumb and start trading in the market on Friday. Line Blockchain and Bithumb said that the deposit and withdrawal address of the cryptocurrency account will be released soon. Link is a cryptocurrency issued by its Sinpapore branch Line Tech Plus, using “Link chain,” a blockchain mainnet made by Line itself, where the actual transact

South Korean Blockchain research company AMAXG has launched “BIZA-Metaversity,” a metaverse-based AI education platform, to tap into the fast growing virtual technology sector worldwide. 　 The metaverse refers to virtual worlds shared by people online. Users interact through digital avatars in the virtual environment while carrying out real life activities. AMAXG plans to gather education institutions in the BIZA-Metaversity and provide an all-in-one education service across borde

Homegrown developer opens new AI research center in Seoul to accelerate commercialization of blockchain technology

Shares in Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. -- South Korea's two largest chipmakers -- plunged amid concerns of a slowdown in memory demand, analysts said Thursday. As of 10:30 a.m., Samsung was trading at 77,600 won ($67) after a 1.15 percent decline, while SK hynix slipped 3.79 percent to 101,500 won. On Wednesday, Samsung shed 2.1 percent to close at 78,500 won, moving under the 80,000 mark for the first time since Aug. 2. SK hynix finished at 105,500 won after losing 6.2 percent, i

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Thursday amid concerns about an early tapering in the United States and the resurgence of new coronavirus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 1.34 points, or 0.04 percent, to 3,221.96 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a choppy start as investors took a wait-and-see mode against uncertainties about whether the estimate-beating consumer prices in July would hasten the timeline for the US Federal Res

South Korean stocks fell for the fifth consecutive session Wednesday as a record-high number of COVID-19 cases dented investor sentiment. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 22.57 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 3,220.62 points. Trading volume was high at 608.3 million shares worth some 18.95 trillion won ($16.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 563 to 299. Foreigners offloaded a net 1.6 trillion won worth o

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday as a spike in new coronavirus cases weighed on investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 7.24 points, or 0.22 percent, to 3,235.95 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a weak start as South Korea reported a record number of daily coronavirus cases above 2,200, stoking concerns of a growing nationwide outbreak despite toughened restrictions. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.87

South Korea‘s banks saw a sharp increase in transaction fees from cryptocurrency exchanges in the second quarter, despite heavy fluctuation in the cryptocurrency market. The three banks in partnership with cryptocurrency exchanges -- K bank, NH Nonghyup Bank, and Shinban Bank -- made a total of 16.9 billion won ($14.71 million) from the transaction fees of the four cryptocurrency exchanges they provide real name accounts for -- Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit -- according to data co

Game maker’s stock trades bearishly after tepid responses from investors’ subscriptions amid overvaluation concerns

South Korean stocks retreated for the fourth straight session Tuesday, as concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus turned investors risk-averse. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slumped 17.23 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 3,243.19 points. Trading volume was high at about 719 million shares worth some 21.4 trillion won ($18.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 647 to 214. Foreigners sold a net 638 billion w

South Korean internet giant Naver is poised to acquire a 15 percent stake in e-commerce solutions provider Cafe24 for 137.2 billion won ($119.4 million), filings showed Tuesday. Cafe24 plans to issue 3.3 million ordinary shares for the third-party rights offering to invite Naver as its new shareholder, according to filings submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service. In turn, Naver looks to acquire the stake by contributing its 310,300 treasury shares in kind, whose valuation matches newl

Foreign investors have net purchased more bonds from January to July than in all of 2020, amid signs that Korean bonds are largely regarded as an attractive investment destination, data showed Tuesday. Foreign investors have net bought 83 trillion won ($72.2 billion) worth of Korean bonds -- including sovereign bonds, monetary stabilization bonds and bank debentures -- this year until July. The figure is higher than that of 2020, at 73 trillion won, according to data from the Korea Financial I

South Korea‘s banks saw a sharp increase in transaction fees from cryptocurrency exchanges in the second quarter, despite heavy fluctuation in the cryptocurrency market. 　The three banks in partnership with cryptocurrency exchanges -- K bank, NH Nonghyup Bank, and Shinban Bank -- made a total of 16.9 billion won ($14.71 million) from the transaction fees of the four cryptocurrency exchanges they provide real name accounts for -- Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit -- according to data

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street over the resurgence of the new coronavirus and its delta variant. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 4.68 points, or 0.14 percent, to 3,255.74 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks retreated amid concerns that the highly contagious delta variant may hamper the ailing global economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3 percent, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.09 pe