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Park Han-sol

Korea Times Finance Reporter

Park Han-sol reports on Korea's financial regulators, along with fintech and insurance. She previously wrote about the art world, from biennales and exhibitions to fairs and auctions, with a focus on Seoul and the figures shaping the scene. Before joining The Korea Times, she spent a year at ABC News' Seoul bureau, contributing to coverage of major Asia-Pacific events.

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Travel & Food

Seoul's landmark 63 Square undergoes cultural makeover

Timed to the upcoming opening of Centre Pompidou Hanwha, the first Korean outpost of the iconic Paris museum, its host skyscraper, 63 Square, is getting a sweeping makeover into a destination for art and leisure, Hanwha Life Insurance said Monday. At the heart of the project is Centre Pompidou Hanwha, a four-story museum designed by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the same architect behind renovations at the Louvre. Nestled within the skyscraper’s annex, the museum is set to welcome the public on June 4. Drawing on Europe’s largest collection of modern and contemporary art, the Seoul branch will debut with an eclectic selection of Cubist masterworks, headlined by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. The museum, however, is only part of the plan. Hanwha is also reimagining the 40-year-old landmark with a High Line-inspired garden, a revamped observatory featuring immersive media art and a new lineup of restaurants, cafes and design retailers. Despite its prominent place on Seoul’s skyline, the gold-tinted tower has long existed somewhat outside the city’s main tourism circuit.

Jun 1, 2026By Park Han-sol
Seoul's landmark 63 Square undergoes cultural makeover
Banking & Finance

Mirae Asset surpasses $263.7 bil. in global ETF assets

Mirae Asset Global Investments’ global exchange-traded fund (ETF) assets under management have surpassed 400 trillion won ($263.7 billion), reaching the milestone just five months after topping 300 trillion won at the end of 2025, the company said Monday. As of Sunday, the firm’s ETF assets stood at around 421 trillion won across 13 markets, including Korea, the United States, Australia, Europe, Hong Kong and Japan. According to ETFGI, this total ranks Mirae Asset as the world’s 12th-largest ETF manager. The latest milestone comes as the company’s two flagship ETF platforms in Korea and the U.S. near the $100 billion threshold in assets. TIGER ETF, its domestic ETF franchise, managed roughly 160 trillion won at the end of May. Meanwhile, its U.S. subsidiary Global X’s assets have climbed to $98.6 billion from $8 billion when Mirae Asset first acquired the business in 2018. In Korea, much of TIGER’s growth has been fueled by retirement and long-term investment flows into benchmark index funds tracking the KOSPI 200, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. The firm has also gained traction in

Jun 1, 2026By Park Han-sol
Mirae Asset surpasses $263.7 bil. in global ETF assets
Economy

Stock market fever fuels biggest jump in personal borrowing in 5 years

With the benchmark KOSPI shattering one record after another, surpassing the 8,400 mark for the first time on Friday, more and more retail investors appear to be borrowing money to chase the market’s blistering rally, industry data showed Sunday. Outstanding personal credit loans at the country’s five major banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup — totaled 106.99 trillion won ($70.98 billion) as of Thursday. The balance was the highest since November 2023, when it stood at 107.72 trillion won. It also marked a 2.65 trillion won increase from a month earlier, the largest monthly increase since April 2021, when the KOSPI first broke through the 3,200 level. Much of the increase came from overdraft credit lines, known locally as “minus accounts,” which allow customers to borrow up to a preapproved limit. Outstanding balances on such facilities reached 41.93 trillion won last Thursday, reflecting funds that have actually been drawn down, rather than just the total credit available to borrowers. What is particularly notable is the timing. Outstanding balances on o

May 31, 2026By Park Han-sol
Stock market fever fuels biggest jump in personal borrowing in 5 years
Economy

24-hour FX trading sparks concerns over exchange rate volatility

Korea's move to make the won-dollar foreign exchange market a virtually 24-hour trading schedule starting in July is raising concerns that it could leave the won more vulnerable to overnight swings when trading volumes are thin, according to industry analysts Sunday. As part of a broader push to improve access for global investors across time zones, the Seoul Foreign Exchange Market Committee approved the change, Friday, extending trading hours from the current 9 a.m.-2 a.m. schedule on Seoul time to near round-the-clock trading beginning July 6. The market will operate continuously throughout the workweek, closing only on weekends and New Year’s Day. Aligned with New York trading hours, it will run from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Saturday during U.S. daylight saving time and from 7 a.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Saturday during the rest of the year. The market is also set to begin publishing hourly Time-Weighted Average Prices, or TWAPs, for the won-dollar rate, based on quotes from foreign-exchange brokers collected around the top of each hour. Settlement arrangements, however, remain unchanged,

May 31, 2026By Park Han-sol
24-hour FX trading sparks concerns over exchange rate volatility
Banking & Finance

Deloitte Korea's new leadership takes helm

Deloitte Korea said Thursday a new leadership lineup under incoming CEO Kil Ki-wan, who is set to begin a four-year term on Monday, the start of the group’s new fiscal year. Kil will oversee the operations of the group’s affiliates, including Deloitte Anjin, one of the country’s four largest accounting firms, and Deloitte Consulting Korea. The new eight-member executive team consists of Kil; Kwon Jee-won, head of sales and marketing; Kim Dong-hwan, head of audit and assurance; Kim Ji-hyun, head of tax advisory; Nam Sang-wook, head of financial advisory; Bae Jae-min, head of consulting; COO Kim Suk-ki; and CRO Hwang Seung-hee. Among the notable appointments is Kwon, a longtime adviser to major corporate clients, who will oversee the group’s sales and marketing strategy. Kim Ji-hyun’s appointment as head of tax advisory also marks the first time a woman has led one of the group’s main business divisions. “Even in the era of artificial intelligence, the competitiveness of an accounting firm ultimately rests on client trust,” Kil said. “We will continue strengthening our co

