my timesThe Korea Times
lkm

Lee Kyung-min

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr

Go to EmailGo to URL

Read more

Economy

Financial shares sag despite a bullish market run

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Shares of bank, securities and financial groups continue to underperform compared to their IT, bio and electronic goods counterparts, an inevitable result given the gradual yet irreversible reshaping of the industrial landscape and the corresponding change in stock valuation over the past few decades.The notable poor performance in the recent strong bullish market bodes ill for the once-booming industry since its traditional business model ― receiving interest income on lent money ― will no longer be protected.This is because their budding fintech competitors will increasingly seek to challenge what has been the easiest way to make money through offering loans at a lower rate, coupled with overall enhanced digital-oriented customer services. Further advancing the grim outlook are planned initial public offerings (IPO) of Kakao Bank and Kakao Pay, the financial and IT subsidiaries of Kakao Corp., in the first half of the year, a major concern for traditional financial firms already losing investor funds to high-tech shares amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The

Jan 11, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Financial shares sag despite a bullish market run
Economy

Confiscated bitcoin goes to state coffer

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min A total of 191 bitcoins confiscated as proceeds from criminal activity will go into the state coffers, possibly netting the government about 7.6 billion won ($6.9 million) as the value of the digital coin has skyrocketed 15-fold from the time of the seizure about three years ago.Suwon District Prosecutors' Office currently in possession of the cryptocurrency will decide whether to sell it directly on crypto exchanges or involve the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO). KAMCO is a quasi-governmental organization that manages state-owned properties, acquires and resolves financial institutions' non-performing loans, restructures businesses and provides credit recovery.The district office's plan was enabled by the revision of a related law under which digital currencies will be recognized as a virtual asset of economic value and therefore financially tradable and electronically transferrable in the market. The revision will go into effect in March.The 191 bitcoins were among 216 seized by the district office in May 2017 during an investigation into

Jan 7, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Confiscated bitcoin goes to state coffer
Economy

'Improve real economy to power up stocks'

First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Kim Yong-beom, second from right, speaks during a meeting of financial authorities at the Korea Federation of Banks, in Seoul. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The recent bullish sentiment in the soaring stock market will not be able to sustain itself unless backed by recovery of the real economy, a major risk to healthy growth that must be underpinned by greater corporate investments to make productive use of the stimulus-carried ample market liquidity, the country's senior economic policymaker said Thursday.The warning by First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Kim Yong-beom points to the mismatch between market expectations of corporate profit and the longer-than-expected prolongation of issues concerning unemployment, industrial output and consumption ― key economic indices that show no signs of corresponding material improvement amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The stock market continues a strong uptrend, Kim said, driven by expectations of recovery concerning the domestic and global economies as well as corporate earnings.“The stock market su

Jan 7, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
'Improve real economy to power up stocks'
  • Stock market to see structural change
Economy

Bull run pushes KOSPI past 3,000 mark for 1st time

An electronic signboard at Hana Bank branch in Seoul shows the KOSPI reached 3,016.23 points in the morning trading session, Wednesday. Thirteen years after surpassing 2,000-mark in July 25, 2007, the benchmark stock index tested the historic 3,000-points level. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-minThe stock market took a breather, Wednesday, following a rapid uptrend over the past few weeks that culminated in the benchmark stock index KOSPI reaching a high of 3.027.16 in the morning, exceeding the symbolic 3,000 points for the first time.The continued strong bullish sentiment is underpinned and enabled by cheap borrowing costs amid record-low interest rates, coupled with tightening real estate policies that is forcing investors to seek alternatives to the property market. While the KOSPI closed at 2,968.21, Wednesday, down 22.36 points or 0.75 percent, from the previous session, the figure is considered a minor setback following the uptrend over the past two months since November when it hovered around 2,300. Korea Exchange (KRX) data showed the trading volume was 1.7 billion shares worth 29.27 tr

Jan 6, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Bull run pushes KOSPI past 3,000 mark for 1st time
Economy

Korean economy in 2021: Recovery to be determined by virus containment combined with stimulus

The Korea Times conducted a series of email interviews with noted economists on their views for the economic outlook in 2021. They are INSEAD economics professor Antonio Fatas, Moody's Investors Service Vice President and Sovereign Risk Group Senior Credit Officer Christian de Guzman, Fitch Ratings Asia Sovereign Ratings Director Jeremy Zook, Northwestern University macroeconomist Robert Gordon and Loyola Marymount University economics professor Sohn Sung-won (names are in alphabetical order).gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Q: How fast do you think the Korean economy will recover in 2021? Why? Christian de Guzman, vice president and sovereign risk group senior credit officer with Moody's Investors ServiceGuzman: Moody's projects Korea's real GDP to rise 3.1 percent in 2021 on the back of the ongoing recovery from the pandemic, which has already been apparent in the high-frequency data in late 2020. While the forecast is above our estimation of Korea's potential growth, the relative robust rebound reflects base effects from the contraction in 2020, the first full-year negative print s

Jan 5, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Korean economy in 2021: Recovery to be determined by virus containment combined with stimulus
Economy

