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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

FSS prepares stronger measures to prevent banking crimes

Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Bok-hyun speaks during a parliamentary committee meeting held at the National Assembly in Seoul on July 28. Yonhap By Anna J. ParkThe Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is currently drawing up measures that will toughen up banks' preventive efforts to detect early any signs of irregularities. The move is in response to a series of recent banking crimes, including several high-profile embezzlement cases involving bank employees. The FSS submitted documents to the Assembly's National Policy Committee saying it is working on a set of measures to enhance local banks' internal controls.In order to devise effective measures, the FSS, local banks' compliance officers as well as the Korea Federation of Banks formed a taskforce team to discuss the matter together. The final set of measures for strengthening banks' internal controls to prevent financial crimes is slated to be announced in October, following consultation with the Fin

Aug 1, 2022By Anna J. Park
FSS prepares stronger measures to prevent banking crimes
Banking & Finance

Bear-market rally expected in August

By Anna J. Park As July's stock markets ended with a slight recovery, following months of market corrections, analysts forecast the current bear-market rally to continue in August as well. The main benchmark KOSPI ended at 2,451.50 on July 29, the last trading session of the month, recording a 5.1-percent increase compared to the end of the previous month. The benchmark index fell as low as 2,276.63 in early July during trading sessions over growing concerns about rising inflation and global recession. Yet the local stock markets gradually recovered throughout July, as markets had already factored in most negative anticipations.Local brokerage companies expect that the positive market momentum is likely to be maintained in August, as they suggest the index could rise as high as 2,650. Kyobo Securities had the most positive view, expecting the KOSPI to reach a maximum in August of as high as 2,650 points. Other major securities firms also came up with similarly positive prospects for August, with Kiwoom Securities' 2,600 points, Samsung Securities' 2,550 points and Korea Investment 2,

Aug 1, 2022By Anna J. Park
Bear-market rally expected in August
Banking & Finance

Famed Assetplus CEO in hot seat for alleged borrowed-name investment

Assetplus Investment Management Chairman and CIO Kang Bang-cheon / NewsisBy Anna J. ParkHailed as one of Korea's investment gurus, Assetplus Investment Management Chairman and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Kang Bang-cheon has been a frequently sought-after guest at various investment lectures and media interviews. He's well-known for his legendary investment story of increasing his principal investment of 100 million won ($76,510) to 15.6 billion won in less than two years during the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis. The famed value investor suddenly announced last Friday that he'd leave his chief post at the company that he founded in 1999, saying that it is about time for him to resign.“I made the decision, as it feels like the time is ripe. I'd like to spend the rest of my time in my passion where I can contribute to society and the capital market, such as in discovering talented investors, educating and nurturing capable fund managers,” he expressed his wish for resignation after 23 years at the post in his recent letter to the firm's investors. Kang will be stepping down

Jul 31, 2022By Anna J. Park
Famed Assetplus CEO in hot seat for alleged borrowed-name investment
Economy

Korea to crack down on illegal short-selling practices

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a ministerial meeting on economy held at the Healthcare Innovation Park at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. YonhapSupervision and investigation of suspicious short-selling practices to be strengthened By Anna J. ParkThe government will strengthen supervision over short-selling trades that breach the law as well as unfair trade practices related to the practice. There have been growing calls from retail investors to ban short-selling, while several securities firms were found to have violated related rules.President Yoon Suk-yeol strongly urged financial authorities and prosecutors to draw up measures in order to eradicate wrongful acts surrounding short-selling and stock market manipulation. According to the presidential office on Thursday, Yoon delivered those instructions on Wednesday afternoon.“With a determination to stamp out illegal practices of short-selling without fail, related ministries, including financial authorities and the prosecution, need to come up with measures on the m

Jul 28, 2022By Anna J. Park
Korea to crack down on illegal short-selling practices
  • Korea Investment fined for improper short-selling
Banking & Finance

Korea Investment fined for improper short-selling

Korea Investment & Securities headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul / Courtesy of Korea Investment & Securities By Anna J. Park Financial regulators imposed a penalty on Korea Investment & Securities earlier this year over the firm's short-selling practices that violated regulations. According to an electronic disclosure system by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Thursday, Korea Investment & Securities stated that it was fined 1 billion won ($770,000) by the FSS and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) in late February for its wrongful short-selling practices carried out over three years from 2017 to 2020. The brokerage company actually paid 800 million won, as the financial authority gave it a 20 percent discount. From February 2017 to May 2020, Korea Investment & Securities shorted some 140 million shares of 938 companies, but notated the transactions as selling, not as short-selling. It is a violation of the short-selling rules in the Capital Market Act. N

Jul 28, 2022By Anna J. Park
Korea Investment fined for improper short-selling
  • Korea to crack down on illegal short-selling practices
Banking & Finance

