The Minimum Wage Council decided on Wednesday not to consider employers' ability to pay salaries in setting the minimum wage for next year.Business groups, mainly small firms and mom-and-pop stores, have been demanding that they be allowed to establish different minimum wages depending on industry and business sizes.The wage council -- a trilateral panel of business and labor representatives and outside experts -- closed its deliberations earlier in the day and deci

Retired Major League Baseball pitcher Park Chan-ho is hoping to have a good influence on the South Korean startup ecosystem and give back to society as a venture partner of Seoul-based global accelerator SparkLabs.“I’m glad I was given a chance to have a virtuous influence on startups,” Park said in a press conference on Wednesday. “Young entrepreneurs are brimming with passion and dreams. I think I can share with them my experience and know-how (as a former professional

The government’s latest decision to dispose of its remaining stakes in Woori Financial Holdings is seen as a turning point for South Korea’s financial sector, indicating the withdrawal of decadeslong public interference triggered by the 1997 Asian financial crisis.While the financial holding company will henceforth gain further momentum in the market as a fully privatized player, state coffers will at last be able to recoup taxpayers’ money.According to the Financial Services C

Shinhan Card/ Credit card Shinhan Card has maintained its position as the nation’s leading credit card issuer for years, but it now aims to go a step further by integrating its services with customers’ lifestyles. The firm has the largest number of customers among credit card issuers -- around 22 million -- which it hopes to expand to 30 million by 2023. It has been offering a slew of services, such as sign-up bonuses, rewards, and original services, to evolve into a lifestyle platfo

The nation’s sole bourse operator has been running an accounting program that helps firms listed on the secondary bourse Kosdaq deal with the reinforced external audit act.According to the Korea Exchange, the number of Kosdaq firms that faced the risk of delisting due to disclaimer of opinion this year increased 66 percent on-year to 30 firms. A disclaimer of opinion is issued when an auditor is unable to complete the audit report due to insufficient information provided by the company.&nb

South Korea's finance minister on Monday asked heads of major banks to increase lending to small and medium-sized firms as part of efforts to boost the economy.    Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, said it would be good if banks extend loans to smaller firms by taking into account their technology and growth potential, even if their collateral is not enough for borrowing.     He made the comments to reporters after a meeting with the heads of 18

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi ended higher on Monday, with cautious optimism that the US-China trade talks slated for later this week may help the index recover previously lost ground. It closed 0.03 percent or 0.71 points higher from the previous trading at 2,126.33, despite having jumped back and forth between positive and negative terrains throughout the day.　 The local stock market in recent months has been heavily weighed down by the US-China trade war, which has escalated a

Woori Financial Group has decided to acquire controlling stake of 65.7 percent in Kukje Asset Trust from its largest shareholder with approval from its board members, the company said Monday. The group’s latest move to acquire the privately held real estate management company comes as it aims to accelerate integration of its affiliate firms and expand its business.  It plans to acquire the majority stake from the real estate management firm’s Chairman Yoo Jae-eun and associates

YEOSU, South Jeolla Province -- For a startup to grow, entrepreneurs should learn how to hire decent staff and fire bad apples, said Han Kim, managing director of Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Altos Ventures on Friday.“When we decide to engage in a follow-up funding round for our portfolio startups, the most critical factor is the entrepreneur’s capability to bring in more talent, along with the courage to sack employees or board members who are unfit for our goals,&

A team of scholars from University of St. Gallen in Switzerland won the International Insurance Society’s 2019 Shin Research Excellence Award, endowed by Kyobo Life Insurance, the Korean insurer said Sunday. According to the firm, Alexander Braun, adjunct professor of risk management, Sebastian Utz, assistant professor of finance, and Jiahua Xu, a postdoctoral researcher, were awarded by the IIS for their research titled, “Are Insurance Balance Sheets Carbon-Neutral? Harnessing

The volume of capital raised through initial public offering in the South Korean stock market surpassed 1 trillion won ($863 million) in the first half of the year, data from the Korea Exchange showed Sunday, with NH Investment & Securities leading the way among underwriters. Some 1.09 trillion won in equity capital was raised in the first half of the year, according to the nation’s sole bourse operator, a 39.6 percent increase from the same period last year.  Eighteen companies j

Mere hours after the US Federal Reserve hinted at an interest rate cut, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Thursday that South Korea would take apt measures to deal with economic shifts, hinting at mirroring the Fed’s move. The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday left the key rate on hold in the 2.25-2.5 percent range, but added it “will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion,” since uncertainties of the rate outlook have increased. The Fed’s s

The nation’s financial watchdog plans to launch a “comprehensive audit” on bourse operator the Korea Exchange (KRX) by the year-end, local reports said Wednesday. If carried out, the in-depth audit will mark the first such inspection of KRX in nine years.  The news comes amid the Financial Supervisory Service’s ongoing audit of local brokerages and financial institutions, following its decision to revive the comprehensive audit, which was abolished in 2015. The audit

Almost two years after South Korea’s leading commercial banks launched mobile apps to attract new customers and keep existing ones, the focus is now on whether their quality matches the prestige of the banks they are attached to.To compete against fast-paced and innovative internet-only banks Kakao Bank and K-Bank, the big four -- Shinhan, KB Kookmin, KEB Hana and Woori -- have been providing low-cost services, merging separate apps into one, and even hiring K-pop celebrities as brand amba

South Korean brokerages’ combined net profit hit a record high in the first quarter, the nation’s financial watchdog said Monday, boosted by profit from investment banking services and diversified sources of revenue. The combined net profit of 56 brokerages jumped 183.3 percent on-quarter to 1.46 trillion won ($1.18 billion) in the January-March period, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed. The figure narrowly beat the previous record, 1.45 trillion won, set in the firs