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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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Banking & Finance

Hana Financial's private reverse mortgage draws $220 mil. in 1st year

Hana Financial Group’s private reverse mortgage has attracted more than 330 billion won ($220 million) in subscriptions from over 260 customers since its launch a year ago, the group said Thursday. Introduced in May 2025, the product was designed to fill a gap in Korea’s reverse mortgage market, where government-backed programs dominate. A reverse mortgage allows older homeowners to convert part of the value of their home into a steady stream of income while continuing to live in the property. Because public reverse mortgages are unavailable for homes valued above 1.2 billion won, many seniors with high-value properties have had few options for unlocking housing wealth in retirement. Hana’s offering combines Hana Bank’s real estate trust service with a lifetime annuity from Hana Life. It also adopts a nonrecourse structure, ensuring customers receive pension payments for life even if the total amount ultimately exceeds the value of the property. To mark the product’s first anniversary, the group hosted an appreciation event for more than 50 customers at its Seoul headquarters o

Jul 9, 2026By Park Han-sol
Hana Financial's private reverse mortgage draws $220 mil. in 1st year
Banking & Finance

Hyundai Card tests stablecoin in live cross-border corporate payment

Hyundai Card has completed what it said was the first stablecoin-based intercompany payment between overseas subsidiaries of Hyundai Motor, signaling the technology’s potential for broader corporate use, the company said Thursday. The proof-of-concept testing involved a cross-border payment between Hyundai Motor’s operations in the United States and Mexico. A second trial involving the automaker’s European subsidiaries is scheduled to take place later this month. According to Hyundai Card, the initiative is significant as it applied stablecoin technology to an actual intercompany settlement at a major multinational, rather than limiting its use to experimental projects led by IT or fintech firms. In the first pilot, Hyundai Motor America converted $20,000 into the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin and sent it to Hyundai Motor Mexico, where it was converted back into dollars. Among the partners in the project were stablecoin issuer Tether, blockchain platform Avalanche and blockchain payments infrastructure provider Axiym. The entire process, from payment to settlement verification, took

Jul 9, 2026By Park Han-sol
Hyundai Card tests stablecoin in live cross-border corporate payment
Education

Semiconductor tax windfall revives debate over Korea's education funding formula

Korea earmarks 20.79 percent of each year's domestic tax revenue to fund elementary, middle and high schools across the country under a decades-old formula designed to insulate education spending from economic and political fluctuations. This year, however, an unprecedented semiconductor boom is set to swell corporate tax receipts, automatically channeling a substantial share of the windfall into education. Yet the allocation has already more than doubled over the past decade — rising from 39 trillion won ($25.9 billion) in 2015 to a projected record high of over 80 trillion won this year — even as the school-age population shrank from 6.4 million to 4.92 million. That growing disconnect has fueled calls from fiscal authorities to overhaul the current formula. At a public forum co-hosted by the Ministry of Planning and Budget and the Ministry of Education on Wednesday, government officials and experts debated whether the half-century-old system still makes sense in today's demographic and fiscal realities. Budget Minister Park Hong-keun said the current funding system no longer reflec

Jul 8, 2026By Park Han-sol
Semiconductor tax windfall revives debate over Korea's education funding formula
Banking & Finance

Korea Investment Corp. opens Tokyo office to expand Asia-Pacific presence

Korea Investment Corp. (KIC), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, has opened its sixth overseas outpost in Tokyo as it seeks to strengthen its investment presence across the Asia-Pacific region, the company said Tuesday. The move comes as Japan’s economy shows signs of a structural recovery after years of sluggish growth and deflation, with wages, prices and corporate earnings all on the rise. The improving outlook has made the country increasingly attractive to global investors. The Tokyo office will oversee investments across both traditional asset classes, including equities and fixed income, and alternatives such as private equity and real estate. KIC said a local presence will allow it to build stronger relationships in a market where trust and long-standing networks are critical to sourcing investment opportunities. It will also focus on uncovering opportunities available only on the ground while serving as a hub for information sharing and cooperation with Korean financial institutions operating in Japan. “The Tokyo office will play a pivotal role as a strategic hub, enabli

Jul 7, 2026By Park Han-sol
Korea Investment Corp. opens Tokyo office to expand Asia-Pacific presence
Economy

HD Hyundai, SK, CJ, Lotte face IPO dilemma under Korea's new subsidiary listing rules

The government’s new guidelines, which effectively bar the separate listing of subsidiaries spun off from listed parent companies that can erode shareholder value, have cast uncertainty over the initial public offering (IPO) plans of several high-profile Korean firms, according to industry experts, Tuesday. Among those forced to rethink their listing strategies are HD Hyundai Robotics, CJ Olive Young, Lotte Biologics and SK ecoplant, all of which have been regarded as strong IPO candidates. At the heart of the new regulations, unveiled Monday by the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Exchange, is a requirement that listed companies secure shareholder approval before separately listing subsidiaries created by spinning off part of their business while retaining control. The change puts minority shareholder protection at the center of the process. Boards will also be expected to present concrete measures to preserve shareholder value, such as raising cash dividends, canceling treasury shares or strengthening the parent company’s earnings power through new investments. HD Hyunda

