The Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday warned that even foreigners who are accomplices to voice phishing crimes will be subject to punishment amid escalating financial crimes.Announcing a plan to tighten its grip over bank account transactions, the watchdog shared campaign materials -- in Korean and Chinese -- to help prevent voice phishing, reflecting the involvement of Chinese and Korean Chinese in such crimes.Recently, an increasing number of foreigners were caught for participating in

Chubb Group, the world’s largest property insurer based in the US, has named Albert Kim as the new chief executive officer of Chubb Life Korea, its life insurer subsidiary operating here, officials said Thursday.Throughout his 25-year career, Kim has worked in various global insurers including AIG, Allianz and AXA. Until recently, he served as vice president in charge of sales and management at AIG Korea.“We are glad to announce that Albert Kim will henceforth lead Chubb Life Korea,

Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman Shin Chang-jae has won an international prize for humanistic management, becoming the first winner of the newly established award, the company said Thursday.The International Council for Small Business, the world’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization devoted to small and medium enterprises, has selected the South Korean insurer chief as winner of its Humane Entrepreneurship Award.The awards ceremony took place on the sidelines of the SME World Forum 2019

The price of palladium, a metal used to reduce harmful emissions in vehicle exhaust, has surged to a record high, making it a precious metal more expensive than gold.According to the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of palladium futures for December delivery closed Tuesday at $1,871.30 per ounce, 0.67 percent higher from the previous session. The figure rose nearly 49.2 percent from the price on Dec. 31 last year, which was $1,253.90 per ounce. Its growth rate far surpassed those of other

Kakao Pay, a South Korean mobile payment platform, said Wednesday that it has started its payment service on the Google Play Store and YouTube Premium.Through the service, users can purchase any paid content on both applications by choosing Kakao Pay as a payment method. Users can also purchase various services such as YouTube Movies, Channel Membership and Super Chat on YouTube. Once users choose Kakao Pay to make payments on the Google Play Store, they can automatically use it for tr

Household debt extended by banks in South Korea continued to increase at a steady pace in November, while fresh bank deposits spiked at the highest level in nearly five years amid lack of viable places to park their money, central bank data showed Wednesday.Fresh bank loans extended to households came to 7 trillion won ($5.9 billion) in the month, slightly slowing from a 7.2 trillion-won increase the month before, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Outstanding home-backed loans added 4

South Korea’s bourse operator, the Korea Exchange, said Tuesday that it will establish a clear definition of algorithmic trading and adopt various risk management systems next year to prevent destabilization of the local stock market. “As our task for 2020, we will adopt a management system for algorithmic trading, which has become a regularized practice,” KRX Chairman Jung Ji-won said at an end-of-year press briefing. “By establishing a clear definition of algorithmic tr

South Korean brokerage Mirae Asset Daewoo said Tuesday that it received a presidential award at the 26th Corporate Innovation Awards for its efforts to create new markets through innovation and change, while boosting venture capital investment.The Corporate Innovation Awards, co-hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, recognize local firms in various sectors that have proven successful in areas related to corporate innovation.  Ac

South Korea’s exports fell in November on-year, keeping its downward trend for the 12th consecutive month. Concerns are growing over the protracted slump in exports, the nation’s key driver for growth -- due to the sluggish semiconductor industry and falling exports to China. It is important to recover the level of export duties collected from key industries and on shipments heading to major overseas destinations. However, we need to think whether our nation is heavily dependent on a

New service to ease savings burden, adds fun factor

Shares of South Korean defense-related firms jumped Monday in the wake of North Korea’s announcement about a “very important test” at its western satellite launching site over the weekend.Shares of asphalt plants manufacturer Speco closed nearly 12.9 percent higher from the previous session, at 4,115 won ($3.46). Victek, a provider of military systems and power supply systems, extended gains for the second day and closed nearly 2 percent up at 3,275 won. Both firms are listed o

Korean investors have been turning their attention toward the real estate market, reflected in an increase in mortgage lending, while cash flows in the equity market have been overall stagnant, recent data showed. According to data released by the Bank of Korea last month, the outstanding balance of mortgage loans held by banks and other financial institutions here came to a combined 830.3 trillion won ($700.5 billion) as of September. The latest data is a noteworthy jump from the corresponding

Foreign investors in South Korea continued to recoup investments from the local bond market for three consecutive months, dragging the amount of locally listed bonds they held to the lowest level in six months, according to the financial regulator on Sunday. The latest data of the Financial Supervisory Service showed foreign holdings of locally listed bonds amounted to 122.3 trillion won ($103 billion) as of Wednesday, dropping from 124.77 trillion won at end-November. It also marked the lowest

The financial watchdog on Thursday directed local banks to compensate up to 80 percent of the losses suffered by customers due to their controversial sale of derivative-linked funds earlier this year. The Financial Supervisory Service held its dispute settlement committee meeting to review six representative cases of investor damages due to miselling -- three from Woori Bank and three from KEB Hana Bank.“In the past cases of misselling (of financial products), the compensation rate was usu

Social disturbances and financial costs during restructuring are the inevitable price one has to pay in order to reform the economy and prevent further damages, according to the chief of South Korea’s largest state-run bank.“During my past 2 1/2 years in office, I have felt the high level of distrust in our society,” said Lee Dong-gull, chairman of the Korea Development Bank, in a press conference.“Many blame us for persecuting workers along the way but our unchanging goa