Korea Times Finance Reporter
Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Residents wait to apply for cash assistance aimed at easing financial strain caused by the Middle East crisis at a community center in Gwangju, Monday. The payments, ranging from 100,000 won ($67) to 600,000 won, were first made available to vulnerable groups, with applications for the broader public set to begin May 18. Yonhap
![[PHOTO] Gov't rolls out cash aid for vulnerable groups amid Mideast crisis](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Profit growth at major Korean banks has stalled even as their parent financial groups posted record first-quarter earnings, industry data showed Monday. The combined net profit of the country's five largest financial groups — KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, Woori Financial Group and NH Financial Group — reached about 6.2 trillion won ($4.2 billion) in the January-March period, up 9.8 percent from 5.6 trillion won a year earlier. It marks the first time their combined quarterly net profit has exceeded 6 trillion won. The growth was largely driven by nonbank units, particularly securities arms, which benefited from a stock market rally. Banking units saw weaker earnings, with several lenders posting declines. Woori Bank reported a net profit of 522 billion won in the first quarter, down 17.8 percent from a year earlier. NH NongHyup Bank posted a net profit of 557.7 billion won, up just 0.6 percent year-on-year, largely flat. State-run policy lender Industrial Bank of Korea also saw its net profit fall 12.4 percent to 666.3 billion won. Woori attributed i
A 25-year-old woman surnamed Park, who lives in Seoul's Guro District, recently met with people she connected with online to share a meal of "malatang," a Chinese spicy hot pot dish popular among young Koreans. She found the group on Danggeun Market, a mobile platform for secondhand trading and local community activities. "It's expensive to eat malatang alone, especially when I want to order side dishes like sweet and sour pork or fried eggplant," Park said. "I was initially looking for one person, but two people responded to my post, so the three of us ended up going together." The three split the bill evenly, paying about 13,000 won ($9) each, which Park said was much cheaper than eating alone, given the added cost of side dishes. Meeting new people online to share meals and split costs appears to be a growing trend among young Koreans, as rising food prices weigh on their wallets. On Danggeun Market, a group of residents in Seoul's Songpa District seeking to share tteokbokki has attracted more than 250 members. The spicy rice cake dish is typically portioned for two to three people, ma
Hana Bank said Sunday it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) to expand infrastructure cooperation in Vietnam. The agreement was signed Thursday in Hanoi during the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum, with participation from Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation. The three parties agreed to explore joint projects across infrastructure, energy, urban development and green sectors. BIDV is a state-run lender and one of Vietnam's largest banks. The partnership aims to identify investment opportunities and support Korean companies expanding into Vietnam and other overseas markets, according to Hana officials. The three institutions plan to strengthen cooperation through expanded networks and joint initiatives in the coming years. Separately, on the same day, Hana Bank and its subsidiary Global Loyalty Network (GLN) launched a QR payment service in partnership with National Payment Corporation of Vietnam and BIDV, allowing Korean visitors to make payments in Vietnam using domestic bank
A semiconductor export boom is underpinning Korea's economic growth, but deeper structural weaknesses continue to weigh on its long-term trajectory, economists and market analysts said Sunday. Their view is that policy measures are needed to ease the economy's heavy reliance on semiconductors, while long-term efforts should focus on boosting growth in the face of a rapidly aging population and low birth rates. According to the latest data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the country's potential growth rate is estimated to decline to 1.71 percent this year from 1.92 percent in 2025. It is projected to decline further to 1.57 percent next year. The OECD expects the quarterly rate to slow to 1.52 percent in the fourth quarter of 2027, pointing to a continued gradual slowdown. Potential growth refers to the maximum level of output an economy can sustain by fully utilizing labor, capital and other resources without triggering inflation. It is widely seen as a measure of an economy's underlying strength. The OECD data showed that Korea's potential growth ra
