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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

Financial firms adopt AI, bolster customer education to fight phishing, fraud

A 70-year-old homemaker surnamed Kim, who lives in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, recently received a phone call from someone impersonating a prosecutor. The caller told her that her bank account was linked to criminal activity and urged her to transfer her assets to a "safe" account. Alarmed, Kim followed the instructions and was prompted to install a specific mobile application on her smartphone. According to the scammer's guidance, she then called her bank to request the necessary transaction. During the call, the bank’s voice analysis system's artificial intelligence (AI) detected abnormal emotional patterns in Kim’s voice, including signs of fear and anxiety. Sensing something suspicious, the banker halted the transaction and verified the situation, preventing a financial crime before it was too late. Financial institutions are ramping up their efforts to safeguard vulnerable customers by enhancing scam detection technologies and broadening educational outreach. Samsung Life Insurance has rolled out the industry's first AI-based voiceprint verification system, which analyzes a custome

Jul 15, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Financial firms adopt AI, bolster customer education to fight phishing, fraud
Banking & Finance

Kbank showcases AI-powered personalization model in academic journal

A research paper authored by Kbank employees detailing the bank's personalized recommendation system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) has been published in a leading academic journal in Korea, the bank said Monday. The publication reflects academic recognition of the company's research capabilities in AI technology, it added. The paper appeared in the Journal of the Korean Data Analysis Society (JKDAS), published by the Korean Data Analysis Society (KDAS). The journal is one of Korea's major academic publications and listed in the Korea Citation Index (KCI). Kwon Hyuk-min, Lee Sang-hyun and Cho Yong-geol of the internet-only bank's data intelligence team co-authored the paper, titled "Strategic Design of an AI-Based Recommendation System and Its Impact on User Experience: An MLOps-Driven Experimental Study in a Financial App." MLOps stands for machine learning operations. The paper presents an empirical study on the impact of the bank's AI-powered personalized recommendation system on customer behavior, user experience and overall business performance. The research is considered a m

Jul 14, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Kbank showcases AI-powered personalization model in academic journal
Policy

Delay in overhauling financial authorities stalls key policy initiatives

President Lee Jae Myung has finalized most of his initial Cabinet appointments since taking office on June 4, but delays in the organizational restructuring of financial authorities and the appointment of new leadership are creating uncertainty within the financial sector, government and industry officials said Sunday. Market participants have expressed concerns that the prolonged leadership vacuum may hinder timely responses to critical policy issues, including the regulation of stablecoins and the management of household debt. Last Friday, Lee finalized his Cabinet lineup for all 19 ministries by nominating ministers for culture and land. But leadership appointments and structural reforms within the financial authorities still remain stalled. Kim Byoung-hwan, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country's top financial regulator, offered to resign shortly after the presidential election but remains in office, as his successor has yet to be named. Key vice ministerial positions, including the FSC vice chairman and the governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FS

Jul 14, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Delay in overhauling financial authorities stalls key policy initiatives
Banking & Finance

From Excel to AI: L&DC transforms property development planning

Proptech, a portmanteau of property and technology, refers to technologies and services that leverage IT to enhance efficiency and create new value in the real estate industry. To apply this concept, Lee Doek-heang, also known as Henry Lee and the founder and CEO of L&DC, has focused on one of the most repetitive and labor-intensive areas in the industry: feasibility analysis for real estate development projects. Traditionally, this process required analysts to manually compare dozens of Excel files to evaluate each potential development site. Reviewing around 20 candidate sites in the Seoul metropolitan area could take one to two days per site, resulting in several weeks of work for a full review. The manual nature of the process not only made it time-consuming but also prone to human error and forcing teams to start over when mistakes occurred. Such inefficiencies can lead to missed investment opportunities or decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate information. To address these inefficiencies, L&DC developed the LanDup platform, which was officially launched in July last year. By s

Jul 12, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
From Excel to AI: L&DC transforms property development planning
Companies

Corporate credit rating downgrades show struggling Korea Inc.

Korean companies are experiencing a broad-based decline in credit ratings, with more downgrades than upgrades recorded in the first half of this year, according to credit rating agencies and market analysts Tuesday. They said this downward trend is likely to continue in the second half, as the domestic economy remains sluggish. With widening performance gaps between sectors, credit downgrades are expected to persist, particularly in industries facing structural headwinds, such as petrochemicals, construction and secondary batteries. Data compiled by Korea's three major credit rating agencies — Korea Ratings, Korea Investors Service (KIS) and NICE Investors Service — revealed that the credit rating upgrade-to-downgrade ratio stood at 0.79 in the first half of the year, indicating that downgrades outpaced upgrades. This marks the third consecutive year the ratio has remained below 1. International credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings also noted in its recent report that the credit outlook for major Korean companies has worsened compared to the previous year. As of June last year, am

Jul 8, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Corporate credit rating downgrades show struggling Korea Inc.
Banking & Finance

