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Anna J. Park

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

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.

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Banking & Finance

Korea Investment expected to take over KakaoBank stake

Korea Investment & Securities headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Korea Investment & Securities KakaoBank share would make company country's largest brokerageBy Anna J. ParkKorea Investment & Securities is expected to take over a significant stake in KakaoBank, currently held by its parent company as well as its affiliate. If that happens, the brokerage firm could become the country's top brokerage company with the most capital. Currently, Korea Investment Holdings ― the parent company of Korea Investment ― holds a 4-percent stake in KakaoBank, while Korea Investment Value Asset Management ― a subsidiary of Korea Investment ― owns 23.18 percent of the digital bank. Altogether, Korea Investment's related companies hold a 27.18-percent stake in the internet-only bank, making them the second largest shareholder of KakaoBank, following Kakao. The market speculation over Korea Investment's plan to take over the stake started in September when it asked the Financial Servic

Dec 6, 2022By Anna J. Park
Korea Investment expected to take over KakaoBank stake
Economy

PEFs face dilemma as exits become difficult

gettyimagesbankBy Anna J. ParkDue to the soaring global interest rates and concerns over a recession, private equity firms (PEFs) are finding it hard to make successful exits from some of the projects they previously invested in within their portfolios. That's because unfavorable external factors, including curtailed asset prices, slashed corporate valuations, the bearish moves of stock markets and slowed M&A transactions due to the increased costs of financing, are all wreaking havoc on the PEFs in their search for potential buyers to make successful exits from some of their long-held companies. According to the investment banking industry, Tuesday, Affinity Equity Partners will soon face the maturity of 323 billion won ($246 million) that it financed in 2017 when it acquired a 63.6 percent stake in LocknLock, Korea's largest food container maker. The PEF injected a total of 629 billion won when taking over the stake, and the 323 billion won was financed through a financial undertaking. The Hong Kong-based PEF paid 18,000 won per share five years ago, but the stock price has rem

Dec 6, 2022By Anna J. Park
PEFs face dilemma as exits become difficult
Banking & Finance

FSS urges Shinhan Bank to bolster anti-money laundering system

The headquarters of Shinhan Bank in central Seoul / Courtesy of Shinhan BankBy Anna J. ParkThe Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has asked Shinhan Bank to improve its anti-money laundering (AML) management system, particularly in the areas of digital asset businesses and overseas branches.According to the financial industry Monday, the FSS made the recommendation at the end of last month to bolster the bank's AML system, reflecting the financial watchdog's previous inspection results. The FSS discovered that Shinhan Bank did not have a separate organization or staff dedicated to identifying digital asset-related transactions and assessing risk factors involved in virtual asset management. In addition, the bank did not have a computer system to monitor digital asset-related transactions. The FSS urged the bank to allocate enough staff and to set up its computer system so that the bank can properly assume its monitoring role to identify digital asset-related transactions and assess the risk factors entailed.The financial authorities also asked Shinhan Bank to make it obligatory to co

Dec 5, 2022By Anna J. Park
FSS urges Shinhan Bank to bolster anti-money laundering system
Banking & Finance

JB Financial Group awarded as outstanding ESG company

JB Financial Group senior executive Kim Seon-ho, right, stands next to Koscom CEO Hong Woo-sun, after the financial group is awarded by the KCGS as this year's outstanding company for its ESG standards during a ceremony held at the Korea Exchange (KRX) located on Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of JB Financial GroupBy Anna J. Park JB Financial Group has been awarded as an outstanding company for its environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria by the Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability (KCGS), as the financial group received a comprehensive A rating from the corporate assessment agency.According to the financial group on Monday, JB Financial received an A rating for its environmental standards, an A+ regarding its social criteria and an A for its governance perspectives from the KCGS, which made the financial group's overall rating stand at an A-level grade.Since 2011, the KCGS has been evaluating listed companies' non-financial achievements, including ESG standards. This year, the evaluation was held on a total of 1,033 companies. “With receiving

Dec 5, 2022By Anna J. Park
JB Financial Group awarded as outstanding ESG company
Banking & Finance

Hana Financial promotes mental health with Dr. Oh Eun-young

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, left in front row, poses with psychiatrist Oh Eun-young, right in front row, as the financial group holds a presentation at the Hana Global Campus located in Incheon's Cheongna district, Friday. Courtesy of Hana Financial GroupBy Anna J. ParkHana Financial Group announced Sunday that it hosted a presentation with renowned psychiatrist Dr. Oh Eun-young late last week to provide practical advice for the group's employees to address mental health issues both at work and at home. About 500 workers attended the event held on Friday at Hana Global Campus, the financial group's employee training facility located in Incheon. Dr. Oh gave advice, ranging from career to child rearing, based on stories sent by those who attended the event. With the huge popularity of Dr. Oh in the country for her frequent appearances on various TV shows and other events, the financial group had to draw lots to select the 500 people who would be able to attend the event, out of numerous applications sent in from the group's 15 subsidiaries and related companies. Over 2

Dec 4, 2022By Anna J. Park
Hana Financial promotes mental health with Dr. Oh Eun-young
Economy

