The Korea Times

Banks get creative with deposit products as market volatility sends stock investors back to savings

Korean banks are rolling out a wave of themed deposit products as they compete to lure retail money back from the stock market amid heightened volatility, while also shoring up funding ahead of further interest rate hikes, according to industry officials, Tuesday. The benchmark KOSPI has swung wildly in recent sessions. After tumbling 17.2 percent over three trading days from July 28-30, the index posted a record one-day rebound of 17.9 percent on Friday. It has since traded in the 6,100 to 6,200 range. The market’s sharp swings have prompted many retail investors to move money from equities back into safer assets. As of July 29, outstanding time deposits at the country’s five largest lenders — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — stood at 973.5 trillion won ($680.8 billion), up by more than 24 trillion won from a month earlier. For banks, the influx comes at an opportune time. Encouraging customers to lock away cash now allows lenders to secure a stable source of funding before any additional rate hikes from the Bank of Korea make raising deposits more expensive. W

Aug 5, 2026By Park Han-sol

Banks get creative with deposit products as market volatility sends stock investors back to savings

Economy

Birth rebound boosts outlook for prenatal insurance market

Korea’s rebound in births is reviving interest in the market for prenatal insurance, prompting insurers to broaden coverage and introduce new policy riders as they compete to lock in young families as long-term customers, according to industry officials, Tuesday. Over the January-May period, 122,694 babies were born, up 15.2 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The country’s total fertility rate — the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime — also rose to 0.85 in May from 0.75 a year earlier. The improvement has been attributed in part to a postpandemic rise in marriages and a temporary increase in the number of women in their 30s, the country’s prime childbearing years. In light of this, insurers are stepping up competition in the prenatal insurance market. The product is typically structured as a children’s insurance policy purchased during pregnancy, with optional riders covering risks before and after birth, such as congenital disorders and premature birth. For companies, these polic

Aug 4, 2026By Park Han-sol

Birth rebound boosts outlook for prenatal insurance market

Economy

Seoul's public housing tenants draw backlash for refusing to move out after 20-year leases

“We were promised 20 years of housing. We trusted the government and never made other plans in the meantime,” reads a statement issued in May by residents of a long-term public rental housing complex in Gangil-dong, eastern Seoul. Tenants of another complex in Seoul’s Songpa District echoed the sentiment, urging the city to reverse what they called “an unfair policy” and address “growing insecurity over our housing future.” “Our request is a legitimate exercise of our rights, both morally and legally,” they wrote in a statement in July. These residents are among the first participants in Seoul’s long-term lease housing program, launched in 2007 by the Seoul Housing & Urban Development Corporation. Designed for households without homes, the scheme offers apartments in exchange for a lump-sum deposit, typically around 80 percent of prevailing “jeonse” prices but often far less. In return, tenants can stay for up to 20 years, but the houses are not up for sale for occupants and are instead recycled to new eligible households. As the first wave of 20-year leases appro

Aug 3, 2026By Park Han-sol

Seoul's public housing tenants draw backlash for refusing to move out after 20-year leases

Economy

'Roller KOSPI': Record market swings leave investors split between euphoria, fear

“This isn’t a stock market driven by corporate fundamentals anymore. It’s basically a coin toss.” This was one investor’s verdict on X (formerly Twitter) after one of the most extraordinary weeks in Korean stock market history. On Friday, the benchmark KOSPI surged 17.91 percent, or 1,001.89 points, to 6,595.45 — its largest one-day gain on record — after three consecutive sessions of losses. The rally was fueled largely by a sharp rebound in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix as stronger-than-expected earnings from U.S. technology giants revived optimism over artificial intelligence (AI) investment. Foreign investors snapped up more than 7 trillion won ($4.9 billion) in shares. Yet rather than restoring confidence, the dramatic rebound underscored just how disorienting the market has become for retail investors, leaving many to feel less like long-term shareholders than reluctant participants in a high-stakes timing game. The phrase “Roller KOSPI” — a portmanteau of “roller coaster” and “KOSPI” — has become a fixture across online investing forums and social m

Jul 31, 2026By Park Han-sol

'Roller KOSPI': Record market swings leave investors split between euphoria, fear

Banking & Finance

Hanwha Life Insurance to support Korea's International Olympiad in Informatics team

Hanwha Life Insurance has signed a memorandum of understanding to support Korea’s national team competing at this year’s International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI), following the country’s first-ever clean sweep of four gold medals at the prestigious programming contest last year, the insurer said Friday. The IOI is one of the annual International Science Olympiads that brings together the world’s top secondary school students in computer programming under the age of 20. The competition spans two days, with contestants solving three algorithmic programming problems during a five-hour session each day. Hanwha Life began sponsoring the national team last year as part of its efforts to nurture young talent in computer science amid growing demand for expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies. With the insurer’s backing, the team’s training program expanded from primarily online instruction to intensive residential training camps. The enhanced program coincided with a historic result at last year’s competition, where all four members of the Korean team

Jul 31, 2026By Park Han-sol

Hanwha Life Insurance to support Korea's International Olympiad in Informatics team

Arts & Theater

Korean American Broadway star finds power in being 'in-between'

