The Korea Herald

Kim Yon-se

안녕하세요 Kim Yon-se 기자입니다.

Articles by Kim Yon-se

Tricaud to head HSBC Korea

Feb 5, 2013

HSBC Korea said Tuesday that Martin Tricaud has been appointed to chief executive the local unit of the U.K.-based banking giant.Tricaud has worked for the global banking and market sector of the parent HSBC group. He also engaged in corporate banking and investment financing in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. A bank spokeswoman said the new CEO is scheduled to take office on March 25. Outgoing CEO Matthew Deakin will take on the post of CEO at HSBC’s Bahrain unit.For sustainable growth here
Hyundai Card faces sanction

Feb 4, 2013

Financial regulatory officials have been in internal discussions about taking punitive measures against Hyundai Card for alleged business irregularities.Though few of Hyundai Card’s irregular practices have yet been made public, there is a high possibility that a “caution” or “warning” will be issued to the credit card issuer, according to market observers.The Financial Supervisory Service conducted an investigation into Hyundai Card by dispatching inspectors to its headquarters in the fourth qu
Korea decoupling from global equity markets

Feb 3, 2013

Equities in the nation’s bourse are posting low profitability while major stock markets overseas have taken on a bullish trend.Korea’s “decoupling” from major countries in stocks has continued over the past four weeks, with its price-earnings ratio, measuring share profitability, recording a rather low 8.69.Hong Kong posted a P/E ratio of 16.07, followed by Taiwan with 14.52, the U.S. with 13.68, Australia with 13.15, Japan with 12.95, France with 11.39, the U.K. with 11.29, Germany with 11.24 a
Woori Financial’s brand ranking sees big jump

Feb 3, 2013

Woori Financial Group saw its 2013 brand ranking, assessed by The Banker, climb more than 300 notches from last year.Woori ranked 77th in the yearly list of the top 500 banking brands by The Banker, a London-based financial magazine, a jump from 389th in 2012.Shinhan Financial Group and KB Financial Group took the positions of 51st (57th in 2012) and 65th (76th in 2012), respectively.Hana Financial Group, which acquired Korea Exchange Bank a year ago, also made the list at No. 116. Last year Woo
Some favorable economic indices, but government officials cautious

Jan 31, 2013

Officials in the Finance Ministry and Statistics Korea have raised the possibility that the sagging economy will gradually vitalize in the coming months, citing favorable indices in the industrial sector.They took a prudent stance, however, on publicizing a positive outlook. They stressed that “as uncertainties at home and abroad still remain,” risk factors must be closely monitored to attain national economic recovery.Concerning the December data for industrial output from the state-run Statist
FSS reviews irregularities of former Shinhan Financial chief

Jan 29, 2013

The nation’s financial regulator is looking into the allegation that former Shinhan Financial Group chairman Ra Eung-chan had illicitly used more borrowed-name bank accounts than were revealed about two years ago.“We are reviewing documents to verify whether the allegation is true,” an official of the Financial Supervisory Service said Tuesday.But he said the FSS has yet to decide whether to launch a re-investigation into Ra’s irregularities, after he was already reprimanded by the regulator for
New government to revitalize sale of Woori Financial

Jan 28, 2013

The next chief financial regulator is expected to push forward privatization of Woori Financial Group amid lawmakers’ movement to retrieve taxpayers’ money, which was injected into the group.As Kim Seok-dong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, recently expressed his intention to resign, the incoming Park Geun-hye administration is poised to appoint his successor as the chief regulator.Kim had maintained his position that Woori Financial should be sold through a “block deal,” under wh
Images suggest N. Korea ready for nuke test

North KoreaJan 26, 2013

North Korea could be almost ready to carry out its threat to conduct a nuclear test, a U.S. research institute said, pointing to recent satellite photos.The images of the Punggye-ri site where nuclear tests were conducted in 2006 and 2009 reveal that over the past month roads have been kept clear of snow and that North Koreans may have been sealing the tunnel into a mountainside where a nuclear device would be detonated.But it remains difficult to discern North Korea's true intentions as a test
N. Korea renews threat to carry out nuclear test

North KoreaJan 26, 2013

North Korea on Saturday renewed its threat to carry out a third nuclear test, saying it is the demand of its people."A nuclear test is the demand of the people and no other choice can be made," the North's main newspaper, Rodong Shinmun, said in a commentary.The newspaper is the mouthpiece of the North's ruling Workers' Party and its "political commentaries" are seen as a means to make the powerful party's policies known."It is the people's demand that there should be something even greater than
Transition team voices opposition to presidential pardons

PoliticsJan 26, 2013

The transition committee of President-elect Park Geun-hye on Saturday voiced opposition to the long-running practice of presidential pardons in what appeared to be a move to stop outgoing President Lee Myung-bak from getting his close confidants convicted of corruption out of jail."There is a need to break the chain of the practice of issuing special pardons at the end of (a president's) term," committee spokesman Yoon Chang-jung told a news briefing. "In particular, pardons for those implicated
Apple loses world's most valuable company crown

World BusinessJan 26, 2013

Apple shares extended their losses Friday, ending a miserable week for the California tech giant as it surrendered its position as the world's biggest company based on market value.Apple ended down 2.36 percent at $439.88, giving it a market capitalization of $413 billion, while oil giant ExxonMobil rose 0.36 percent to $91.68 with a market cap of $418 billion to edge into first place.Apple first overtook ExxonMobil in August 2011 as the most valuable company in the world based on the value of i
Obama picks foreign policy aide as chief of staff

PoliticsJan 26, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama announced Friday that he was naming his longtime foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough to lead the White House staff.Obama, appearing with McDonough at the White House, called him ``a great friend to me and everybody who works here at the White House.''McDonough is taking over the key role from Jack Lew, Obama's nominee for Treasury secretary.
U.S. calls for unified response to N. Korea's 'negative choices'

North KoreaJan 26, 2013

As North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong-un, continues to make wrong choices, it's very important for the international community to stay united against Pyongyang, the U.S. State Department official said Friday."It's really a pretty sad story, because the new North Korean leader has a choice to make, as the secretary has said so many times," department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a press briefing.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has consistently called for Kim to make a right choice to
Financial groups’ profit likely to fall

Jan 25, 2013

Four major financial groups are estimated to see their collective earnings in 2012 drop by 25 percent, or about 2.6 trillion won ($2.4 billion), from a year earlier, according to researchers’ forecast data.FnGuide, an online financial data provider, predicted Friday that the four groups ― Woori, KB, Hana and Shinhan ― will post 7.8 trillion won in their combined net profit, down from 10.4 trillion won in 2011.All four groups are scheduled to make public their 2012 earnings on Feb. 7.Shinhan Fina
Pension fund to vote against Bacchus spinoff

IndustryJan 24, 2013

The National Pension Fund said Thursday that it will vote against Dong-A Pharmaceutical’s plan to spin off its core business unit at the coming shareholders’ meeting on Jan. 28.The pension fund, a main shareholder of the drug producer with a stake of 9.5 percent, pointed to “uncertainty” in terms of securing shareholders’ rights under the possible spinoff.Dong-A Pharmaceutical is seeking to establish a holding company and put its cash cow energy drink business, Bacchus, under an unlisted firm.Th