South Korea's financial watchdog on Monday launched a fresh campaign to eradicate phone scams known as "voice phishing," calling for banks and other financial institutions to make more efforts to protect their customers.Such scams involve the use of fraudulent phone calls that trick people into giving away private financial information, enabling scammers access to their accounts. The Financial Supervisory Service's monthlong campaign calls for employees of banks and other financial ins

Real estate-related investment funds reached the highest-ever total of 69.97 trillion won ($62.97 billion) as of the end of August, continuing the streak of monthly increases for nearly three years, data showed Monday.Records from the Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Financial Investment Association showed that the spike in property funds clearly exceeded that of other types of funds. While the money flowing to real estate funds jumped 30.9 percent last year, the comparable figures w

The Korea Herald publishes a regular contribution series written by senior investment strategists at Standard Chartered Group Wealth Management. – Ed.It is understandable that bond investors are worried as the economic cycle matures, especially in the US, and as the Federal Reserve continues to hike interest rates gradually. Conceptually, as we head toward the late stage of an economic cycle, corporate profitability -- and their ability to repay bond holders -- typically peaks. Meanwhile,

But growing rate gap between Korea and the US presses BOK to raise base rate

Anticipation is growing for the nation’s third internet-only bank as the authorities move to clear away hurdles affecting nonbanking institutions, including limits on ownership, following positive remarks from South Korea’s top financial regulator last week.Choi Jong-ku, chairman of Korea’s financial regulatory body, the Financial Services Commission, mapped out a plan to help the new digital banks to move in tandem with the changing environment in the financial industry landsc

Seoul shares may undergo upward momentum next week, as eased concerns over global trade disputes and positive forecasts for corporate earnings could whet investors' appetite for bargains, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,339.17 on Friday, up 2.32 percent from a week earlier.The index started the week on a bearish note, as conflicts over tariffs between the United States and China appeared to worsen due to President Trump's decision to proceed wit

A senior lawmaker of the main opposition party faced seizure over charges of accessing and leaking confidential government data on the state budget, prosecutorial officials said Friday.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office seized and searched the office of Rep. Shim Jae-cheol, a fifth-term lawmaker of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, whose aides are suspected of leaking information from the government’s digital budget accounting system.“Please gather immediately a

Fired up by the thawing peninsular mood built on the latest inter-Korean summit, banks here have buckled down on establishing business in the North in the near future, their initial focus fixed on the resumption of the Kaesong industrial park and Kumgangsan tours.Steering the move are the state-run banks that strive to win an upper hand in infrastructure financing, as well as Woori Bank and NH NongHyup Bank, which had operated businesses in the joint operations zones in the past.On Wednesday and

SC Bank Korea, the Korean subsidiary of British banking giant Standard Chartered, has launched a new money market deposit account, offering a relatively high interest rate opportunity to customers, officials said Wednesday.The bank has launched My Run Savings Account, a new kind of compound account that combines the convenience of a checking account and the profitability of a fixed deposit. The account offers an annual interest rate ranging from 0.1 percent to 2.1 percent maximum, depending on t

The pangovernmental moves to “advance Korean markets to a financial hub in Northeast Asia” will gain steam, riding on the inter-Korean thaw in the wake of this year’s third inter-Korean summit, South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Yoon Suk-heun told heads of foreign financial units in Korea on Wednesday. The remarks came as South Korea President Moon Jae-in and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un signed a joint agreement to reboot plans for bilateral business coope

South Korean markets gained little impetus on the first day of the third inter-Korean summit on Tuesday, as market analysts remained cautious about the summit’s potential long-term impact.But some analysts expressed the view that positive developments in inter-Korean relations could stimulate long-term market growth.In stock markets, the top-tier Kospi edged up 0.3 percent Tuesday, while the second-tier Kosdaq was 0.4 percent higher.Bond markets were moderately bearish in closing. The thre

Toptec, a South Korean maker of automated machines for production of display panels and semiconductors, denied recent allegations that it had attempted to sell confidential information on technology related to mobile phone screen lamination machines to China.The company also refuted claims that it had failed to protect company secrets of its biggest buyer, Samsung Display. Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday raided the Toptec headquarters in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, a

Shinhan Bank, one of the major commercial lenders in South Korea, has become a confirming bank for a trade program run by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the EBRD said Friday. The cooperation is expected to help Shinhan Bank offer safer trade financing instruments to Korean firms that do business with nations in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In a statement, the EBRD said Shinhan Bank joined the multilateral lender's Trade Facilitation Program, which aims

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon urged the Bank of Korea to raise key interest rate Thursday, citing concerns about financial instability.“Without a rate hike, problems related to capital flight, a widening gap in interest rates between Korea and the United States and the (upward) pressure on (the level of) household debt will persist,” said Lee. “It is high time to take this matter more seriously.” Lee also blamed expansionary monetary policy during the forme

With hundreds of new cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects being released daily, it’s difficult for investors to discern which digital coins are worth backing or are potential scams with no value.　Though the decision is ultimately left to the investor, responsible cryptocurrency exchanges can help this selection process by screening for and listing coins linked to worthwhile blockchain projects, said Lee Sir-goo, CEO of Dunamu which runs Korea’s top cryptocurrency exchange Upbit.&