The country’s financial regulators are set to punish the state-run Korea Development Bank by holding it responsible for poor loan management as the main creditor of STX Group and Dongbu Group, according to local reports.The Financial Supervisory Service and Financial Services Commission have recently launched a special audit into the KDB on allegations that the bank fabricated STX Offshore & Shipbuilding’s credit rating and raised the shipbuilder’s credit limit by 300 billion won ($294.6 million

Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Jung-tae has reiterated his support for speeding up the merger between Hana and Korea Exchange Bank, stressing that the synergy from the integration would be worth up to 1 trillion won ($980 million).“The KEB, Hana merger is a bonanza,” Kim said during an executive workshop over the weekend. “The early merger will serve as a critical opportunity to make a breakthrough in the internal and external crises and prepare for future growth.”  Hana Financial Group chair

TOKYO ― Diageo Korea, the Korean branch of the world’s largest distiller, is poised to enter the neighboring Japanese ready-to-drink market, leveraging its production line in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.“Riding on the fast-growing demand for bottled alcoholic beverages in Japan, we debuted Smirnoff Ice Green Apple, produced on the Icheon production line, in Japan last week,” Diageo Korea CEO Cho Kil-soo said in a press meeting held in Tokyo on Thursday.“We expect to rake in about $15 million in sa

In the latest music video by K-pop sensation Psy, the rapper and his right-hand man Snoop Dogg drink round-the-clock at different venues, imitating the nightlife in South Korea. They down soju, beer and whatever comes their way.But drinking a copious amount of booze is not what all night activities are about here.From a pub equipped with a digital dating system to chimaek fiesta, new forms of night culture have become fresh recreation for Koreans and once-in-a-lifetime experiences for foreign vi

KB Financial Group said on Friday it had signed a contract with LIG Insurance to take over a controlling stake in the country’s fourth-largest nonlife insurer.The banking group reportedly paid about 640 billion won ($630 million) to buy a 19.83 percent stake in LIG Insurance.‘‘The company has sought the deal to diversify its banking-centric business portfolios into the nonbanking business,” KB Financial said in a press release. The stake acquisition still needs approval from the financial author

KT&G’s Raison Sun PressoKT&G, the country’s largest tobacco manufacturer, has launched capsule-type Raison Sun Presso, the company announced Monday.Raison Sun Presso is the latest edition to KT&G’s Raison Presso lineup launched in 2012. Company officials said consumers will now be able to choose from four different products in the series. According to the firm, each cigarette contains a capsule in the filter that when popped, releases two flavors.The new package contains an image of waves under

When it comes to marketing in Asia, time is irrelevant, says Roberto Ascoli, division director of the British multinational company Imperial Tobacco Group.“We’re not here for one year or two years. We’re here for 20 years, 30 years, 50 years and so on. The progress has been initially slow, but we’re satisfied with what we have done. But we want to do more,” Ascoli said in an interview with The Korea Herald on June 12.Ascoli’s remarks came during a short visit here to discuss the imminent launch

NongHyup Financial Group on Thursday announced that its new brokerage arm created by a merger between NongHyup Investment & Securities and Woori Investment & Securities would be launched on Dec. 31. It also said that Woori Aviva Life Insurance will merge with NongHyup Life Insurance in the first half of 2015, while Woori FG Savings Bank will be placed under NongHyup Financial as of this month. With the package deal involving the three Woori units, NongHyup Financial Group will be reborn as the c