Nearly half of the South Korean government’s emergency disaster relief funds were distributed by two major credit card issuers, Shinhan Card and KB Kookmin Card, according to news reports on Tuesday. The government started receiving applications for the relief program from May 11, doling out the funds from May 13, in the form of cash, prepaid cards or money-like points that can be used with credit or debit cards. The total relief funds provided to coronavirus-hit households exceeded 12

A middle-income household can buy a house in the Seoul area by saving the entire income without spending a dime for nearly 12 years, data showed Tuesday. The house price to income ratio, or PIR, reach ed 11.7 in the capital city during the first quarter of this year, marking the highest since records began in 2008, according to KB Kookmin Bank Liiv On, a real estate data tracker.   PIR is a widely used measurement of house affordability in a given city or country. The ratio is calcu

Amid fears of an escalation in conflict between the US and China, South Korean shares extended gains for two consecutive sessions, with the main bourse Kospi reaching 2,029.78 points at Tuesday’s close, the highest in 12 weeks. With expectations rising for an economic recovery, the Kospi index got off to a solid start at 2,001 -- up 6.40 points, or 0.32 percent -- from the previous session’s close. The main bourse continued to move upward and reached 2,022.95 in late morning tradi

Viva Republica, a leading financial technology startup in South Korea that operates the money transfer app Toss, said Tuesday that it had joined hands with the Korea Electronic Certification Authority (Crosscert) to accelerate the expansion of its electronic signature business. The partnership will make it possible to use Toss e-signatures for civil affairs, bidding procedures, contracts and online tax payments, with Crosscert serving as the certificating authority, Viva Republica said. The n

South Korean shares opened higher Tuesday on expectations for an economic recovery amid eased worries over the new coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.7 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,005.30 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI extended gains from the previous day largely on investors' optimism for an economic recovery fueled by South Korean President Moon Jae-in's push for a third and possibly largest-ever supplementary budget. US stock marke

Subscription-based streaming services and e-books are no longer the preserve of the tech-savvy younger generation. People in their 50s and 60s are fast becoming a major consumer base in the digital content market, at least among the better off, a survey showed Monday. From 2016 to 2019, the amount that people in this age group spent on digital content increased 160 percent while the number of online payments soared ninefold. The survey, conducted by local card issuer Hyundai Card and financ

Acleda Bank, the biggest commercial bank in Cambodia, said Monday it was listed on the Cambodia Securities Exchange in which the Korea Exchange (KRX) has invested. The Cambodian bank had assets of $6.18 billion as of the end of last year. Its market capitalization marked $1.75 billion -- nearly three times that of five listed firms in the country. Since the large-cap stock went public, the lackluster Cambodian stock market is expected to be revitalized by attracting new local and foreign inve

South Korean shares closed sharply higher Monday on hopes of massive economic stimulus steps sought by the local government. The Korean won fell against the US dollar amid the growing tension between the United States and China. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 24.47 points, or 1.24 percent, to close at 1,994.60. Trading volume was moderate at about 630 million shares worth some 7.84 trillion won ($6.3 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 517 to 303. The in

Seoul-based NH-Amundi Asset Management on Monday named Kim Seung-ho as its new chief marketing officer. Kim was formerly headed the fund management unit at NongHyup Bank. He will serve a one-year term. He will replace Moon Young-sik, whose term ended in April. NH-Amundi Asset Management is a 70:30 joint venture of NongHyup Financial Group and France-based Amundi Asset Management. NongHyup Bank is a wholly owned banking arm of NongHyup Financial Group. Kim started his career in 1985 at Nat

South Korean shares opened higher Monday on hopes of a new coronavirus vaccine. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.16 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,976.29 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Optimism grew after a US bio firm, Moderna, again reported positive test results from its candidate vaccine. Such reports from the US firm sparked a global stock market rally last week. Large caps traded mixed. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics lost 0.21 percent, and No. 2

Market value of mobile messenger giant Kakao surpasses Hyundai Motor; Naver, NcSoft also among top 10

South Korea’s financial watchdog vowed Sunday to stamp out ill-advised sales promotion of offshore retirement plans through unauthorized online channels such as social media. The Financial Supervisory Service also pledged to monitor such sales activities online and issued the mildest level of alert to consumers to protect them. This comes as the online sales promotion of offshore life insurance schemes including retirement plans from outside Korea, such as Hong Kong, became widespread w

South Korean stocks closed lower Friday, ending a winning streak of five consecutive sessions on an escalating dispute between the United States and China that may further undermine the country's exports. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 28.18 points, or 1.41 percent, to close at 1,970.13. Trading volume was moderate at about 832 million shares worth some 9.3 trillion won ($7.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 719

The chief of South Korea’s financial watchdog urged financial circles to be wary of business expansion and to secure capital reserves, assuming that the COVID-19 pandemic will drag on. “The financial circles should maximize their total loss absorbency capacity, bracing for a prolonged fallout of COVID-19,” Yoon Suk-heun, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, said in a financial supervision advisory committee meeting held Friday at the Korea Federation of Banks headqu

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Friday, apparently tracking overnight losses on Wall Street related to a brewing dispute between the United States and China. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 2.58 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,995.73 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 101.78 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 24,474.12 on Thursday (New York time). Fears of a dispute between the world's two largest economies apparen