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  • Policy

    MSCI cites improved access to Korea-linked investment products ahead of review

    Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) said Friday that the Korean financial market has improved in terms of the availability of investment instruments ahead of next week's annual market classification review, while noting that underlying accessibility issues remain unresolved. "Derivative products linked to Korean indexes have recently been listed on international exchanges," it wrote in its 2026 global market accessibility review, upgrading its assessment from minus to plus. A plus rating means there are no major issues, though there is still room for improvement. MSCI said some restrictions remain in Korea on the use of exchange data for the creation of financial products. The Korean market received minus ratings in six of the 18 assessment categories last year. But this year, as the availability of investment instruments category was upgraded to plus, the number of minus-rated categories fell to five: the foreign exchange market liberalization level, investor registration and account setup, information flow, clearing and settlement, and transferability. "Authorities have continu

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    MSCI cites improved access to Korea-linked investment products ahead of review
  • Policy

    Contribution2025 Economic Census to elevate Korea's economic mapping

    2 MIN READBy Ahn Hyung-jun
    2025 Economic Census to elevate Korea's economic mapping
  • Economy

    KOSPI slips from record high amid US-Iran uncertainty

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    KOSPI slips from record high amid US-Iran uncertainty
  • Economy

    Gov't to expand supply of imported eggs amid price hikes

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Gov't to expand supply of imported eggs amid price hikes
  • Economy

    Seoul stocks sharply up late Friday morning on chip rally

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Seoul stocks sharply up late Friday morning on chip rally
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Economy

INTERVIEW Korea to boost standing in global procurement market

Public Procurement Service Administrator Kim Chung-woo / Courtesy of Public Procurement ServiceProcurement agency helps export of virus containment goods By Lee Kyung-min The government will continue assisting local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the export of key goods needed to contain the pandemic, as part of efforts to help the country become a leader in the global procurement market, the head of the state-run procurement service agency said Monday.The pandemic-sparked health crisis has awakened the need for supply of key medical and protective equipment, a task facilitated by Public Procurement Service (PPS) amid its years-long preparedness to create an ecosystem whereby effective organization of purchase and public bidding programs bolster sustainable, innovative growth.The agency places top priority on product quality assurance and by extension competitiveness of the producers, a goal strengthened by a rigorous review of purchase and public bidding records. “We maintain stringent management of innovative products that will help Korea boost standing

Sep 27, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
[INTERVIEW] Korea to boost standing in global procurement market
Economy

Dual Corp. appoints Rha as CEO

Rha Han-ikBy Lee Kyung-minDual Corp., a Seoul-based car parts manufacturer, has appointed global investment banking expert Rha Han-ik as its CEO, according to the firm Monday.Rha worked at Macquarie, an Australian investment bank, and Nomura Securities, before he became CFO at Helixmith, a local biotech firm. He is a graduate of Boston College in Massachusetts and has a master's degree from Ohio State University.Dual Corp. expects Rha to play a key role in outlining the firm's mid- to long-term growth strategy, following a planned merger with a new firm separated from OncoQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc. “The appointment of Rha as a CEO will help boost share values and promote business strategies on stable management,” the firm said.

Sep 27, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Dual Corp. appoints Rha as CEO
Economy

Gov't to unveil additional measures next month to curb household debt

Apartment buildings in Seoul / YonhapSouth Korea plans to unveil additional measures next month to curb household debts, the head of the financial regulator said Monday. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Koh Seung-beom said such measures will focus on improving ways of calculating a household's ability to repay debts. Koh said the government will continue to take stricter measures to rein in household debts, calling such debts the "biggest potential risk" on the nation's economy. Since July, the FSC has applied stricter lending calculations for mortgage loans, called the debt service ratio (DSR). The DSR measures how much a borrower has to pay in principal and interest payments in proportion to his or her yearly income.Household credit reached a record high of 1,805.9 trillion won ($1.54 trillion) in June, up 41.2 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the central bank data.The second-quarter tally compared with a 37.6 trillion-won on-quarter rise in the first quarter.The growth has shown no signs of letting up as more people have taken out loans to buy homes

