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Lee Kyung-min

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Economy

SC Korea to roll out high-security mobile banking service

A worker from Standard Chartered Bank Korea explains how the bank's new mobile phone app operates with higher security at the bank's branch in Seoul. Courtesy of Standard Chartered Bank KoreaBy Lee Kyung-min Standard Chartered Bank Korea said Tuesday that some of its customers will be able to use an app providing safer, high-security mobile banking services, courtesy of a chipset that carries a perfect unpredictable random number generator.The Seoul-based branch, a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based Standard Chartered said the mobile banking services will have 5G quantum security technology applied, a first for a commercial bank here.The services will be offered to users of the Samsung Galaxy A Quantum smartphone, in which a quantum random number generator (QRNG) chipset is embedded, offering the strongest level of encryption and protection.SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile carrier, will be sole provider of the android-based mobile phone that offers the services.QRNG is a technology that creates unpredictable quantum random numbers without patterns by utilizing the charac

Dec 1, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
SC Korea to roll out high-security mobile banking service
Economy

Tightening consumption to hurt rebound momentum

A man walks past a shuttered store in Seoul. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Consumption contracted in October, a troubling indication that the economy is likely to take a turn for the worse following the recent implementation of strengthened social distancing rules certain to chill consumer sentiment, data showed Monday.A recovery in the services industries driven by eased social distancing rules in the two previous months failed to offset a slowdown in manufacturing, dashing hopes of an earlier-than-expected economic recovery indicated in September when industrial output, consumption and investment all showed a solid increase.Economists say the worst has yet to come, given the heightened social distancing measures following new virus cases topping 400 per day, a shaky drawdown from 500 per day from Nov. 26 and 28.“A rise in the social distancing level will again hit consumer sentiment,” Seoul National University economist Kim So-young said.“The August rally in Seoul led to a significant drop in sales for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and operator

Nov 30, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Tightening consumption to hurt rebound momentum
Economy

Homeowners furious over tax spike

An apartment complex in Seoul. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minA large number of home owners are expressing frustration over the recent spike in taxes, imposed on housing with officially appraised values over 900 million won ($814,000), Sunday.Many of them including retirees and soon-to-be retirees say their income cannot cover the steep rise in central government-collected tax, which they say is an undue burden resulting from the government's dozens of botched real estate policies, defined by a nearly 60 percent jump in apartment prices in Seoul over the past three years.They dismissed calls that a rise in tax corresponding to a spike in housing prices is inevitable, saying being forced to leave a place where they have lived for decades just to not be subjected to tax is not only a kind of punishment but an infringement on individual rights.Some owners argue the tax is no less than a fine issued in the absence of any offence and are questioning the legitimacy of the measure by asking whether the government would reimburse the paid amount if the prices fall in the coming years. &ldqu

Nov 29, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Homeowners furious over tax spike
  • Banks to lower credit loan limits, raise interest rate
Economy

Manufacturing job losses trouble Korea

Kim Jin, register-based statistics division director at Statistics Korea, speaks during a press briefing at the Sejong Government Complex, Thursday. YonhapEateries, hospitality industry reel due to virusBy Lee Kyung-min The manufacturing sector shed 65,000 jobs in the second quarter from a year earlier, a highly worrisome downtrend that has continued for the past few quarters driven by the U.S.-China trade feud-oriented economic slowdown compounded further by the COVID-19 pandemic, government data showed Thursday.Statistics Korea data showed the industry ― a high-quality job creator accounting for 21.9 percent of the total jobs ― has seen visible job losses since the fourth quarter of 2019.By sector, car manufacturing shed 10,000 jobs, followed by 9,000 each lost in electronics and communications equipment manufacturing and machinery manufacturing.“The job losses in manufacturing are pronounced amid the pandemic, a trend that began before the spread of the coronavirus,” a statistics agency official said during a briefing at the Sejong Government Complex. They were part of

Nov 26, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Manufacturing job losses trouble Korea
Economy

New TMON CFO Jon In-chon to bolster firm's IPO prospects

Jon In-chonBy Lee Kyung-min Finance expert Jon In-chon has joined Korean e-commerce firm TMON as chief financial officer (CFO) to help with its planned initial public offering (IPO) next year, the company said Thursday.Before joining the Gangnam-headquartered firm, Jon served as CFO of Big Hit Entertainment ― the agency representing Korean pop sensation BTS ― from March to June, and before that ADT Caps, an advanced security solutions provider, from October 2018 to March 2020.The finance expert will help TMON with the IPO, a deal being managed by underwriter Mirae Asset Daewoo.“Our firm being listed in 2021 will be a first for a Korean e-commerce company, a process Jon is expected to play a key role throughout,” a TMON official said.This is the company's second IPO attempt. A bid in 2017 failed due mostly to the firm's losses.Prospects have become brighter after the firm reported 175.1 billion won ($158.2 million) in sales in 2019. While it posted a 75.3 billion won net loss that year, it produced a 160 million won net profit in March, snapping the years-long run of

