The Korea Herald

KEB Hana Bank sets sail as No. 1 lender

KEB Hana Bank, the result of a merger between Korea Exchange Bank and Hana Bank, was launched on Tuesday, vowing to lead the banking industry with stronger asset management services. Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Jung-tai (center, front row) and KEB Hana Bank president Ham Young-joo (fourth from right, front row) attend the launching ceremony of KEB Hana Bank in the bank’s headquarters in central Seoul on Tuesday. (KEB Hana Bank)Upon officially capping the KEB-Hana merger, the new entity ros

Sept. 1, 2015

[Graphic News] Korea tops in ratio of enterprises to GDP

Korea is overflowing with small-scale and self-employed businesses amid a shortage of high-quality jobs, data showed Tuesday.According to a report released by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, the ratio between the number of Korean enterprises and gross domestic product was higher than other OECD members. Korea had 3,300 enterprises per $1 billion of GDP, far higher than Spain’s 0.5, Turkey’s 1.8 and Canada’s 1.54. Experts attributed Korea’s high number of enterprises to

Aug. 11, 2015

[Graphic News] Korea tops in ratio of enterprises to GDP

Korea’s per capita GDP may shrink in 2015

By Chung Joo-won South Korea’s per capita gross domestic product this year may fall for the first time in six years on the weak won and lackluster growth, a private think tank said Monday. The LG Economic Research Institute, the research arm of LG Group, estimated Korea’s per capital GDP in 2015 at $27,600, down 1.8 percent from 2014. The think tank attributed the fall to the appreciation of the U.S. dollar against Korean won. The per capita GDP, a dollar-denominated index, decreases when the Ko

July 27, 2015

BOK sees W1.8tr loss on gold price plunge

By Chung Joo-wonSouth Korea’s central bank reported a 1.8 trillion won ($1.54 billion) loss as record-low international gold prices devalued its reserve, the parliamentary finance committee revealed Sunday.According to the Bank of Korea’s report to the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee, the value of the bank’s gold purchased in 2011-2013 depreciated by 33 percent on average at current value.Last week, the gold price plunged to its lowest level in five years since April 2010, plu

July 26, 2015

Part-time labor market gets harsher on slow economy

By Chung Joo-won The growth of Korean part-timers’ monthly income in the second quarter slowed to a three-year low, an online job-matching portal revealed Monday.Alba Paradise chief executive Choi In-nyeong said, “In general, the growth of part-timers’ income and average hourly pay had been far faster than the minimum wage.”“But this year, their monthly and hourly wages grew slower, most likely because the slow economy cut down on the demand in the part-time labor market,” he said.According to a

July 20, 2015

South-North economic gap widens further

By Chung Joo-wonNorth Korea’s gross national income reached 34.2 trillion won ($29.8 billion) last year, about 2.3 percent of that of South Korea, data showed Friday. According to the Bank of Korea’s report on the North Korean economic growth in 2014, the communist nation’s nominal GNI per capita stood at 1.39 million won, meaning an average North Korean individual produces approximately 4.7 percent of what the average South Korean does.Meanwhile, North Korea’s trade volume in 2014 amounted to

July 17, 2015

Korea Investment mulls acquisition of KDB Daewoo

Korea Investment & Securities Co. is considering acquiring KDB Daewoo Securities, the nation’s second-largest brokerage by capital, industry sources said Thursday. The firm is weighing the bidding conditions and profitability of the acquisition, but has yet to declare participation in the bidding. Both Korea Investment & Securities and Daewoo Securities are among the top three brokerages by turnover. If Korea Investment & Securities’ acquires KDB Daewoo, which has 4.2 trillion won ($3.7 billion)

