The Korea Times

Asia emerges as global leader as West backpedals, says sustainability expert

HONG KONG — Asia is steadily advancing to the forefront of sustainability discussions and, if this momentum continues, is poised to emerge as a global leader in sustainability, said Nana Li, head of Asia-Pacific sustainability and stewardship at Impax Asset Management. The U.S. and E.U., which once led the sustainability push, are now backpedaling, weighed down by the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war and ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Facing greater economic disruption than Asia, they are shifting their focus away from sustainability, according to Li. "There's been a very strong pushback from corporates. The past 12 months have almost felt like backpedaling," Li told The Korea Times in a recent interview. However, political endorsement from Asian governments has remained consistent, including in China, Japan, Korea, India and Indonesia, she added. With 15 years of experience, Li leads Impax's sustainability research, stewardship strategy and policy advocacy across the Asia-Pacific region, coordinating engagement with portfolio companies and regulators. Prior to jo

Apr 23, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Asia emerges as global leader as West backpedals, says sustainability expert

Cryptocurrency

Coinbase highlights Korea's potential as Kakao Pay enters its agentic payment alliance

HONG KONG — Coinbase expressed excitement about Kakao Pay's participation in the x402 Foundation, saying the fintech firm's deep penetration in the Korean market could create compelling use cases, particularly in the K-pop economy. Led by Coinbase, x402 aims to build a global, internet-native payment protocol and enable agentic payments at scale. Under the model, artificial intelligence (AI) accesses a service or product, the server returns a price, and if the cost falls within a preset budget, payment can automatically be made using stablecoins. Kakao Pay is the only Korean member among global giants participating in the initiative, including Google, Visa, AWS and Circle. "If you're a K-pop star, and you're trying to sell merch, you can automatically let AI drive this," John O'Loghlen, managing director for APAC at Coinbase, said in an exclusive interview with The Korea Times. "Forget about Shopify and all those traditional tools. Effectively, you can do this yourself with x402, removing middlemen and letting users be empowered to manage this on their own." Starting as an exchange, C

Apr 16, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Coinbase highlights Korea's potential as Kakao Pay enters its agentic payment alliance

Travel & Food

Korea opens door wider to Chinese travelers, but will they come?

HONG KONG — Repeat short-haul visits by Chinese travelers to Korea are expected to rise after Seoul eased multiple-entry visa rules, but analysts say the immediate impact may be limited because of growing competition from Southeast Asia and higher airfares linked to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. The Korean embassy in Beijing announced that Chinese nationals who had previously visited Korea would now be eligible for a five-year multiple-entry visa. Those holding residency status in 14 major cities — including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou — could also apply for 10-year multiple-entry visas, the embassy said this week. Employees of Chinese companies that have invested at least $1 million in Korea were also eligible for 10-year multiple-entry visas. The measures come amid improving bilateral ties, as Beijing and Seoul continue to ease travel barriers. Korea has granted visa waivers to Chinese tour groups of three or more people since September, while China has allowed visa-free entry for Koreans since November 2024. “The new measure is seen as a driving force that could significan

Apr 8, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Korea opens door wider to Chinese travelers, but will they come?

Cryptocurrency

Crypto businesses in Korea turn to foreigners as strategic detour

HONG KONG — Companies in Korea are turning to foreign nationals to launch new crypto ventures as legislation for the Digital Asset Basic Act remains delayed, seeking to secure early partnerships and infrastructure amid a legal vacuum, analysts said. Hana Financial Group is among those moving in this direction. In partnership with Circle and Crypto.com, the group said on March 5 that it is piloting stablecoin-based payments for foreign visitors in Korea. The initiative, led by its card unit Hana Card, allows overseas users to make purchases at local merchants using cards linked to stablecoins. Transactions are settled in USDC, Circle’s dollar-pegged token, with foreign holders of Crypto.com's Visa cards receiving 5 percent cashback at participating stores. “Through this initiative, we seek to confirm the growth potential of stablecoins as a payment tool while expanding cooperation with global digital asset operators,” Hana said in a statement. Payment firm Danal also plans to launch a similar service this month in partnership with Circle and Binance Pay, enabling Binance users vis

Apr 7, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Crypto businesses in Korea turn to foreigners as strategic detour

Companies

Korean chip giants step up China investments to combat AI memory shortage

HONG KONG — Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are stepping up investments in their wafer fabs in China, racing to boost supply amid high market demand for artificial intelligence (AI) computing, according to industry analysts. The move underscores China’s continued role in semiconductor production despite U.S. restrictions. Last year, Samsung Electronics invested 465.4 billion won ($308.8 million) in its chip plant in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, a 67.5 percent increase from a year earlier, according to its annual report filed March 10 with the Financial Supervisory Service. SK hynix also ramped up spending, investing 581.1 billion won in its chip plant in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, up 102 percent year on year, and 440.6 billion won in its Dalian facility in Liaoning province, a 52 percent increase from 2024, according to its March 17 annual report. “As building new plants typically takes three to five years, optimizing operations at existing production bases in China enables a much faster supply response,” said Lee Byung-chul, a visiting research fellow at the Sejong Institute and a fo

Mar 30, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Korean chip giants step up China investments to combat AI memory shortage

