Stricter jeonse loan regulations will be imposed starting from Friday, the nation’s financial regulator said Wednesday, adding more pressure on the real estate market as it already faces a series of measures set to curb soaring housing prices. The latest version restricts jeonse loan guarantees and bans loan requests by buyers who already own a house in high speculation areas.  The move came in line with the 21st set of housing price regulations imposed under the Moon Jae-in admini

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Wednesday following overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.44 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,164.61 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Major US stock indices ended their winning streaks on Tuesday (local time) as a recent surge in the number of novel coronavirus cases dented hopes for a quick economic recovery. Negative economic forecasts from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and

Coworking space giant WeWork said Tuesday that it plans to upgrade its online startup acceleration programs in a bid to support local firms that aim to expand overseas. WeWork Korea held online forums, workshops and conferences this year to connect venture capitalists and industry experts with fledgling startups via its WeWork Labs platform, which offers budding firms access to seasoned experts, investors and other peers through mentoring programs and networking events. WeWork began the Labs

South Korean stocks fell by more than 1 percent Tuesday amid growing fears over the resurgence of the new coronavirus at home and overseas. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 23.76 points, or 1.09 percent, to close at 2,164.17, ending its three-session winning streak. Trading volume was high at about 837 million shares worth some 14.7 trillion won ($12.3 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 581 to 263. The index erased

South Korea’s top financial regulator Tuesday vowed to induce fair competition between conventional financial companies and Big Tech groups, in preparation for the forthcoming digital shift in the local financial industry. “Responding to the non-face-to-face trend triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak, a growing number of major technology companies, or Big Tech, have been pursuing (new opportunities) from the financial services industry,” said Financial Services Commission Chair

SK Biopharmaceuticals shares continued to soar on Tuesday, outpacing its parent company SK Holdings by market capitalization on the nation’s main bourse Kospi. Shares of the bio unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group began trading at 214,500 won ($179.85), then spiked by 51,500 won, up 24.01 percent, to reach 266,000 won in the first 10 minutes of trading. The stock was still on the rise but slightly fell to 216,500 won, at the closing bell. Due to the stock rally, the firm’s

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking an overnight stock rally in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 16.41 points, or 0.75 percent, to 2,204.34 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment was boosted by hopes of the global economic recovery, buoyed by bullish stock gains in the United States and China. On Monday, the Shanghai Composite Index spiked 5.71 percent, the steepest hike since 2015, after Chinese state media empha

Amid growing concerns over the security of online payment services, Viva Republica, operator of online bank Toss, said Monday that it would fully compensate its customers who fall victim to any type of financial fraud. The move came after unauthorized payments worth 9.4 million won ($7,860) were made on the financial technology platform in early June, raising questions over the safety of the mobile payment system. “Transactions via Toss should be considered safer than face-to-face bank

South Korean shares rallied Monday on hopes of economic recovery led by the government's extra budget and possible robust earnings from tech companies. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 35.52 points, or 1.65 percent, to close at 2,187.93. Trading volume was high at about 659 million shares worth some 12 trillion won ($9.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 573 to 267. Foreigners sold a net 258 billion won and indivi

The Nature Holdings, a lifestyle outdoor firm known for its National Geographic licensed fashion brand, said Monday it is looking to raise as much as 60 billion won ($50.2 million) from its initial public offering on the tech-heavy Kosdaq this month. The firm is offering around 1.2 million shares in the price band of 45,000-50,000 won, CEO Park Young-jun said in a press briefing. The exact share price will be determined Thursday through the book building process before investors can apply on J

Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, South Korea’s top accounting firm, said Monday it has appointed a new co-representative to take charge of marketing. Partner and deals leader Bae Hwa-joo will serve as chief executive officer for marketing, while Yoon Hoon-soo will head the organization’s overall management. Assurance leader Yoon was named as CEO in April, as competitor Bae offered his resignation in the eleventh hour amid a neck-and-neck rivalry over the top post. The company may app

South Korean shares opened slightly higher Monday, following parliamentary approval of the third extra budget meant to support the pandemic-hit economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.84 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,161.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The gains came after the National Assembly passed a 35.1 trillion-won ($29.3 billion) extra budget Friday. The supplementary plan is designed to mitigate the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

South Korea will likely increase the minimum amount of investment for private equity funds from the current 100 million won ($83,373) to 300 million won as early as next month in its efforts to protect individual investors on the heels of a series of alleged fraud cases linked to funds in South Korea, according to news reports on Sunday. The Ministry of Government Legislation has been reviewing the measure, which will be included in the planned revisions of the nation’s Financial Investm

SEJONG -- An eye-catching issue in the nation’s economy is whether the growth of gross domestic product will bounce back in the second half of the year after touching a bottom in the first half. While GDP growth was minus 1.3 percent in the first quarter, compared to the previous quarter, there is a possibility that the coming figure for the second quarter (April-June) will also post negative growth or dip further. Exports fell by 11.2 percent in the first half, on an on-year basis. For

South Korean stocks are expected to face choppy trading next week amid signs of a global economic recovery and the rising number of new coronavirus infections, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,152.41 points Friday, up 0.83 percent from a week earlier. "The gap is narrowing between the stock index and the real economy," said Daeshin Securities global strategist Moon Nam-joong. "The improved US jobs data seems to have gi