AIA Life in Korea announces new board chairman, CEO

AIA Life in Korea has appointed Fisher Zhang as chairman and nonexecutive director of its board, while reappointing Nathan Chuang as CEO, the company said Monday. At a shareholder meeting held Friday at AIA Tower in central Seoul, a resolution was passed to reappoint Chuang as CEO, while Chairman Zhang's appointment has been effective since June 9. Zhang's appointment to the board of AIA Life in Korea comes after AIA Group named him regional chief executive for Korea, Mainland China and Vietnam. Zhang previously served as CEO of AIA China from 2017 until his promotion to regional chief executive and group executive committee member in November 2024. Under his leadership, AIA China grew to become one of the group's largest market operations. Since joining AIA in 2000, Zhang has held several senior management roles in China, including chief distribution officer, chief agency officer and chief marketing officer. Meanwhile, following his reappointment, Chuang will continue to lead AIA Life for another three-year term. Prior to becoming CEO in 2022, he held senior leadership positions at AIA Gr

Jul 7, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
AIA Life in Korea announces new board chairman, CEO
Others

Can Commercial Act revision ease Korea discount?

The passage of the revised Commercial Act — previously vetoed during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration — is raising hopes that the legislation could serve as a turning point in addressing the Korea discount, whereby Korean firms are typically priced below their international peers, according to securities analysts on Friday. They noted that if the revision leads, as intended, to improvements in corporate governance and stronger shareholder rights, it could also positively impact the KOSPI's potential to reach a new all-time high. The revision, passed during the National Assembly's plenary session on Thursday, aims to strengthen minority shareholder protections by broadening directors' fiduciary responsibilities and enabling electronic shareholder meetings. Notably, it expands the "3 percent rule," capping the voting rights of the largest shareholders and their affiliates at 3 percent when selecting audit committee members. President Lee Jae Myung, who took office on June 4, had pledged to reform the Commercial Act during his campaign, making a presidential veto unlikely this time. As

Jul 4, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Can Commercial Act revision ease Korea discount?
Politics

SMEs minister nominee exercises Naver stock options amid conflict-of-interest controversy

Han Seong-sook, the former Naver CEO who was recently nominated by President Lee Jae Myung to lead the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, has decided to exercise 60,000 of the 100,000 stock options she received from the company, in response to conflict-of-interest concerns, according to industry officials Friday. She submitted a request to Naver to exercise 60,000 stock options she currently holds, with plans to dispose of them upon taking office. However, she reportedly gave up exercising the remaining 40,000 options. The move is seen as a step to shield herself from a potential conflict-of-interest controversy. Under the Public Service Ethics Act, high-ranking public officials who, along with related parties, hold stocks connected to their official duties exceeding 30 million won ($22,000) in total value must either sell the shares or place them in a blind trust. It is a safeguard designed to prevent potential conflicts of interest from arising in the course of public service. Stock options, however, are not considered realizable assets until exercised and are thus exempt from mandatory div

Jul 4, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
SMEs minister nominee exercises Naver stock options amid conflict-of-interest controversy
Politics

New regulation to enforce stricter governance for companies, commitment to shareholders

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and opposition parties passed a revision to the Commercial Act on Thursday, aimed at strengthening minority shareholder rights and curbing the influence of major shareholders. The amendment was approved with 220 votes in favor out of 272 lawmakers present during a plenary session of the National Assembly, a day after the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) shifted its stance and agreed on the passage. As a key change to the act, the revised rule expands the scope of fiduciary duty for corporate directors from serving solely the company to serving both the company and its shareholders. With this revision, directors are now legally required to consider not only the interests of the company — or interests of major shareholders who are mostly company owners — but also those of all shareholders when making decisions. The amendment also allows listed companies to hold digital shareholders' meetings. Under the previous law, shareholders' meetings were required to be held "at or near the company's headquarters," which was widely interpreted as

Jul 3, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
New regulation to enforce stricter governance for companies, commitment to shareholders
Banking & Finance

Insurers expand product lineup amid rising foreign population

Insurance companies are accelerating the launch and development of products in response to the increasing number of foreign residents here, industry officials said Wednesday. Earlier in the day, NH NongHyup Property and Casualty Insurance introduced a new comprehensive insurance plan designed to better support the growing number of foreign seasonal workers in rural areas. Under the seasonal worker program, local agricultural cooperatives hire foreign nationals and dispatch them to farms facing labor shortages during peak farming seasons. The new insurance product provides coverage for liabilities related to agricultural work, expenses for workers' early return due to accidents or illness, and compensation for business interruption in the event of a disaster. Agricultural cooperatives nationwide are eligible to enroll in the policy. The number of foreign seasonal workers employed in Korea is projected to reach around 95,700 this year, marking a 41 percent increase from the 67,778 employed last year. These workers have been gaining popularity among local farms, as their daily wages average

Jul 3, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Insurers expand product lineup amid rising foreign population
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