Fallen crypto impresario Do Kwon has funneled tens of millions of dollars out of an entity linked to his failed blockchain project since he was arrested in late March, South Korean prosecutors alleged, Bloomberg News reported. The $29 million worth of digital tokens were likely moved by Kwon personally or at his direction, Dan Sunghan, director of the financial crime investigation bureau at the Seoul Southern District Prosecution Service, said in an interview with Bloomberg News.

South Korea's exports fell for a seventh straight month in April for their longest losing streak in three years, driven by an extended slump in sales to China and suggesting persistent pressure on the economy from frail global demand, Reuters reported. The downturn comes despite the reopening of the Chinese economy - a major market for South Korean goods and especially for chips - in December, and raises the challenge for policymakers as they push for a robust post-COVID revival.

Should a slowing economy lead to a weak stock market? Not judging by the performance of South Korea’s benchmark index this year, the Wall Street Journal reported. The country’s stock market is the best performer in Asia and one of the top indexes in the world so far this year. The Kospi Composite Index has risen more than 11% since Jan. 1, fueled by a rally in the shares of big technology companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc., which together account for a fifth of the index.

South Korea’s financial authorities will drastically reform the country’s 10-year-old system to better manage and supervise savings banks as the failures of U.S. Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse Group AG have heightened uncertainties in the global financial market and concerns over non-performing real estate project financing loans in the country, according to sources from the financial circle on Sunday, Pulse reported.

South Korea's central bank on Tuesday held interest rates steady and warned against expectations for a rate cut within this year, saying cooling but still high inflation posed a bigger risk than an economic slump. Remarks by the bank's governor at a news conference were largely neutral, but economists said the unanimous rate decision indicated the board has turned more dovish than at the previous meeting, when there was one member voting for a hike. The Bank of Korea's board kept the base rate unchanged at 3.50%, as it did on Feb. 23 and as expected.

KG Mobility Co., the South Korean automaker formerly known as Ssangyong Motor Co. before going through bankruptcy, is seeking to revive its fortunes with a $30,000 electric sports utility vehicle, Bloomberg News reported. The carmaker Thursday unveiled four new vehicles at the Seoul Mobility Show, including the Torres EVX, its first electric car since conglomerate KG Group bought a majority stake in the firm in September 2022. Using lithium-iron-phosphate batteries made by BYD Co., the SUV has a driving range of 500 kilometers (310 miles) on a single charge.

The Justice Department is investigating last year’s collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin, adding the risk of U.S. criminal charges to the pressure on its creator, South Korean crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Southern District of New York have questioned former team members of Mr. Kwon’s company, Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd., in recent weeks and sought to interview others, the people said.

A downturn in South Korea's home prices is causing pain in the country's unusual rent-free rental system that benefited landlords and tenants alike during a long surge in residential property prices, Reuters reported. In the "jeonse" scheme, tenants put up a deposit typically worth as much as 70% of the home's value, then live without paying rent for two years until the landlord returns the full amount.

South Korea's producer inflation slowed in December for a sixth month, dropping to the lowest rate in 20 months, central bank data showed on Friday, Reuters reported. The country's producer price index stood 6% higher in December than a year ago, compared with 6.2% in November, according to the Bank of Korea. The annual rate slowed for a sixth consecutive month, from a near 14-year high of 10% in June, and marked the slowest since April 2021. The index fell 0.3% on a monthly basis, at the same pace seen in November, in its second month of declines.

South Korea's factory activity shrank for a sixth consecutive month in December, a business survey showed on Monday, as the global economic downturn and a local truckers' strike led to the worst slump in demand in 2-1/2 years, Reuters reported. The S&P Global purchasing managers' index (PMI) for South Korea manufacturers fell to a seasonally-adjusted 48.2 last month from 49.0 in November.