The Korea Herald

[Newsmaker] Top regulators have nothing to celebrate

Mar 20, 2014

　Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Choi Soo-hyun and Financial Services Commission Chairman Shin Je-yoon may consider themselves unfortunate, as they are burdened with the role of leading Korea’s financial industry at a difficult time. Shin and Choi would have celebrated their first inauguration anniversary amid much fanfare this week, if it were not a sluggish economic performance and the escalating pressure for their resignation.Instead of celebrations, the two chiefs have chosen to remain lo
BOK’s debt hits W440 trillion-mark

Mar 20, 2014

The central bank’s debt level has risen to a new record high of more than 440 trillion won, while its net profit has fallen to the lowest in six years, data showed on Thursday.The debt grew 3.1 percent to 448.4 trillion won ($417 billion) in December 2013, compared with 435 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.The BOK data comes amid growing concerns about the country’s escalating public and household debts. The 2013 data also shows that the BOK’s debt had grown at a
Allegations still hanging over BOK chief nominee

Mar 19, 2014

Lawmakers failed to shed light on allegations made against Lee Ju-yeol, the nominee to head Korea’s central bank, during their confirmation hearing Wednesday.As a result, suspicions regarding the compulsory military exemption of his son remain. Aides of the Bank of Korea nominee have argued that his 32-year-old son, who is a medical doctor, was exempted from military service due to damage to a ligament in his leg that he sustained while playing basketball in his 20s. While the aides said Lee’s s
Bank chairmen to face huge wage cut for poor performance

Mar 19, 2014

Heads of major financial holding companies in South Korea will face a sharp wage cut starting this year as regulators enforce a performance-based pay system for the top executives, industry sources said Wednesday, a step partly answering to escalating criticism over their moral hazard.The top four financial holding companies -- KB Financial Group Inc., Shinhan Financial Group Co., Woori Finance Holdings Co. and Hana Financial Group Inc. -- have decided to cut the basic salary of their chairmen b
Tong Yang eyes new start

Mar 18, 2014

CEO hopes Yuanta’s takeover will provide new momentum
FSC to tame competition among financial job seekers

Mar 18, 2014

A long list of licenses will no longer be a prerequisite for acceptance by state-owned financial organizations, according to plans announced Tuesday by the nation’s financial regulator. Public banks gestured that they would uphold the changes, but expressed doubts as to whether the move would have the intended effect of taming competition in the job market.The Financial Services Commission decided to ban major public financial institutes from requiring job applicants to specify which certificate
Korea’s top two shipping lines weigh down parent groups

Mar 18, 2014

South Korea’s two largest shipping lines, which have been struggling to generate profit for years, have started to weigh down their parent business groups, industry sources said Tuesday.Hanjin Shipping Co. and Hyundai Merchant Marines, hard hit by adverse market conditions, are trying to deal with chronic losses and a drop in their credit ratings but are not showing signs of improving anytime soon, industry watchers say.Both Hanjin and Hyundai groups, which control these shipping companies, anno
Korean bonds decline as BOK chief nominee hints at no rate cut

Mar 18, 2014

South Korea’s government bonds fell for a second day after central bank governor nominee Lee Ju-yeol signaled that the chances of an interest-rate cut are slim.The notes snapped a five-day advance yesterday as Lee said in a prepared statement to lawmakers that the Bank of Korea’s benchmark is “accommodative” and that households need to prepare for higher rates. Lee, who will appear before a parliament hearing tomorrow, is set to replace BOK chief Kim Choong-soo when his term ends on March 31. Th
KB Financial seeks to lend helping hand

Mar 17, 2014

KB Financial Group is out to help society’s underprivileged with various types of sustainable social contribution activities, the company said on Monday. The group is seeking to live up to the role it has been given as a company upon which up to 60 percent of the population depends for financial transactions. As a part of such responsibilities, KB Financial said one of its key social sharing activities for this year is to offer better education for elementary and middle school students, saying t
[Graphic News] Idle money hits record high

Mar 16, 2014

Korea saw a record high level of short-term funds flowing into the financial system as economic uncertainty and a bearish stock market led investors to manage their money on a short-term basis, data showed Sunday.The country’s short-term floating capital, such as securities accounts and currency in circulation, amounted to a record 712.89 trillion won ($665 billion) at the end of 2013, up from 666.36 trillion won in December 2012, according to data from the Bank of Korea and the Korea Financial
Shares to face volatility

Mar 16, 2014

The nation’s stock market may face volatility this week depending on the geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the crisis in the Crimean Peninsula and the U.S. Fed’s scheduled policy meeting, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 1,919.9 Friday, down 2.5 percent from a week earlier.The KOSPI came under selling pressure on concerns over a slowdown in the Chinese economy and continued tensions in Ukraine.“The main index may face volatile sessions due to policy un
KDB Daewoo faces shareholders’ criticism

Mar 16, 2014

No. 1 brokerage house hit by regulatory sanctions, operating losses
Idle money hit record high amid uncertainties in 2013

Mar 16, 2014

Short-term funds flowing in the South Korean financial system rose to a record high last year as economic uncertainties and a bearish run on the local stock market prodded people to manage their money on a short-term basis, data showed Sunday.The country's short-term funds, including currency in circulation, demand deposits and money parked for stock investment, amounted to a record 712.89 trillion won ($665.94 billion) as of the end of December, up from 666.36 trillion won posted a year ago, ac
Tongyang to sell 150 billion won worth of shares to Yuanta

Mar 14, 2014

Tongyang Securities Inc., a brokerage unit of troubled Tong Yang Group, said Friday that its shareholders approved a proposal to issue new shares worth 150 billion won ($139 million) to a Taiwanese brokerage house.Earlier this week, the parent group had signed a deal to sell a 27.06 percent share in the brokerage unit for some 120 billion won to Yuanta Securities, a unit of Yuanta Financial Holdings Co.Tongyang will sell new shares at 2,100 won per share, 42 percent lower than their face value.
Panel guides Shinhan toward ‘smart finance’

Mar 13, 2014

Shinhan Financial Group on Wednesday appointed a special panel of experts to help it build a new platform to promote mobile banking.The 24-member Shinhan Smart Innovators panel consists of professionals from a wide range of industries, including finance, mobile manufacturing, legal services and IT business. In 2012 Shinhan established the initial 32-member SSI panel, which recently ended its term, to guide the bank in the right direction under rapidly changing industry conditions. A second panel