South Korea

South Korea's finance ministry said on Wednesday it was ready to deploy "unlimited" liquidity into financial markets after President Yoon Suk Yeol lifted a martial law declaration he imposed overnight that pushed the won to multi-year lows, Reuters reported. The announcement came after Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong held emergency talks overnight, and as the central bank board abruptly met to approve rescue measures for the local credit market.

South Korea's export growth slowed for a fourth-straight month in November, to the weakest level in 14 months, as shipments to the United States and China fell amid tariff uncertainty, trade data showed on Sunday, Reuters reported. Exports out of Asia's fourth-largest economy rose 1.4% in November from a year earlier, after a gain of 4.6% in October, to $56.35 billion. It was the 14th-straight month exports rose in annual terms but the slowest rate for the sequence, also missing a median forecast of a 2.8% increase tipped in a Reuters poll of economists. Last month, U.S.

South Korea’s household debt grew the most in three years last quarter, highlighting a development that kept the central bank from pivoting on policy until last month, Bloomberg News reported. Total household credit rose by 18 trillion won ($12.9 billion) in the July-September period compared with the previous quarter, according to data released Tuesday by the Bank of Korea. Mortgage loans, a major component of the credit, also rose by the most since the third quarter of 2021.

Korea Zinc, whose management is embroiled in a takeover battle for the world's top refined zinc producer, said on Monday that a government panel had found its lithium-ion battery material technology was subject to export controls, Reuters reported. The industry ministry, which has a committee of experts to review and rule on applications for designating "national core technology", also said the panel had recently granted Korea Zinc's case and notified it of the decision without elaborating.

South Korean police have arrested 215 people on suspicion of stealing 320 billion won ($228.4 million) in the biggest cryptocurrency investment scam in the country, Reuters reported. Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police said on Wednesday the arrests included the alleged mastermind of the organised crime group accused of selling 28 types of virtual tokens to about 15,000 people by promising high returns. Police said the group had issued six of the 28 tokens on overseas crypto exchanges and were managing a team of market makers to push up prices. Police described the tokens as "worthless".

The South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) is set to probe Upbit, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, for alleged anti-monopoly crimes. The investigation began when legislators expressed worries about Upbit's market dominance and ties with online bank K-Bank, TheStreet.com reported. During a parliamentary audit, MP Lee Kang-il emphasized Upbit's considerable market share and K-Bank deposits' impact. Upbit controls more than half of the South Korean cryptocurrency market, with a 24-hour trading volume topping $1.18B.

Qoo10 CEO Ku Young-bae attended a court hearing held on Thursday to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant on fraud and embezzlement charges related to his e-commerce group's large-scale payment delays to vendors, the Korea Times reported. Ku appeared at the Seoul Central District Court for his hearing, which will be shortly followed by arrest warrant hearings for Ryu Kwang-jin and Ryu Hwa-hyun, CEOs of Qoo10's e-commerce subsidiaries TMON and WeMakePrice, over the massive insolvency incident.

Prosecutors on Monday grilled an e-commerce tycoon believed to be at the center of the large-scale insolvency incidents involving online shopping platforms TIMON and WeMakePrice, the Korea Herald reported. Ku Young-bae, CEO of the Singapore-based Qoo10 Group, the parent company of TIMON and WeMakePrice, underwent questioning as a fraud and embezzlement suspect at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office in the morning. He entered the prosecution office at 8:55 a.m. after telling reporters that he will faithfully undergo the investigation.

A court in Seoul suspended the rehabilitation process of the Korean Federation of Film Producers (KFA), the organization behind the Grand Bell Awards, South Korea’s oldest film awards ceremony, The Chosun Daily reported. This development raises uncertainty about whether the ceremony will take place later this year. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court decided to revoke the KFA’s court-ordered small business reorganization KFA’s on Sept. 26, according to sources familiar with the matter.

South Korea’s inflation slowed more than expected to the central bank’s target, opening the door for monetary officials to conduct a policy pivot as soon as next month if home prices also show signs of easing, Bloomberg News reported. Consumer prices advanced 2% in August from a year earlier, moderating from a 2.6% clip in July, the statistics office reported Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast the pace of price growth would ease to 2.1%. The deceleration was amplified somewhat by comparisons with last year, when price growth surged on higher energy costs.