South Korea’s financial watchdog on Thursday said it has decided to impose heavy sanctions on the top executives of two major banking groups -- Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank -- for misselling derivatives-linked funds last year. The Financial Supervisory Service’s sanctions committee has decided to hand Woori Financial Group Chairman and Woori Bank CEO Sohn Tae-seung as well as Hana Financial Vice Chairman and former Hana Bank CEO Ham Young-joo “reprimands and warnings,”

The startup market here saw record investments of 4.28 trillion won ($3.61 billion) last year, according to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on Thursday. The figure was up from 2.38 trillion won in 2017. Of the total, private funds invested 1.48 trillion won, or 35 percent, of money injected into the local startup industry. By segment, smart health care companies received 617.2 billion won, while sharing-economy businesses and financial technology firms attracted 276.1 billion won and 12

The median price of apartments in Seoul surpassed the 900 million won ($760,000) threshold in January for the first time, according to commercial bank KB Kookmin Bank on Thursday. The bank’s monthly report on real estate prices showed that the median price of Seoul apartments reached 912.2 million won as of this month, a record high since comparable data started to be compiled in December 2008. A housing unit with a market value of 900 million won or more, categorized as an “exp

The recent brouhaha surrounding hedge fund company Lime Asset Management is stoking concerns about a potential liquidity crunch across the financial market in South Korea. At the heart of the controversy is what is called a total return swap. Simply put, a TRS is a financial deal that helps fund operators like Lime Asset enjoy leverage. For instance, a hedge fund can acquire underlying assets, including bonds, equities, commodities and mortgage-backed securities, in partnership with a cash-r

Treasury bond yields fall, gold prices rise as Kospi loses 3 percent

The overall value of the shares in Samsung affiliates and subsidiaries held by South Korea’s largest institutional investor, the National Pension Service, jumped nearly 60 percent over the past year, according to data made public Tuesday. The NPS’ shares in 13 Samsung units were worth 49.28 trillion won ($41.7 billion) as of Wednesday last week, up 57 percent from 31.4 trillion won ($26.7 billion) Jan. 2 last year, according to financial research firm FnGuide. The whopping increa

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday, the first trading session after the four-day Lunar New Year's holiday, as the fast-spreading Wuhan coronavirus around the globe sapped investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 57.43 points, or 2.56 percent, to 2,188.70 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The local stock market was closed Friday and Monday. South Korea on Monday reported its fourth confirmed Wuhan coronavirus case amid mounting concerns the pneum

Although concerns over the possible impact of the deadly coronavirus on the financial market are rising here, analysts say that the “noise” caused by the contagious virus originating from China will be short-lived and eventually overshadowed by company fundamentals that remain strong, coupled with the easing trade conflict between China and the United States. “The spread of coronavirus will not likely cause an unprecedented pandemonium but merely an uncanny noise to investors,

The number of foreign investors in South Korea’s stock and bond markets exceeded 480,058 last year, up 1,358 from a year earlier, according to the nation’s financial regulator Financial Supervisory Service on Monday. Of the total figure, individuals made up 11,657, while institutional investors made up 36,401, including 23,064 private funds, 2,305 pension funds, 997 stock brokerage firms, 738 banks and 512 insurance firms. By nationality, the US and Japan were the two largest pl

Last year, the number of newly minted coins hit the lowest value on record and the number of banking branches continued to drop, according to data on Monday. The Bank of Korea, the nation’s central bank, said newly issued coins last year amounted to some 36.4 billion won ($30.9 million) in value, the lowest since comparable data started being compiled in 1992 and down 14.3 percent from a year earlier.  The figure is even lower than the 39.6 billion won worth of newly made coins i

Investors have been increasingly turning to real estate funds, looking for low-risk, high-return investments, according to data on sunday. Total investments in real estate funds stood at 99.39 trillion won ($84.90 billion) -- 96.19 trillion won for private equity funds and 3.21 trillion won for public funds -- as of Jan. 21, according to data released by the Korea Financial Investment Association, a nonprofit self-regulatory organization. The figure has been on a steady uptrend over the year

Shares in South Korean duty-free operators took a hit amid concerns that the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus may hurt the companies’ revenues from Chinese visitors, data showed Thursday. Hotel Shilla closed at 97,000 won ($83) on Thursday, down 10.6 percent from Friday’s closing price of 108,500 won.   Shinsegae fell 4.37 percent over the cited period to finish at 306,500 won. Lotte Shopping also tumbled 4.76 percent to close at 130,000 won.On Monday, South Korea reported

The Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday unveiled its reshuffle blueprint, focusing on consumer protection and innovative finance.The move came amid the ongoing controversy regarding the so-called derivatives-linked fund fiasco -- the improper sales of products by local banks and securities. The FSS is slated to announce its sanction decision for two major banking chiefs later this month.“To respond to the stronger consumer protection needs and enhance the supervisory functions over

South Korean firm gets preliminary approval for acquisition of local brokerage firm

Seoul stocks trimmed earlier losses late Thursday morning amid rising concerns over the spread of Wuhan coronavirus.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index had fallen 11.24 points, or 0.50 percent, to 2,256.01 as of 11:15 a.m.Foreign and institutional investors sold a combined 246.7 billion won ($211.4 million) worth of stocks, weighing down the bourse.Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyung-min said investors went for profit-taking ahead of the holiday after the index jumped to its highest