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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

KakaoBank CEO vows to lead innovation through AI at global fintech conference

KakaoBank CEO Yun Ho-young, also known as Daniel Yun, shared the bank’s strategic direction and vision with global fintech leaders at a major conference in Thailand, emphasizing the company’s commitment to becoming a comprehensive financial platform driven by a user-centric approach, officials said Wednesday. As the sole Korean speaker at the three-day Money 20/20 Asia in Bangkok, Yun delivered a keynote address, exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) is set to reshape the future of financial services. “In the AI era, having AI-optimized user interfaces (UI), user experiences (UX) and data is no longer optional but a key determinant of survival. Industrial ecosystems will increasingly center around companies with strong AI capabilities,” Yun said. “However, finance is a sector that cannot be transformed by AI technology alone. Only financial institutions that possess unique data, trust and a user-centric mindset will be able to exert overwhelming influence.” He noted that Korea’s largest internet-only bank is “going all in” on transforming its UI and UX based on AI,

Apr 23, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
KakaoBank CEO vows to lead innovation through AI at global fintech conference
Society

Rice becomes popular souvenir for Japanese visitors

An increasing number of Japanese tourists are visiting Korea to buy rice, as prices continue to soar in Japan, retail industry officials said Wednesday. Japanese visitors have increasingly been spotted filling their carts with rice at supermarkets in Seoul in recent weeks, they said. This growing trend was highlighted in a viral post on X, formerly Twitter, where a Japanese tourist shared her experience of buying rice during a trip to Korea and bringing it back home. The Japanese tourist, who identified herself as a middle-aged housewife, shared earlier this month that she purchased 4 kilograms of white rice and 5 kilograms of brown rice in Korea during a layover in Seoul, after traveling from Cebu, the Philippines. “My mission in Seoul was to buy rice, as prices in Japan have become too high. I decided to take the opportunity to purchase some while in Korea,” she wrote. She said 10 kilograms of rice in Japan costs around 8,000 yen ($57), whereas the same amount can be found in Korea for nearly a third of the price — about 3,000 yen. As rice is classified as a regulated agricultural

Apr 23, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Rice becomes popular souvenir for Japanese visitors
Banking & Finance

MBK cites credit enhancement proposals to refute foreknowledge of Homeplus' downgrade

MBK Partners proposed credit enhancement measures during Homeplus’ credit rating appeal after the retailer received a preliminary downgrade notice from a credit rating agency on Feb. 25, according to investment banking industry officials, Tuesday. The measures included offering a credit line of up to 100 billion won ($70 million) and amending the redemption terms of the preferred shares. MBK, the largest shareholder of the supermarket chain, claimed that the additional measures submitted during the appeal serve as evidence that it did not have prior knowledge of the downgrade before it was confirmed on Feb. 28, and therefore its filing for Homeplus' court-led rehabilitation was not premeditated. This argument came in response to accusations that MBK was aware of the downgrade before filing for rehabilitation on March 4. Critics accused the private equity firm of continuing to issue short-term financial bonds despite anticipating the downgrade, thereby putting investors at risk of losing their principal. According to industry officials, Korea Ratings informed Homeplus around 4 p.m. on F

Apr 22, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
MBK cites credit enhancement proposals to refute foreknowledge of Homeplus' downgrade
Policy

Korea expected to gain MSCI developed market status as short selling resumes

Korea now has a very high chance of achieving developed market status from global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) amid improvements to the domestic capital market, such as the March 31 resumption of short selling, Financial Services Commission Vice Chairman Kim So-young said Monday. Kim noted that the government had received feedback from MSCI regarding areas needing improvement and has since made efforts to address them. These efforts included enhancements to the short selling system, its resumption and improved accessibility for foreign investors. “There were multiple shortcomings pointed out, but more than 90 percent of them have been resolved,” he said during a press conference in Seoul. “We are now at the stage of monitoring whether investors are actually experiencing the improvements and whether those changes are being implemented smoothly.” He added, “Overall, even if it may not happen in the very next review, Korea has a very high chance of being included in the MSCI Developed Markets Indexes in the near future.” The country’s ban on stock

Apr 21, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Korea expected to gain MSCI developed market status as short selling resumes
Cryptocurrency

Crypto industry voices concern over regulations on stablecoins

Virtual asset industry officials are raising concerns that a bill requiring prior approval from financial authorities to issue stablecoins — set to be submitted to the National Assembly as early as this month — could hinder Korea's development of a stablecoin ecosystem. The officials said Monday that excessive regulations could also create an uneven playing field for domestic issues compared to their foreign counterparts. Stablecoins are digital currencies designed to maintain a stable value by being tied to central bank-issued currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, or to physical assets like gold. Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), both pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar, are among the most widely used stablecoins. According to industry officials and political sources, Rep. Min Byoung-dug of the Democratic Party of Korea is preparing to introduce the Digital Asset Basic Act. The draft bill classifies digital assets into stablecoins and nonstablecoins. It requires prior approval from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for the issuance of stablecoins, while permitting the issuance

