The Korea Herald

KB Financial completes LIG takeover deal for W645 bil.

Mar 25, 2015

The board of KB Financial Group Inc., South Korea's second-largest banking group by assets, has approved a long-protracted takeover of LIG Insurance Co. for 645 billion won ($585 million), officials said Wednesday.The amount is for a 19.47 percent stake in the country's No. 4 non-life insurer and is lower than the 685 billion won price the two parties agreed to in June when they first signed the takeover deal. KB Financial had demanded the price be slashed, citing LIG's poor earnings.The two par
Korea’s per capita income grows 3.8%

Mar 25, 2015

South Korea’s gross national income surpassed $28,000 per capita in 2014, in part due to a strong Korean won against the U.S. dollar, while the economy expanded 3.3 percent, well below its 4 percent target, according to data from the Bank of Korea Wednesday.In a revised report released by the Korean central bank, the loss of 3.8 percent on the won-dollar foreign exchange pushed the GNI per capita up to $28,180 last year from $26,179 the year before.This marked the fifth straight year for the cou
Top regulator demands bold, speedy reform

Mar 25, 2015

The new head of the Financial Services Commission called for “bold and speedy” financial reform on Wednesday, expecting to receive the first batch of reform plans as early as next month. “We will either find a way or make one,” said FSC Chairman Yim Jong-yong, quoting Carthaginian military commander Hannibal, at the first meeting of a nongovernmental council for financial reform.“We need a broad plan for reform that encompasses the financial and the nonfinancial sectors, such as foreign currenci
FSC mulls expanding loan transfer system

Mar 25, 2015

Financial authorities may expand the budget and range of the long-term fixed-rate loan transfer system, reflecting soaring public demand for lower interest burdens.“The FSC is communicating with nonmonetary institutions on whether or not to apply the low-rate loan switch system to savings banks and community credit cooperative borrowers,” Kwon Dae-young, financial policy official at the FSC, told reporters Wednesday.“We also decided to abolish the monthly limit and administer the total yearly bu
Regulator mulls more money for new mortgage loan program on soaring demand

Mar 25, 2015

South Korea's financial regulator said Wednesday it will considering making more money available for long-term fixed-rate loans after borrowers gobbled up a new government-backed loan scheme from the first day of its launch.More than 40,000 people have signed on with local banks to convert their short-term floating-rate mortgage loans into longer, fixed-rate loans introduced by the government to rein in ballooning household debt, according to the Financial Services Commission. The amount of mon
BOK governor warns Korea faces short-term uncertainties

Mar 24, 2015

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Tuesday that South Korea’s economic conditions were improving, but the country is still facing uncertainties stemming from increasing oil prices and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s expected rate rise in the near future.In a meeting with economic researchers and professors in Seoul, the top monetary policymaker said such external factors would increase volatility, and Korea would face short-term uncertainties.“Volatility could increase on (rising) oil prices and the
Government debt soars in 2014

Mar 24, 2015

The government and some state-run companies were more than 1,200 trillion won ($1.1 trillion) in the red as of last year, with government debt growing almost twice as fast as a year earlier, central bank data revealed Tuesday.The debt, borrowed by the central and local governments and nonfinancial state-run firms, tallied 1,208.8 trillion won at the end of 2014, up 76.3 trillion won, or 6.7 percent, year-on-year, the Bank of Korea reported. Of the total debt, the governments’ debt grew about 9.
Banks rush to issue CoCo bonds

Mar 24, 2015

Pressed by global regulatory standards on capital reserves, major Korean banking groups are gearing up to issue contingent convertible bonds, or CoCo bonds, to replace subordinated bonds.For this, most financial companies revised their articles of association or are planning to do so in their upcoming stockholders’ meetings.According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system last Wednesday, Shinhan Financial Group issued 300 billion won ($271 million) of CoCo bonds to r
Financial regulator vows to clean out fintech restrictions

Mar 24, 2015

South Korea's top financial regulator Tuesday reiterated his pledge to remove regulations and restrictions that block the development of financial technology, or fintech, and create the best environment for fintech startups."Fintech can help the financial industry boost competitiveness and give a boost to the national economy," Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Yim Jong-yong said in a meeting with fintech startups in Seoul. "I will keep collecting ideas from the fintech sector and loo
Financial Security Agency to be launched next month

Mar 24, 2015

An independent body in charge of handling financial security and preventing financial crimes in South Korea will be launched next month, sources said Tuesday, in a bid to beef up the sector's ability to share and protect financial information.The tentatively named Financial Security Agency will integrate information sharing and analysis functions of the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearing Institute and Koscom, a public corporation that manages the IT infrastructure of the country's sec
Part-time workers hit record high

Mar 23, 2015

The number of employees who work less than 18 hours a week has reached a record-high 1.2 million, reflecting the widespread concerns about employment and job security, government data revealed Monday. The working hours of these part-timers is on average two to three hours a day, which is far shorter than the average for nonregular workers, Statistics Korea reported. The short duration part-time workers rose to 1.20 million in January-February, up 2.6 percent from the same period last year of 1.1
Korean conglomerates see cash reserves increase 8%

Mar 23, 2015

South Korea’s conglomerates and their affiliates have increased their cash holdings over the past year, despite the government’s efforts to induce companies to spend them to increase employee wages and facility investment.The combined retained earnings of 96 affiliates of the country’s top 10 family-run conglomerates reached 503.9 trillion won ($453 billion) at the end of fiscal 2014, up more than 8 percent or 37.6 trillion won from the same period a year ago, according to Chaebul.com, an online
FSC, FSS strive to voice unified view

Mar 23, 2015

Officials of the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service may face personnel penalties should they voice conflicting opinions over an issue.The move reflected the two financial regulators’ effort to harmonize their opinion and minimize the confusion for financial companies.“FSC chairman Yim Jong-yong and FSS Gov. Zhin Woong-seob agreed that the two organizations need to talk in advance before delivering their official stance to the market,” said an FSC official.“In ord
NH Financial taps former Eximbank chief as new head

Mar 23, 2015

NongHyup Financial Group has tapped a former state-run bank chief as its new chairman to succeed Yim Jong-yong, who was recently appointed head of the Financial Services Commission.The chairman selection committee on Monday recommended Kim Yong-hwan, former president of the Export-Import Bank of Korea, as the sole candidate to fill the chairman’s post of the banking group. Kim Yong-hwan. (Yonhap)“Having served key posts in the Finance Ministry, Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Eximbank, K
Market cap of 10 conglomerates soars 29 trillion won so far this year

Mar 22, 2015

The market cap of South Korea's top 10 business groups listed on the main bourse has gained 29.1 trillion won ($25.8 billion) so far this year, a 4.26 percent jump from the end of last year, strongly led by Samsung Group companies, data showed Sunday.The 10 conglomerates' market cap reached 712.2 trillion won as of Friday, accounting for 51.2 percent of the total, according to the data from market tracker WISEfn.South Korea's No. 1 conglomerate, Samsung Group, increased its share value by 5.41 p