Hahn & Co. completes acquisition of film business from SKC

SKC headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of SKCBy Anna J. ParkKorean private equity firm Hahn & Co. said that it has successfully completed the acquisition of the industrial film business of SKC, an affiliate of Korea's SK Group, earlier this month. The 1.6 trillion won ($1.2 billion) buyout deal is the country's largest M&A transaction closed this year. Hahn & Co. and the SK Group signed a stock purchase agreement in June this year, laying out that the Seoul-based private equity firm would acquire a 100-percent stake in SKC's polyester (PET) film business at the price of 1.6 trillion won. SKC's industrial film unit is the largest in Korea and the fourth-largest globally, with an annual revenue posting 1.2 trillion won and an operating profit of 68.9 billion won in 2021. Since SKC's establishment of the industrial film business unit in 1977, it has been the company's core business.Based on Hanh & Co.'s vast investment portfolios in local manufacturing businesses, the private equity firm is expected to make attempts to raise the acquired film company's corporate values and

Dec 4, 2022By Anna J. Park
Hahn & Co. completes acquisition of film business from SKC
Economy

Won-dollar rate falls below 1,300 for 1st time in nearly four months

An employee walks past a monitor set at Hana Bank headquarters' dealing room in central Seoul, Thursday, as the won-dollar exchange rate falls below 1,300 mark for the first time since August. YonhapU.S. stock rally affects Korean shares By Anna J. Park For the first time since mid-August, the won-dollar exchange fell below the 1,300 mark during Thursday's trading, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell mentioned the likelihood of slowing the pace of rate hikes before the end of the year.The Korean currency ended at 1,299.7 won against the dollar on Thursday, strengthening by 19.1 won from the previous session. It was the first time in nearly four months that the exchange rate fell below 1,300 won per dollar. The won opened at 1,301 against the dollar, after closing at 1,318.8 during the previous session. The Korean currency strengthened to 1,290 won during intra-day trading, reflecting Powell's comments the night before. “The time for moderating the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting,” Powell said at the Brookings Institution think ta

Dec 1, 2022By Anna J. Park
Won-dollar rate falls below 1,300 for 1st time in nearly four months
Economy

Demand for top-rated corporate bonds shows signs of recovery

gettyimagesbankBy Anna J. Park Investment sentiment towards top-rated corporate bonds seems to be improving in the local market, as AA-rated companies have recently succeeded in attracting enough capital for their bonds. According to the investment banking industry Thursday, SK Inc. attracted more than triple the necessary capital with its issuance plan of corporate bonds. During its recent book-building process, the AA+-rated company received orders worth 860 billion won ($661 million) for its corporate bonds, which is more than three times the total of 230 billion won, which the company plans to attract through issuing bonds. It is the fourth time this year for SK Inc. to issue corporate bonds, following February's 390 billion won, June's 350 billion won and September's 370 billion won. The conglomerate also sold out its long-term commercial paper last month, in its first attempt to sell commercial papers. On a similar note, HI Investment & Securities also saw orders for its corporate bonds flooded. In its book-building process, the brokerage company's one-year maturity corpora

Dec 1, 2022By Anna J. Park
Demand for top-rated corporate bonds shows signs of recovery
Banking & Finance

MBK Partners tapped as preferred bidder to acquire Medit

The headquarters of Medit in Seoul / Courtesy of Medit MBK and Medit expected to sign SPA within this yearBy Anna J. ParkMBK Partners, one of the largest private equity firms in Asia, plans to acquire digital dental business Medit within this year, after being tapped recently as a preferred bidder, and will now enjoy exclusivity in the acquisition discussions with Medit's largest shareholder, Unison Capital.According to investment banking industry insiders Wednesday, Citigroup Global Markets Securities ― the sales manager of Medit ― tapped MBK Partners earlier this week as the new preferred bidder of the deal. It is estimated that the 100 percent stake in the 3D dental scanner company would be sold for around 2.6 trillion won ($2 billion), although the price is subject to change during the remaining negotiation process. The price is about 10 percent lower than what the GS-Carlyle consortium offered in their previous bid in October. The consortium suggested the highe

Nov 30, 2022By Anna J. Park
MBK Partners tapped as preferred bidder to acquire Medit
Economy

CONTRIBUTION Climate finance takes center stage at COP27

This photo shows the closing plenary at the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on Nov. 20, 2022. Yonhap-Xinhua Climate finance explained through latest developments from 27th UN Climate Change conference Kim Yeon-ji is Knowledge Management and Uptake Specialist at Green Climate Fund. / Courtesy of Kim Yeon-ji By Kim Yeon-ji The 27th U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP27) was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from Nov. 6 to 20. World leaders kickstarted the conference on an urgent and somber note. 2022 has shown that climate change can indeed pose an existential threat to humanity, as the year has been marked with several devastating and unprecedented floods, heat waves, droughts and storms. Making matters worse were the geopolitical tensio

Nov 30, 2022By Anna J. Park
[CONTRIBUTION] Climate finance takes center stage at COP27
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