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.
Shinhan Financial Group has reclaimed its position as the leading financial conglomerate in the country for its first-quarter earnings, due mainly to the expansion of corporate loans and improved interest margins.
Woori Financial Group has jumped into the bidding competition to acquire Lotte Insurance, industry sources said Thursday. Woori Financial is the only major domestic financial group that does not have an insurance affiliate, and the group has long outwardly spoken about its intention to strengthen its non-banking business through acquisitions.
Woori Financial Group launched DINNOlab Vietnam Center in Hanoi earlier this week, the Korean financial giant said Wednesday.
The proportion of "jeonse," Korea's distinctive housing lease system, reached a record low during the first quarter in Seoul's housing market, while the ratio of monthly rent transactions is increasing. Behind this shifting rent market landscape are a series of fraud incidents that have alarmed tenants in recent years.
The recent plunge in Tesla's stock price has unnerved domestic investors, but the net-buying trend favoring the U.S. electric vehicle maker remains unchanged, according to the latest data.
MBK Partners has acquired a major stake in pharmaceutical wholesaler Geo-Young, strengthening the private equity's health care-focused investment portfolio. The deal is also the largest acquisition transaction on the domestic M&A market this year so far.
The strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the Korean currency — nearing the 1,400 won mark — is having varying effects on different people. While tourists and expatriates in Korea welcome the bolstered greenback, Koreans studying in the U.S. or working abroad and receiving their paychecks in Korean won are encountering difficult times.
Hana Financial Group awarded and honored artists with developmental disabilities at its Hana Artverse ceremony on Friday, commemorating the 44th Day of Disability in the country.
Woori Bank CEO Cho Byung-kyu, third from right, stands next to heads of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the opening ceremony of the bank's Seoul Digital BIZ Prime Center branch inside the Seoul Digital Industrial Complex in Guro District, Seoul, Thursday. The branch will be a specialized channel for SMEs, aiming to provide various financing services for companies located in the industrial complex. Courtesy of Woori Bank