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Jun Ji-hye

Korea Times Finance Reporter

Hello, I am Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at The Korea Times. I primarily cover financial authorities and write articles on a wide range of topics related to finance and capital markets. If you have any information to share, feel free to email me at jjh@koreatimes.co.kr, and I will review it carefully. I am committed to always doing my best to communicate with readers through high-quality articles.

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Banking & Finance

Young Poong reaffirms MBK partnership key to safeguarding Korea Zinc’s governance

Young Poong said Tuesday that its collaboration with private equity firm MBK Partners in a dispute to secure managerial control of Korea Zinc was unavoidable. The company reaffirmed that it will continue to act as the largest shareholder of the world's largest zinc smelter to protect corporate value and restore stable management. The remarks were made in response to claims from Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-beom’s side that Young Poong had relinquished its controlling shareholder status in Korea Zinc to MBK, and that the MBK-Young Poong alliance’s tender offer amounted to a hostile takeover. “The allegation that we transferred our controlling stake to MBK is entirely false," a Young Poong official said. "We continue to be the largest shareholder of Korea Zinc and, as a responsible majority shareholder, place the company’s long-term stability and growth above all else." Young Poong joined forces with MBK and launched a tender offer on Sept. 13 of 2024 to oust Choi. According to the management cooperation agreement disclosed at the time, the two parties agreed that, when forming a ne

Sep 30, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Young Poong reaffirms MBK partnership key to safeguarding Korea Zinc’s governance
Banking & Finance

Card issuers target growing foreign resident market with new products, services

Credit card companies are increasingly targeting foreign residents, offering discounts and multilingual support, to tap into new sources of growth amid declining profits, industry officials said Friday. Previously, these companies mainly targeted Koreans traveling abroad, but they are now turning their attention to foreign nationals living in the country. NH NongHyup Card recently unveiled a new debit card tailored to foreign nationals. Available to those aged 12 and above with an alien registration card, the card features a postpaid transportation function and offers a variety of discounts at both domestic and international merchants. Cardholders receive a 5 percent rebate on spending at retail stores, restaurants, medical facilities and on public transportation, while digital content subscriptions earn a 10 percent rebate. To extend benefits internationally, the card also offers a 2 percent rebate at overseas merchants and waives ATM withdrawal fees abroad up to twice per year. Hana Card has introduced a multilingual chat support service for foreign customers. Customers can type in their

Sep 27, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Card issuers target growing foreign resident market with new products, services
Policy

FSS faces tougher consumer protection scrutiny after government scraps overhaul plan

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is facing mounting pressure to strengthen its consumer protection functions after the government scrapped plans to restructure the country’s financial policymaking and supervisory framework, government officials and politicians said Friday. The Lee Jae Myung administration and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) had initially sought to establish a new financial consumer protection agency by carving out the relevant functions from the financial watchdog. However, the plan was withdrawn Thursday amid strong resistance from FSS employees and opposition parties over concerns about reduced efficiency. There were also fears that prolonged uncertainty caused by partisan conflict could destabilize financial markets. A proposal to dismantle the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country’s top financial regulator, was also dropped for the same reasons. Following the withdrawal, the current dual regulatory structure of the FSC and the FSS will remain in place. FSS employees, who had staged rare protests against the reform plan, welcomed the d

Sep 26, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
FSS faces tougher consumer protection scrutiny after government scraps overhaul plan
Politics

Government cancels overhaul of financial authorities amid efficiency concerns, internal backlash

The Lee Jae Myung administration scrapped plans to restructure the country’s financial policymaking and supervisory framework, opting instead to maintain the current dual system of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), officials said Thursday. The decision was made in coordination between the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the presidential office amid strong backlash from internal officials and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) over concerns about reduced efficiency. The ruling party had initially planned to pass a bill to overhaul government ministries at Thursday’s plenary session at the National Assembly, including disbanding the prosecution service and restructuring the finance and environment ministries. In response, the PPP announced a filibuster, criticizing the government reorganization plan as being pushed forward without sufficient consultation. Anticipating fierce partisan opposition during the bill’s passage, the ruling party decided to exclude the most contentious element of the plan: the restructur

Sep 25, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Government cancels overhaul of financial authorities amid efficiency concerns, internal backlash
Banking & Finance

Lotte Card data breach puts spotlight on low cybersecurity investment

Concerns over cybersecurity have spread across the credit card industry following a recent data breach incident at Lotte Card, which exposed the personal information of 2.97 million customers, industry officials and politicians said Thursday. Consumer anxiety has intensified as major card issuers, despite highlighting increases in information technology (IT) staffing and budgets, allocated only around 10 percent of those resources to information security. Citing data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Rep. Kang Min-kuk of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) said that the combined IT budgets of eight major domestic card companies totaled 5.56 trillion won ($3.97 billion) between 2020 and 2025. Of this, only 556.2 billion won, or about 10 percent, was spent on cybersecurity. Rep. Kim Sang-hoon of the PPP, also citing FSS data, noted that Lotte Card recorded the lowest ratio of information security spending to total annual budget this year at 0.3 percent. Other issuers, including Shinhan, Samsung, BC and Hyundai, allocated about 1 percent of their budgets to cybersecurit