Economy

Shin Hyun-song considered pragmatic hawk with global clout by investment banks

HONG KONG — Global investment banks see Shin Hyun-song, nominee for Bank of Korea (BOK) governor, as a pragmatic hawk likely to prioritize financial stability while raising the central bank’s global profile. "Though his views will come into closer view at the parliamentary confirmation hearing, Shin’s past remarks, coupled with Korea’s macroeconomic conditions, suggest he will take a relatively hawkish policy stance," said Kang Min-joo, senior economist for Korea and Japan at ING. Kathleen Oh, Morgan Stanley’s chief economist for Korea and Taiwan, echoed the view, citing Shin’s remarks at a G20 conference in September 2022. At the event, Shin said "central banks’ most urgent task is to stabilize inflation," and has strongly argued for the need for preemptive inflation controls. Along with aiming to keep inflation around target, Barclays economist Son Bum-ki said, Shin’s monetary policy framework is likely to focus on both domestic and global credit cycles, while remaining cautious about financial imbalances as a byproduct of policy. He added that Shin’s appointment cou

Mar 25, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Shin Hyun-song considered pragmatic hawk with global clout by investment banks

Business

Chinese tea chains expand presence in coffee-loving Korea

HONG KONG — Chinese tea brands are accelerating their expansion into Korea, driven by intensifying competition at home and rising demand for healthier beverages in a market long dominated by coffee. Chagee, known for its milk tea and branding inspired by traditional Chinese culture, said it planned to open three stores in Seoul in the second quarter, marking its first expansion into East Asia outside China. The company operated 7,338 teahouses as of last September and has built a significant presence across Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand. In the third quarter of 2025, its overseas gross merchandise value rose 75.3 percent year-on-year to 300.3 million yuan ($43.6 million), according to its latest available data. More Koreans, aided by Beijing’s visa-free policies, are traveling to China where they become familiar with tea-based beverages infused with fruit, juices, vegetables and dairy products, prepared freshly on site. Choi Yong-hee, a graduate student based in the university district of Sinchon in Seoul, where Chagee

Mar 24, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Chinese tea chains expand presence in coffee-loving Korea

Economy

Why gold slides despite escalating geopolitical tensions

HONG KONG — Gold prices have continued to weaken despite escalating tensions in the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, breaking from the metal’s traditional role as a geopolitical hedge, as fading expectations of interest rate cuts and a stronger U.S. dollar weigh on sentiment, analysts said. The metal has declined about 15 percent since a brief surge on March 2, when prices climbed to around $5,300 per ounce after the U.S. and Israel began their strikes on Iran. A modest rebound driven by technical buying on Friday did little to alter the broader downtrend, with prices ultimately falling to around $4,500. Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING, described the downturn as “a bit of a pullback” following an overheated rally. Higher oil prices, which had contributed to a more hawkish global central bank outlook, had also weighed on gold, Song said, noting that the metal was a non-yielding asset. Typically, a surge in oil prices fuels inflation, erodes the value of fiat currencies and supports gold as a key real asset. This time, however, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s delay

Mar 23, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Why gold slides despite escalating geopolitical tensions

Economy

Why KOSPI volatility prolongs 'Korea discount'

HONG KONG — When U.S. and Israeli forces launched massive airstrikes against Iran, Korean markets swung to extremes. On March 3, the first trading day after the attack, the benchmark KOSPI tumbled 7.24 percent, tripping a sell-side circuit breaker. Losses deepened the following day, with the index down as much as 12 percent at one point — worse than the declines seen after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. The rout quickly reversed. On March 5, KOSPI surged 9.63 percent, its biggest one-day gain on record, activating a buy-side circuit breaker. Such swings contribute to the “Korea discount,” said Peter S. Kim, a global investment strategist at KB Financial Group, referring to the chronic undervaluation of Korean-listed companies. Kim, who also serves as senior managing director and head of the global business and wholesale division at KB Securities, has over 30 years of experience in the industry. He has held leadership roles on both the buy and sell side, ranging from country CEO of HSBC Securities Korea to founding a pan-Asia hedge fund in Hong Kong. Korea’s retail investors are known

Mar 21, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Why KOSPI volatility prolongs 'Korea discount'

Cryptocurrency

Unlocking utility for world's biggest meme coin

HONG KONG — Macroeconomic headwinds are weighing on cryptocurrency prices, while rising institutional participation has tempered volatility and cooled speculation. As a result, a growing share of digital assets now sits idle on centralized exchanges. Dogecoin — the poster child of the global meme coin market — is no exception. Roughly $23 billion worth of the token currently sits on exchanges worldwide, largely unmoved. Even without a clear incentive, the coin featuring the iconic sideways-glancing Shiba Inu dog has garnered widespread attention thanks to its roots in internet meme culture and the enthusiasm of its online community, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk. According to CoinMarketCap, its market capitalization stood at $14.11 billion as of Thursday. Jordan Jefferson, founder and CEO of DogeOS, said dogecoin’s true value lies in its strong community, but he finds it problematic that users have not been benefiting from the billions of dollars in dogecoin trading volume. "Dogecoin is so big as a cryptocurrency, and it has such a passionate group of people using it and believin

Mar 17, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo

Lee Yeon-woo

Read more

Asia emerges as global leader as West backpedals, says sustainability expert

Coinbase highlights Korea's potential as Kakao Pay enters its agentic payment alliance

Korea opens door wider to Chinese travelers, but will they come?

Crypto businesses in Korea turn to foreigners as strategic detour

Korean chip giants step up China investments to combat AI memory shortage

Shin Hyun-song considered pragmatic hawk with global clout by investment banks

Chinese tea chains expand presence in coffee-loving Korea

Why gold slides despite escalating geopolitical tensions

Why KOSPI volatility prolongs 'Korea discount'

Unlocking utility for world's biggest meme coin

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