South Korea's foreign exchange reserves fell for the third consecutive month in October, according to data released by the Bank of Korea on Friday. At the end of October, foreign exchange reserves stood at $412.87 billion, down $1.24 billion from the previous month's $414.12 billion. South Korea's foreign exchange reserves remained in ninth place among major countries in October, also for the third consecutive month. In June, South Korea surpassed Hong Kong to regain the eighth

Jeong Marn-ki, vice chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, said South Korea should learn from Ireland's policy for foreign businesses during a networking event jointly organized with Enterprise Ireland on Wednesday at Trade Tower in Seoul. Enterprise Ireland is the government organization responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets. “Thanks to the creation of a business-friendly environment and active attraction of foreign investm

Korea Chamber of Commerce Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won, who also doubles as SK Group chairman, called for Korean companies to explore new markets beyond the US and China during a seminar jointly hosted by the Bank of Korea and the KCCI. "The conflict between the US and China, upon which our country heavily relied, is significantly disrupting our exports," Chey said in his opening remarks. "It is imperative for us to now turn our attention to smaller markets that we previously ov

The Financial Services Commission announced on Tuesday that it will ease regulations on credit lending limits for overseas subsidiaries of financial holding companies starting from Jan. 1, 2024. The regulation revision comes after the FSC pledged in July to help local financial companies beef up their presence in overseas markets. Under the current regulation, the credit lending limit for each subsidiary must not exceed 10 percent of the parent company's equity, and the total credit lendi

The recent trend of an increase in the proportion of working women in their 30s was primarily due to a reduction in the number of women with children, according to a report released Monday by the Korea Development Institute, a South Korean state-run think tank. Kim Ji-yeon, a researcher at the KDI, noted that although the drop in the number of women in their 30s that have children may seem like a positive factor in the short term because it boosts the number of women working in their 30s, it wil

To grab a bit of Apple or leave it on the shelf? That's the question that has been lingering among card companies here since Apple Pay was launched in Korea in March with initial local partner Hyundai Card. Hesitation over adopting Apple Pay entered a new phase after a parliamentary audit held on Oct. 11 raised concerns about Hyundai Card, which introduced the service at the cost of paying high commission fees to Apple. During the parliamentary audit, Rep. Yun Chang-hyun of the ruling P

The Korean financial regulator’s decision to refer Kakao and its executives to the prosecution could lead to disruptions on the IT giant’s future takeover strategy and global expansion plans, sources said Sunday. Three Kakao executives, including its chief investment officer Bae Jae-hyun, and two entities, Kakao and Kakao Entertainment, who were involved in market manipulation regarding Kakao’s purchase of K-pop agency SM Entertainment, were sent to the prosecution for possible

Woori Bank, one of South Korea’s top four commercial banks, has announced its plan to achieve up to 25 percent of its net profit from global sales by 2030. “Woori Bank's global division reported a net profit of $340 million last year, and it has achieved an average annual asset growth of 9 percent during the last three years," Yun Seog-mo, Woori Bank's global business division head said during a press conference held at the bank's headquarters in Seoul on Wednesda

Fitch said that South Korea's "AA-" sovereign rating, which has remained steadfast over 10 years, could be adjusted upward if geopolitical issues such as inter-Korean relations and US-China conflicts are improved, during the 2023 Fitch on Korea seminar held in Seoul on Friday. While improved relations with North Korea are necessary for a positive rating adjustment, Fitch does not see that improvement as promising in the near term, said Jeremy Zook, Fitch's director of Asia-Pa

A Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for Kakao Chief Investment Officer Bae Jae-hyun on Thursday on charges of market manipulation related to SM Entertainment's stock price. The development has raised uncertainty about joint projects initiated by Kakao and SM Entertainment. "The arrest warrant was issued due to concerns about Bae destroying evidence or fleeing," the court said. The court dismissed arrest warrants for Kakao's head of investment strategy, surnamed Kang, and

Park Jong-bok, the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Korea, has been nominated as the sole final candidate for the bank's top position again, according to the lender on Monday. The bank's executive candidate recommendation committee selected Park as the final candidate for the next CEO during a meeting held last Friday. If appointed, he will be serving his fourth term, which will last for a year starting Jan. 8, 2024, as the CEO of SC Bank Korea. "Since assuming the top position in 2

The Financial Services Commission, Korea's top financial regulator, unveiled plans on Monday to increase the pet insurance enrollment rate, currently at approximately just 1 percent in a country with some 8 million pets. "The pet insurance enrollment rate in the US is approximately 2 percent, while in Japan, it exceeds 12 percent. Our goal is to position ourselves between these two countries,” Shin Sang-hoon, head of the insurance department at the FSC, emphasized during a press

More than 90 percent of all fines for illegal short selling of stocks have been issued to foreign financial firms, government data showed, amid calls from Korean retail investors for stricter regulation. According to Financial Services Commission data submitted to Rep. Yun Ju-kyung of the ruling People Power Party, the regulator dealt with 45 cases of illegal short selling in the first eight months of the year, with total fines exceeding 10.7 billion won ($7.9 million). Of the 45 cases, 23 invol

South Korea's economy is expected to achieve a growth rate of 2.1 percent in 2024, according to the recent report titled "2024 Economic and Financial Market Outlook" by Hana Bank's research institution, the Hana Institute of Finance. “Considering the base effect of the sharp slowdown in 2023, the growth momentum is not strong,” Oh Hyun-hee, a researcher at the Hana Institute of Finance said. The institute forecasts an annual economic growth rate of 1.3 percent f

Korean science fiction writer Bae Myung-hoon on Wednesday emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between our familiar neighborhoods and space in order to craft compelling space exploration narratives in a Korean setting. He explained that this is difficult, because creators' cognitive range -- the space that creators are familiar with and can describe well -- is limited usually to their surroundings. Korean content consumers also often struggle to simultaneously envision both space