Sep 27, 2021
Gov't to unveil additional measures next month to curb household debt
Economy

Personal, corporate bankruptcies surge due to economic impacts of COVID-19

gettyimagesbankPersonal and corporate bankruptcies filed in South Korea showed a double-digit increase last year, a report said Monday, due mainly to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report issued by the National Court Administration said the number of personal bankruptcies filed in 2020 rose by 10.4 percent from the previous year, or 4,737 cases, to 50,379 cases. Last year's number was the biggest figure since 2015, when 53,865 personal bankruptcies were filed.The number of personal bankruptcy filings peaked at 154,039 cases in 2007, due to the outbreak of a global financial crisis, but declined for more than 10 years until 2018. It rebounded in 2019 and increased for two consecutive years until last year.The report also noted that the number of corporate bankruptcies filed last year totaled 1,069 cases, marking an on-year rise of 14.8 percent, or 138 cases.It is the first time since record keeping began in 2004 that the annual number of filings for corporate bankruptcy exceeded 1,000.It is believed that the steep increases in personal and corporate bankruptcies may

Sep 27, 2021
Personal, corporate bankruptcies surge due to economic impacts of COVID-19
Economy

Crypto market reorganized with 'Big 4' exchanges

Logos of big 4 coin exchanges in KoreaMarket still faces series of challenges and uncertainties By Anna J. ParkThe nation's cryptocurrency market is undergoing a major reorganization with only the top four coin exchanges ― Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit ― having secured partnerships with local commercial banks for the use of real-name accounts by investors. Of the 29 coin exchanges that have completed their registration, required by a revision to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, only the four allow investors to buy and sell cryptocurrencies with fiat currencies, such as the Korean won.Other coin exchanges that have failed to partner with commercial banks, including GOPAX and Huobi Korea, can now only provide coin trading services between cryptocurrencies. Under the revision, crypto exchanges and related companies had to register their businesses by Sept. 24 in order to get a government license. Out of the 42 registered companies, 29 are coin exchanges while the remaining 13 are crypto-wallet or trustee businesses. According to the Financ

Sep 26, 2021By Anna J. Park
Crypto market reorganized with 'Big 4' exchanges
Economy

Upbit crypto exchange operator Dunamu joins ranks of Korea's 'decacorns'

Dunamu's logoBy Anna J. ParkDunamu, the operator of cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has joined the elite ranks of Korea's “decacorns,” or a startup company valued at over 10 trillion won ($10 billion), which include e-commerce giant Coupang and leisure reservation app Yanolja.According to investment banking industry sources, Dunamu recently raised around 100 billion won from investors.Altos Ventures, Hana Financial investment and Saehan Venture Capital purchased existing Dunamu shares from investors including Atinum Investment. Saehan Venture Capital injected 60 billion won into the blockchain tech company. Hana Financial also injected 30 billion won and Altos 10 billion won into Dunamu. The stock was traded at around 300,000 or 350,000 won per share at the investment round, which brings the blockchain tech firm's corporate value to stand at around 10.2 trillion won.gettyimagesbankDunamu's corporate valuation has grown rapidly. Its value estimated in February's investment by DSC Investment stood at 1.5 trillion won and rose to 6.7 trillion won in April.Founded in 2012, Duna

Sep 26, 2021By Anna J. Park
Upbit crypto exchange operator Dunamu joins ranks of Korea's 'decacorns'
Economy

