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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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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
Economy

Korean ETFs accelerate global push with listings planned in Hong Kong, US

As Korea’s stock market rally continues to draw global attention, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to the country’s benchmark index as well as chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are set to debut in overseas markets including Hong Kong and the United States, industry officials said Monday. Hong Kong-based CSOP Asset Management plans to list a KOSPI 200 ETF on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the second half of the year, which would mark the first ETF in the market directly tracking Korea’s benchmark index. The exchange already hosts leveraged ETFs tied separately to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which have attracted around 2.4 trillion won ($1.75 billion) and 7.9 trillion won in assets, respectively. “The introduction of a KOSPI 200 ETF could further improve overseas investors’ access to Korean equities,” said Lim Eun-hye, an analyst at Samsung Securities, adding that demand for Korean assets could continue expanding among Hong Kong pension funds and institutional investors. Meanwhile, in the U.S., leveraged ETF provider Leverage Shares has filed with the U.S.

May 26, 2026By Park Han-sol
Korean ETFs accelerate global push with listings planned in Hong Kong, US
Economy

Korea's chip-led rally creates unexpected gains for farms, schools

As Korea’s stock market barrels through record highs on the back of the semiconductor rally, the boom is creating an unlikely windfall that extends far beyond the trading floor, into farms and schools. Behind it are two earmarked taxes that automatically rise in line with trading activity and financial firms’ earnings. But the surge is also exposing a policy dilemma. Critics have argued that these funds were already taking in more money than they could realistically spend. Now, with the market rally expected to generate tens of trillions of won in additional tax revenue, debate is growing over how to handle the overflow — and whether the country’s decades-old tax structure still makes sense, industry officials said Sunday. Unlike broad-based taxes such as income and corporate levies that flow into the government’s general budget, the special rural development tax and education tax are purpose-specific ones designed to fund designated policy areas. The rural development tax, introduced in 1994 after Korea opened its agricultural market to foreign competition, aims to support rur

May 25, 2026By Park Han-sol
Korea's chip-led rally creates unexpected gains for farms, schools
Economy

Kosdaq jumps nearly 5% on state-backed fund optimism, while KOSPI takes breather

The tech-heavy Kosdaq surged nearly 5 percent on Friday on optimism surrounding the new state-backed investment fund aimed at advanced industries like artificial intelligence and semiconductors, while the benchmark KOSPI, which posted a sharp rebound a day earlier, moved into a consolidation phase with slight gains. The KOSPI opened at 7,873.12, up 0.74 percent from the previous session, and traded largely flat through the day before closing at 7,847.71, up 0.41 percent. Samsung Electronics briefly climbed above the 300,000-won ($197) mark early in the session, setting an all-time high before reversing course to close down 2.34 percent at 292,500 won. SK hynix, meanwhile, edged up 0.05 percent to finish at 1,941,000 won. The KOSPI has seen heightened volatility since briefly surpassing the 8,000 mark during intraday trading on May 15. After breaking through the milestone, the benchmark index reversed sharply and closed the session down more than 6 percent to finish in the 7,400 range. The turbulence continued in the following sessions, with the KOSPI falling to as low as 7,053.84 intrad

May 22, 2026By Park Han-sol
Kosdaq jumps nearly 5% on state-backed fund optimism, while KOSPI takes breather
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