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Jun Ji-hye

Korea Times Finance Reporter

Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.

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Banking & Finance

JB Financial enters Indonesia, eyes EV finance as new growth engine

JB Financial Group won regulatory approval to acquire a majority stake in an Indonesian finance company, completing a key step toward establishing a foothold in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, the company said Monday. The Indonesian Financial Services Authority gave its approval after the group’s affiliate, JB Woori Capital, signed a share purchase agreement with PT Bank KB Indonesia, KB Kookmin Bank’s Indonesian subsidiary, in July last year to acquire an 85 percent stake in KB Bukopin Finance for about 29 billion won ($22 million). The approval completes the key regulatory procedures required to close the deal. It will allow JB Financial Group to accelerate its expansion across Southeast Asia by adding Indonesia to its existing operations in Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. JB Financial aims to complete the acquisition by the end of this year and subsequently rebrand the company, with the new name expected to be finalized in December. Established in 1983, KB Bukopin Finance offers a broad range of lending services in Indonesia, with corporate and working capital financing forming

Sep 7, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
JB Financial enters Indonesia, eyes EV finance as new growth engine
Others

Korean stocks rebound as US rate concerns ease

Korean stocks climbed Friday, with the benchmark KOSPI reclaiming the 6,600 level as a rally on Wall Street and a pullback in U.S. Treasury yields improved investor sentiment. Foreign and institutional investors turned net buyers after five consecutive sessions of selling, with net purchases of 479.3 billion won ($355 million) and 1.67 trillion won, respectively, providing a boost to the index. KOSPI started the session 1.14 percent higher at 6,654.36, up 74.88 points from the previous close. The index remained in positive territory throughout the session and ended 107.73 points, or 1.64 percent, higher at 6,687.21. U.S. stocks advanced across the board overnight as Treasury yields steadied. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.18 percent, while the other two major indexes also posted gains. The rally was partly fueled by comments from Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller, who signaled he could support keeping interest rates unchanged at this month’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, if incoming inflation data confirm that price pressures are continuing to ease. His remarks

Sep 4, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Korean stocks rebound as US rate concerns ease
Cryptocurrency

Presidential policy chief's exit fuels hopes for softer crypto regulation

Korea’s cryptocurrency industry is weighing the prospect of regulatory relief following the sudden resignation of presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom, who had aggressively pushed to curb major shareholder dominance in local crypto exchanges, industry officials said Thursday. Kim submitted his resignation Monday amid continued criticism that single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) introduced in May under his leadership have been contributing to heightened stock market volatility. President Lee Jae Myung accepted his resignation Tuesday, with no successor named yet. Kim, a former senior financial bureaucrat who previously headed the crypto think tank Hashed Open Research, was initially expected to foster pro-industry regulations upon taking office in June 2025. Instead, his tenure saw a push to cap major exchange shareholders’ equity at 20 percent, which would force founders to sell their excess stakes. The industry, which believed Kim played a significant role in shaping the regulation, has mounted fierce opposition to the proposed equity cap, arguing tha

Sep 4, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Presidential policy chief's exit fuels hopes for softer crypto regulation
Companies

Homeplus clears liquidation hurdle, but what challenges remain?

Embattled retailer Homeplus staved off immediate liquidation after winning court approval for its restructuring plan, but it still faces steep hurdles to achieve a full recovery, industry watchers said Thursday. The court's decision on Wednesday took immediate effect, formally allowing Homeplus to carry out the debt repayment and restructuring measures outlined in the plan. However, the company must stabilize its cash flow, restore normal operations, sell real estate assets and ultimately secure a new buyer to achieve a full recovery. The retailer, controlled by private equity firm MBK Partners, entered corporate rehabilitation in March 2025 but saw the proceedings terminated last July after failing to secure the minimum 200 billion won ($147 million) in operating funds required to implement its rehabilitation plan. It later secured emergency debtor-in-possession financing from Meritz Financial Group, prompting the court to reverse the termination decision. Immediate risks stem from administrative claims, including payments owed to suppliers, which take priority over standard rehabilita

Sep 3, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Homeplus clears liquidation hurdle, but what challenges remain?
Companies

Court approves Homeplus restructuring plan

Homeplus, which is under court-led rehabilitation proceedings, secured court approval Wednesday for its restructuring plan. The rehabilitation proceedings of the country's No. 2 supermarket chain will come to an end once it begins repaying creditors in line with the approved plan. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court held a creditors’ meeting earlier in the day to vote on the plan. After creditors approved the proposal, the court immediately gave it the green light, formally authorizing the retailer to carry out the debt repayment and restructuring measures set out in the plan. “The plan satisfied the requirements for approval, with support from at least two-thirds of creditors,” the court said. It urged the retailer, controlled by private equity firm MBK Partners, to cooperate closely with its employees and business partners and do its utmost to ensure the successful implementation of the rehabilitation plan. MBK Vice Chairman and Homeplus co-CEO Kim Kwang-il, who attended the meeting, apologized to creditors affected by the company’s rehabilitation process. “Our priority under the restru

