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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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Economy

Falling exports further darken Korea's economic outlook

gettyimagesbankKorea posts longest losing streak in monthly trade deficit in 25 years since 1997By Anna J. ParkWith a seven-month consecutive trade deficit logged this year, Korea's exports fell in October for the first time in two years, sending more warning signs to the Korean economy. The decline in the monthly export volume is attributed to various factors, ranging from the global economic slowdown, China's COVID-19 lockdowns, the decrease in the price of memory chips and supply chain disruptions.According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea's export volume posted $52.4 billion in October, which is a 5.7-percent decrease from the same month last year, while the country's imports logged $59.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.9 percent. It is the first time in 24 months that Korea's monthly export volume recorded a decrease compared to the same month of the previous year.Actually, the country's exports have been faltering throughout this year. Monthly trade deficits have been continuing for seven consecutive months, amounting to the

Nov 6, 2022By Anna J. Park
Falling exports further darken Korea's economic outlook
Economy

COVID-19 exacerbates social, economic polarization in Korea

Pandemic leaves uneven scars on social brackets By Anna J. Park Kim Eun-ah (pseudonym), a 37-year-old executive director at one of the most successful startup companies in Korea, stays in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on weekdays. Her company allowed her to work online, and she enjoys living in the city located right next to the East Sea.The so-called “workation,” a portmanteau of work and vacation, is becoming a more frequent trend in Korean corporate culture, as it raises employees' productivity as well as well-being. So far, mostly well-paid IT-based company workers have been enjoying this flexible work arrangement that lets them work in the many stunning countryside settings of Korea or even overseas, in foreign lands like Thailand and Guam. It is one of the changes that COVID-19 has brought to the domestic work scene. In a time of accelerated digital transformation in every sector of industry and society, corporations have adopted various types of flexible work schedules to attract capable employees and to raise productivity. However, the flexible work culture has onl

Nov 6, 2022By Anna J. Park
COVID-19 exacerbates social, economic polarization in Korea
Banking & Finance

Challenges to corporate integrity heightened amid pandemic: report

gettyimagesbankBy Anna J. Park While most corporate leaders and professionals agree that corporate integrity is becoming ever more important, they also say the pandemic has made it harder to conduct business with integrity. According to the EY Global Integrity Report 2022, which conducted a survey on 4,762 corporate professionals from 54 countries, 97 percent of the respondents said corporate integrity is an important value in their company management. But 55 percent of the respondents believe that the standards of integrity have either stayed the same or worsened over the past 18 months.Particularly, many board members said one of the key obstacles hindering integrity-based management is the pandemic-led corporate environment. Forty-one percent of all respondents and over half ― 54 percent ― of board members said COVID-19 has made it more difficult to conduct business with integrity. The report said disruptions to global supply chains and increased digitalization have made corporations prioritize survival, while jettisoning non-essential activities that may include integrity agenda.

Nov 3, 2022By Anna J. Park
Challenges to corporate integrity heightened amid pandemic: report
Economy

Heungkuk Life's uncalled bonds increase concerns in credit market

Heungkuk Life Insurance headquarters in central Seoul / YonhapDB Life also decides to delay bond repayment By Anna J. Park Concerns are growing over increased signs of credit strains in local credit markets, as Heungkuk Life Insurance decided to delay buying back $500 million of its dollar-denominated perpetual bonds. In a filing to the Singapore Exchange (SGX) earlier this week, the insurance company stated it had decided to postpone its call option exercise over its $500 million perpetual bonds, which had been scheduled for Nov. 9, citing extremely unstable financial market conditions.“In order to maintain stable capital management, Heungkuk Life Insurance has been planning to issue subordinated capital securities prior to Nov. 9, 2022, the initial reset date. However, extremely unstable financial market conditions both in Korea as well as internationally, including sudden changes in interest rates, have made such an offering impracticable at this time,” the company's official filing statement to the SGX reads. As written in the statement, the life insurer had originall

Nov 3, 2022By Anna J. Park
Heungkuk Life's uncalled bonds increase concerns in credit market
Economy

Foreign PEFs dominate Korea's M&A market with strong dollar

gettyimagesbank Depreciated won and soaring interest rate become burden on local PEFs in M&A dealsBy Anna J. Park With the U.S. dollar continuing strong this year, overseas private equity firms (PEFs) are snapping up Korean companies that are up for sale on the M&A market at a cheap price, while local private equity companies find themselves being pushed behind in price competitiveness. There have so far this year been seven major M&A deals worth over 500 billion won ($35.2 million), which were either completed or are currently in discussion, and five of the seven deals were snapped up by foreign PEFs. In January, U.S.-headquartered private investment firm Bain Capital purchased a controlling 60.84 percent stake in the Korean medical aesthetic device maker Classys for 670 billion won. In June, the Korea-based PI Advanced Materials, which is the world's top polyimide film manufacturer, was sold to Hong Kong-based Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) at 1.3 trillion won.

