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    KOSPI reclaims 9,000 intraday as chip stocks surge on Micron earnings

    KOSPI jumped more than 6 percent intraday Thursday to reclaim the 9,000 level, led by a surge in semiconductor stocks after U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology reported stronger-than-expected earnings. The benchmark index opened at 8,703.42, up 232.40 points, or 2.74 percent, from the previous day's close, and extended its gains to 9,000.88 by 2:24 p.m., rising 529.86 points, or 6.25 percent, from the previous session to reclaim the 9,000 mark. The index later surrendered part of its gains and closed at 8,930.30, up 459.28 points, or 5.42 percent, from the previous session. Reflecting strong buying momentum, a buy-side sidecar was triggered at 9:07 a.m., temporarily suspending program buy orders. The benchmark index drew support from Micron's better-than-expected quarterly results and upbeat guidance. Investor optimism toward the semiconductor sector further intensified ahead of second-quarter earnings announcements from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. SK hynix's planned Nasdaq listing through American depositary receipts, tentatively scheduled for July 10, provided an additional ta

    2 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    KOSPI reclaims 9,000 intraday as chip stocks surge on Micron earnings
  • Policy

    Mixed messages on leveraged ETFs fuel investor confusion

    3 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    Mixed messages on leveraged ETFs fuel investor confusion
  • Economy

    S. Korea's financial assets in US hit fresh all-time high in 2025: BOK

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    S. Korea's financial assets in US hit fresh all-time high in 2025: BOK
  • Economy

    Contribution'Korea discount' still persists despite chip-driven rallies

    3 MIN READBy Lee Chang-hwan
    'Korea discount' still persists despite chip-driven rallies
  • Cryptocurrency

    Privacy watchdog fines Bithumb $135,700 for violating overseas data transfer rules

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Privacy watchdog fines Bithumb $135,700 for violating overseas data transfer rules
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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

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Economy

FSS closes down Washington office following government pressure

The headquarters of Financial Supervisory Service located on Yeouido, Seoul / Korea Times fileQuestions remain over effectiveness of closing key overseas officeBy Anna J. ParkThe Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) closed down its Washington office recently following mounting pressure from the government to cut its budget spending.According to the FSS Wednesday, the last head of the financial watchdog's regional office in Washington returned to Korea earlier this month, and no replacement has been made.“The Washington office is no longer in operation,” an official from the FSS told The Korea Times over the phone.Regarding questions over when and how the closure decision was made, the FSS official explained discussions about closing down the overseas office in the U.S. capital had continued for the past few years, as the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea (BAI Korea) recommended in 2017 that the financial watchdog should cut its spending on overseas offices. Accepting the suggestion, the FSS scrapped plans to launch a regional office in Singapore and closed down its Ho

Mar 17, 2021By Anna J. Park
FSS closes down Washington office following government pressure
Economy

Coupang stocks face doubts as insiders seek divestments

Coupang's logo is seen on an electronic signboard in New York, March 11. Courtesy of CoupangBy Park Jae-hyukQuestions are rising among domestic retail investors over the valuation of Coupang stocks after the e-commerce firm's majority shareholders and employees began to unload their shares within a week after its Wall Street debut.Korean retail investors snapped up $33.9 million worth of Coupang shares last week, on the day of the company's listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Retail investors have been advised to be cautious about possible fluctuations in the stock price. Starting this Thursday, Coupang's nonexecutive employees are able to sell 34 million shares worth around $1.7 billion, accounting for 4.8 percent of the company's total outstanding stocks.Although Coupang's lockup regulation does not allow majority shareholders or employees to sell their stocks for 180 days after the initial public offering (IPO), an exceptional clause enables employees to sell their stocks six trading days after the IPO, if the stock closes at the same as its offering price of $35 or above on t

Mar 17, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Coupang stocks face doubts as insiders seek divestments
Economy

