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Lee Kyung-min

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Economy

Seoul, Gyeonggi account for half of economic growth

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Seoul and Gyeonggi Province contributed to nearly half of the country's growth in 2018, government data showed Monday. Preliminary data from Statistics Korea showed the nominal gross regional domestic product (GRDP) for Gyeonggi Province stood at 473.8 trillion won ($406 billion) in 2018, up 5 percent from the year before. That of Seoul was 422.4 trillion won, up 4.5 percent from a year earlier. The two regions with a combined 896 trillion won in nominal GRDP account for over 47 percent of the 1,905 trillion won gross domestic product (GDP), the total value of all finished goods and services made within the 17 metropolitan and provincial areas surveyed. The 1,900 trillion won is a 3.2 percent, or 57 trillion won, jump from a year earlier. In terms of real ― as opposed to nominal ― the country's year-on-year growth rate was 2.8 percent in 2018. In real terms, private consumption in the 17 areas jumped 2.7 percent in 2018 from the year before, while construction investment and facility investment dropped 4 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. Seoul had

Dec 23, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul, Gyeonggi account for half of economic growth
Economy

Why companies leave Korea

Militant labor, regulations, rising costs force firms to invest more abroadBy Lee Kyung-min Korean companies are expanding investments overseas to build plants and other facilities while remaining reluctant to do the same at home due to labor-friendly government policies, regulations and soaring costs, experts said Friday.They say the trend has put Asia's already-flagging fourth-largest economy on a steeper-than-expected downward spiral, leading to more job cuts and delayed economic recovery. Yun Chang-hyun, an economist at the University of Seoul, said firms simply find it hard to do business here due to corporate inefficiency, defined by militant labor unions only seeking to protect their vested interests, which he considers the core culprit behind fast-deteriorating profits. “Under the current structure and laws governing labor policies, corporate competitiveness is designed to be undermined,” he said.“Businesses cannot find an incentive to make investments or capital injections in a country where unions' collective actions trump the businesses motivation to gene

Dec 20, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Why companies leave Korea
Economy

Mirae Asset to enter aircraft lease biz

Mirae Asset Financial Group founder Park Hyeon-jooBy Lee Kyung-min Mirae Asset Group is seeking to enter the aircraft leasing business in a move to maximize synergy with its soon-to-be business partner Asiana Airlines, the nation's second-largest carrier, industry sources said Friday. The capital and brokerage subsidiaries of Mirae Asset Group are reportedly looking to set up a leasing firm in the first quarter of 2020 in Singapore, the aviation hub of Asia. “It will take about three months to review legal and other issues. We are not able to provide other details as of now,” a Mirae Asset official said. The announcement comes about a week ahead of a scheduled signing of a share purchase agreement (SPA) between Kumho Industrial and a consortium led by Mirae Asset and Hyundai Development Company (HDC) to finalize the latter's takeover of Asiana Airlines. Kumho holds a 31 percent stake in Asiana. This is part of efforts to redefine itself as more of a strategic investor from a mere financial investor, taking a similar path with Hyundai seeking partnership via its subsidiari

Dec 20, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Mirae Asset to enter aircraft lease biz
Banking & Finance

Korean banks boost overseas workforce

By Lee Kyung-min Korea's top four commercial banks ― Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Woori and KEB Hana ― are strengthening their overseas workforces in Southeast Asian countries in a bid to solidify global business there amid fast saturation of the local market, industry officials said Thursday. The lenders have been trying to minimize the dispatch of Korean workers to their overseas branches to strengthen their localization strategies.They believe a more viable option is to hire local workers who have a better understanding of the culture as well as business environment including regulatory hurdles. The banks said local sales representatives can better devise marketing strategies that would best work with customers of the same nationality. Up to 90 percent of them are locals, with the remainder being Koreans.Korea's top four banks have over a combined 16,000 workers overseas as of September, up nearly 10 percent from a year earlier when it was 14,620.The September figure is an over 40 percent increase from two years earlier when the number was around 11,400 in 2017. Of the total, Woori Bank h

Dec 19, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Korean banks boost overseas workforce
Banking & Finance

For data-based financial services

KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin, left, and Rainist CEO Kim Tae-hoon pose after signing a business alliance agreement at the bank's headquarters on Yeouido in Seoul, Dec. 18. Under the agreement, the bank and the operator of a data aggregator Bank Salad app, will boost cooperation to develop a data-based financial network. Courtesy of KB Kookmin Bank

Dec 19, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
For data-based financial services
Economy

