The government on Friday decided to raise the electricity rate in the first quarter of 2023 by 13.1 won per kilowatt hour, the largest on-quarter hike ever carried out. This means that four people household that uses around 307 kilowatt hours will have to pay around 4,022 won more per month on average. “From the second quarter on, we plan to decide whether or not to increase rates further by comprehensively reviewing global energy prices, inflation, domestic economic s

Industry Dec. 30, 2022

Online grocery delivery platform Oasis Market passed the preliminary approval for its planned initial public offering on the Korean stock exchange. In September, Oasis Market applied for a preliminary review for its IPO with lead managers Korea Investment & Securities and NH Investment & Securities. The Korean e-commerce company is planning to debut on the secondary tech-heavy KOSDAQ markets during the first half of 2023. Established in 2011, Oasis Market entered the online delivery mark

Industry Dec. 30, 2022

As the end of the year approached, local commercial banks have started accepting voluntary retirement applications from employees. In the past, voluntary retirement has been considered a bitter pill banks had to swallow during times of financial stress. However, over the last few years, many banks here have started regularly accepting voluntary retirement applications mainly due to a digitalized environment which led to a decline in clients visiting its branches. Despite record earnings fr

Industry Dec. 29, 2022

The inappropriate behavior of senior management and a lack of financial control saw the largest increases among causes of Korean companies' internal control problems in 2022, according to the K SOX Audit Review published by Samjong KPMG, a Seoul-based consulting firm, Wednesday. A total of 46 cases of inappropriate behavior or negligence of senior management were spotted among Korean companies, surging from 18 cases last year, the report said. Companies that did not have proper financial co

Industry Dec. 28, 2022

Hana Financial Group said Monday it is revamping its organization under three vice chairmen in a move to strengthen its competitiveness in the digital and global sectors, as well as its core financial business. The group appointed two vice chairmen -- Park sung-ho and Kang Seong-muk -- while retaining Vice Chairman Lee Eun-hyung. Park, 58, joined Hana Bank back in 1987. He will focus on the group’s digital sector and will also be responsible for finding and developing new business opportu

Industry Dec. 27, 2022

South Korea's Financial Services Commission on Monday announced that it will mandate big tech companies with financial services to establish disaster recovery centers. The new regulation plan came in the wake of Kakao’s extensive internet, banking and messenger service disruption caused by a fire at SK C&C’s data center in October. During the FSC’s fifth financial regulatory innovation meeting, it decided to establish a new task force during the first half of next year

Industry Dec. 27, 2022

Hana Bank on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with Toss Securities, the brokerage arm of fintech company Viva Republica, to jointly provide around-the-clock service for foreign exchange trading. “Through continuous cooperation with various financial companies like Toss Securities, we will create a new trend in the foreign exchange market,” Hana Bank official Namgoong One said in a statement. According to Hana Bank on Friday, the bank will mainly provide exchange rate i

Market Dec. 16, 2022

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld lower courts’ decision to accept an injunction request by the head of Woori Financial Group against the financial watchdog's penalty for improperly selling derivatives-linked products. Since 2017, Woori Bank has been selling derivatives-linked products that were designed for investors to earn large amounts of money when the interest rates of major economies stay above a certain level. The problem occurred in 2019 when the interest rate around the

Economy Dec. 15, 2022

After NongHyup Financial Group announced on Monday it selected Lee Suk-joon, 63, as the new chairman, the news made headlines as Lee is the first former high-ranking official to become a financial group’s head under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. According to the financial group, it held meetings on Monday with the board and shareholders and approved sole candidate Lee as the new chairman. He will start a two-year term on Jan. 1. Born in 1959 in the nation’s second-largest city,

Industry Dec. 13, 2022

South Korea's financial regulator is reviewing the possibility of Apple Pay’s payment process violating a law to protect personal credit information, ahead of its launch in Korea. This review came after the Financial Supervisory Service official said it has completed a review of Apple Pay’s terms and conditions last week. When a purchase occurs in local stores using Apple Pay, the American tech company plans to adopt a payment processing method that approves the purchase via the

Industry Dec. 12, 2022

Hana Financial Group said Sunday it has provided support totaling 150 million won ($115,000) for 18 startup projects launched by college students. The program, Hana Social Venture University, is part of the group’s outreach that aims to support young students to find jobs or launch their own businesses. Since July, 292 potential startups consisting of 550 university students from 10 different schools have taken part in the program, which offers eight weeks of training, one-on-one consultin

Industry Dec. 11, 2022

Apple Pay’s long-awaited South Korean debut seems imminent, even as local partner Hyundai Card’s lips appear tightly sealed. On Friday, a photo went viral on Asamo, a Naver blog for Apple products users. It showed a kiosk machine at Kimganae, a local gimbap chain, with a sign that read “Payment with Apple Pay.” Many blog readers did not hide their excitement. “Finally, Apple Pay in Korea,” a user commented on the post. “If it works in Kimganae, I gues

Industry Dec. 11, 2022

Citibank Korea has been honored with the Best International Bank in Korea for 2022 award by Asiamoney, a monthly financial magazine published in Hong Kong. Asiamoney said it selected Citibank Korea for the award as the bank has been “a trusted financial partner to corporate clients, offering innovative and comprehensive solutions with Citi’s global expertise and network despite the significant challenges of the global economy.” “Thanks to the passion and devotion of all o

Industry Dec. 8, 2022

A Seoul court’s denial of an injunction against the delisting of Wemade's cryptocurrency wemix on Wednesday sent shock waves through the local virtual asset market. During this delisting process, wemix's market capitalization plunged by more than 380 billion won ($287.52 million). Wemix tokens were removed from the four crypto exchange platforms -- Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone and Korbit -- on Thursday at 3 p.m. The court's ruling came as Wemade filed a petition for a preliminary

Industry Dec. 8, 2022

South Korea’s top financial watchdog on Tuesday launched an on-site inspection of NHN’s mobile payment service Payco after news that its signature key was leaked broke the day before. This key is a tool that app developers use when registering and distributing their apps on app stores. It certifies that an app is developed by a certified company—in this case, Payco. Apps that used this signature key are considered safe and not detected as malicious by security programs. Back

Industry Dec. 7, 2022