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Lee Kyung-min

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Banking & Finance

Woori, KEB Hana to compensate DLF investors

Woori Bank CEO Sohn Tae-seung By Lee Kyung-min Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank are expected to compensate investors that are set to see losses from high-risk derivative products sold by the two banks, sources said Sunday. The products in question, derivative-linked funds (DLF), are structured to track the performance of underlying assets such as interest rates and government-issued bond yields. Their returns are determined by the movements of those assets.According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), between 30 percent and 50 percent of the investment will be compensated provided that the products were indeed sold as a result of “irresponsible marketing,” a claim raised by most of the victims. They maintain they never consented to seeking profit beyond the point of losing initial investment. The FSS is outlining compensation guideline for those cancelled the DLFs before the product maturity, a measure that could help fine-tune a more complicated one for those wh

Sep 22, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Woori, KEB Hana to compensate DLF investors
Economy

Central banks struggling to fight recession

Economists expect BOK rate cut as early as Oct.By Lee Kyung-min Central banks in major economies are rushing to implement expansionary monetary policies in a collective move to pre-empt a much-dreaded recession.The U.S. Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark short-term rate to the range of 1.75 percent to 2 percent, Sept. 18 (local time), with officials suggesting they were open to another cut before the year's end. The cut, which is the second in just two months, is considered a move to support the U.S. economy in a time of growing uncertainty, with the drawn-out trade feud with China showing no signs of abating. “We took this step to keep the economy strong,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said during a press conference.He said the Fed expects the economy to remain strong and inflation to remain around its 2 percent target.“Generally, Fed participants think these will be achieved with modest adjustments to the federal funds rate,” Powell said. “If the economy does turn down, then a more extensive series of rate cuts could be appropriate. We don't see that.

Sep 22, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Central banks struggling to fight recession
Economy

State-run think tanks ill-prepared for shorter workweek

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Concerns are growing over whether state-run think tanks are ready to adopt a shorter workweek as they are required by law to reduce their maximum working hours from 68 to 52, beginning Oct. 1.Most of them have yet to finalize how to reorganize their workforce, with lingering concerns that the working hours reduction could undermine the competitiveness of research-intensive bodies that should prioritize prompt, task-driven government policy reviews.According to data submitted to Rep. Sung Il-jong of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, among 26 state-run think tanks supervised by the National Research Center for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences (NRC), only three have reached an agreement on a new workweek. They are the Korea Institute of Public Administration, Korean Institute of Criminology and Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management.Discussion is ongoing between management and unions at the remaining 23 organizations over whether to implement “flexible” working hours, a move to give workers more disc

Sep 22, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
State-run think tanks ill-prepared for shorter workweek
Economy

China slowdown feared to drag down Korean economy

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Korea is expected to bear the brunt of China's weaker-than-expected growth as shown by recent key economic indices, analysts said Wednesday.The assessment fuels concerns that Asia's fourth-largest, export-reliant economy, already under growing concern due to deflation ― a decline in the general prices of goods and services ― will be further hurt by its top trading partner's economic slowdown. China saw its industrial production increase only 4.4 percent in August from a year earlier, a further slump from the previous month when it grew by 4.8 percent, its weakest growth in 17 years. The figure was also worse than the market consensus which expected 5.2 percent growth. Industrial production measures the output of key businesses including the manufacturing, utilities and mining sectors. According to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), China accounted for over a quarter, or 26.8 percent, of Korea's exports in 2018. Other data from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed retail sales growth slowed to 7.5 percent in August, down 0.1 perc

Sep 20, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
China slowdown feared to drag down Korean economy
Economy

Fed rate cut gives BOK more room to maneuver

Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol listens to questions from reporters at the BOK headquarters, Sept. 19. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The 25 basis point key rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve, Wednesday (local time), will allow Bank of Korea (BOK) to have more discretion in its monetary policy, the central bank head said Thursday. The Fed reduced its benchmark short-term rate to the range of 1.75 percent to 2 percent, with officials suggesting they were open to another cut before the year's end. The cut, which is the second in just two months, is considered a move to support the U.S. economy in a time of elevating uncertainty, with the drawn-out trade feud with China showing no signs of abating. “It is true that the Fed's rate cut gives us more room to maneuver in implementing monetary policy,” BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol told reporters.“No major fluctuation was observed in the U.S. financial markets including stocks and treasury yields, an indication that the rate cut was largely in line with market expectations,” he said. Stocks ended slightly higher, hours

Sep 19, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Fed rate cut gives BOK more room to maneuver
Economy

'Korea's advanced customs service will help Turkey'

