Besides the first female president, Korea has seen another woman break through a glass ceiling, this time in the banking industry. Kwon Seon-joo, the senior executive vice president of the Industrial Bank of Korea, was named the next CEO of the state-run IBK on the approval of the Financial Services Commission on Monday. Before Kwon, no woman had been named CEO of a Korean bank. “We believe that Kwon is well qualified as the country’s first female bank CEO, which she has demonstrated through her

A senior fellow at the independent Asia Society said the Korean market had potential, with a better investment environment for foreigners in some areas than even Japan and China."I am a big believer in Korea, and always have been,” said Jamie Metzl, who was named the U.S. investment advisory ambassador at the New York office of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. Korea’s current $1.5 million foreign direct investment, which accounts for only 1.3 percent of its gross domestic product, he

Korean companies’ contributions to local communities are being diversified into unprecedented forms of philanthropy in step with a fast-paced change in technology.The spectrum of philanthropic activities has widened from the simple and time-honored act of giving money or goods toward novel projects such as donating a power supply, funding social enterprises, and developing innovative electronic gadgets for the disabled.Recipients are also more specified. Companies’ pro bono programs have been fi

It was no surprise to those who know him when Richard Hill, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Korea, was presented with Seoul Honorary Citizenship by the city government in October. He has made active social contributions to Korean society, and has helped enhance the city’s business environment and attract foreign investment.His six years in Korea with his family has been full of wonderful and unique experiences. Besides maintaining a strong work ethic, Hill said he has also made the most of the pa

Homeplus Co. was the largest donor to charity among foreign businesses operating in Korea in 2012 for the second consecutive year, according to an online corporate research firm on Monday.Data from Korea CXO Institute showed that Homeplus, a discount chain run by U.K.-based Tesco, donated 5.53 billion won ($5.26 million) in 2012 and 6.32 billion won in 2011 to charity, topping the research firm’s list of 50 companies with over 30 billion won in annual sales.These 50 foreign firms belong to vario

Shinhan Financial Group chairman Han Dong-woo was reelected to serve his second term, the company said Thursday. The board members of the candidacy reviewing committee reached a consensus to make Han the sole candidate for another three-year chairmanship term, Shinhan said. Meeting with reporters, Han said he had multiple goals in mind to bring about “warm finance.”Regaining his chairmanship, Han is facing multiple challenges next year, including the M&A competition over Kwang Ju Bank, a regiona

The Korea Development Bank has launched joint trade financing projects with the International Finance Corp., a World Bank member organization, in a move to make inroads to trade funding markets in developing economies. The state-run KDB said Sunday that it had signed a KDB-IFC master guarantee and cooperation agreement on Dec. 5 to cooperate on IFC’s trade financing projects by sharing market information and business opportunities in developing countries.The agreement was signed a day after the