When Stephanie Jae Park was first considering a career in music, the problem was never a lack of options. It was that she loved too many of them. Opera captivated her. So did jazz, pop and R&B. She wanted to act. She wanted to dance. Choosing one path meant giving up another. "So I chose musical theater," she said with a laugh. "I chose it out of my inability to choose one thing." In August, Park will join the Broadway cast of "Six" as Catherine Parr, becoming the first East Asian performer officially cast in the role in a principal production of the hit musical. The high-octane pop concert reimagines the six wives of Henry VIII as modern-day divas, each reclaiming her own story. It marks another milestone in a career that has rarely stayed within a single lane: Broadway leading lady, concert soloist and now co-creator of an original musical still in development. "It took me so long to realize that I didn't have just one dream," she said. "I'm somebody who really loves the diversity of art." That refusal to be boxed in has extended beyond artistic genres. As one of very few Asian women on B

Jul 30, 2026By Park Han-sol

Korean American Broadway star finds power in being 'in-between'

Economy

Borrowers turn to insurance loans as mortgage lending tightens

A dental lab assistant surnamed Choi in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, has turned to insurance policy loans several times whenever she needed a little extra cash to cover unexpected expenses. “Taking out a regular loan affects my credit score directly. But with an insurance policy loan, I’m borrowing against premiums I’ve already paid, so it doesn’t drag down my credit rating,” she said. “The interest rate is also lower than what you would get from other nonbank lenders. So when I need a small amount of money quickly, this feels like the most reasonable option I have.” Choi said she stayed away from borrowing money to invest in stocks during this year’s record-breaking market rally. But she has definitely seen people around her use insurance policy loans to bet on the stock market. Similar conversations have surfaced on Blind, a popular anonymous workplace community app in Korea. “I got the money quickly from an existing insurance policy, and my interest rate is only 3.6 percent. I’ll make some gains and pay it back soon,” read one post shared in the app’s stock inv

Jul 30, 2026By Park Han-sol

Borrowers turn to insurance loans as mortgage lending tightens

Economy

Banks face full liability for voice phishing compensation

Financial authorities have taken a concrete step toward introducing a long-discussed no-fault compensation scheme for victims of voice phishing, submitting to lawmakers a blueprint that would require banks to reimburse losses unless they can demonstrate that a statutory exemption applies. The proposal, included in the Financial Services Commission’s (FSC) policy report submitted Wednesday to the National Assembly, marks the government’s clearest signal yet that it intends to press ahead with revisions to the Special Act on the Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud and Refund for Loss after months of debate. Under the plan, the bank used by the victim and the institution that maintained the fraudulent account would each bear half of the compensation paid to scam victims. Instead of setting a fixed compensation limit, the revised legislation would authorize the state to determine the cap by presidential decree within a range of 10 million won ($6,890) to 50 million won. The formula for calculating each institution’s share of compensation, along with claims procedures and other op

Jul 29, 2026By Park Han-sol

Banks face full liability for voice phishing compensation

Banking & Finance

KB Kookmin Bank scores big with branded drama starring Kim Nam-gil

KB Kookmin Bank’s four-part branded drama series starring veteran actor Kim Nam-gil has topped 4 million cumulative views on YouTube, the lender said Tuesday, as banks turn to original entertainment content to engage consumers. Titled “Star to START: K-Business Begins,” the series is set in the world of corporate banking. Kim, best known for hits like SBS' 2019 drama “The Fiery Priest,” plays a relationship manager who travels to meet small and medium-sized business owners, helping them tackle a range of financial challenges. Each 15-minute episode follows him as he works alongside clients, with the bank’s corporate lending, trade finance and advisory services woven organically into the story. The result is a drama that provides a glimpse into the work of corporate bankers while demystifying a side of the industry that many consumers rarely encounter. The unusual approach appears to have struck a chord with audiences. “With Kim Nam-gil promoting its brand image, KB feels like the most trustworthy bank out there,” one viewer commented on YouTube. “Never thought I’d actu

Jul 28, 2026By Park Han-sol

KB Kookmin Bank scores big with branded drama starring Kim Nam-gil

Economy

Climate-risk insurance gains traction as heat waves intensify

Korea’s leading non-life insurers are teaming up with local administrations to build out the country’s fledgling market for climate-risk insurance, as more frequent heat waves drive up economic losses and protection gaps, according to industry officials Tuesday. The push comes as prolonged heat waves and tropical nights have become a familiar feature of Korean summers, disrupting outdoor work across construction sites and farms. Beginning in August, Jeju Island will introduce a program for daily construction laborers that partially compensates them for lost wages when extreme temperatures suspend outdoor work. Five companies — Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, Hanwha General Insurance, NH NongHyup Property & Casualty Insurance and DB Insurance — are participating in the program. The initiative is among the few in Korea to adopt parametric insurance, in which payouts are automatically triggered once predefined conditions are met. If the Korea Meteorological Administration issues a heat wave warning before 1 p.m. and construction sites halt operations

Jul 28, 2026By Park Han-sol

Park Han-sol

Read more

Banks get creative with deposit products as market volatility sends stock investors back to savings

Birth rebound boosts outlook for prenatal insurance market

Seoul's public housing tenants draw backlash for refusing to move out after 20-year leases

'Roller KOSPI': Record market swings leave investors split between euphoria, fear

Hanwha Life Insurance to support Korea's International Olympiad in Informatics team

Korean American Broadway star finds power in being 'in-between'

Borrowers turn to insurance loans as mortgage lending tightens

Banks face full liability for voice phishing compensation

KB Kookmin Bank scores big with branded drama starring Kim Nam-gil

Climate-risk insurance gains traction as heat waves intensify

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