Job losses continue for 12th month in February amid pandemic

GettyimagesbankSouth Korea reported job losses for the 12th straight month in February as the new coronavirus outbreak continued to deal a blow to the job market, data showed Wednesday.The number of employed people reached 26.3 million last month, 473,000 fewer than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The country has reported job losses every month since March 2020 due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.It marked the longest streak of job losses since April 1999, when the number of employed people fell for the 16th consecutive month.But the February job reduction was lower than the 982,000 recorded in January, the highest in 22 years, as economic activity increased amid relaxed social distancing rules.The coronavirus pandemic has pummeled face-to-face service sectors, such as hospitality and retailers, as people refrained from visiting shops on concerns about infection risks.For all of 2020, the nation shed the largest number of jobs since 1998.The latest data showed the local job market still remains in limbo even as the South Korean economy is on

Mar 17, 2021
Job losses continue for 12th month in February amid pandemic
Economy

Venture-capital company stock prices rise on IPO hopes

Mounting interest in major IPOs this year to benefit venture capital firms' stocksBy Anna J. ParkThe hugely successful initial public offering (IPO) of Korean e-commerce giant Coupang and hefty returns for key investor SoftBank have turned the market's attention to local venture capital firms that are expected to be the next in line to go public this year. There has been a string of news reports recently detailing the specific public offering timelines of the most-anticipated IPOs of this year, including global online game developer Krafton, accommodation reservation app Yanolja and grocery delivery company Market Kurly. Investors have also been snapping up stocks of other promising venture capital companies. Daesung Private Equity's stock price hit its daily-limit high during trading on Monday, surging 29.98 percent to reach a 52-week high of 3,035 won ($2.68). The stock closed up an additional 5.77 percent on Tuesday. The private equity firm's shares were stoked by news that Krafton's IPO will be completed within the first half of this year. Daesung Private Equity has been investin

Mar 16, 2021By Anna J. Park
Venture-capital company stock prices rise on IPO hopes
Economy

Overseas crypto exchange users face tighter scrutiny on tax

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Overseas cryptocurrency exchange users who fail to report overseas account balances over 500 million won ($441,000) will be fined up to 20 percent of the unreported amount, according to the national Tax Service (NTS), Tuesday. Under the new rule, those who have over 500 million won worth of digital coins in accounts overseas at the end of any month throughout the year, will be obliged to report details to the tax agency by June of the following year.Any underreporting will be met with the 20 percent fine; and if the unreported amount exceeds 5 billion won, accountholders can be referred to the prosecution and have their identity disclosed.The measures announced by the NTS seek to better identify cryptocurrencies that are no longer untaxable following a revision to a related law that recognizes digital currencies as a financial asset. Previously, cryptocurrencies were not recognized as an asset and thus it was harder for government ministries to undertake seizure measures as they are allowed to do with other assets involved in criminal cases.A reward of

Mar 16, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Overseas crypto exchange users face tighter scrutiny on tax
Economy

SK IET aims to complete IPO within H1

Logo of SK IE Technology By Anna J. ParkSK IE Technology (SK IET), a subsidiary of SK's battery maker SK Innovation, is speeding up its initial public offering (IPO), aiming to complete the process within the first half of this year.According to industry sources Tuesday, the battery and smart device materials maker could debut on the benchmark KOSPI as early as mid-May.SK IET, which produces lithium-ion battery separators and transparent polyimide films, submitted required documents for the Korea Exchange's preliminary IPO review process at the end of last year. Once the preliminary review is completed, the full-fledged IPO process will start, which usually takes a few weeks. Stock-allotment subscription surveys among institutional investors are expected to start around April. The company's offering price band will be decided based on last year's performance.SK IET is now the world's top producer of lithium-ion battery separators, operating manufacturing plants in b