Hyundai Card, Yanolja form strategic partnership

Yanolja CEO Lee Su-jin, left, and Hyundai Card Vice Chairman and CEO Chung Tae-young sit next to each other in this promotional photo distributed by Hyundai Card on July 27. Courtesy of Hyundai CardBy Anna J. Park Hyundai Card and Yanolja have joined hands for a broad-range partnership that includes the issuance of private label credit cards (PLCC), joint branding and marketing as well as cooperation in data science analysis. According to Hyundai Card on Wednesday, the credit card company will launch a Yanolja-branded PLCC later this year, offering diverse benefits in the areas of accommodation, leisure activities, performances as well as transportation. Various leisure platforms, including Yanolja, Interpark, Daily Hotel and Triple, will allow special benefits and discounts for card holders. The two companies also agreed to cooperate on industrial trend analysis by combining Hyundai Card's data science technology and Yanolja's leisure-related big data resources. “By joining hands with Yanolja, which has earned a dominant status in the leisure industry, Hyundai Card aims to be

Jul 28, 2022By Anna J. Park
Hyundai Card, Yanolja form strategic partnership
Economy

Dubious foreign exchange remittances at Woori and Shinhan amount to $3.1 billion: FSS

Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Deputy Governor Lee Joon-soo speaks during a press conference held at the headquarters of the FSS in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapMost money sent to corporate accounts in Hong Kong by unknown local corporations By Anna J. Park After a month of official investigations, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has found out that over 4.1 trillion won ($3.1 billion) worth of suspicious international money transfers took place at Woori Bank and Shinhan Banks over a one-year period, starting last year. According to the FSS' announcement concerning its investigation of the matter on Wednesday, a total of 22 business entities are involved in the suspicious foreign exchange remittances.At Woori Bank, a total of 1.6 trillion won of abnormal foreign exchange transactions were spotted at the bank's five branches over the course of May of last year to early June of this year. Another 2.5 trillion won of dubious international money transfers were also carried out at 11 Shinhan Bank branches from February of last year to early July of this year. The number of money tr

Jul 27, 2022By Anna J. Park
Dubious foreign exchange remittances at Woori and Shinhan amount to $3.1 billion: FSS
Economy

CFA Society Korea reappoints current president to lead for two more years

CFA Society Korea President Park Chun-woong / Courtesy of CFA Society KoreaBy Anna J. ParkPark Chun-woong, CEO of Eastspring Asset Management Korea, has been tapped once again to lead the CFA Society Korea for two more years, renewing his current two-year term. Park was first appointed as chairman of the CFA Society Korea in September 2020. His term was supposed to end by August this year, however, with his reappointment, Park will be leading it until August 2024.“As the president of the society, I will continue various social activities that not only support the pride of chartered financial analysts (CFA) but also contribute financial knowledge to Korean society,” Park said. After graduating from Yonsei University, Park earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame in the U.S. He worked from 2005 to 2009 as a senior managing director at Woori Investment & Securities ― which was merged into NH Investment & Securities in 2015. He also worked as CEO of Mirae Asset Global Investment in Hong Kong from 2011 to 2012, until he took the leadership role in Eastspring As

Jul 26, 2022By Anna J. Park
CFA Society Korea reappoints current president to lead for two more years
Banking & Finance

Toss Bank criticized for Korean-only language service

Toss Bank headquarters in southern Seoul / NewsisBy Anna J. ParkToss Bank is the country's first internet-only bank that opened its doors to foreign residents. The digital bank announced in May this year that foreigners in Korea can open up accounts. However, the bank is now being grilled by expats here for failing to provide language services in English or other foreign languages.A posting recently uploaded on “Every Expat in Korea,” a Facebook group with more than 69,000 members, pointed out that despite the fact that Toss Bank provides services for foreign expats, the service is in the “Korean language only.”“Huh? Toss Bank 'for foreign expats' in South Korea provides services in 'Korean language only,'” the posting reads. More than 50 comments followed as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, agreeing with the poster's sentiments. “It's a shame that Korea refuses to service foreigners in this subtle way and always makes excuses to understand Korea's unique situation. (…) Someone please pay them more so they can hire foreigners,” a member of th

Jul 26, 2022By Anna J. Park
Toss Bank criticized for Korean-only language service
Economy

China falls, US rises as Korea's export destinations

gettyimagesbankBy Anna J. ParkData show that the U.S. is increasing its weight in Korea's annual export volumes, while China has been declining. China's prolonged pandemic lockdowns are attributed as one of the main reasons, yet other complex factors, such as China's advances in manufacturing industries as well as the growing U.S-China trade conflict, are also estimated to have played a part in the trend.According to data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), exports to China accounted for about 23.2 percent of Korea's entire export volume during the first half of this year. The figure is a decrease by 1.9 percentage points from the same period last year. In comparison, the U.S. took up 15.7 percent of Korea's export volume during this year's first half, which is a 0.4 percentage point increase year-on-year. When looking at last year's numbers, China accounted for 25.3 percent, or $162 billion out of Korea's annual export volume of $644 billion, which is a fall of 0.6 percentage points from 2020. During the same period, the weight of exports to the U.S. stood

Jul 25, 2022By Anna J. Park
China falls, US rises as Korea's export destinations
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