South Korea’s Hana Financial Group has nominated Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo to be the next chairman of the banking group. On Tuesday, firm’s chairman nomination committee tapped Ham as the sole nominee for the position, citing his performance in generating profit and bolstering stability in business. Ham has also shown “extraordinary leadership” in managing the group and is expected to lead Hana into the future with digital transformation, the committee said in a statem

Market Feb. 8, 2022

Some 400,000 people were found to have left Seoul to move to neighboring metropolitan areas last year, government data showed Tuesday, with surging housing prices being cited as the key reason behind the exodus. According to Statistics Korea, a total of 406,975 people submitted change-of-address requests from Seoul addresses last year. Of the total, 362,116 moved to Gyeonggi Province, while 44,859 left for Incheon. The latest data corresponds with the Seoul city government’s data relea

Economy Feb. 8, 2022

South Korea’s top financial regulator has contracted COVID-19, the Financial Services Commission said Monday. Financial Services Commission Chairman Koh Seung-beom tested positive for the novel coronavirus before noon despite having received three doses of a vaccine, the FSC said in a statement. Koh has no plans to be hospitalized at the moment and is currently self-isolated at home. He has yet to show any signs of severe symptoms, according to the FSC. The financial regulator has supp

Economy Feb. 7, 2022

South Korea’s Woori Financial Group said Monday it has nominated Senior Deputy President Lee Won-duk to lead its flagship commercial bank. The firm’s CEO recommendation committee last month had shortlisted three candidates for the position -- Lee, Park Hwa-jae, deputy president of Woori Bank‘s credit support unit and Jeon Sang-wook, deputy president of the bank’s risk management unit. Lee was tapped due to his “broad understanding” of the group’s core

Market Feb. 7, 2022

The market saw a record high of 19.7 trillion won ($16.4 billion) flowing in to initial public offering deals last year, a 333.9 percent increase on-year from 4.5 trillion won the previous year, data from the nation’s financial watchdog showed Monday. Buoyed by the surge in local stock prices and ample liquidity, the number of firms that debuted on the market last year increased 27.1 percent to 89, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. Of the firms, 14 debuted on the main bour

Market Feb. 7, 2022

Employees at South Korean financial firms will receive up to four times their monthly salary as their bonuses for 2021, backed by booming business, sources said Sunday. Woori Bank, one of the major commercial lenders here, has recently agreed with its union to hand its employees performance bonuses worth 300 percent of their monthly salaries plus some 1 million won ($830), according to industry sources. The nation’s No.1 commercial bank by performance, KB Kookmin Bank and its long-time

Market Feb. 6, 2022

South Korea’s central bank said Thursday that the global market was relatively stable during the three-day Lunar New Year holiday this week, but external risks remain high on the Korean market. “During the Lunar New Year holiday, which took place this year from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, stocks and rates in major economies rose, alongside a weak dollar trend, due to easing of the global risk-avoidance tendencies,” BOK Senior Deputy Gov. Lee Seung-heon said after a meeting to review th

Economy Feb. 3, 2022

South Korea’s Kyobo Life Insurance has taken its battle with Deloitte Anjin to overseas, asking a US nonprofit audit watchdog to investigate and punish three accountants suspected of inflating the prices of a put option that one of its strategic investors exercised years earlier. One of the top life insurers here filed a complaint with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, requesting them to “take actions for a strong sanction” against the accountants, including the o

Market Jan. 28, 2022

South Korea’s top financial regulator attempted to calm local investors Friday over the latest dip in the Kospi following the US Federal Reserve’s March rate hike signal. “It is true that the Kospi dip has an excessive aspect to it,” Financial Services Commission Chairman Koh Seung-beom said in a meeting on the financial market. “It would not be appropriate for investors to be overly dampened or concerned,” he added. The nation’s benchmark Kospi f

Market Jan. 28, 2022

The head of the state-run Korea Development Bank on Thursday expressed “strong regret” over the European Union antitrust regulator’s recent decision to block the merger of two Korean shipbuilders, saying that the move undermined Korea’s long-term efforts to normalize the shipbuilding industry. “I apologize and must express strong regret over the EU’s recent decision to veto Hyundai Heavy Industries Group’s proposed acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding &a

Industry Jan. 27, 2022

South Korea’s top banking groups KB, Hana and Shinhan are included in this year’s Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, which recognizes businesses committed to transparency in gender reporting and promoting women’s rights, the firms said Thursday. This marks KB and Shinhan’s fourth consecutive year, and Hana’s first time to be recognized by the GEI. The GEI was expanded in 2022 to represent 45 countries and regions, and 418 public companies across various sectors, inc

Market Jan. 27, 2022

South Korea’s banking groups have started upgrading their auto loan and financing services to the next level this year, aiming to go beyond their traditional business to attract mobile-first customers. KB Financial Group, the nation’s No. 1 banking group by total assets, has expanded its car financing services offered via online and mobile platforms, mostly through its leasing and installment financing unit KB Capital. On Jan. 4, KB Capital signed a deal with Volvo’s electri

Market Jan. 26, 2022

South Korea’s economy grew at an estimated 4 percent on-year in 2021, posting the highest growth rate in 11 years despite omicron woes, central bank data showed Tuesday. The export-reliant economy’s strong recovery in outbound shipments, stable private consumption amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the government’s eased quarantine rules and supplementary budgets drawn up to cushion the blow to the economy worked as key catalysts, Hwang Sang-pil, head of the economic statistics burea

Economy Jan. 25, 2022

South Korea’s central bank said Monday that it has successfully completed the pilot testing of issuance and distribution of digital currency. The Bank of Korea has wrapped up the first phase of its two-part mock testing of the central bank digital currency in December and has been carrying out the second phase “smoothly.” Once the second phase wraps up in June, the BOK plans to start discussions on its actual launch and commercialization. It aims to expand the scope of the t

Market Jan. 24, 2022

 Chiefs of South Korea’s Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank vowed to pursue customer-centric changes as a key goal for this year, the firms said Sunday. Woori Bank CEO Kwon Kwang-seok asked his employees to cooperate with the firm’s transition into a “customer-centric financial platform,” at a business strategy meeting held on both Zoom and via the metaverse. “The timeless solution toward success for businesses has always been the customers,” Kwon said at the

Market Jan. 23, 2022