Nov 26, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
New TMON CFO Jon In-chon to bolster firm's IPO prospects
Economy

Consumer sentiment on housing prices hike hits record high

An apartment complex in Seoul. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Korean consumers showed record-high expectations of a hike in housing prices in November, indicating the failure of the dozens of government real estate policies put in place since President Moon Jae-in took office, central bank data showed Tuesday.According to data from the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), a left-leaning civic group, prices of apartments in Seoul climbed 58 percent over the past three years.The Bank of Korea (BOK) data showed that the Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) for future housing prices spiked to 130, up 8 points from the month before.This is the highest figure the central bank has observed in its time compiling related data, which it started in January 2013. A reading above 100 means people expecting price increases outnumber those who think prices will drop. The result came from the central bank's poll of 2,366 respondents between Nov. 10 and 16, which asked participants whether they expected housing prices to jump in a year. “Jeonse prices have been on a rapid hike over the

Nov 24, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Consumer sentiment on housing prices hike hits record high
  • Will Moon replace controversial housing minister?
Economy

Third virus wave to shatter hopes of economic recovery

Streets are nearly empty after social distancing Level 2 was put in place in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, Nov. 20. /YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The recent flare-up of COVID-19 cases topping 300 per day for the fifth consecutive day is a highly troublesome indication that Korea will be unable to benefit from a much-awaited economic recovery any time soon, experts said Sunday.As the government has decided Sunday to extend social distancing rules to Level 2 in Seoul and its surrounding areas effective Tuesday, it will deal another blow to consumption, dashing hopes of a swift recovery in the fourth quarter. According to advance data released Oct. 27 by the Bank of Korea, Korea reported 1.9 percent quarter-on-quarter growth in the July-September period, snapping out of two consecutive contractions that began in the first quarter. The economy shrank 1.3 percent in January-March and contracted further by 3.2 percent the following quarter, due in large part to a plunge in exports amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the country

Nov 22, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Third virus wave to shatter hopes of economic recovery
  • Police investigate disinformation, data breaches related to COVID-19
Economy

NEWS ANALYSIS 'RCEP could be a boon to export-reliant Korea'

Carmakers, steelmakers to benefit, but competition with Japan to be fiercer By Lee Kyung-min The newly signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a tariff-removing trade agreement among 15 countries, will provide an impetus for the much-awaited economic recovery for export-reliant Korea, experts said Monday.Yet caution is needed because this may not be all good news, as competition is certain to become fiercer between Korea and Japan, inevitably bringing about a price war to sharpen their respective competitive edge in the new, large market, they warned. Most of Korea's key growth driver industries ― notably carmakers and steelmakers ― will be granted substantial growth opportunities, with the impact set to extend further to benefit other key industries such as petrochemical firms, equipment and facilities builders and consumer goods makers.Beside large firms, further aggressive global market expansion will be possible for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as budding tech firms such as online games and filmmakers.Also included will be entertainment in

Nov 16, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
[NEWS ANALYSIS] 'RCEP could be a boon to export-reliant Korea'
  • Korea forced to walk fine line between RCEP and CPTPP
Economy

Land ministry organizes drone displays to ease pandemic fatigue

A woman takes a picture of an image of the Korean Peninsula created by drones at the Olympic Park Peace Square in Songpa, Seoul, Nov. 13. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and TransportBy Lee Kyung-min The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Sunday that it held a drone display, Nov. 13, as part of efforts to express gratitude for the months-long cooperation and support in following government mandates to better tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.The ministry sought to help the public have a moment of rest, peace and hope; values that have come under pressure amid the longer-than-expected pandemic, the ministry added.The event was held near the Olympic Park Peace Square in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, at 6 p.m Friday.Three hundred and fifteen drones flew in coordinated formations to produce a variety of images under the theme of “Korean New Deal” and “Memories and Feelings of Victory.”The drones created a sequence of images ― related to the 1988 Seoul Olympics, 2002 World Cup, people wearing masks and a person running and leaping ― to help

Nov 15, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Land ministry organizes drone displays to ease pandemic fatigue
Banking & Finance

Shinhan declares 'zero carbon' drive

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Shinhan Financial Group has declared its vision to go carbon-neutral by 2050, the first such move by a financial services firm in Southeast Asia, according to the group, Sunday.Chairman Cho Yong-byoung presided over a meeting of a group subcommittee under the board to declare a “zero-carbon drive,” as part of a distinctive move to lead the discussion on the impending crisis of climate change and join the global wave of eco-friendly initiatives.The group will reorient investment and lending rules from carbon-heavy firms and industries to ones whose business models are environmentally conscious and therefore sustainable.Firms with green growth business models will be granted greater opportunities for larger loans, among other eased financing rules to be updated to foster the future-oriented firms.The group aims to reduce carbon emissions by 46 percent by 2030, and increase the target level to 88 percent by 2040.Its asset portfolio will be restructured to have its investments reduce carbon emi

Nov 15, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Shinhan declares 'zero carbon' drive
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