May 28, 2026By Park Han-sol
Deloitte Korea's new leadership takes helm
Policy

Gov't to freeze accounts tied to scam crimes beyond voice phishing

Korea is stepping up its fight against financial scams by allowing banks to swiftly freeze accounts tied not only to voice phishing, but also to newer forms of fraud such as romance and investment scams that had previously fallen into regulatory gray areas, government officials said Thursday. The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country's top financial regulator, said it will introduce new guidelines in June that enable closer cooperation between financial firms and law enforcement agencies to quickly suspend accounts suspected of involvement in emerging scam schemes. The measures were discussed at a meeting chaired by FSC Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-young and attended by officials from the Korean National Police Agency, Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, Financial Supervisory Service, industry associations and major commercial banks. The move aims to allow authorities to apply existing laws more proactively to protect potential victims and block the movement of illicit funds. Since the authorities launched ASAP — the artificial intelligence-based Anti-Phishing Sharing & Analysis Pl

May 28, 2026By Park Han-sol
Gov't to freeze accounts tied to scam crimes beyond voice phishing
Banking & Finance

Koramco bets on talent development through AI, overseas training programs

Koramco Asset Management and its affiliate, Koramco REITs Management and Trust, are ramping up efforts to strengthen employees’ hands-on expertise as the firms deepen their sector-focused investment strategy, rolling out initiatives ranging from overseas training and an in-house MBA program to artificial intelligence (AI) education, the company said Wednesday. About 50 employees have participated in the company’s flagship overseas training program so far, visiting more advanced real estate markets such as Japan and Singapore to study large-scale mixed-use developments, global REITs and investment platform models firsthand. Koramco also recently launched an in-house MBA course in partnership with Hanyang University’s Graduate School of Real Estate to provide more structured training for midlevel managers and key talent. The two companies have been expanding digital training as well. Since late last year, Koramco has operated AI-focused programs covering practical tasks such as visualizing investment memorandum materials, modeling loan and dividend-return scenarios under different m

May 27, 2026By Park Han-sol
Koramco bets on talent development through AI, overseas training programs
Economy

Why Korean won is still above 1,500 despite easing Middle East tensions

Even as Korea remained one of Asia’s top performers with its benchmark KOSPI smashing through the 8,000-point mark and a record current account surplus, the Korean won has remained stubbornly weak against the U.S. dollar — an unusual divergence that is puzzling investors and policymakers alike. Ordinarily, strong exports, rising stock prices and robust external balances would support a stronger currency. Instead, the won has struggled. This year alone, the won-dollar exchange rate closed above the psychologically important 1,500-won threshold on 19 trading days, surpassing levels seen during the global financial crisis. The won finished onshore trading at 1,501.2 won per U.S. dollar in Seoul trading on Wednesday, 3.1 won stronger than the previous session. The won’s underlying value has weakened as well. According to the Bank for International Settlements, Korea’s real effective exchange rate index — a widely used measure of a currency’s global purchasing power — fell to 85.06 in April, the lowest level since March 2009. The government has largely portrayed the weak won as

May 27, 2026By Park Han-sol
Why Korean won is still above 1,500 despite easing Middle East tensions
Economy

Why Korea's college graduates are falling behind high school graduates in job market

In a striking reversal of Korea’s long-held belief that a university degree guarantees better job prospects, college graduates in their late 20s are now facing higher unemployment rates than those with a high school diploma, government data showed Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the unemployment rate for university graduates aged 25 to 29 stood at 7.7 percent in the first quarter, higher than the high school graduates’ 7 percent for the same age group. This reversal first appeared in 2023 and has persisted for four consecutive years — the longest stretch since the agency began compiling the data in 2000. The pattern seems to be unique to people in their late 20s, as university graduates still have better chances of landing jobs across nearly every other age bracket. Experts say the shift reflects a labor market reshaped by changing hiring practices and artificial intelligence (AI). Large corporations, long considered the ultimate destination for young degree holders, are increasingly prioritizing experienced, job-ready recruits over entry-level office wor

May 26, 2026By Park Han-sol
Why Korea's college graduates are falling behind high school graduates in job market
Economy

Financial watchdog's clampdown on single-stock leveraged ETFs marketing sparks industry backlash

Ahead of the highly anticipated debut of leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to Korea’s two memory chip titans — Samsung Electronics and SK hynix — the country's financial watchdog is drawing complaints from asset managers by tightening restrictions on promotional campaigns, according to industry officials Tuesday. The products, set to launch Wednesday, will be the country’s first leveraged ETFs linked to individual stocks. Conventional leveraged ETFs track broader market benchmarks such as the KOSPI 200 or the S&P 500, allowing investors to place amplified bets on the direction of the overall market. The new funds apply that same structure to single stocks. A total of 16 ETFs will launch, allowing investors to double the daily gains or losses of Korea’s two biggest chipmakers. That structure makes the products inherently high-risk, as losses can pile up just as quickly as gains. Financial authorities have already introduced safeguards, including mandatory pretrading education. But they have also gone a step further. The Financial Supervisory Service recently issued gui

May 26, 2026By Park Han-sol
Financial watchdog's clampdown on single-stock leveraged ETFs marketing sparks industry backlash
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