my timesThe Korea Times
annajpark

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.

Go to Email

Read more

Banking & Finance

KIC to join UN-backed campaign to strengthen sustainable investment

Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) logoBy Anna J. ParkKorea Investment Corporation (KIC), the country's sovereign fund, plans to join the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), aiming to strengthen its ESG-focused investment activities. Launched in 2006 by UN-led initiatives, the PRI is the world's largest network for the cause of sustainable investment, with over 5,100 institutions from across the world being its signatories. According to the KIC, the sovereign fund's CEO, Jin Seoung-ho, met with David Atkin, PRI CEO, at the headquarters of the KIC in central Seoul on Wednesday afternoon. The two chiefs pledged to cooperate, as the KIC is slated to submit its application to join the PRI in the near future. KIC CEO Jin Seoung-ho, left, holds hand with David Atkin, PRI CEO, at the headquarters of the KIC in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of KICIt is expected that the KIC's joining of the PRI will be completed by the end of this year. If completed, the KIC will be the second public institutional investor in Korea to become a signatory of the PRI, following the Nati

Oct 5, 2022By Anna J. Park
KIC to join UN-backed campaign to strengthen sustainable investment
Banking & Finance

Big 4 accounting firms reap record-high revenues

gettyimagesbankManagement advisory and consulting services led major accounting firms' record-high revenues in 2021By Anna J. ParkThe big four accounting firms in Korea posted all-time-high annual revenues last year, due mainly to double-digit year-on-year growth rates recorded in M&As and consulting services. According to data available from the electronic disclosure system operated by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the aggregated annual revenues of the four largest accounting firms ― Samil PwC, Samjong KPMG, EY Korea and Deloitte Korea ― stood at 3.18 trillion won ($2.24 billion) in 2021, a 21.8 percent increase from the previous year's 2.61 trillion won. It is the first time that the total amount of the firms' annual revenues exceeded the 3 trillion won mark. Graphic by NewsisSamil PwC logged the highest annual revenue among the big four firms. It posted an annual revenue of 1.2 trillion won in 2021, a 21.68 percent jump from the previous year. The annual revenue combined the 888.5 billion won earned from its accounting entity and 343.8 billion won from consulting. S

Oct 5, 2022By Anna J. Park
Big 4 accounting firms reap record-high revenues
Banking & Finance

INTERVIEW Real estate investors see hope for future

Robert Wilkinson, Managing Director at Colliers Korea / Courtesy of ColliersGlobal real estate experts emphasize 3Ls: logistics, living and life sciences By Anna J. ParkIn times of soaring interest rates and globally tightened liquidity, investments into real estate markets may seem unpromising with little upside potential left. Yet, global real estate experts not only stress real estate investments are fundamentally long term in nature, but also highlight that key real estate sectors represented by the “3Ls” ― logistics, living and life sciences ― still remain lucrative with further upside opportunities in the coming years. During a recent interview with The Korea Times, Robert Wilkinson, Managing Director of Colliers Korea, and John Howald, Head of International Capital across Asia Pacific at Colliers, shared their insights into real estate investments, particularly focusing on the Korea market and Asia Pacific region. The interview took place at the headquarters of Colliers Korea located in central Seoul.Colliers is a leading global commercial real estate services and

Oct 5, 2022By Anna J. Park
[INTERVIEW] Real estate investors see hope for future
Economy

Short-selling transactions focus on blue-chip stocks

gettyimagesbankSamsung Electronics, LGES, SK hynix were most shorted stocks in Sept. By Anna J. Park The total amount of short-selling transactions on the main Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) in September increased about 40 percent compared to the previous month, while the country's blue-chip stocks were the most shorted amid the bear market.According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on Monday, the average daily transaction amount of short-sold stocks on the benchmark index stood at 490.6 billion won ($340 million) in September, up around 40 percent from the previous month. The average daily short-selling transaction amount on the tech-heavy Kosdaq also rose 8.8 percent to 134.9 billion won during the same period.Samsung Electronics, LG Energy Solution (LGES) and SK hynix ― the top three stocks on the KOSPI in terms of market capitalization ― were the most shorted stocks in September. A total of 557.5 billion won were bet against Samsung Electronics stocks, while 534.4 billion won and 358.5 billion won were each bet against the stock price increases of LG Energy Solution and SK

Oct 3, 2022By Anna J. Park
Short-selling transactions focus on blue-chip stocks
Banking & Finance

MBK Partners joins bid to acquire Toshiba

A building in downtown Seoul where MBK Partners' Seoul office is located / NewsisNortheast Asia's largest PEF teams up with JIC and Bain Capital for Toshiba buyout By Anna J. Park MBK Partners has participated in a joint bid to acquire Toshiba, forming a consortium with the state-backed Japan Investment Corporation (JIC) and U.S.-based Bain Capital to carry out the buyout of the Japanese-headquartered multinational conglomerate.According to the investment banking industry, the largest private equity firm in Northeast Asia partnered with JIC and Bain Capital to create a consortium, which submitted the second-round bid to acquire Toshiba at the end of last month. Besides the consortium, CVC Capital Partners, Brookfield Asset Management and Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) are the other potential bidders for the acquisition. Since Toshiba began its sales process in April, several bids were submitted during the initial bid round in June, including bids from MBK Partners, KKR, Blackstone, Baring Private Equity Asia and Brookfield Asset Management. Failing to be the preferred bidder during

