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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

Korea Zinc-backed activist platform accused of using major firms to attack Young Poong

ACT, a platform presenting itself as representing minority shareholders, received financial support from Korea Zinc and deliberately targeted other major listed companies to justify an attack on Young Poong, which has teamed up with private equity firm MBK Partners in a dispute over the zinc smelter’s management rights, Young Poong claimed Wednesday. The company called ACT’s actions “market-disrupting” and urged prompt intervention from financial authorities. Young Poong cited an ACT report from Feb. 11 this year that showed the platform had carried out a project targeting companies unrelated to the management dispute, such as Emart and Lotte Shopping. Under the project, the platform planned to submit shareholder proposals, including the adoption of cumulative voting suggested by Young Poong Precision (now KZ Precision), controlled by Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-beom. The report also included plans to send shareholder letters to 20 major firms, including Samsung Electronics, Naver and Hyundai Motor, calling for the adoption of cumulative voting. Through this strategy, according

Sep 10, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Korea Zinc-backed activist platform accused of using major firms to attack Young Poong
Economy

Financial watchdog chief faces leadership test amid reorganization controversy

Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Gov. Lee Chan-jin faces a leadership test just one month into his role, as internal backlash has intensified following the ruling bloc’s announcement of a sweeping reorganization of financial policy and oversight, government insiders said Wednesday. The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea finalized the plan on Sunday, confirming that the Financial Services Commission will be dissolved and reestablished as the Financial Supervisory Commission. Under the plan, both the FSS and a new financial consumer protection agency, which will be created by separating relevant functions from the FSS, will fall under the reestablished commission and be designated as public institutions. On Wednesday, some 700 employees, which account for about 30 percent of the total FSS staff, gathered together on their way to work for a second straight day, wearing black and carrying signs reading “Withdraw the financial consumer agency spin-off” and “Stop public institution designation.” Expressing opposition to the restructuring proposal, these employees

Sep 10, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Financial watchdog chief faces leadership test amid reorganization controversy
Politics

Overhaul of financial authorities faces staff backlash, opposition resistance

The ruling bloc’s reorganization plan for financial policy and oversight is facing strong resistance from employees of the affected organizations and is expected to encounter hurdles in the legislative process due to opposition party objections, government insiders said Tuesday. The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) plan to pass the government reorganization bill at the National Assembly’s plenary session on Sept. 25 to reshape the functions of the current two-pillar system of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) into four entities: the finance ministry, the revived Financial Supervisory Commission, the FSS and a new financial consumer protection agency. Under the proposal, the FSC’s financial policy functions will be transferred to the finance ministry. The FSC will then be dismantled and reestablished as the Financial Supervisory Commission, which was dissolved in 2008, concentrating solely on inspection and supervisory roles. The plan also calls for establishing a separate financial consumer protection agenc

Sep 9, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Overhaul of financial authorities faces staff backlash, opposition resistance
Banking & Finance

Hanwha Life launches trust service for customized death benefit payments

Hanwha Life Insurance rolled out a new service that allows policyholders to manage how their life insurance payouts are distributed to their families after they die, the company said Tuesday. Under this system, policyholders can entrust their insurance payouts to a trust company, which then distributes the funds to the chosen beneficiaries according to a schedule set in advance. The new trust service is designed to address the growing demand for customized, cross-generational financial management in an aging society. Launched with guidance from Hanwha Life’s Inheritance Solution Institute, it enables clients to structure their finances according to different life stages, covering needs such as children’s education, inheritance tax planning and long-term living expenses. The trust offers the advantage of distributing life insurance payouts in installments instead of a lump sum, allowing for more organized financial planning. Grandparents, for example, can use it to support their grandchildren’s college expenses over time. It also ensures that the payouts reach the intended family memb

Sep 9, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Hanwha Life launches trust service for customized death benefit payments
Politics

Industry fears inefficiency from proposed division of financial policy and oversight

The government’s reorganization plan for financial policy and oversight is raising concerns, as the finalized proposal, if approved by the National Assembly, would split the responsibilities currently held by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) across four different organizations, industry officials said Monday. With four bodies to be involved in financial affairs — the finance ministry, the revived Financial Supervisory Commission, the FSS and a new financial consumer protection agency — industry officials warned that the increase in organizations could lead to unnecessary work, greater inefficiency, slower responses to urgent issues and higher costs. On Sunday, the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) convened a high-level meeting where they finalized and unveiled a government reorganization plan that includes changes to the financial policy and oversight system. According to the plan, the budgetary authority of the finance ministry will be separated and assigned to a new agency supervised by the prime minister

Sep 8, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Industry fears inefficiency from proposed division of financial policy and oversight
Banking & Finance

