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Lee Kyung-min

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Economy

Bithumb to limit foreign membership after July 13

Lee Jeong-hoon, former chairman of Bithumb Korea and BIthumb Holdings Korea Times fileCrypto exchange desperate to rehabilitate tarnished reputation By Lee Kyung-min Cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb said Thursday that it will deny membership to foreign clients whose identity cannot be verified via local mobile carriers, starting at 3 p.m., July 13 (KST).Also to be denied membership are foreign residents of Korea who do not possess an alien registration card (ARC), without which their request for mobile service subscription will be denied.These are among measures to strengthen anti-money laundering involving digital assets, increasingly being linked to international crimes. The hurriedly arranged announcement stressing its compliance and customer protection efforts is intended to divert customers' growing complaints about the firm's mismanagement, as evidenced by the indictment two days earlier of its de facto owner Lee Jeong-hoon, 45, who faces charges of fraud in the amount of over 112 billion won ($100 million).The exchange plans to strengthen know-your-customer identification and

Jul 8, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Bithumb to limit foreign membership after July 13
Economy

Gov't to change visa rules to attract 'highly skilled' foreign workers

First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon, second from right, speaks at a press briefing at the Seoul Government Complex, Wednesday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The number of foreign workers whose E-9 visas can be changed to longer-term E-7-4 visas will be increased to 2,000 by 2025 from the current 1,250, the government said Wednesday.Highly skilled foreign workers who meet related requirements will be granted an F-2 visa immediately, and requirements for academic backgrounds of a certain level or experience will be waived if they have a certain income level. However, the income requirements for foreign nationals seeking employment will also be raised, to dispel concerns that the change could reduce the number of jobs that otherwise would have been given to Koreans.Workers of foreign nationality with a proven record of skills and capabilities in what the government recognizes as growth engine industries will be granted employment, even if they belong to a job category that was previously not given the opportunity to get a visa.These measures were announced by the finance and justice minis

Jul 7, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Gov't to change visa rules to attract 'highly skilled' foreign workers
Economy

33 investigated for illicit overseas crypto transfers

Lee Dong-hyun, director of investigation regional bureau 2 at Seoul Central Customs speaks during a press briefing at the office headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Seoul Central CustomsBy Lee Kyung-min Thirty-three people were found to have engaged in over 1.69 trillion won ($1.48 billion) worth of illicit overseas transactions involving cryptocurrency over the past two months, Seoul Central Customs said Wednesday. Fourteen were referred to the prosecution, 15 were fined and four are under investigation.The 33 were caught in a pan-government investigation from April to September into crimes related to digital assets including fraud and money laundering.Over 812.2 billion won concerned illegal foreign currency exchange, whereby senders of the money paid a third party to transfer a large amount of funds withdrawn after trading the currency on the crypto exchange. About 785.1 billion won concerned people falsifying their overseas remittance records for overseas purchase of digital currencies. Over 95.4 billion won concerned making cash withdrawals overseas with Korea-issued c

Jul 7, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
33 investigated for illicit overseas crypto transfers
Economy

Gov't positioned to manage fiscal soundness: finance minister

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, right, attends a virtual meeting with Fitch Ratings officials at the Sejong Government Complex, July 5. Courtesy of Ministry of Economy and FinanceHong says economy is recovering faster By Lee Kyung-minDeputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki reiterated that Korea will continue its stringent management of government debt, as part of its long-term goal of maintaining fiscal soundness, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The comments were made during the ministry's annual meeting with Fitch Ratings, a global credit rating agency.The top policymaker stressed Korea's government debt-to-GDP level will be reduced, as the county's second extra budget of 33 trillion won ($29.1 billion) will be drawn without debt-financing and part of the debt has been repaid.Continued efforts will be made, he added, to comply with fiscal soundness measures to be enforced in 2025, defined as seeking a balance between the government debt-to-GDP ratio being kept under 60 percent and the country's consolidated fiscal deficit being limited

Jul 6, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Gov't positioned to manage fiscal soundness: finance minister
Economy

Woori Asset Management appoints capital market expert as vice president

Park Yong-myeongBy Lee Kyung-min Woori Asset Management, a subsidiary of Woori Financial Group, said Monday that it had appointed Park Yong-myeong as its chief information officer (CIO) to strengthen management of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and retirement pensions.The former CIO at Hanwha Asset Management is an equity market expert in the field of securities trading and investment plans.He will oversee investment plans including stocks and bonds as well as global issues at the Woori subsidiary.His equity market career began at Meritz Securities in 1994, followed by Eugene Investment and Samsung Asset Management.Park served as head of the equity and securities division at Hanwha Asset Management.“Park's experience and knowledge in stocks, bonds and ETFs will play a big role in the firm expanding into new businesses and help it become a leader in retirement pension management in the future,” Woori Asset Management said.The equity market is expected to continue its brisk performance, enabled by a record-low interest rate put in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic as an emerge