Oct 3, 2022By Anna J. Park
MBK Partners joins bid to acquire Toshiba
Economy

Finance Minister Choo elected next chair of ADB annual congress

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho speaks during an event held at the annual congress of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, the Philippines, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Economy and Finance By Anna J. ParkFinance Minister Choo Kyung-ho has been elected as the chair for next year's annual Asian Development Bank (ADB) conference, which is slated to be held in May. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Friday, Choo was elected to take the chairmanship position for next year's annual ADB meeting during a two-day ADB annual congress held Sept. 28 and 29 in Manila, the Philippines. Since ADB's establishment in 1966 to promote and support the economic and social development of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Korea has so far hosted two annual congresses: in Seoul in 1970 and on Jeju in 2004. Incheon's hosting of the annual ADB event next year will be the third time for Korea to invite dozens of ADB member countries. “Korea plans to fully prepare

Sep 30, 2022By Anna J. Park
Finance Minister Choo elected next chair of ADB annual congress
Economy

Is gov't too optimistic about Korea's economic condition?

Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho speaks during an event held at the annual congress of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, the Philippines, Thursday. Courtesy of the Ministry of Economy and FinanceFinance minister says financial crisis unlikely to take place in Korea By Anna J. ParkMinister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho reiterated that he thinks that the possibility of the Korean economy having a major financial crisis is very low.During a meeting with reporters at the annual congress of Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the Philippines, Choo said that the current phase of soaring key interest rates cannot carry on in the long term.“Although no one can be sure about the future moves of the U.S. dollar and global interest rates, I think the current situation is not one where soaring interest rates can go on for a long period of time,” Choo said. The finance minister explained that he thinks the interest rate could go up for a certain period of time, but in the end, the interest rate is subject to fluctuation according to the interaction between th

Sep 30, 2022By Anna J. Park
Is gov't too optimistic about Korea's economic condition?
Banking & Finance

Toss Securities' app briefly lists wrong won-dollar exchange rate

Lee Seung-gun, founder and CEO of Viva Republica, speaks during a press conference in 2019. NewsisBy Anna J. ParkToss Securities' foreign exchange service mistakenly provided a much lower won-dollar exchange rate for about 16 minutes on Wednesday afternoon even though the Korean currency continues to weaken against the greenback.The error apparently gave some customers a brief window to make a handsome profit by trading their won holdings into dollars.According to Standard Chartered (SC) Bank of Korea, which partnered with Toss Securities to offer foreign exchange services, the brokerage app listed an exchange rate of 1,298 won per dollar from 1:51 p.m. to 2:07 p.m. on Wednesday. That is about 10 percent lower than the normal rate at the time, which was about 1,440 won per dollar.“The accident occurred during an upgrade of the bank's foreign exchange system provided to Toss Securities,” an official from SC Bank of Korea explained. “The problem was soon fixed once the bank confirmed the error,” the official added.Many customers are said to have benefited from t

Sep 29, 2022By Anna J. Park
Toss Securities' app briefly lists wrong won-dollar exchange rate
Economy

Korea's default risk rises to peak level during pandemic outbreak

gettyimagesbankGov't, experts say Korean economy's fundamentals remain strong By Anna J. Park Korea's credit default swap (CDS) premium, a representative indicator that shows the country's risk of bankruptcy, has not only reached the highest point for this year, but it has also reached its highest level during the pandemic outbreak. As the CDS premium is an insurance premium charged for the risk of bond default, it is understood that the lower the premium, the lower the risk of bond default. Korea's five-year CDS premium logged 55.23 basis points (bp) in New York as of Wednesday, which is an increase of 4.23 bp from the previous trading session. It is close to the 56 bp logged during March 2020, when the local stock market plunged as fears grew concerning the spread of COVID-19.The country's five-year CDS premium remained at below 20 bp up until the start of this year. During recent months, the premium hovered at around 30 bp until early this month. But it drastically soared by some 20 bp ― a whopping 66 percent ― during the past week due to globally strengthened risk-averse sentimen

Sep 29, 2022By Anna J. Park
Korea's default risk rises to peak level during pandemic outbreak
  • Currency swap with US urged as last resort against worst-case scenario
Economy

Former vice finance minister criticizes Koreans for buying dollars

Hashed Open Research CEO Kim Yong-beom / YonhapWon-dollar exchange rate ends at 1,421.5 in Tuesday's tradeBy Anna J. Park A former vice finance minister criticized Korean citizens and investors who hoard U.S. dollars as they speculatively bet on the U.S. currency.“Who do you think are those who most aggressively buy U.S. dollars now? It's the Korean people. The Korean people, who tried to save the country by donating their gold during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, are now busy hoarding dollars at a more aggressive rate than foreign investors who leave the Korean stock market,” Hashed Open Research CEO Kim Yong-beom, who served as the country's first vice finance minister from 2019 to 2021, wrote on his Facebook page.He went on to say that while investing in a foreign currency is not something that should be criticized, the government should regulate the local foreign exchange market to prevent unlimited speculative moves that exploit the weakness of the Korean won against the dollar. “At this significant juncture where psychological sentiment is more important

Sep 28, 2022By Anna J. Park
Former vice finance minister criticizes Koreans for buying dollars
previous page
126127128129130
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.