NH NongHyup Bank opens 1st European branch to boost global biz

NH NongHyup Bank opened a branch in London, marking its first location in Europe, the lender said Sunday. The opening ceremony was held Friday with about 130 attendees, including company CEO Kang Tae-young, Lord Mayor of London Alastair King and Han Seung-ho, Korea’s acting consul general in the city. The bank had been preparing for the branch since establishing a London office in 2021. It received regulatory approval in July this year and officially began operations on July 15. The company said it aims to use its London branch as a gateway to expand corporate and investment banking services across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The branch will also serve Korean companies operating in Europe, as well as local firms seeking stronger financial ties with Asia. “I deeply appreciate the dedication of our employees who contributed to the successful opening of the London branch,” Kang said. “We will grow it into a strategic hub for advancing NongHyup Bank’s global IB (investment banking) business.” With the addition of the London branch, the bank now operates seven overseas branc

Sep 7, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
NH NongHyup Bank opens 1st European branch to boost global biz
Others

Loan delinquencies by self-employed triple in 4 years, seniors hardest hit

The number of self-employed individuals unable to repay their loans on time has surged to three times the level seen four years ago, amid the prolonged economic downturn, an opposition party lawmaker said Sunday. The increase was especially sharp among those aged 60 and above, who recorded nearly a fivefold jump, making them more vulnerable. Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee, cited data provided by NICE Information Service, a company offering personal credit information. The data showed that 161,198 self-employed borrowers were in loan delinquency as of the end of July this year, compared with 51,045 at the end of 2020. Self-employed borrowers include self-employed workers and small business owners who have taken out business loans under their personal names. Loan delinquents are defined as borrowers who have been overdue on repayments for three months or longer. The number of self-employed borrowers falling behind on loan repayments grew steadily from 51,045 in 2020 to 63,031 in 2022, then s

Sep 7, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Loan delinquencies by self-employed triple in 4 years, seniors hardest hit
Economy

FSC expected to close after 17 years

The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country’s top financial regulator, is expected to be effectively dismantled, as the government and ruling party are likely to finalize a reorganization plan that would transfer its financial policy functions to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and merge its remaining operations with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), according to government sources Thursday. They said the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the presidential office plan to finalize the restructuring plan at a high-level policy consultation meeting on Sunday, aiming to pass it at the National Assembly’s plenary session on Sept. 25. The impending restructuring is expected to largely follow the financial oversight reform framework previously drafted by the presidential State Affairs Planning Committee, which set out the Lee Jae Myung government’s five-year blueprint. Under the proposed plan, the finance ministry’s budget authority would be separated and established as a new Ministry of Planning and Budget under the Prime Minister’s Office, while the finance mi

Sep 4, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
FSC expected to close after 17 years
Society

734 Korean newborns start life with $72,000 in assets

More than 700 newborns received gifts averaging nearly 100 million won ($72,000) at birth last year, highlighting the economic disparities that exist from the very start of life and drawing renewed attention to wealth inequality across Korean society, according to an opposition party lawmaker Thursday. Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party cited gift tax records submitted by the National Tax Service, which show that a total of 734 gifts amounting to 67.1 billion won were made to infants in 2024, an average of 91.41 million won per baby. Compared with the previous year, the number of gifts to newborns rose by 98, while the total value of bestowed assets grew by 5.6 billion won, signaling a gradual increase in wealth transfers at the earliest stage of life. Breaking down the gifts by asset type, financial assets led with 554 cases totaling 39 billion won, followed by securities at 156 cases worth 18.6 billion won. Land accounted for 20 gifts valued at 2.6 billion won, while buildings represented 12 gifts, also worth 2.6 billion won. Per-person gifts to minors was hi

Sep 4, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
734 Korean newborns start life with $72,000 in assets
Companies

Korea Zinc chairman accused of using activist platform to pressure Young Poong

Young Poong said Tuesday that Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-beom had joined forces with shareholder activist platform ACT to prepare an offensive against it amid a long-standing dispute over management rights of the world’s largest zinc smelter. Young Poong has been aligned with private equity firm MBK Partners in the dispute against Choi since last year. The Young Poong–MBK alliance is currently the largest shareholder of the smelter. According to Young Poong, ACT’s internal report from September 2024 used the phrase “attack on Y (Young Poong)” and outlined tactics such as reviewing the shareholder registry, filing injunctions and appointing temporary shareholder representatives. The plan predates the Young Poong–MBK alliance’s tender offer on Sept. 13, 2024, which aimed to become the smelting firm’s largest shareholder. “This undermines Choi’s claim of being a hostile M&A (merger and acquisition) victim,” a Young Poong official said. ACT also amended part of its contract with Korea Zinc to include Young Poong Precision (now called KZ Precision), a company affiliated

Sep 3, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Korea Zinc chairman accused of using activist platform to pressure Young Poong
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