July 16, 2015

Korea Investment mulls acquisition of KDB Daewoo

Fitch maintains Korea’s rating

Fitch Ratings Inc., one of the world’s major credit raters, Tuesday maintained Korea’s sovereign ratings at “AA-” and long-term outlook at “stable,” citing the country’s solid growth and strong control over bad loans. “The Korean sovereign ratings reflect a strong macro-economic performance, moderate government debt and strong external balances, while exposure to geopolitical risk arising from the longstanding conflict with North Korea and low per capita income weigh on the rating,” Fitch state

July 14, 2015

Hana, KEB union agree on merger

The Hana Financial Group building is reflected in the window of a KEB office in Seoul. (Yonhap)Hana Financial Group and the Korea Exchange Bank labor union reached an agreement on the Hana Bank-KEB merger deal Monday, heralding the launch of Korea’s largest lender by assets.The banking group said it would complete the merger process by Sept. 1, as the last hurdle was now cleared. Hana Financial has pushed for the merger since its acquisition of KEB from U.S. buyout fund Lone Star in 2012. But th

July 13, 2015

Tobacco tax revenue jumps 38% in H1

Tax revenue from tobacco sales grew 38 percent in six months after the government-led tobacco price hike, while the sales volume dropped considerably, the Finance Ministry data revealed Sunday. In the January-June period, the government collected about 4.3 trillion won ($3.8 billion) in tax revenue from tobacco sales, up 1.2 trillion won from a year earlier. During the same period, cigarette sales dropped 28.3 percent due to the drastic tobacco tax hike that started on Jan. 1. After the new ciga

Industry July 12, 2015

JTI launches neon Camel

Camel Color Neon Edition. (JTI Korea)Japan Tobacco International Korea on Sunday launched the latest limited edition of Camel in iconic neon packing designs. Camel Color Neon Edition comes in four neon colors ― blue, yellow, pink and green and dark blue ― under the slogan “As bold as you want.”“Camel Color Neon Edition will provide opportunities for creative self-expression with Camel’s classic smooth taste and high-quality tobacco at a reasonable price,” JTI Korea’s manager said.“Whether you ar

Industry July 12, 2015

Korea cuts growth outlook to 2.8%

The Bank of Korea on Thursday revised its outlook on the nation’s gross domestic product growth down to 2.8 percent from its earlier forecast of 3.1 percent, citing weaker-than-expected consumer sentiment due to the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome in May and June and an ongoing export slump. This is the second downgrade of the year, three months after the central bank cut the 3.4 percent outlook to 3.1 percent in April due to the weak Japanese yen versus the Korean currency and inte

July 9, 2015

FSC to slash private loan interest rates

The regulator plans to slash the maximum interest rate that nonbanking lenders can charge. The Financial Services Commission recently investigated several private lenders, to find that their borrowing rate policies were all high, and did not reflect the central bank’s recent rate cuts. On June 11, the Bank of Korea lowered the base interest rate to a record low of 1.5 percent, following the economic losses due to the outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome and weak yen. This was the fou

July 8, 2015

FSC to slash private loan interest rates

Household debt hits record high in May

South Korea’s household debt hit a record high in May, although its monthly growth rate has slowed considerably due to a sharp drop in household bank loans, the central bank reported Tuesday. According to Bank of Korea data, the nation’s total household debt rose to 768.2 trillion won ($679.2 billion) as of the end of May, up 2.9 trillion won. The figure increased for 16 consecutive months since January of last year, when the amount decreased by 2 trillion won. Of the 2.9 trillion won rise in bo

July 7, 2015

KOSPI gains rank 10th among G20 nations in first half

Korea’s benchmark stock price index recorded the 10th biggest gain among the Group of 20 economies in the first half, up nine notches in six months, the Korea Exchange revealed Monday. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index grew 8.3 percent to 1,293 trillion won ($1.15 trillion) in the January-June period this year, slightly below the G20’s average 8.7 percent. At the end of 2014, the KOSPI had marked negative growth of 4.8 percent, ranking 19th among the G20 economies in gains. With Korea elevat

July 6, 2015

Articles by Chung Joo-won