Kakao founder Kim Beom-su snagged the No. 2 spot on the list of South Korea’s wealthiest businesspeople, with his stock assets rising by some 5 trillion won ($4.2 billion), industry data showed Monday. This puts him ahead of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, and second only to Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Kim, who currently holds a 14.51 percent stake in Kakao, saw the value of his stock assets surpass 9 trillion won as of Friday, up 136.16 percent from 3.84 trillio

Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank’s Korean subsidiaries posted mixed earnings in the second quarter, as per their disclosures Friday. The New York-based lender’s subsidiary bit the dust amid the coronavirus pandemic, with its net profit plummeting 72.4 percent on-year to 30.3 billion won ($25.5 million). This was mostly due to provisions set aside for coronavirus risks coupled with dissipated effects from the sell-off of its landmark headquarters tower last year. Its net profi

For the temporary national holiday slated for Monday, South Korean lenders and financial authorities said Friday that loan payments, ATM fees and other services would be adjusted for the time being. According to the Financial Services Commission, loan payments due Monday will be automatically delayed to Tuesday. Late fees will be waived, but some loans -- including those that could require early payoff fees, charged when customers pay off their principal balance early -- may require consulting

The combined net profit of South Korean banks for the first half of this year dipped 17.5 percent on-year due to increased loan-loss provisions amid the coronavirus pandemic, data released by the Financial Supervisory Service showed Thursday.  According to the financial watchdog, the combined net profit of local banks for the January-June period preliminarily came to 6.9 trillion won ($ 5.82 billion), down 1.5 trillion won from the same period last year. The decline in net income came a

South Korean financial institutions associated with Hong Kong-based hedge fund manager Gen2 Partners are in a predicament as they struggle to ensure the investment -- sold by them -- could be redeemed later on. Brokerage firms here that sold Gen2 Partners’ funds, invested in the funds or issued derivative-linked securities based on the funds have moved to seek redress by lodging a complaint with the Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission against Gen2 Partners over its alleged

With torrential rains battering South Korea’s central regions, local financial groups are lending a helping hand, including donations and staff volunteers to flood-hit regions. Woori Financial Group has sent food and water supplies and a volunteer group in North Chungcheong Province, one of the regions that was hardly hit by torrential rains. The group previously donated 100 million won ($84,100) for flood relief and sent support packages including hygiene, daily necessities and clothe

South Korean beauty video app Zamface said Thursday that it has raised 5.5 billion won ($4.64 million) in series A funding from multiple investors to expand into the Southeast Asian market. STIC Ventures and Timewise investment as well as existing investors Korea Investment Partners joined the round. Series A refers to the first stage of fundraising for a startup after its foundation, as it gears up for full-fledged business operations. Launched in June last year, total downloads of the m

Buttressed by retail investors’ massive buying, Kosdaq closes at 52-week high

Policy lender Korea Development Bank on Monday turned its blame to Hyundai Development Co., the proposed buyer of indebted Asiana Airlines, over its delayed 2.5 trillion-won ($2.09 billion) acquisition deal from Kumho Industrial, the owner of the troubled air carrier. The KDB, one of the creditors of Asiana Airlines, also refused to accept HDC’s call for an extra round of 12 weeks of due diligence on the nation’s No. 2 air carrier -- in addition to the previous seven-week proce

The performance of South Korean financial groups was all over the map in the April-June period, and the coronavirus pandemic is prompting many to draw up digitalization plans for the second half of the year. The nation’s list of top groups by earnings got a reshuffle in recent weeks, with Shinhan Financial Group -- which had maintained the top spot for some time -- handing over the crown to KB Financial Group. Shinhan Financial said Friday it posted net profit of 873.1 billion won ($725

Financially stressed Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction said Sunday it has closed a deal to sell its golf course for 185 billion won ($155.33 million), enabling it to make debt repayment for the first time since a bailout package earlier this year. Part of the sales proceeds -- roughly 120 billion won -- went to creditors, which have so far injected 3.6 trillion won in the cash-strapped Doosan Group. A consortium composed of construction firm Moamiraedo and Hana Financial Group is th

South Korea is looking to launch a bridge institution to take over all the assets, as well as the liabilities, of the scandal-ridden hedge fund Lime Asset Management and ensure that its end-investors can retrieve their investments as planned. A group of 20 financial institutions -- involved in selling hedge funds of Lime -- named Kang Min-ho, former chief risk officer of Hanwha Investment & Securities for a two-year term -- as head of the new bridge institution with 5 billion won ($4.2 mill

South Korea’s venture capital houses are actively seeking exit plans from their startup investments as promising firms are gearing up for initial public offerings following the stock market recovery, according to market watchers Thursday. One of the VCs that already did so was Company K Partners, which cashed out part of its investment in Wipam, the nation’s only power amplifier module manufacturer for smartphones, through a July IPO before making its market debut Friday. The value

In an effort to lower consumer risks caused by the overheated equity-linked securities market, South Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday it will impose tighter regulations on leverage ratio of brokerages, which would lead to a decline in overall issuance here. ELS refers to hybrid debt instruments structured to track the performance of underlying equities, including the Kospi 200 Index. Total ELS issuances here surpassed 100 trillion won ($83.7 billion) as of this year, attracting

Local banking groups sell W70tr worth of hedge funds, taking W330b in profit, FSS report shows