Jul 5, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Woori Asset Management appoints capital market expert as vice president
Economy

Climate advocacy criticizes trade ministry, forest agency over anti-carbon neutrality policies

A coalition of environmental groups led by Solutions for Our Climate holds a press conference at Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min A coalition of environmental advocacy groups urged the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Forest Service to stop issuing renewable energy certificates (REC) for forest biomass, Monday.Forest biomass includes all parts of trees and can be converted into solids, liquid or biofuels that can then be burned for energy generation or used as fuel substitutes for transportation or industrial processes.An REC is a market-based instrument that represents the property rights to the environmental, social and other non-power attributes of renewable electricity generation. RECs are issued when one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity is generated and delivered to the electricity grid from renewable energy resources, including solar, wind, biomass and fuel cells. Renewable energy businesses sell electricity produced at the Solar Market Price (SMP) and sell RECs to generate additional revenue.The coalition, led by Solutions for Our Climate

Jul 5, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Climate advocacy criticizes trade ministry, forest agency over anti-carbon neutrality policies
Economy

Bank of Korea, finance ministry to narrow policy differences

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, right, and Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol shake hands at a breakfast meeting at the Seoul Press Center, Seoul, Friday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The current expansionary fiscal stance will be maintained, coupled with a slower-than-expected easing of monetary policy, the country's top fiscal and monetary authorities said Friday.The sudden announcement of policy coordination by the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Korea coincides with heightened uncertainties involving the spike in COVID-19 infections this week, mostly in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, and the subsequent continuation of strict social distancing rules.Also being factored into the equation is the turn of events which significantly undermines efforts to weather the pandemic despite the economy showing clear signs of recovery, notably in exports and private consumption.“Cohesion between fiscal and monetary policies is more important than ever amid lingering financial risks, including financial imbalance, uneven recovery and income polarization despite the rapid ec

Jul 2, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Bank of Korea, finance ministry to narrow policy differences
Economy

Krafton's IPO price lowered amid overvaluation issue

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds artwork and logoBy Lee Kyung-min Krafton, the local developer of the popular game “PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds,” lowered its corporate valuation for its initial public offering (IPO) to 24.4 trillion won ($21.5 billion), from 28.1 trillion won, following a recommendation by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) to revise the firm's securities report to list on the KOSPI.The price change a day earlier was largely expected since the firm has long been criticized for its overvalued IPO price. Also at play was a precedent set by SD Biosensor, a Suwon-based in vitro diagnostics firm, which lowered its corporate valuation by over 2 trillion won in response to the FSS's revision recommendation.Some market watchers say Krafton's IPO price was overvalued because of firms it was compared with when assessing corporate value, namely two global content creators ― The Walt Disney Company and Warner Music Group.The Korean firm claimed it is comparable to Disney because its business involves content creation utilizing intellectual property rights.But it

Jul 2, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Krafton's IPO price lowered amid overvaluation issue
Economy

'Banks responsible for crypto irregularity screenings'

Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo speaks during the National Policy Committee meeting at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min Banks should ensure that their virtual currency exchange clients have anti-money laundering safeguards in place, as one of their key responsibilities to screen and monitor for irregularities concerning the operators of digital assets, the country's top financial regulator said Thursday.“The responsibility falls on banks first and foremost to detect any irregularities of crypto exchanges, including conducting anti-money laundering activities,” Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo said during the National Policy Committee meeting at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul.The comments seek to divert criticism that the FSC is refusing to take full responsibility for cryptocurrency regulation and monitoring, amid the rapid surge in popularity of digital currencies, especially among young people. Many frame the issue as Eun and the FSC forcing banks to do most of the legwo

Jul 1, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
'Banks responsible for crypto irregularity screenings'
Politics

Sendbird appoints new CEO for Asia-Pacific region

Lee Sang-heeBy Lee Kyung-min Sendbird, Korea's first unicorn startup in the field of business-to-business transactions, has appointed Lee Sang-hee as CEO of its Asia-Pacific region headquarters overseeing the firm's Korean business.A unicorn refers to a privately held startup valued at over $1 billion (1.13 trillion won). The term was coined in 2013 with the mythical animal representing the statistical rarity of such successful ventures. Similarly, a decacorn is a word referring to startups valued at over $10 billion.Sendbird is a global leader in chat application programming interface (API), which is a program that receives requests from a client or user and passes them on for processing by a server or database.Lee joined Sendbird in 2015 after serving as a consultant at McKinsey & Company.He also played a key role with the firm's Series A funding, the first significant round of venture capital financing mostly concerning the development stage, and Series B funding, the next round of financing for a startup that has met certain milestones.Sendbird was recognized for its corporat

Jul 1, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Sendbird appoints new CEO for Asia-Pacific region
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