HDC could derail Korean Air's deal to take over Asiana

Korea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-gull / Korea Times fileNational Assembly report names Hyundai as a competition-promoting alternativeBy Lee Kyung-min HDC Hyundai Development Company, the former prospective buyer in a deal to acquire Asiana Airlines owned by Kumho Industrial, will become a new sticking point in Korean Air's planned acquisition of the air carrier, a National Assembly research report said Tuesday.The fresh claim raises issues over whether the Hyundai subsidiary's deal would have helped spur competition and should therefore be considered a viable alternative to the “mega deal” between the country's largest carrier Korean Air and its cash-strapped second-largest peer, a key point of contention for the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the country's antitrust agency, to factor in during an upcoming review. The report can become a major headache to Korea Development Bank (KDB) Chairman Lee Dong-gull who reiterated that no risks would lay ahead during the remainder of the state lender-supervised deal. But his remark may become a major source of embarrassment i

Jan 5, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
HDC could derail Korean Air's deal to take over Asiana
Economy

Contribution Asia's outlook for 2021 looks rosy but with important downward risks

Alicia Garcia HerreroBy Alicia Garcia HerreroAsian economies have been hit by the pandemic but differences among countries are striking. Beyond the extent of lockdowns and the size of the policy response, whether fiscal or monetary, the underlying characteristics of Asian economies also explain differences in growth trends. Countries with the largest current account deficits have suffered as risk-off episodes have complicated their necessary external funding, constraining their fiscal support. This is the case of India, Indonesia and the Philippines. In turn, Mainland China, but also Vietnam and Taiwan and, to a lesser extent, South Korea and Japan have been less impacted both because of more effective containment policies and, in many cases, larger fiscal and monetary response. In addition, many of these economies' sectoral specializations have helped increase exports during Covid-19, whether tech, electronic and medical supplies. This is clearly the case of the Mainland but also South Korea and Taiwan.Regarding policy response, the region has shown much more courage as opposed to p

Jan 5, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
[Contribution] Asia's outlook for 2021 looks rosy but with important downward risks
Economy

'Overcoming crisis, inclusive growth will define 2021'

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki speaks during a meeting with senior officials at the Sejong Government Complex, Monday.Finance minister promises real estate market stabilizationBy Lee Kyung-min The COVID-19 pandemic should be weathered through bolstering consumption, investment, exports and job creation ― key objectives that must be pursued and underpinned by thorough containment of the disease, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Monday.Greater emphasis will be placed on stabilizing the real estate market, he reiterated, but whether the years-long failed policies for this will yield a tangible result remains to be seen since two-dozen botched measures led to an almost 60 percent rise in apartment prices in Seoul over the past three years. Also to be monitored is whether the plight of “jeonse” tenants increasingly being forced out of their current places of residence without a new place to go, an inevitable result as home owners demand higher jeonse deposits to offset the higher taxes imposed by the government to stem propert

Jan 4, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
'Overcoming crisis, inclusive growth will define 2021'
  • 'Korean economy to show quickest recovery in 2021'
Economy

'Korean economy to show quickest recovery in 2021'

gettyimagesbankBetter virus containment, strong demand for IT goods to bolster growthJeremy Zook, Asia Sovereign Ratings Director at Fitch RatingsBy Lee Kyung-min The Korean economy is expected to recover much faster than those of many advanced countries in 2021, due to its fast response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the solid demand for information technology goods as businesses increasingly go contactless, according to global economists. They point out that the coronavirus will pose a serious threat to Korea's export-reliant economy, but it will rebound to its pre-pandemic level faster compared to global peers reeling from the fallout from poor disease containment measures.These are views shared among global economic experts The Korea Times interviewed to see how the economic landscape is expected to unfold in the coming year.On the bright side, the adoption of disruptive technologies, in their view, may mitigate the longstanding downside risk of rapid population aging amid a low birthrate, an inevitable trend many advanced economies are grappling with and becoming more accepting of

Jan 4, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
'Korean economy to show quickest recovery in 2021'
  • 'Overcoming crisis, inclusive growth will define 2021'
Economy

FSS head vows tighter rules for PEFs in 2021

Yoon Suk-heunBy Lee Kyung-minPrivate equity funds (PEFs) will be subject to tightened rules this year, as indicated by the New Year speech made by Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Yoon Suk-heun.The vocal resolve was part of a rebuke against the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the FSS' supervisory organization supposedly in charge of financial market regulations and monitoring as well as implementation and creation of related rules, the key failed functions Yun believes have led to the mis-selling of derivative-linked funds (DLFs) and redemption failures involving hedge funds.The immense investor losses and consumer protection failures will be repeated, he stressed, unless there is a fundamental change in the mindset of financial market participants ― especially those who design and sell the highly structured and complicated products ― who are incentivized and numbed by the reward for selling the possibly highly defective products which far outweighs risk management costs.The year-long fiasco led to around 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) in investors' losses, with a far

Jan 2, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
FSS head vows tighter rules for PEFs in 2021
previous page
221222223224225
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.