According to market research firm Euromonitor, in 2023, the average coffee consumption per adult in South Korea reached 405 cups per year, more than double the global average of 152 cups. This marks the highest consumption rate among major Asian countries, translating to more than one cup of coffee
More than four out of 10 listed companies in Korea were unable to pay interest with money they made, according to a recent survey. High interest rates and stagflation worsened the business environment, raising red flags on their financial conditions.As of the third quarter of 2023, 710 of 1,674 list
In 2023, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Korea exceeded US$32.7 billion, a record high. High-tech materials, parts, and equipment such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, and biotech items led the increase in FDI in Korea.According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Jan. 4, FDI
The overseas non-performing loan portfolios of the four major banks in South Korea surged to nearly 300 billion won in just one year. The rapid increase raised concerns as delinquency amounts spiked due to the impact of high-interest rate shocks, prompting warnings about the management of overseas f
The government has announced its intention to reduce the ratio of household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) to below 100 percent by the year 2027.On Jan. 4, the government released the “2024 Economic Policy Direction,” outlining its strategy for managing household debt.According to the Bank for
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced on Jan. 4 that it has uncovered additional evidence of illegal short selling amounting to tens of billions of won, following the detection of naked short selling by global investment banks BNP Paribas and HSBC.In a New Year’s press conference for in-
Starting in the second half of this year, non-index-linked general public funds will be directly listed on the Korea Exchange and traded like exchange traded funds (ETFs). With increased convenience for investors and reduced sales commissions, expectations are high for the revitalization of the fund
Park Hyun-joo, chairman of Mirae Asset Group, has pledged to donate 25 percent of his stake in Mirae Asset Consulting to the Mirae Asset Hope Foundation to foster national talent.Mirae Asset Group announced on Jan. 2 that Park, the founder of the group, signed a donation agreement with the Mirae Ass
On Jan. 2, President Yoon Suk-yeol announced, “I will push for the abolition of the Financial Investment Income Tax.” This move is expected to spark controversy as it involves the cancellation of an agreement with the opposition party.On this day, President Yoon attended the “2024 Securities and Der
Korean construction companies have reportedly decided not to participate in resuming the construction of the world’s tallest building in Jeddah, a resort city near the Red Sea. It has already been seven years since construction was halted due to local conditions in Saudi Arabia. Many experts say tha
A plenary session of the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Capital Markets and Financial Investment Business Act, which will require large-scale stock transactions by insiders of listed companies to be disclosed in advance beginning from the second half of 2024.The Financial Services Comm
The National Tax Service (NTS) announced on Dec. 28 that it has collected 1.35 trillion won (US$1.05 billion) in tax assessments in the area of overseas tax evasion alone through tax investigations conducted this year. The figure exceeds the average annual collection for the three years before the C
Debt, or credit, for both households and businesses surged to a historic peak, surpassing twice the gross domestic product (GDP) during the third quarter of this year. With an increasing number of businesses relying on non-banking institutions after the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with a rising house
Shinhan Card announced on Dec. 28 that Shinhan Finance, its subsidiary in Kazakhstan, will receive a joint investment of approximately 31 billion won over the next five years following the completion of a partnership agreement with Aster, a top-tier automotive dealer in Kazakhstan.The agreement enab
In response to the demand from individual investors for the introduction of a no-borrowing short selling monitoring system, securities-related agencies have indicated that it is practically challenging and proposed institutional investors to establish their own systems.During a forum hosted by the K
A South Korea-based brokerage firm has been fined billions of won for allegedly allowing global investment banks (IBs) to short sell stocks without borrowing, ratcheting up tension in the Korean securities industry. This is because although the sanctions were imposed on the foreign-affiliated securi
Italy will be scratched off the list of the world’s top 10 economies by 2038 with South Korea replacing it, according to the Center for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), a British think tank.According to a report by Bloomberg on Dec. 26, the CEBR continued its forecast that South Korea will be
The public takeover bid for Hankook & Company by MBK Partners, in collaboration with Advisor Cho Hyun-sik of Hankook & Company, has fallen through.On Dec. 26, Ventura, the special purpose company (SPC) of MBK Partners Special Situation Fund (SS) No. 2, announced, “The public takeover of Hankook & Co
Harim Group, selected as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of HMM, announced in its official statement on Dec. 26 that it intends to utilize HMM’s cash reserves, or retained earnings, to enhance global competitiveness.In the statement, Harim Group emphasized, “The cash assets held by HMM shou
In the latter half of this year from July to November, the top-ranked app in domestic shopping categories for downloads, according to data from IGAworks, is the Chinese app Temu. Temu’s monthly active users (MAU) have surged sevenfold in just three months. The market share of AliExpress, the oversea