my timesThe Korea Times
jjh

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.

Go to Email

Read more

Banking & Finance

Financial groups move to strengthen consumer protection in line with government policy

Financial holding companies are moving quickly to revamp their systems to bolster consumer protections, in line with the Lee Jae Myung administration’s push for a more consumer-centric financial sector, industry officials said Monday. By placing consumer protection at the core of their group strategies, the companies aim to reduce regulatory risks while strengthening trust with authorities, they said. KB Financial Group recently introduced a new consumer protection framework built around three core principles — consumer rights, accountability and trust. The framework combines the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) consumer standards with KB Financial’s customer-focused philosophy and field experience. Under the framework, the group will prioritize consumer protection across the entire lifecycle of financial products and services, from development and planning to sales and aftercare. It also plans to expand access to dedicated services for financially vulnerable customers and reinforce its fraud prevention capabilities by developing an artificial intelligence-powered damage

Sep 22, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Financial groups move to strengthen consumer protection in line with government policy
Banking & Finance

No longer owner, Lotte Group still faces brand risk from Lotte Card hacking

The Lotte Card hacking incident, which may have compromised the personal information of millions of customers, has raised concerns that it could inadvertently damage Lotte Group’s overall brand image, as many consumers still perceive the card issuer as part of the group, industry officials said Wednesday. In reality, Lotte Card’s largest shareholder is private equity firm MBK Partners, and the company has had no management ties with Lotte Group since it was sold in 2019. Nevertheless, the continued use of the Lotte brand name has left Lotte Group bearing the burden of potential reputational damage, they said. Lotte Card reported the hacking incident to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Aug. 31. The FSS began an on-site inspection of the case on Sept. 2, which is now in its final stage, with results expected to be released as early as this week. Initially, Lotte Card estimated the scale of the hacking incident at about 1.7 gigabytes of leaked data. However, subsequent on-site inspections suggest the breach was far more extensive. The number of victims, once thought to be limi

Sep 17, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
No longer owner, Lotte Group still faces brand risk from Lotte Card hacking
Banking & Finance

Samil PwC CEO wins prime minister's award for inclusive hiring

Samil PwC CEO Yoon Hoon-soo received a prime minister’s commendation at the government’s job creation awards hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the accounting firm said Tuesday. The awards recognize corporate leaders who play a significant role in fostering stable, high-quality employment. Yoon was honored for expanding job opportunities for both young people and vulnerable groups, including individuals with disabilities. The nation’s largest accounting firm saw its employment of young workers rise from 406 in 2023 to 455 in 2024, a 12.3 percent increase. Employment of people with disabilities also grew, climbing from 59 to 64 during the same period, an 8.5 percent gain. Notably, the company operates a subsidiary certified by the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities (KEAD) as a workplace for people with disabilities, providing stable employment for 57 people and demonstrating its commitment to supporting vulnerable job seekers. The KEAD-certified workplace is designed to promote stable jobs for people with severe disabilities and support their social i

Sep 17, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Samil PwC CEO wins prime minister's award for inclusive hiring
Banking & Finance

Savings banks, capital firms join fray to court foreign residents

Financial services for foreign residents in Korea, once dominated by banks, insurers and card companies, are now expanding into a wider range of financial institutions, including savings banks and capital firms eager to tap into new growth opportunities, industry officials said Tuesday. As of 2024, Korea is home to about 2.65 million foreign residents. With their spending on the rise and demand for better financial services increasing, financial institutions are stepping up efforts to attract this market with tailored products and services. However, amid growing concern over delinquency rates, savings banks and capital firms are focusing primarily on clients who can provide solid collateral or verifiable income. JB Woori Capital has expanded the range of foreign residents eligible for its used car installment and auto-backed loan products. Previously limited to F-series visas, which primarily cover overseas Koreans and marriage migrants, the offers now include H2 visas for work and visits, E7 visas for specific activities and E9 visas for nonprofessional employment. The company has also i

Sep 16, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Savings banks, capital firms join fray to court foreign residents
Policy

Lee Eog-weon becomes first and last FSC chairman under Lee Jae Myung government

New Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Lee Eog-weon officially began his duties Monday, presenting his blueprint for major financial transformation centered on “productive finance, consumer-focused finance and trustworthy finance." President Lee Jae Myung pushed through his appointment late Friday despite objections from opposition parties. He is both the first and will be the last FSC chairman appointed by Lee, as the government and ruling Democratic Party of Korea have proposed a reorganization plan that would transfer the FSC’s financial policy functions to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and restructure the remaining body as the Financial Supervisory Committee. If passed by the National Assembly on Sept. 25 as planned, the commission will be effectively dissolved. Despite growing internal backlash over the plan, Lee did not address the concerns in his inaugural remarks. Instead, the new chairman emphasized the need for a financial transformation, highlighting “productive finance” as a key priority of the Lee administration. “The focus of the country’s financ

