FSS chief says it is time for households to cut spendingThe nation’s top financial regulator has vowed stern punitive action against banks engaged in irregular lending practices.Since he took office as chief of the Financial Supervisory Service on March 27, 2011, Gov. Kwon Hyouk-se has taken the initiative in conducting intensive inquiries into major banks for alleged business irregularities.The regulator’s full-fledged probe has been focused on the allegation that banks urged many individual an

March 8, 2012

The nation’s chief financial regulator said the foreign investment community needed to have a deeper engagement with charities and causes for their own business interests.“Corporate social responsibility has been a global response exiting the crisis,” Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Kwon Hyouk-se said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald.The FSS expects foreign financial institutions to contribute to the community as much as it expects from local companies, he said.He plans to comment

March 8, 2012

Chairman Chung wins award for ‘2011 Top Manager in the World’Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-koo reiterated that the company should make a breakthrough in Europe with unique strategies.Chung, who is visiting the 82nd Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland, called for Hyundai’s European corporations to cope with the European crisis with a creative mindset.Chung was quoted by Hyundai executives as saying, “Though the European market is the origin of the global economic slowdown, Hyundai

Mobility March 7, 2012

Prof. Yoon Chang-hyun of University of Seoul has been named chief of the Korea Institute of Finance.The Korea Federation of Banks, the majority shareholder of the state-run KIF, is poised to appoint Yoon to the post in the coming weeks as the incumbent chief Kim Tae-joon will see his term expire this month.The 52-year-old nominee is a professor of Business Administration at University of Seoul and has worked as the secretary of Citizens United for Better Society.He is also known as a conservativ

March 7, 2012

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors will help support the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, slated for March 26-27.The two companies delivered 262 vehicles, produced for protocol and guard of the global leaders, to the preparation committee for the summit on Monday.The vehicles included the Equus limousine by Hyundai Motor and the Starex van from Kia Motors, which will be used for the figures from more than 50 countries.The automakers will also run a maintenance team of 70 experts fo

Mobility March 5, 2012

Hana Financial Group selected the group’s new president, the No. 2 figure in the group, and its flagship Hana Bank’s CEO, the No. 3 figure.The group’s move comes after its ad hoc committee picked incumbent Hana Bank CEO Kim Jung-tai as the new chairman, the No. 1 post, following its takeover of Korea Exchange Bank.Choe Heung-sik, CEO of Hana Institute of Finance, was nominated as a candidate for group president to replace Kim Jong-yeol, who expressed his intention to resign in January.“I will t

March 5, 2012

The growth of consumer prices dropped to its lowest in 14 months in February, while worries over inflationary pressure continue mainly due to skyrocketing oil prices.Statistics Korea data showed Friday that the nation’s consumer prices climbed 3.1 percent in February from a year earlier, which marked the lowest year-on-year growth since 3 percent in December 2010.In January, year-on-year price growth came to 3.4 percent. An official at the statistics agency attributed the fall to a drop in publi

March 2, 2012

Hyundai Motor has been selected as a sponsor for the 2013 Summer Universiade, which will be held in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, a federal subject of Russia.The carmaker will support about 1,100 vehicles such as the Equus and Avante, dubbed Solaris in the Russian market, for the biennial sports event.It will also offer 340 buses for transportation of more than 10,000 student players from about 170 countries under a contract with the organizing committee.Hyundai Motor signed a

March 1, 2012

Group dismisses allegation that management engaged in irregularitiesWith his retirement just several weeks away, Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Seung-yu has been accused of committing irregularities during his involvement in the group’s takeover of Korea Exchange Bank from Lone Star Funds.A group of lawyers, professors and civic groups filed a complaint against the Hana Financial chief with the prosecution for breach of trust last Wednesday.Hana’s 26 executives also face a criminal investigat

March 1, 2012

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo and his son Eui-sun have been expanding their presence in the group’s subsidiaries.Chairman Chung is to take on the role of a standing director in Hyundai Engineering & Construction, which was acquired by the automotive group in March 2011, Hyundai Motor said Wednesday.Last Friday, Chung Eui-sun, Hyundai Motor vice chairman and Kia Motors president, was named a standing director of Hyundai-Steel.According to Hyundai spokespeople, their direct involveme

Mobility Feb. 29, 2012