AI-powered robot to serve bank customers in 2020

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Customers will be able to use robot-recommended financial services that best meet their needs, the financial regulatory said Thursday. NongHyup Bank will introduce an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered robot in November that notifies users of the best time to visit bank branches after assessing the number of customers at the office and the expected wait time. Reservations can be made by the robot and it will analyze customers' spending patterns to recommend financial products ― including credit or debit cards, installment savings and insurances ― that best suit them. This is one of the nine newly recognized innovative financial services announced by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) Thursday. The number of these services now totals 77. Among them are AI-powered over-the-counter bond brokerage services that SK Securities is set to launch by next October.The online platform will enable customers to buy government bonds regardless of the investment volume. Real-time information on price, yields and credit ratings will be available.Another service

Dec 19, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
AI-powered robot to serve bank customers in 2020
Politics

Gov't to focus on revitalizing investments

Economy and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki speaks during a press briefing at the Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Thursday. YonhapKorean economy forecast to grow 2.4% in 2020By Lee Kyung-min The government will place top priority on rehabilitating sluggish investment in 2020 by inducing 100 trillion won ($85.9 billion) from the private and public sectors, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday.It also plans to spend 240.5 trillion won to support export firms reeling from a series of trade conflicts ― the U.S.-China trade dispute and Korea's feud with Japan ― amid a global slowdown.These are part of the 2020 economic outlook and policy directions the finance ministry unveiled Thursday. “The government will mobilize the utmost efforts to find turnaround momentum for economic recovery in the first half of 2020 via investment in both the public and private sectors,” Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said during a press briefing at the Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, Seoul. “The economy has undoubtedly been tough in 2019, but we expect a substantial turna

Dec 19, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Gov't to focus on revitalizing investments
Economy

More Koreans pursuing work-life balance

By Lee Kyung-min The number of people that place equal value on work and life surpassed those that prioritize work, indicating people no longer embrace the traditional definition of professional success that usually came at the expense of personal life, government data showed Wednesday. In a survey of 34,147 men and women aged over 19 from May 15 to 30, Statistics Korea found that 44.2 percent of the respondents said work and life are equally important in 2019, while 42.1 percent said work is more important. This is the first time the former outnumbered the latter, amid declining emphasis on work over the past few years. In 2015, more than half, or 53.7 percent, said work is more important, while only about a third, or 34.4 percent, said work and life are equally important.In 2017, the gap between the two groups closely narrowed with 43.1 saying they prioritized work, while 42.9 percent work-life balance.By gender, nearly half, or 48.2 percent, of men said work is more important, while only 33.8 percent of women agreed.About half, or 49.5 percent of women, said work and life are equa

Dec 18, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
More Koreans pursuing work-life balance
Banking & Finance

KB, NongHyup bank heads to spur global expansion in 2020

KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur YinBy Lee Kyung-min KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin and NongHyup Bank CEO Lee Dae-hoon are expected to put a top priority on globalization, an area in which the two have “underperformed” compared to their peers, industry officials said Tuesday.Immediate and substantial improvements will be required amid high expectations on the two whose terms have been extended following outstanding performances during their previous terms. KB's Hur seeks to adopt a two-track approach in overseas business expansion.One is enhancing financing for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries.The other is corporate and investment banking in developed countries seeing growing demand for more sophisticated financial services.This will give a competitive edge to the bank's holding company KB Financial Group ― the second-largest industry player by assets in a neck-and-neck competition with Shinhan Financial which boasts a strong overseas presence ― 159 outlets in 20 countries. KB Financial by contrast has a global network of 56 outlets in 13 co

Dec 17, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Economy

Household debt grows much faster than income

By Lee Kyung-min Household debt grew almost three times as fast as income over the past year in Korea, indicating that Korean households have become more vulnerable to external shocks, government data showed Tuesday. The renewed concern is highlighted by people increasingly seeking windfall gains from real-estate speculation with cheap borrowing costs amid low interest. Experts say the short-term capital gain seekers severely hurt the economy as they divert most of the ample liquidity in the market away from corporate investment and technological innovations, the key drivers of economic growth. Data from Statistics Korea showed household debt averaged 79 million won ($67,700) in March 2019, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier. This is much faster than household disposable income that averaged 47.2 million won in March, only up 1.2 percent from the year before. Disposable income ― the money people can actually spend ― is income minus non-consumption expenditures such as tax and state-run health insurance premiums. “People seeking greater leverage means higher vulnerability in tim

Dec 17, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Household debt grows much faster than income
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