Delayed Kakao Pay IPO feared to decrease profits for Samsung Securities

A Samsung Securities branch in Seoul is seen in this 2018 file photo. YonhapBy Park Jae-hyukSamsung Securities could see a decrease in profits due to another delay in the planned initial public offering (IPO) of Kakao Pay amid strengthened regulations on financial services platforms. The Korean brokerage is the lead underwriter of the IPO along with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.Kakao Pay said Sunday its listing on the benchmark KOSPI market has been postponed again to Nov. 3, following a decision to modify its prospectus in compliance with a revised Financial Consumer Protection Act that went into effect Saturday.The revised act requires financial services platforms like Kakao Pay to stop comparing financial products and provide recommendations until they receive a license to conduct such businesses.The mobile payment service provider initially submitted its prospectus in July aiming to go public in August. But after the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) demanded an adjustment to the document, Kakao Pay lowered the target IPO price range and submitted a modified one, Aug. 31, putting

Sep 26, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Delayed Kakao Pay IPO feared to decrease profits for Samsung Securities
Economy

Contribution Shortages are going away: What will this mean for Korean exports?

By Stephen Lee Stephen Lee, chief economist at Meritz Securities, Seoul / Courtesy of Stephen LeeIt's been 18 months since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the economies of developed nations. In the U.S., the recession lasted for a mere two months, but it turned out to be the deepest one in history. As the economy began to show signs of recovery, the demand for services crumbled before recovering recently. Manufacturing, on the other hand, has enjoyed the fastest recovery ever, as demand for devices surged, leading to increased IT investments. If we were to set U.S. real retail sales as a proxy for demand, and U.S. industrial production as a proxy for supply, the former is above the latter by 11 percent as of July 2021, if we rebase the two indicators to Feb. 2020.This situation amounts to excess demand vis-a-vis supply, but can be also called a “shortage.” The supply has not been able to catch up with the surging demand because of its inelastic nature. Rising commodity prices, global supply-chain disruptions, as well as labor shortages ― in some cases, voluntary unemployment on

Sep 25, 2021
[Contribution] Shortages are going away: What will this mean for Korean exports?
Economy

Banks collaborate with financial authorities on Evergrande risk review

A trader reads news about the Evergrande situation on a computer in a dealing room of a branch of Hana Bank in Seoul, Friday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The financial authorities and commercial lenders are reviewing spillover risk exposures posed by recent debt default fears at Evergrande, the biggest real estate company in China. No immediate problems are expected since Korean lenders have not engaged in directing lending to the Chinese firm, but concerns of delinquency linger due to business transactions between Korea's top five lenders and their counterparts in China. Also advancing the view are corporate financing businesses operated by corporate entities of Korean lenders in China not involved with the Chinese developer. Whether the Xi Jinping-led populism-oriented heavy regulatory drive will expand into other areas of the financial sector remains to be seen, experts say. KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori banks and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) are closely monitoring any risks, mostly on whether the debt default would lead to them not being able to recover loans. They ma

Sep 24, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Banks collaborate with financial authorities on Evergrande risk review
  • From 'controlled demolition' to near-certain default: Money managers outline views on Evergrande's crisis
Economy

Toughened financial regulations confuse crypto market, customers

An online notice, posted by GOPAX on Friday, states that it no longer operates a cryptocurrency transaction service in the Korean won market, due to its failure to fulfil new requirements as per the Special Financial Transaction Information Act. Screenshot from GOPAX's homepageGOPAX, GDAC, Huobi Korea fail to secure real-name bank accountsBy Lee Min-hyungThe implementation of a toughened set of financial regulations is adding confusion to the cryptocurrency market and its customers, after a six-month grace period finished as of Friday.Under the Special Financial Transaction Information Act, Korea's cryptocurrency exchanges have to secure real-name bank accounts from affiliated banks, in order for their customers to conduct cryptocurrency transactions via their trading platforms.But with the grace period expiring, a number of “minor exchanges,” which had failed to find partnerships with commercial banks, can no longer operate their services in the Korean won market.The exchanges ― such as GOPAX, GDAC and Huobi Korea ― had been in negotiations with local banks until the ver

Sep 24, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Toughened financial regulations confuse crypto market, customers
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