The Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC)'s Financial Misconduct Investigation Headquarters, established to hold officials at insolvent financial companies accountable, will be merged with the recovery organization and disappear after 18 years, Chosun Biz reported. The workload has fallen as bankruptcies among financial companies have decreased. The prosecutor seconded from the prosecution service who led the headquarters also returned earlier than planned.

The merger of Korea Gas Corporation (036460) and Korea National Oil Corporation has been on the table since the Park Geun-hye administration. Because oil and gas are often found together during drilling, officials have viewed a merger as a way to improve efficiency in resource development. Concerns remain, however, that the combined entity's financial health could deteriorate as Korea Gas Corporation absorbs the oil company's accumulated bad assets, Seoul Economic Daily reported.

The Seoul Bankruptcy Court on Wednesday approved Homeplus's corporate rehabilitation plan, letting the hypermarket sidestep bankruptcy and setting it on course to exit court receivership, The Korea Herald reported. Secured creditors, unsecured creditors and shareholders voted in separate classes at the same-day meeting, with approval requiring more than 75 percent, 66.7 percent and 50 percent support, respectively.

The Bank of Korea on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.00%, delivering a second straight increase as inflation stays above target and ‌financial stability risks persist, Reuters reported. Following the decision, Governor Shin Hyun Song signaled that the bank would take its time assessing ‌the back-to-back rate actions before it looks to do an additional 25 basis point hike. The seven-member monetary policy board at the BOK voted to raise the seven-day repurchase ​rate to the highest level since February 2025.

As the slump in the South Korean construction sector drags on, the financial sector's real estate project financing (PF) loan arrears rate has hit a record high for the first time in about 10 years, Chosun Biz reported. Although the financial sector's PF outstanding loan balance has declined, PF exposures flagged as "watch" or "concerned about insolvency" in feasibility assessments have turned to an increase this year.

A stakeholders meeting to review and vote on the rehabilitation plan for Homeplus, which has secured 200 billion won in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing, will be held on the 2nd of next month, SBS World News reported. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court announced today (the 13th) that it has scheduled the stakeholders meeting to review and resolve the amended rehabilitation plan for Homeplus at 3:00 p.m. on the 2nd of next month. This comes two days before the deadline for approving the rehabilitation plan, which is September 4.

The Mohegan Native American tribe spent $1.6 billion and almost a decade building a gambling venue near Seoul with three five-star hotels, a 15,000-seat arena and a water park so lavish that Netflix chose to film a hit dating show there, the New York Times reported. The Inspire Entertainment Resort was Mohegan’s first casino project outside North America, one designed to tap into a lucrative market of Chinese gamblers, who spent $28 billion on games in 2024 in Macau.

South Korea’s headline inflation moderated in July after reaching a 30-month high in June, partly because government measures helped restrain fuel and electricity prices, the Wall Street Journal reported. Price pressures persisted, however, with inflation remaining above the central bank’s 2% target. The Ministry of Data and Statistics said Tuesday that the benchmark consumer-price index rose 2.8% in July from a year earlier, slowing from 3.2% in June—the fastest pace since December 2023.

A South Korean securities firm moved to have Florida-based investment firm Ria R Squared Inc.'s bankruptcy tossed as a bad faith filing, Bloomberg Law reported. Ria’s chapter 11 case was filed as a litigation tactic to avoid a ruling in a long-running New York state court battle, Shinhan Securities Co.. said in a Thursday motion to dismiss in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.