Apr 21, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Crypto industry voices concern over regulations on stablecoins
Banking & Finance

Momentum grows for tightening rules on private equity firms' leveraged buyouts

Financial authorities and lawmakers are accelerating discussions on tightening regulations on private equity firms to prevent them from abusing leveraged buyouts, industry officials said Sunday. A leveraged buyout is a strategy in which the acquirer borrows money using the target company’s assets as collateral, then repays the debt or recoups its investment by selling off or liquidating those assets. This approach has long been a key acquisition tactic in the private equity industry. The discussions have gained momentum amid controversy surrounding Homeplus, which recently entered court-led rehabilitation. MBK Partners acquired a full stake in the supermarket chain from British retailer Tesco for 6 trillion won ($4.2 billion) in 2015, with nearly half of the acquisition cost — about 2.7 trillion won — financed through loans. Since then, the firm has focused on repaying debt by selling off prime store locations and recovering its investment through dividends. Criticism has been mounting over MBK’s abrupt filing for rehabilitation for Homeplus on March 4, with many arguing that exc

Apr 20, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Momentum grows for tightening rules on private equity firms' leveraged buyouts
Policy

KRX boosts investor protection with active market alert system

Korea Exchange’s Market Oversight Commission said Sunday that its market alert system appears to have contributed to investor protection and the prevention of unfair trading last year. In its disclosure of the analysis of the system’s operation in 2024, the commission said the number of investment warning alerts, which indicate high investment risk, decreased by 44 percent — from 18 cases to 10 cases — due to prolonged weakness in the domestic stock market. In contrast, the number of investment caution alerts rose slightly by 5 percent — from 2,359 cases to 2,473 cases — resulting in a 4 percent total increase in alerts from the previous year. In the case of investment caution alerts, a significant portion was attributed to trading concentrated in a small number of accounts, which saw the largest year-on-year increase — rising 72 percent from 402 cases to 691 cases — likely due to a rise in management disputes and share buybacks. The commission explained that, similar to 2023, which was marked by a volatile market driven by theme stocks such as artificial intelligence and

Apr 20, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
KRX boosts investor protection with active market alert system
Banking & Finance

Crosshub sets out to build borderless identity, payment ecosystem

Cross-border payments continue to face high costs, slow processing speeds, complex regulatory environments and a lack of interoperability between systems, Piero Cipollone, a member of the European Central Bank Executive Board, pointed out in a speech earlier this month. As he noted, differences between national financial systems lead travelers to experience various payment barriers, including limited payment options and high currency exchange fees. In addition, mobile payment services such as Apple Pay and Alipay operate on a country-specific basis, making them less accessible to foreigners staying in a country for a short period. This inconvenience is exactly what Crosshub set out to solve. Founded in May last year, the Korean startup is developing a global seamless payment solution that integrates identity verification with payments, allowing users to continue using their preferred payment methods across borders — overcoming the limitations of each country’s financial regulations and payment networks. “Our IDBlock is a next-generation hybrid identity authentication system, built

Apr 19, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Crosshub sets out to build borderless identity, payment ecosystem
Policy

Top financial officials' overseas trips spark concern ahead of June presidential election

Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Byoung-hwan and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Gov. Lee Bok-hyun are facing growing controversy over their planned overseas trips as the country grapples with political and economic uncertainty ahead of an early presidential election on June 3, industry officials said Thursday. While some view the trips as a responsible move to address growing global risks, others argue the timing is inappropriate given the pressing domestic challenges. According to the FSC, the country’s top financial regulator, Kim is set to visit the United States for a seven-day trip starting Sunday to help Korean startups and venture companies secure funding abroad. During his trip, he will hold a meeting with bio venture capital professionals in Boston to assess the local venture investment ecosystem and its operations. He will also meet with senior officials from Blackstone and Morgan Stanley Capital International to discuss the Korean government’s initiatives to improve foreign exchange market accessibility, including the resumption of short selling and th

Apr 18, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Top financial officials' overseas trips spark concern ahead of June presidential election
Cryptocurrency

Debate grows over Korea’s single-bank policy for crypto exchanges

Woori Bank has reignited a debate as to whether Korea will lift the regulation that limits cryptocurrency exchanges to partnering with only one bank for deposit and withdrawal accounts, according to industry watchers on Friday. Since the introduction of the real-name system for cryptocurrency trading in 2018, individuals have been required to conduct transactions on exchanges using real-name verified accounts issued by banks. This has led exchanges to establish partnerships with banks. However, current regulations restrict each exchange to partnering with only one bank. Regulators implemented this policy to enhance transparency in fund flows and prevent money laundering. At a meeting with lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party who oversee financial affairs Wednesday, Woori Bank CEO Jeong Jin-wan called for removing the rule. Rep. Kang Min-kuk, who attended the meeting, quoted Jeong as saying, "The current system, which restricts each cryptocurrency exchange to a single banking partner, raises concerns about system stability, reduces options for consumers and may impose limitations

Apr 11, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Debate grows over Korea’s single-bank policy for crypto exchanges
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