Jul 7, 2026By Park Han-sol
HD Hyundai, SK, CJ, Lotte face IPO dilemma under Korea's new subsidiary listing rules
Banking & Finance

Hana Bank begins round-the-clock FX trading services

Hana Bank began providing round-the-clock trading services, Monday, as Korea’s won-dollar foreign exchange market entered the first full day of its 24-hour operation. The change abolishes the previous trading window of 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. the following day, allowing global investors and other market participants to trade the won against the U.S. dollar at Seoul market rates regardless of the time of day. To mark the launch, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol visited Hana Bank’s dealing room in Seoul, where he observed the extended trading session alongside Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo and Hana Bank CEO Lee Ho-sung. The delegation also held a video call with the bank’s London branch, a registered foreign institution participating in Korea’s onshore FX market, to monitor market activity during European trading hours. Ahead of the transition, Hana Bank said it had strengthened its foreign exchange operations by opening Hana Infinity Seoul, the country’s largest FX dealing room, in 2024 and establishing a 24-hour operating system in step with the phased expansion of trading

Jul 6, 2026By Park Han-sol
Hana Bank begins round-the-clock FX trading services
Policy

Gov't to effectively ban subsidiary listings to protect minority shareholder value

Companies in Korea will, in principle, no longer be allowed to list subsidiaries created by splitting off businesses from already listed parent companies, in accordance with new rules aimed at curbing a longstanding practice that has drawn criticism for diluting shareholder value, government officials said Monday. The restriction applies to subsidiaries formed when a listed company spins off part of its business while retaining ownership. Such listings will be granted only in exceptional cases after passing stricter reviews, with companies required to demonstrate that minority shareholders are adequately protected. The guidelines, unveiled by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Korea Exchange, impose five new obligations on the boards of parent companies seeking dual listings, alongside tougher listing review standards. According to the FSC, the practice has become widespread in Korea despite concerns that it hurts minority shareholders by lowering the value of the parent company’s shares. Investors have long argued that once a valuable business is listed separately, part

Jul 6, 2026By Park Han-sol
Gov't to effectively ban subsidiary listings to protect minority shareholder value
Companies

Homeplus heads toward liquidation as court pulls plug on rehabilitation

Homeplus, Korea’s second-largest hypermarket chain, is heading toward liquidation after a court terminated its rehabilitation proceedings, ruling that the cash-strapped retailer had no viable path to carrying out its turnaround plan, according to industry officials, Friday. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court dismissed Homeplus’ revised restructuring proposal — which called for sweeping cost cuts, including shuttering nearly half of its stores and reducing its workforce — after the company failed to secure the minimum 200 billion won ($130 million) in fresh funding needed to execute the plan. “The minimum funding required to implement the plan has yet to be secured,” the court said. “As the proposal is therefore not feasible, the rehabilitation proceedings will be terminated without further hearings.” Homeplus has 14 days to appeal. If the ruling stands, the company will be dissolved and creditors will be free to pursue legal remedies, such as asset seizures and foreclosure. Within hours of the decision, the troubled retailer again appealed to its largest creditor, Meritz Financia

Jul 3, 2026By Park Han-sol
Homeplus heads toward liquidation as court pulls plug on rehabilitation
Banking & Finance

Toss to face stricter oversight as Korea's first fintech financial conglomerate

Viva Republica, which operates Toss, is poised to become the first fintech company subject to the same regulatory framework as Korea's other large financial conglomerates, marking a major shift in oversight for the fast-growing platform. Originally launched as a mobile money-transfer app, Toss has since rapidly evolved into a financial platform spanning banking, brokerage and insurance. Authorities are expected to formally designate the company as a “financial conglomerate” later this month. Introduced in 2021, the system is designed to strengthen oversight of groups with multiple financial subsidiaries by requiring integrated supervision of intra-group risk and related-party transactions. Seven conglomerates — Samsung, Hanwha, Mirae Asset, Kyobo, Hyundai Motor, DB and Daou Kiwoom — are currently subject to the regulations. To qualify, a group must operate across at least two of three sectors — banking, insurance and financial investment — with the smallest business holding more than 5 trillion won ($3.24 billion) in assets. Toss qualifies through Toss Bank and Toss Securitie

Jul 3, 2026By Park Han-sol
Toss to face stricter oversight as Korea's first fintech financial conglomerate
Banking & Finance

PHOTO Hana Financial Group launches 20th class of SMART student ambassadors

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, second from left, poses with university students selected for the group's 20th class of SMART Ambassadors at a launch ceremony held at the company headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. Since the program started in 2012, a total of 1,060 university students have participated as honorary ambassadors. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

Jul 3, 2026By Park Han-solphoto
[PHOTO] Hana Financial Group launches 20th class of SMART student ambassadors
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