Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Jeonbuk Bank forms partnership with Credit Bureau Cambodia, Korea Credit Bureau
Jeonbuk Bank CEO Baek Jong-il, right in the first row, stands next to Korea Credit Bureau CEO Hwang Jong-seop, center, Credit Bureau Cambodia Chairman Rath Sovannorak, left, at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) during the Cambodia-Korea Business Forum in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of JB Financial Group
By Anna J. Park
Jeonbuk Bank has formed a partnership with Credit Bureau Cambodia (CBC) and Korea Credit Bureau (KCB) to establish cross-border credit reporting between Cambodia and Korea, the regional bank announced Sunday.
According to the bank, the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the three-way partnership was signed on Thursday during the Cambodia-Korea Business Forum held in Seoul, where Cambodia's Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Korea's trade minister Ahn Duk-geun, as well as other key officials from central banks, credit bureaus and financial institutions from both countries attended.
With the agreement, CBC and KCB will develop a cross-border credit sharing system between the two countries, which will show the up-to-date credit histories of Cambodian individuals moving to Korea, which will be retrievable for Korean financial institutions. The bilateral sharing of an individual's previous credit history is expected to facilitate more effective loan application assessments.
Jeonbuk Bank — a member of the KCB and a leading financial service provider in Korea that promotes access to finance for Cambodians — plans to develop customized credit products for Cambodians working in Korea and ease the credit assessment by utilizing cross-border credit reports.
"The MOU stems from Jeonbuk Bank's unwavering commitment to promoting financial inclusion. As a leading bank to support migrant workers in Korea with financial solutions, we are delighted to collaborate with CBC and KCB to provide Cambodian nationals with an enhanced range of benefits and differentiated financial services," Baek Jong-il, CEO of Jeonbuk Bank, said.
Rath Sovannorak, chairman of CBC, who's also serving as deputy governor at the National Bank of Cambodia, said: “Cambodia and Korea already have good bilateral relations in terms of trade, investment and financial sector cooperation. We are happy to additionally bring the two countries under this framework of cross-border credit report sharing that can directly benefit a large number of Cambodians overseas to support their access to access for improving their quality of life.”
Hwang Jong-sup, the CEO of KCB, also expressed the same expectation, saying: “ We are very pleased to pursue this cross-border credit report sharing initiative with CBC as leading bureaus representing both nations to improve the access of Cambodians to credit in Korea.”
Currently, it is estimated that there are more than 50,000 Cambodian workers in Korea. Korea is the second-most popular destination among Cambodians when it comes to migrating for labor.
Korea is also one of the top sources of foreign direct investment in the Southeast Asian country, and approximately 10,608 Koreans are living in Cambodia, the latest data by the foreign ministry shows.