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
Nexon Korea, the operator of the online game MapleStory, is set to face a hefty fine of more than 10 billion won from the Korea Fair Trade Commission for selling game items with virtually zero chance of being won.The KFTC announced on Jan. 3 that it would impose a corrective order and a fine of 11.6
Key Foundry, an 8-inch pure-play foundry semiconductor company acquired by SK hynix, announced on Dec. 3 that it has changed its name to SK keyfoundry.The updated company name has been in use since Jan. 1, following a recent shareholder meeting approval. SK keyfoundry also completed domestic and int
Overseas luxury brands are once again raising product prices early in the new year.According to the retail industry on Jan. 2, Hermes has raised the prices of its shoe products starting from Jan. 1. Among the various models of “Oran” sandals, the one crafted from lizard leather has witnessed a subst
South Korea recorded a trade deficit of US$9.97 billion last year, marking the second consecutive year of deficit since 2022. However, the trade deficit in the past year contracted compared to 2022 when it was US$47.78 billion, primarily due to the recovery in exports in the latter half of the year.
In December of last year, domestic semiconductor exports recorded the highest annual growth rate yet. The prices of memory semiconductors, the main export products of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, have consistently been on the rise.According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy on Jan.
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
Korea and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have finalized negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). The Korea-GCC FTA is Korea’s twenty-fifth FTA and the second with the Arab world after the Korea-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). As Korea has gain
South Korea’s exports will fall by 10% if the world’s major economies split into two groups and strengthen trade barriers against each other, according to a report. However, if Korea promotes export diversification, it will be able to significantly reduce adverse effects.According to the Bank of Kor
Recent data indicates that the number of mid-sized companies playing a crucial role as the “backbone” of the domestic economy increased by nearly 100 last year. Both the total revenue and operating profit of mid-sized companies saw an increase of around 10% compared to the previous year, and investm
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
Indiscriminate attacks by Yemen’s Islamist Houthi rebels have forced major shipping companies to divert their routes around the Cape of Good Hope off the southern tip of Africa instead of the Suez Canal in the Red Sea, costing them up to US$1.5 million to US$2 million more in fuel costs per ship, ac
The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) on Dec. 25 released a report on how to secure raw materials to foster Korea’s electric vehicle battery recycling industry. The report was written based on forecasts from SNE Research, a market research firm specializing in energy.The size of the globa
The Korean government has temporarily postponed the dispatch of an additional reconstruction cooperation team to Ukraine. This is due to a combination of changes in the international situation due to the prolonged Ukraine-Russia war and a reshuffle of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration of Korea.Accord
On the morning of Dec. 23 a fire broke out at POSCO’s Pohang Works, temporarily halting the operation of three blast furnaces. The government and POSCO said that the restart of the furnaces after putting out the fire would not cause any major disruption to the production and supply of products. Howe
The South Korean government is considering applying antitrust regulations following abrupt price hikes by major content platforms such as YouTube and Netflix.A senior ruling party official stated in a media interview on Dec. 21, “A 40% hike in consumer prices at once is a kind of monopolistic abuse.
Samsung Electronics is set to establish an advanced semiconductor packaging research and development (R&D) base in Yokohama, Japan. The company plans to invest 40 billion yen into this area by 2028.The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, along with the city of Yokohama, announced on De
For the first time in four years, business leaders from South Korea and China are meeting in Seoul to identify industries for cooperation between the two countries and to discuss future initiatives such as supply chain cooperation and carbon neutrality.The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCC
South Korea’s growing imports of secondary battery materials and intermediate goods from China were blamed for South Korea’s trade balance with China which is expected to post its first deficit in 31 years.According to the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Dec. 20, South Korea’s trade balance with China posted
Following the spread of COVID-19, North Korea’s real gross domestic product (GDP) has experienced three consecutive years of negative growth, leading to a widening income gap of up to 30 times per capita between North and South Korea. Last year, North Korea’s population was approximately half the si