Sep 15, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Lee Eog-weon becomes first and last FSC chairman under Lee Jae Myung government
Companies

Young Poong accuses Korea Zinc chairman of abusing board, draining profits

Young Poong accused Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-beom of embodying “the very definition of bad corporate governance and everything that damages shareholder value” on Monday, marking one year since it joined forces with private equity firm MBK Partners to challenge his managerial control. The Young Poong-MBK alliance is currently the largest shareholder of the world’s largest zinc smelter. “As the largest shareholder, we will remain steadfast until Korea Zinc achieves sound corporate governance, underpinned by an independent board, transparent operations and accountable management,” a Young Poong official said. According to Young Poong, the core problem with Choi’s leadership is that Korea Zinc’s board has been effectively paralyzed, with major investment decisions pushed through unilaterally by him and corporate assets diverted to defending his personal control. He allegedly approved large-scale investments without resolutions or reviews, relying on close associates as rubber-stamp directors. A notable example is the 560 billion won ($403 million) investment in OneAsia Part

Sep 15, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Young Poong accuses Korea Zinc chairman of abusing board, draining profits
Economy

Incoming FSC chairman faces daunting tasks amid government restructuring dispute

Lee Eog-weon, the new chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), will face an immediate test of both his leadership and political judgment as President Lee Jae Myung pushed ahead with his appointment despite strong opposition from the opposition parties, Friday. Amid fierce internal backlash against the government and ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) plan for a financial regulatory overhaul, the nominee will need to coordinate with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of the Interior and Safety and other agencies to preserve continuity in financial supervision and safeguard the effectiveness of his organization’s oversight functions. The government and the DPK plan to reorganize financial authorities, transferring the FSC’s domestic financial policy functions to the finance ministry. Under the proposal, the FSC would be restructured into the Financial Supervisory Commission, focusing on supervision and consumer protection, and overseeing the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) as well as a new financial consumer protection agency, which would be created

Sep 12, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Incoming FSC chairman faces daunting tasks amid government restructuring dispute
Economy

Why FSS seeks IMF backing in financial regulatory reorganization controversy

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) emergency committee, formed by union members and employees in protest of the government’s financial regulatory reorganization plan, is exploring ways to convey its concerns over the proposal to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), government insiders said Friday. Although the anticipated meeting with the visiting IMF mission was canceled, the emergency committee is preparing to communicate its position through a written statement and other channels instead. FSS emergency committee members argued that the country's financial watchdog was originally created after the 1997 Asian financial crisis in line with the IMF’s recommendation for an independent, nongovernmental supervisory body. They warned that the current reorganization proposal threatens the agency’s independence. At the time, the IMF had identified Korea’s weak supervisory framework as a major factor behind the 1997 financial crisis and urged the creation of a consolidated watchdog with full authority and autonomy over its operations and budget. The committee claimed that the gove

Sep 12, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Why FSS seeks IMF backing in financial regulatory reorganization controversy
Policy

President hints at scrapping plan to lower major shareholder tax threshold

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday showed willingness to withdraw the government’s controversial plan to tighten the major shareholder threshold for capital gains tax, after facing protests over the plan to lower it from 5 billion won ($3.6 million) per stock to 1 billion won. He indicated that the current standard would remain in place. The retreat follows a strong backlash from retail investors, opposition parties and even members of his own Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). “The stock market is driven by sentiment,” Lee said during a press conference marking his first 100 days in office. “Since revitalizing the market is a central pillar of this administration’s economic agenda, if tightening the capital gains tax would pose an obstacle, I see no need to insist on it.” The Ministry of Economy and Finance unveiled the tax reform plan in late July, aiming to enhance tax fairness and boost revenue. The plan included lowering the major shareholder threshold for the capital gains tax. However, concerns grew that ordinary investors could also fall under the major shareholder cat

Sep 11, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
President hints at scrapping plan to lower major shareholder tax threshold
Banking & Finance

Hanwha Life unveils AI strategy, new services at AI DAYS 2025

Hanwha Life Insurance outlined its artificial intelligence (AI) vision and strategic road map for driving innovation and growth at its internal event, AI DAYS 2025 (Shaping the Future with AI & LIFEPLUS), the company said Thursday. Held at the company’s Seoul headquarters on Wednesday, the event brought together co-CEOs Kwon Hyeuk-woong and Lee Kyung-keun, along with employees, as the insurer shared its AI achievements and future plans. The company presented three strategic priorities to advance AI innovation during the event: innovating AI services centered on core insurance operations; creating services that deliver value to customers beyond finance into everyday life; and reinforcing financial AI leadership by enhancing employees’ AI knowledge and application skills. In particular, the company emphasized how AI services have been applied in core insurance operations to improve operational efficiency and customer experience. Examples include the AI Contact Center, which was launched earlier this year for real-time customer support and consultation, and AI STS, an intelligent sales

Sep 11, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Hanwha Life unveils AI strategy, new services at AI DAYS 2025
previous page
3031323334
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.