Sep 2, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Court approves Homeplus restructuring plan
Policy

Finance minister nominee names inflation control top mission

Lee Hyoung-il, nominee for deputy prime minister and minister of finance and economy, vowed to make price stability a top priority Wednesday, calling grocery prices a key gauge of the economic team’s performance. “Price stability is the foundation of people’s livelihoods and the starting point for narrowing economic polarization,” Lee, currently the first vice finance minister, said during a press briefing. “High prices weigh more heavily on vulnerable groups, making inflation control the economic authorities’ biggest mission.” Lee also said he would seek to roll out additional measures to keep prices of key Chuseok holiday items in check. The remarks came after the government announced Tuesday that it would release a record 180,000 tons of Chuseok food staples and offer 100 billion won ($73 million) in discounts on agricultural, livestock and fishery products. During a Cabinet meeting the same day, President Lee Jae Myung also urged the nominee to keep a close watch on prices of Chuseok staples, joking that he could withdraw the nomination if prices were not brought under

Sep 2, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Finance minister nominee names inflation control top mission
Others

EXPLAINER How SKT data breach pushed inflation up by 0.6 percentage point

The fallout from SK Telecom's data breach last year has resurfaced in consumer inflation data a year later. In an unexpected twist, a 50 percent cut in mobile phone bills for more than 20 million subscribers at the time created a base effect that pushed up last month’s consumer inflation rate by nearly 0.6 percentage point, government data showed Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the consumer price index stood at 120.05 in August, up 3.1 percent from a year earlier. Inflation had accelerated from 2.6 percent in April to 3.1 percent in May and 3.2 percent in June before easing to 2.8 percent in July. It returned to the 3 percent range a month later. At first glance, the latest data may suggest that inflationary pressures are picking up again. But the August increase was largely driven by the fading impact of SK Telecom’s massive mobile bill discounts introduced last year following the incident, which potentially affected approximately 25 million customers. In August last year, the country’s largest wireless carrier cut mobile bills by 50 percent for all su

Sep 2, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
[EXPLAINER] How SKT data breach pushed inflation up by 0.6 percentage point
Policy

Gov't eases property tax reform amid public backlash

The government scrapped a plan to lower the basic deduction under the comprehensive real estate tax to 900 million won ($657,000) for nonresident single-home owners, deciding to retain it at the current level of 1.2 billion won, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said Tuesday. The original measure was intended to tighten property tax rules for homeowners who do not live in their properties, but it faced substantial public opposition. The decision to drop the measure came after leaders of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea called for the government to reconsider it. The changes, however, are still subject to parliamentary approval and could be revised during the legislative process. The finance ministry said the Cabinet approved the final versions of 11 tax-related bills earlier in the day after consultations with relevant ministries. The original reform package, unveiled last month, sought to differentiate the tax treatment of single-home owners based on whether they actually lived in their properties. Under the proposal, the basic deduction would have risen from 1.2 billion won to 1.4

Sep 1, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Gov't eases property tax reform amid public backlash
Policy

State spending to top $729 billion by 2030 amid fiscal expansion

Korea’s annual government spending will surpass 1 quadrillion won ($729 billion) for the first time by 2030, driven by aggressive fiscal expansion under the Lee Jae Myung administration, government figures showed Tuesday. According to the 2026-2030 fiscal plan published by the Ministry of Planning and Budget, government expenditure will reach 820.9 trillion won next year before climbing to 957.4 trillion won in 2029 and reaching 1.005 quadrillion won in 2030. The spending expansion is largely fueled by surging tax revenues, driven by strong corporate earnings in the semiconductor sector. National tax revenues are projected to jump 49.8 percent to 584.4 trillion won next year, up 194.2 trillion won from this year. Over a five-year period, revenues are forecast to grow at an average annual pace of 13.4 percent, reaching 644.8 trillion won by 2030. Despite record spending, the government expects to keep its fiscal deficit under control, supported by steady nominal economic growth. The government projects the managed fiscal deficit to remain below 3 percent of nominal gross domestic product

Sep 1, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
State spending to top $729 billion by 2030 amid fiscal expansion
Policy

Gov't bets big on AI, chips for 2027 budget to compete in global tech race

The government plans to significantly ramp up investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors to prevent structurally low growth from becoming entrenched and strengthen Korea’s position in the global tech race through its record-high 2027 budget of nearly 821 trillion won ($599 billion), the Ministry of Planning and Budget said Tuesday. It has designated semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centers as the three megaprojects in its plan to provide comprehensive support, ranging from key infrastructure to technology development, with an injection of 21.3 trillion won. President Lee Jae Myung said at a Cabinet meeting that a major shift is underway in the global industrial order as the AI revolution, energy transition and restructuring of global supply chains converge to reshape the global economy and industries. "Against the backdrop of these sweeping changes, next year’s budget should serve as a solid foundation for Korea to emerge as a global leader in cutting-edge technologies," Lee said. "We need a productive fiscal strategy that uses expanded resources for future

Sep 1, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Gov't bets big on AI, chips for 2027 budget to compete in global tech race
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