Nov 2, 2022By Anna J. Park
Foreign PEFs dominate Korea's M&A market with strong dollar
Banking & Finance

FSS to conduct regular inspection on Mirae Asset Securities

The headquarters of Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) located on Yeouido, Seoul / YonhapBy Anna J. ParkThe Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will conduct a regular inspection on Mirae Asset Securities for the first time in four years. According to the financial industry Wednesday, the FSS recently sent an official document to the brokerage firm, asking for their cooperation. The inspection is slated to take place at the headquarters of the securities company in central Seoul later this month, following a preliminary two-week-long research investigation. The last time that the brokerage subsidiary of Mirae Asset Financial Group underwent the regular inspection by the FSS was 2018. Normally, the financial authority's inspection is conducted every three years, but it extended to four years this time due to special circumstances from the global pandemic.The FSS' investigation is expected to focus on the soundness of the firm's business deals related to real estate project financing (PF), considering increasing risks surrounding the global real estate PF market.Mirae Asset officials s

Nov 2, 2022By Anna J. Park
FSS to conduct regular inspection on Mirae Asset Securities
Economy

CONTRIBUTION Lessons learned from the UK gilt tantrum

Consider fiscal sustainability before taking stimulus steps, and central banks should be at least prioritizing financial stability in crisis moments Stephen Lee is the chief economist at Meritz Securities, Seoul. Courtesy of Meritz SecuritiesBy Stephen LeeFinancial market participants, including myself are witnessing episodes that we haven't seen for decades. DXY ― an index of the dollar value vis-a-vis six major currencies ― is at a 20-year high, with the weakest euro in 20 years. The Japanese yen has once breached 150 versus the U.S. dollar for the first time since 1990. Inflation is running at the highest level since the 1980s, while the U.S. Federal Reserve has implemented its fastest rate hike cycle since then. In addition, most recently, we've witnessed the Great Britain Pound dropping to its historical low against the dollar. Most of the things that are happening are new to most of us, even to policymakers. We are still learning to live and adapt ourselves to this new environment. Every historical episode teaches a lesson. The global response to COVID-19 was a reflection of wh

Nov 2, 2022By Anna J. Park
[CONTRIBUTION] Lessons learned from the UK gilt tantrum
Banking & Finance

Samsung Electronics picks Samjong KPMG as auditor

Samjong KPMG headquarters in southern Seoul / Courtesy of Samjong KPMGBy Anna J. ParkSamsung Electronics has selected Samjong KPMG as its external auditor for the next three fiscal years. It is the first time ever that the accounting firm has been selected as the external auditor of the nation's largest company by market cap. The announcement came as a surprise to the local accounting industry, as expectations were that Samsung Electronics would go back to Samil PwC, the largest accounting firm in Korea. Samil PwC had been auditing Samsung Electronics for over four decades since the 1970s until 2019.But a revision to the country's accounting-related law forced Samsung Electronics to sign Deloitte Anjin as its external auditor from the fiscal years of 2020 to 2022. The revision of the External Audit Act in 2019 states that corporations are obligated to appoint an external auditor that has been designated by the government for three-year terms, following a six-year cycle of free appointments of external auditors. As the three-year contract with Deloitte Anjin is about to end soon, the

Nov 1, 2022By Anna J. Park
Samsung Electronics picks Samjong KPMG as auditor
Banking & Finance

Top 5 financial groups to supply $67 bil. to stabilize market

Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun, fourth from left, stands next to chairmen of major financial groups in central Seoul, Tuesday. From left are, Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung, Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung, KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu, Kim, Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) Chairman Kim Kwang-soo, Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo and NH Financial Group Chairman Son Byung-hwan. YonhapBy Anna J. ParkFive major financial groups here have decided to provide ample liquidity worth 95 trillion won ($67 billion) by the end of this year in a bid to ease a bond market crunch and stabilize local financial markets.During a meeting with Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun on Tuesday morning, the chairmen of the five groups pledged to inject a total of 73 trillion won into financial markets, while pooling another 12 trillion won into a bond market stabilization fund and another 10 trillion won for their group subsidiaries. They also vowed to refrain from issuing bank bonds, so that the local shor

Nov 1, 2022By Anna J. Park
Top 5 financial groups to supply $67 bil. to stabilize market
Banking & Finance

K bank to delay IPO to early next year

K bank headquarters in central Seoul / Courtesy of K bankBy Anna J. ParkK bank has decided to delay its initial public offering to early next year, amidst worsening investor sentiment and growing market concerns. According to the financial industry Monday, the country's first internet-only bank has recently notified its financial investors that it would change its target timeline for the IPO to January. Since passing the preliminary examination for the listing in September, the digital bank has been known to be aiming to complete the IPO process within this year. Market watchers view that the recent stock price plunge of KakaoBank, one of K bank's main competitors, partially influenced the internet-only bank's decision to delay its IPO. They point out that the stock price plunge of the representative peer company of K bank must have placed a big burden on its IPO.KakaoBank's stock price fell recently to lower than half its initial subscription IPO price of 39,000 won ($27). The stock price hit its lowest level of 15,800 won in late October, which is a huge nosedive from its highest p

Oct 31, 2022By Anna J. Park
K bank to delay IPO to early next year
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