Mar 16, 2021By Anna J. Park
SK IET aims to complete IPO within H1
Economy

Investors rush to buy gold amid interest rate jitters

Animal-shaped gold is displayed at the Korea Gold Exchange in Seoul in this file photo taken on Mar. 3. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungRetail investors here are stocking up on gold, as jitters mount over the prospect of rising interest rates sparking volatility in the local stock market.According to the nation's banking industry, KB Kookmin, Shinhan and Woori banks ― which have gold bank account products ― sold an accumulated 10,036 kilograms of gold until March 9., up 11.4 percent from the end of December last year.Investors' interest in gold has surged during the past few weeks, with market watchers attributing this to increasing jitters over a potential rise in interest rates. Retail investors here are wary of market instability triggered by rising interest rates following a debt-driven, mass-buying spree of local stocks following more than a year of ultra-low interest rates since the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the nation in March last year.The benchmark KOSPI has shown signs of entering an adjustment period this month and investors have begun to seek safer assets than stocks or other risk

Mar 16, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Investors rush to buy gold amid interest rate jitters
Economy

Will Shinhan narrow stock price gap with KB through quarterly dividends?

From left are KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo and Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung. Courtesy of each firmBy Lee Min-hyungShinhan Financial Group is set to pay its first-ever quarterly dividends and institutional investors at home and abroad are focusing on whether the shareholder-friendly measure will enable the lender's share price to bounce back from the doldrums.The group's share price bottomed out at around 30,000 won ($26.45) in early February, but has recovered to more than 35,000 won as of Tuesday. But the stock still lags far behind arch-rival KB Financial Group whose share price grew more than 20 percent to around 51,000 won during the same period on a buying spree by foreign institutional investors.But Shinhan hopes to narrow the gap with KB by kicking off the aggressive shareholder return policy. Last year, Shinhan announced the plan to offer dividends on a quarterly basis for the first time among the nation's major banking groups.A number of legal hurdles remain before Shinhan officially starts the dividend payouts. But the lender is expected to

Mar 16, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Will Shinhan narrow stock price gap with KB through quarterly dividends?
Economy

Market value of cryptocurrencies in Korea spikes tenfold over 3 years

A representation of virtual currency Bitcoin is seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken March 15, 2021. ReutersThe market value of cryptocurrencies in South Korea has shot up nearly 10 times over the past three years amid keen investor interest, industry sources said Tuesday.According to local cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, its market index stood at 9,742.62 points as of 5:45 p.m. Monday, almost 10 times the level of 1,000 points on Oct. 1, 2017, when the index was first calculated.The Upbit Market Index covers all cryptocurrencies traded in the exchange's won-denominated market and shows changes in the market capitalization and market trends.The spike in the market value comes as prices of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have risen sharply over the cited period.Bitcoin was trading at 66.8 million won (US$59,000) per unit as of 5:45 p.m. Monday, compared with 4.96 million won three years and five months earlier.Excluding bitcoin, which has the biggest market value and share, the local cryptocurrency market has also shown rapid growth over the past three years.Oth

Mar 16, 2021
Market value of cryptocurrencies in Korea spikes tenfold over 3 years
Economy

Kyobo, Affinity consortium lock horns at ICC arbitration over put option

Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman Shin Chang-jae / Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min A five-day hearing in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration between Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman Shin Chang-jae and the company's financial investors ― represented by a consortium led by Affinity Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm ― was concluded, but it will still be at least six months before a decision is made, according to market sources, Sunday.The five-day hearing from March 15 through 19 ― the second since the first one held last October ― was part of the arbitration process to determine whether the consortium can exercise a put option at nearly double the price Shin is willing to pay, concluding the outcome of a years-long dispute that dates back to 2012. A put option is a contract giving the owner the right to sell ― or sell short ― a specified amount of an underlying security at a pre-determined price within a specified time frame.In 2012, the consortium bought 24 percent of Kyobo's shares from Daewoo International, on condition that it could exercise a put

Mar 16, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Kyobo, Affinity consortium lock horns at ICC arbitration over put option
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