Woori Bank has partnered with Viettel Global, a subsidiary of Vietnam's largest telecommunications group Viettel, as the Korean lender seeks to expand its footprint in the Southeast Asian nation, the bank said Thursday. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) the previous day to deepen financial cooperation, building on existing transactions between Woori Bank's Vietnamese unit and Viettel Global. The signing ceremony, which took place at Viettel's headquarters in Hanoi, was attended by Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wan, Bae Tae-in, head of Woori Bank's Vietnam unit, Nguyen Thi Hoa, CEO of Viettel Global, and Nguyen Cao Loi, deputy general director of Viettel Global. Jung was part of a business delegation accompanying President Lee Jae Myung on a three-day visit to Hanoi, where the CEO reviewed local financial market conditions and explored opportunities to expand Woori's overseas operations. Under the deal, the two sides plan to expand cooperation beyond conventional financing, including sharing information related to Viettel's overseas business and providing additional suppo
Despite risks stemming from the Middle East war, Korea's economy grew at its fastest pace in more than five years in the first quarter, lifted by a semiconductor export boom, central bank data showed Thursday. According to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 1.7 percent in the January–March period from the previous quarter, nearly double the bank's forecast of 0.9 percent. It marked the strongest quarterly expansion since the third quarter of 2020 when the economy expanded 2.2 percent. The economy shrank 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2025, then rebounded with growth of 0.7 percent and 1.3 percent in the next two quarters, before slipping back into a 0.2 percent decline in the fourth quarter amid weak facilities investment and a slowdown in construction. Manufacturing and exports — particularly semiconductors — accounted for the bulk of this year's first-quarter growth. Facilities investment, including spending on chip equipment, jumped 4.8 percent, while private consumption rose 0.5 percent and government spending edged up 0.1
A finance ministry official has been recommended for a government award after securing U.S. assurances that allowed a recent Russian petrochemical shipment to proceed without triggering secondary sanctions, officials said Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Choi Young-geon, a finance attache at the Korean Embassy in Washington, has been nominated for an internal award. Choi played a key role in securing U.S. assurances that enabled LG Chem to import 27,000 tons of Russian naphtha in March, as Korea turned to alternative supplies following disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war. The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control generally prohibits transactions involving Russian oil, but issued a 30-day waiver on March 12 allowing limited purchases of Russian oil and petroleum products amid supply concerns. LG Chem subsequently signed a contract to import the naphtha shipment. However, uncertainties remained over payment methods due to the risk of potential secondary sanctions. Intermediary banks handling dollar transactions refused
Hana Financial Group launched a youth training program aimed at developing future finance talent, the group said Tuesday. The program, designed to provide hands-on training opportunities for young people seeking careers in finance, is also backed by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Amazon Web Services and Microsoft. The launch event, which took place at the group's headquarters in Seoul, Monday, included a competition session to select participants for a three-month training course running through July. Among the attendees were Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, FSS Senior Deputy Gov. Kim Seong-wook, British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks, Future for Youth Foundation Chairman Lee Hoon-kyu and Um Jong-hwan, head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) at SK Telecom. Twenty teams of university students took part in the competition, presenting financial service ideas using technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and cloud data. "This project is meaningful in that it supports youth employment while helping young people build capabilities in area
Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wan attended the Korea-India Business Forum in New Delhi, held on the sidelines of President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to the South Asian nation, the bank said Tuesday. At the forum held on the previous day, Jung met with Indian business leaders to discuss market trends and explore opportunities to expand the bank's presence in the world's most populous country. Around 600 business executives and government officials from both countries attended to discuss potential areas of cooperation. Jung was the only head of a major Korean commercial bank included in the president's business delegation during the three-day trip. Woori Bank currently operates five branches across key Indian cities — Chennai, Mumbai, Gurugram, Pune and Ahmedabad — and plans to incorporate insights from the CEO's latest visit into its future strategy. As part of his itinerary, Jung also visited Akshya Pratisthan, a school in Gurugram, where he delivered donations for underprivileged children. The bank said it is expanding its social contribution efforts in India alongside its business opera