Sep 25, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Lotte Card data breach puts spotlight on low cybersecurity investment
Banking & Finance

Korean brokerages to resume US daytime stock trading in November with stronger safeguards

Korean brokerages will restart their suspended daytime trading service for U.S. stocks in November, after the program was put on hold in August last year, industry and government officials said Wednesday. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the country’s financial watchdog, said it will ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to protect investors before the relaunch, while also vowing strict measures in the event of any large-scale system failures. The service allows local investors to buy and sell U.S. stocks during Korea’s daytime hours. Introduced by Samsung Securities in February 2022, it was later expanded to 18 brokerages, with all transactions processed through Blue Ocean ATS (alternative trading system), which is operated by New York-based fintech company Blue Ocean Technologies. However, Blue Ocean ATS experienced a system malfunction on Aug. 5 last year, which came to be known as Black Monday, resulting in the unilateral cancellation of investor orders. Following the incident, Korean brokerages collectively decided to suspend the service on Aug. 16. “After the ma

Sep 25, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Korean brokerages to resume US daytime stock trading in November with stronger safeguards
Banking & Finance

MBK apologizes over Homeplus corporate rehabilitation

MBK Partners issued an official apology over Homeplus’ corporate rehabilitation, Wednesday, expressing deep regret for “causing significant concern and disappointment to the public due to our shortcomings in judgment and management as a major shareholder over the past 10 years.” MBK, a private equity firm, owns Homeplus, Korea’s second-largest supermarket chain. “We sincerely regret that Homeplus has reached the critical stage of corporate rehabilitation, causing uncertainty and hardship for numerous employees, partner companies, creditors and customers,” the firm said in a written apology. Homeplus filed for corporate rehabilitation with the Seoul Bankruptcy Court on March 4, following a credit rating downgrade. The move has drawn strong criticism toward MBK, with many accusing the firm of recklessly placing one of the country’s largest supermarket chains into corporate rehabilitation after acquiring it through a leveraged buyout. Prosecutors have also been investigating allegations that Homeplus raised 600 billion won ($430 million) through short-term bonds while conceali

Sep 24, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
MBK apologizes over Homeplus corporate rehabilitation
Cryptocurrency

Bithumb under scrutiny over order book sharing with Australian exchange

Bithumb, Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, is under scrutiny by financial authorities after it began sharing its order book with Australia’s Stellar Exchange, raising concerns over potential personal data leaks and money laundering, industry and government officials said Tuesday. The Financial Intelligence Unit under the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country’s top financial regulator, plans to summon Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won for questioning in connection with the issue. “We are reviewing procedural compliance, and if any breaches of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information are found, appropriate measures will be taken,” an FSC official said. On Monday, Bithumb announced the launch of a new Tether (USDT) market and notified investors that it would begin sharing its order book with Stellar Exchange. An order book shows real-time buy and sell orders on an exchange. By sharing it, investors on both platforms can view the same orders and trades, making it easier to match buyers and sellers and potentially boosting trading act

Sep 23, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Bithumb under scrutiny over order book sharing with Australian exchange
Policy

Super-rich, financial experts caught in massive stock manipulation

Super-rich individuals, including hospital and private academy owners, have been caught colluding with financial professionals, such as a former senior executive at a major private equity fund, to carry out large-scale stock manipulation, financial authorities said Tuesday. These individuals allegedly mobilized around 100 billion won ($72 million) for market-rigging schemes, earning illicit profits of about 40 billion won. This marks the first case handled by the joint task force against stock manipulation, launched in July and comprising officials from the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and the Korea Exchange. The task force was established to detect and investigate illegal and unfair stock trading activities, a key policy emphasized by President Lee Jae Myung. According to the task force, authorities raided some 10 sites, including the residences and offices of seven individuals who manipulated stock prices over an extended period using substantial funds. The suspects include wealthy owners of general hospitals, oriental medicine clinics an

Sep 23, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Super-rich, financial experts caught in massive stock manipulation
Banking & Finance

MBK Partners denies negligence linked to Lotte Card data breach

MBK Partners has denied allegations that it had neglected security investments in relation to a recent data breach at Lotte Card, asserting that it has been increasing its security-related spending steadily. On Monday, the private equity firm said it had injected around 600 billion won ($430 million) over the past six years into information technology (IT) at the card issuer to enhance security. A cyberattack recently hit Lotte Card's server, resulting in the leak of information for about 2.97 million people, or roughly one-third of its members. Questions have been raised over insufficient security investment, with allegations that the company’s data security budget has declined since MBK's acquisition in 2019. In response, MBK emphasized that Lotte Card’s total IT investment amounted to 592.1 billion won from 2020 to 2025, with 65.46 billion won dedicated to security, representing an average of 11 percent of overall IT spending. The firm noted that IT expenditures from 2020 to 2024 equaled about 40 percent of the card issuer’s net income during the period and about 1.5 times the co

Sep 22, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
MBK Partners denies negligence linked to Lotte Card data breach
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