October
Phil King’s Regal Funds indicted in South Korean crackdown
In April, the firm had moved to appeal a $347,000 penalty imposed by South Korea’s financial authorities over alleged breaches of short-selling laws.
- Joshua Peach
August
Risky bet on US office towers becomes debacle
With high borrowing costs and slumping property prices, investors are pulling back from mezzanine debt and taking a massive hit on their way out.
- Neil Callanan and Natalie Wong
July
Japan’s Chugoku puts its share of $1.1b Boggabri coal mine up for sale
The electricity retailer owns 10 per cent of the NSW operation, and it is the latest Japanese coal industry cornerstone firm to exit.
- Peter Ker
Australia could buy South Korean nuclear reactors
The East Asian nation is gradually increasing its exports of energy technology to diversify its economic base and strengthen its geopolitical influence.
- Michael Read and Elouise Fowler
‘Spurious’ delays deterring foreign investors from Australia
A slew of regulatory setbacks has South Korean investors for the first time viewing Australia as a destination with ‘sovereign risk’ to investment returns.
- Michael Read and Elouise Fowler
May
How South Korea’s giant pension funds fell prey to $395m NDIS housing scam
The elaborate fraud succeeded by making grand claims, name-dropping Australia’s biggest property players, and was only discovered by chance.
- Michael Bleby
Man behind $395m NDIS investment fraud gets 12 years in prison
The verdict brings to an end a criminal matter in which the former property developer used fake documentation to secure financing from Korean pension funds.
- Michael Bleby and Campbell Kwan
Regal allegedly embroiled in South Korean securities investigation
The prominent hedge fund told investors in September it was shorting stocks in South Korea, saying it was focused on “one specific bank”.
- Joshua Peach
- Exclusive
- Foreign relations
‘No concerns’ with South Korean takeover bid for Austal: Marles
Defence Minister Richard Marles has given a fillip to Hanwha’s bid to buy Perth shipbuilder Austal, despite the deal raising security concerns.
- Andrew Tillett and Brad Thompson
March
South Korea sends scandal-hit ambassador to Australia
The arrival of South Korea’s former defence minister in Canberra this week has made headlines in Seoul, where the opposition accused him of fleeing the country.
- Updated
- Michael Smith
This is what it’s like to live in North Korea’s firing line
Kim Jong-un, now on a war footing, has been emboldened by its closer relations with Russia and China. That’s a problem for South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island.
- Updated
- Michael Smith and Sean Na
February
- Opinion
- East Asia Forum
South Korea’s fertility crisis could shift regional power balances
The Asian nation has the worst fertility rate in the world. Without radical changes, sustaining the country’s formidable military posture will become impossible.
- Dylan Motin
- Analysis
- US election
The false premise at the heart of Trump’s scorn for NATO
He has long painted the alliance as a sort of protection racket where those who do not “pay up” will be abandoned by the United States.
- Peter Baker
January
King to pitch new gas investment rules to Japan, Korea
Resources Minister Madeleine King will use a visit to Japan and South Korea to try and temper concerns about billions of dollars in Australian gas investments.
- Michael Smith
South Korea says illegal short sales had ‘big impact’ on stocks
The government in November imposed a ban on any kind of stock short selling through mid-2024, a decision that drew cheers from retail traders but scepticism from professional investors.
- Youkyung Lee
South Korea opposition chief stabbed
Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, was stabbed in the neck in the city of Busan.
- Reuters
November 2023
Higher interest rates are shattering housing dreams around the world
Markets are caught between sharply higher borrowing costs – likely here to stay – and a shortage of homes that’s keeping prices elevated.
- Ari Altstedter, Ainsley Thomson and Prashant Gopal
- Opinion
- Russia-Ukraine war
South Korea’s lessons in rebuilding Ukraine
Funding, security guarantees, and freezing the conflict will give Ukrainians the same chance to prosper that South Koreans have famously done.
- James Stavridis
China’s import surprise offers hope as recovery risks linger
China’s imports expanded year-on-year for the first time since February, a rare sign of growth against a backdrop of weaker overall trade activity in 2023.
- Linda Lew
September 2023
- Opinion
- World politics
Japan and South Korea’s rapprochement is shakier than it looks
Joe Biden booked some impressive gains in his bid to bind Asian partners into his regional agenda. But many of the initiatives build only modestly on past practices.
- Christian Davies