The Korea Times

FSS scrutiny of MBK over Homeplus sparks debate on regulatory overreach

Concerns have been raised that the Financial Supervisory Service’s (FSS) move to impose severe sanctions on MBK Partners, Homeplus’ major shareholder, in connection with the retailer’s controversial corporate rehabilitation filing, represents excessive intervention by financial authorities, according to industry insiders Tuesday. They argued that the Capital Markets Act grants institutional private equity fund managers full authority over investment decisions, and that MBK acted within its discretion under the law. The country’s second-largest supermarket chain filed for corporate rehabilitation with the Seoul Bankruptcy Court on March 4, following a credit rating downgrade. The financial watchdog views any infringement of the National Pension Service’s (NPS) interests during MBK’s alteration of the terms for Homeplus’ redeemable convertible preferred shares (RCPS) — changes favorable to the retailer at the time of the downgrade — as an unsound business practice. In this context, the FSS issued a preliminary notice of severe sanctions, including a suspension of duties,

Nov 25, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

FSS scrutiny of MBK over Homeplus sparks debate on regulatory overreach

Banking & Finance

From automated transfers to algorithmic lending: AI bankers reshape finance

The financial sector, traditionally regarded as more conservative than other industries, is actively expanding the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve customer convenience, according to industry officials Tuesday. With banks broadening their use of AI, essential services such as transfers, debt workout support, credit limit checks and loan evaluations are becoming more and more accessible, they said. KakaoBank, the country’s largest internet-only bank, became the first domestic financial institution to introduce generative AI-powered money transfers. The new feature, released Monday, lets customers send money by simply engaging in a natural conversation with AI — similar to interacting with ChatGPT. The service effectively simplifies the multi-step process of entering the bank name, account number and transfer amount into a single spoken command. If the recipient has a recent transfer record, users can simply mention their name, and when a nickname is saved, even related phrases like “mom” or “dad” will facilitate the transfer. KakaoBank plans to further ap

Nov 25, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

From automated transfers to algorithmic lending: AI bankers reshape finance

Banking & Finance

Samsung Fire rolls out English, Chinese claims support for international clients

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance introduced an English- and Chinese-language claims service to make insurance procedures more convenient for its growing number of international customers, the company said Monday. The service is available through both the firm's official website and mobile app. To implement the service, the insurer analyzed global customers’ digital service usage, which showed that the most commonly used function was claims submission, accounting for 58.3 percent, followed by premium payment at 14 percent and certificate issuance at 9.5 percent. Among foreign users, 68.6 percent spoke Chinese and 8.4 percent spoke English, indicating strong demand for support in these two languages for the claims process. Based on this analysis, the company rolled out English and Chinese services for the claims section first, allowing foreign customers to navigate the process more easily and accurately. During development, the firm conducted usability tests with English- and Chinese-speaking users to evaluate the layout, instructions and input steps, and incorporated the feedback into the

Nov 25, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Samsung Fire rolls out English, Chinese claims support for international clients

Banking & Finance

What 'severe' penalty could be imposed on MBK Partners?

Attention is growing over the level of penalties MBK Partners may face, after the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) sent the private equity firm, which controls Homeplus, an advance notice of “severe” disciplinary action amid ongoing controversy over the retailer’s application for a court-led corporate rehabilitation program, according to financial industry officials Monday. The financial watchdog had initially planned to wait for the prosecution to conclude its investigation before taking any action, but its stance shifted after new Governor Lee Chan-jin took office in August. Lee, a former public interest lawyer with ties to progressive civic groups, directed FSS officials to reopen the case, emphasizing that “strict measures are necessary” against the firm. It marks the first time a general partner (GP) of an institutional private equity fund has faced severe sanctions from the financial authorities. Under the Capital Markets Act, sanctions against a GP range from lower to higher levels — institutional caution, institutional warning, suspension of duties for up to six m

Nov 24, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

What 'severe' penalty could be imposed on MBK Partners?

Banking & Finance

Insurers pursue overseas expansion, new business amid challenges

Major insurance companies have been stepping up overseas expansion and pursuing mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to diversify into new businesses as a response to the challenges of a low-growth domestic market shaped by demographic shifts and regulatory changes, industry officials said Friday. They noted that generating profits from core insurance operations has become increasingly difficult, while the ongoing possibility of interest rate cuts creates further difficulties in managing assets and liabilities. Data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed that life insurers’ cumulative net profit for the first three quarters of this year stood at 4.8 trillion won ($3.3 billion), down 8.3 percent from the same period last year. During the same period, non-life insurers’ net profit dropped 19.6 percent to 6.5 trillion won. This decline comes as underwriting profits have worsened for both life and non-life insurers, causing issues in their core business operations. In response, insurers have sought to diversify their business portfolios by expanding into overseas markets and exploring

Nov 22, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Insurers pursue overseas expansion, new business amid challenges