Aliye Ozturk, fourth from left in the front row, clenches her fist with customs officials from Turkey and the Korea Customs Service (KCS) at the Seoul main office of the KCS, Sept 17. Courtesy of KCSBy Lee Kyung-min Aliye Ozturk, deputy regional director at Turkey's trade ministry, said Thursday she was excited to return home to help her country implement Korea's artificial intelligence-based customs services. She came to Korea with nine Turkish customs officials to attend a five-day training program organized by the Korea Customs Service (KCS). The training, which began Sept. 16 and will run through 20, seeks to help the customs officials understand ways to better implement technologies involving artificial intelligence and blockchain, as part of effective customs clearance management. The training include a lesson on how to speed up customs clearance procedures by focusing on locating and identifying banned items earlier detected by X-rays. The use of X-rays helps improve work productivity of the officials regardless of their experience, mainly by helping them focus on verifying w

Sep 19, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
'Korea's advanced customs service will help Turkey'
  • Korea aims to become leader in global customs services
Banking & Finance

Mirae Asset Daewoo included in DJSI for 8 consecutive years

Mirae Asset Daewoo company logoBy Lee Kyung-min Mirae Asset Daewoo has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for eight consecutive years, a notable feat for a Korean brokerage, the securities firm said Wednesday. Created jointly by S&P Dow Jones Indices and RobecoSAM, the DJSI selects the most sustainable companies from across 61 industries every year. The indices serve as benchmarks for investors who integrate sustainability considerations into their portfolios, and provide an effective engagement platform for investors who wish to encourage companies to improve their corporate sustainability practices, according to the DJSI website. For this year's review, top-market cap, 2,526 listed companies from around the world were reviewed. Mirae Asset Daewoo was one of the 318 firms included in the indices. Nineteen Korean firms were included. “We are happy that we were recognized for our investment practice that prioritizes sustainability as part of long-term efforts to boost shareholder value. We will continue to boost efforts for corporate responsibility

Sep 18, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Mirae Asset Daewoo included in DJSI for 8 consecutive years
Banking & Finance

Woori to strengthen mobile app for overseas customers

Woori Bank CEO Sohn Tae-seungBy Lee Kyung-min Woori Bank has launched a project to upgrade its global mobile app as part of its effort to strengthen its retail business abroad, particularly in Southeast Asia, the lender said Tuesday.Under the new project, various features will be added to improve user experience including easy-to-use customizable layout and frequently used functions that can be enabled when customers shake their phones. Other banking services including payments and cash transfers as well as taking out loans will be available. The enhanced service will be launched in Vietnam in the first half of 2020, and expanded to Indonesia, Bangladesh and India. The bank said that the plan will improve customer convenience in addition to services currently in use including buying installment and regular savings products, taking out loans, wiring cash into digital wallets and QR-mediated payments. The current platform is available in Vietnam and India among other overseas branches. “We expect the market demand in Southeast Asia will grow in the coming years. We will continue

Sep 17, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Woori to strengthen mobile app for overseas customers
Economy

Woori, Hana face lawsuit over DLF fiasco

Woori Bank headquarters in SeoulBy Lee Kyung-minA group of investors are planning to file a lawsuit against Woori Bank and KEB Hanna Bank for their “irresponsible marketing” of high-risk derivative products that are expected to incur them billions of won in losses, a team organizing the suit said Tuesday. The products in question, derivative-linked funds (DLF), are structured to track the performance of underlying assets such as interest rates and government-issued bond yields. Their returns are determined by the movements of those assets.The Financial Consumer Agency (FCA), a consumer rights group, and Logos, a law firm, said up to five people will file a suit against the two banks for negligence as early as this week. More people will join the suit after establishing standing following further legal consultations on specific charges and damages. “The first batch of complainants will claim that their financial losses were incurred as a direct result of what is largely known as 'mis-selling' or incomplete sales, which in easy and simple terms means fraudulent, irres

Sep 17, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Woori, Hana face lawsuit over DLF fiasco
Banking & Finance

Savings banks urged to beef up credit risk management

By Lee Kyung-min Korea's financial services firms should strengthen their credit risk management as loans to overleveraged borrowers, such as the self-employed, are running high risks of going bad amid the economic downturn, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a report, Monday.In particular, the central bank urged savings banks to take greater precautions against increased default risks as many of their low-credit customers have increased their borrowing from multiple low-tier lenders amid the deteriorating business environment.The warning is based on the central bank's assessment of the degree and extent of how a credit default triggered by “high-risk” borrowers ― notably the self-employed ― would increase a systemic risk to financial institutions. This was done by analyzing a “contagion index,” the sum of fundamental default risks and default by contagion. The higher the number, the greater the expected default risk. The report showed the index for the self-employed has risen since the third quarter of 2015 with the particularly vulnerable being those in the who

Sep 16, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
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