Society

Working mothers on rise amid growing financial strain on households

Choi, a 42-year-old woman who lives in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, quit the trading company where she had worked for more than a decade as soon as she became pregnant. As an older expectant mother, she was worried that the job might put too much strain on her pregnancy. After giving birth, she stayed home to focus on child care, but recently returned to the workforce when her child turned three, taking a position at an IT-related startup. “With the rising cost of living and the growing burden of child care and education expenses, it became clear that we could no longer rely on my husband’s income alone,” she said. “Plus, the flexible work culture typical of startups made it an ideal environment for working mothers.” The number of working mothers juggling both work and household responsibilities has risen rapidly over the past year. In contrast, the number of women who leave the workforce due to marriage, childbirth, child care or family care has fallen to an all-time low. A survey by the Ministry of Data and Statistics showed that 64.3 percent of married women aged 15 to 54 who li

Nov 21, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Working mothers on rise amid growing financial strain on households

Sports

'Disability is not a limitation': Judoka aims higher after Tokyo Deaflympics bronze

Lee Ju-ho, a judoka on the team run by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. (KDIC), won a bronze medal at the 2025 Tokyo Deaflympics on Nov. 16. The 20-year-old, competing on the international stage for the first time against a series of strong opponents, said, “Not giving up until the very end was the key to victory.” The Deaflympics is an Olympic-level international competition for athletes with hearing impairments, organized by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf. The 2025 Tokyo Deaflympics, which commenced Nov. 15, marks the 100th anniversary of the event and features competitions in 21 sports through Nov. 26. In an interview with The Korea Times after returning home, Lee cited the repechage — a type of consolation bracket — and the bronze medal match as the most memorable moments of the competition. “Winning in the round of 16 but then losing to an Iranian opponent in the quarterfinals was tough to accept,” he said. “Still, with the repechage ahead, I focused on regaining my composure and concentrating fully. Once I made it through the repechage, I reminde

Nov 20, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

'Disability is not a limitation': Judoka aims higher after Tokyo Deaflympics bronze

Banking & Finance

More companies boost executive liability coverage under stricter responsibility rules

Demand for liability insurance for directors and officers (D&O insurance) is surging rapidly as companies move more actively to protect executives from legal risks, insurance industry officials said Thursday. The trend follows a recent amendment to the Commercial Act, which aims to strengthen minority shareholder protections by expanding directors’ fiduciary duties to include shareholders, a change that increases the likelihood of shareholder derivative suits and damage claims against executives. The new accountability framework for financial companies is also adding to litigation risks, making D&O insurance more of a necessity than an option. D&O insurance provides coverage for legal costs and compensation when executives cause losses to shareholders or third parties through errors, negligence or breaches of duty. Companies purchase these policies to ensure executives can operate confidently and make proactive decisions without personal financial exposure. According to industry officials, premiums from new D&O insurance policies issued by the five major non-life insurers — Samsung F

Nov 20, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

More companies boost executive liability coverage under stricter responsibility rules

Policy

Plan to widen English disclosures sparks concerns over companies' translation burdens

The government's plan to expand English-language disclosures is expected to increase companies' responsibility for providing translations, despite the policy's aim of helping attract foreign investors, according to industry officials and experts. Such concerns came after the government recently announced measures to improve corporate disclosure practices, which include the English-language disclosure obligation to be applied to all KOSPI-listed firms by 2028. The policy aims to help boost foreign investors’ access to Korea’s capital markets, mitigating the so-called "Korea discount," under which Korean firms are typically valued below their international peers. Observers also point out that further upgrades to disclosure infrastructure will be necessary to ensure accurate and easy-to-understand English filings for global investors. Kim Dae-jong, a professor at Sejong University’s School of Business, noted that although the policy represents a meaningful step in strengthening core market infrastructure, Korean companies may face increased compliance burdens, similar to those observ

Nov 20, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Plan to widen English disclosures sparks concerns over companies' translation burdens

Banking & Finance

Hanwha Life showcases AI-driven arbitrage model with Stanford at major finance AI conference

Hanwha Life's AI Research Center presented a co-authored research paper with Stanford University's Human-Centered AI on an AI-driven arbitrage model at a major global financial AI conference in Singapore earlier this week, the insurer said Wednesday. The International Conference on AI in Finance (ICAIF), a four-day event that began last Saturday, is hosted by the Association for Computing Machinery. The conference is considered one of the most prominent international gatherings in the financial AI field, drawing participation from global financial institutions such as J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and BlackRock, as well as researchers from leading universities worldwide. This year’s ICAIF received 349 submissions, of which 113 were accepted, resulting in an acceptance rate of 32.4 percent. Hanwha Life’s paper ranked in the top 15.5 percent of all submissions and was selected for the Oral Presentation session, which is reserved for standout research. The study, titled “Attention Factors for Statistical Arbitrage,” examines how the attention mechanism — widely used in advanced gen

Nov 19, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Jun Ji-hye

Read more

FSS scrutiny of MBK over Homeplus sparks debate on regulatory overreach

From automated transfers to algorithmic lending: AI bankers reshape finance

Samsung Fire rolls out English, Chinese claims support for international clients

What 'severe' penalty could be imposed on MBK Partners?

Insurers pursue overseas expansion, new business amid challenges

Working mothers on rise amid growing financial strain on households

'Disability is not a limitation': Judoka aims higher after Tokyo Deaflympics bronze

More companies boost executive liability coverage under stricter responsibility rules

Plan to widen English disclosures sparks concerns over companies' translation burdens

Hanwha Life showcases AI-driven arbitrage model with Stanford at major finance AI conference

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