Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter
Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr
Officials from Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) and its Thai counterpart Sukhumvit Asset Management (SAM) pose at KAMCO's Seoul branch, July 15. At the center is SAM CEO Niyot Masavisut. KAMCO held a two-day program from Monday to exchange knowledge on how to better utilize public property sales transactions via Onbid, a KAMCO-developed online bidding system. Courtesy of KAMCO
gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Shinhan Card has obtained a patent for a blockchain-based payment system. The company is the first in the world to have established a credit transaction service using the new record-keeping technology, it said Monday.With the patent-winning technology, the card firm has established a blockchain-powered credit transaction process that enables various functions, such as setting a maximum spending limit, paying in monthly installments and completing payments between merchants and consumers. “Services using those key functions of credit cards will be extended to the blockchain-based system, a notable advancement from the status quo whereby most blockchain-based services available are limited to cash wiring or user identification for online transactions,” a Shinhan Card official said. “We obtained the patent about a year and a half after we initiated a feasibility study including technology reviews. We are seeking measures to make the patent valid in European countries, the U.S., Japan, China, Vietnam and Indonesia,” he added.Also no
Hana Financial Group Chief Future Innovation Officer Han Jun-seong, left, and senior officials from Woori Bank, KOSCOM, SK Telecom, KT, LG UPlus and Samsung Electronics hold copies of a signed memorandum of understanding at The Plaza Seoul, Autograph Collection, July 12. Courtesy of KEB Hana BankBy Lee Kyung-min A consortium of three financial services firms, three mobile carriers and a tech giant has forged a business partnership to launch a blockchain-based form of mobile identification in 2020, industry sources said Sunday. The participants are KEB Hana Bank, Woori Bank, KOSCOM, SK Telecom, KT, LG UPlus and Samsung Electronics. They will develop a technology to help establish a “self-sovereign identity,” a new form of identification that will remove the involvement of intermediaries ― mostly government-certified or publicly run entities that manage personal data ― thereby enabling individuals and organizations to assert their identity in online transactions. The consortium-developed mobile system will allow an individual to store key personal information including resi
Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoungBy Lee Kyung-min The nation's four financial groups have shown a strong performance overseas over the past two years, backed by their successful business portfolio diversification in Southeast Asia, data showed Sunday. According to CEO Lab, a business performance review website, the four ― Shinhan, KB, Hana and Woori ― reported a combined 490.9 billion won ($415 million) in net profit in 2018, a 64.3 percent increase from 298.8 billion won in 2016. Of the total, nearly half, or 48.1 percent was posted by Shinhan whose figure jumped to 236.1 billion won, a 105.4 percent increase from two years earlier. The strong performance was led by its lucrative subsidiaries in Vietnam and Japan.Woori Bank CEO Sohn Tae-seungShinhan Bank Vietnam saw 94.9 billion won, a 95.3 percent increase, and Shinhan Bank Japan 64.9 billion won, a 34.2 percent increase. The significant jump was due in large part to the successful operation of Shinhan Bank Vietnam, the largest foreign-invested financial firm there with over 30 branches serving about 900,000 locals s
Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung makes opening remarks at a job fair for new and experienced workers including participants of Shinhan Future's Lab, the bank-organized startup nurturing program at Shinhan L Tower in Seoul, July 12. Over 1,000 jobseekers and 37 firms attended the two-day event. Courtesy of Shinhan Bank
GETTYIMAGESBANKVolatility is biggest barrier for bitcoin to become legal tenderBy Lee Kyung-minAntonio Fatas, an economics professor at INSEADOpinion is still split over whether cryptocurrency is likely to become a legally recognized currency. While experts largely agree the high volatility will remain the largest barrier to making it a recognized currency, some expressed optimism that the currently underappreciated, new digital asset will inevitably be a part of regular payment systems in the future. Antonio Fatas, economics professor at INSEAD, described cryptocurrency exchanges as a market with very limited volume where some individual players seem to be able to move prices with strategies that are impossible in other financial markets. “There is also a lack of transparency about the functioning of some of the largest bitcoin exchanges,” Fatas said.The critical view comes as the bitcoin price recovered recently to over 16 million won ($13,800) on June 27 thanks to a series of moves to bring the virtual coin into the financial system. The price hovered around 14 million
By Lee Kyung-min Japan's export control of key materials needed to produce semiconductors and displays will deal a significant blow to Asia's fourth-largest economy, economists said Friday. “Given that semiconductors account for about 6 percent of the country's GDP, a 10 percent drop in the export volume could lead to a 0.6-percentage-point drop in the growth rate,” KB Securities Chief Economist Chang Jae-chul said. The concerns follow toughened export procedures effective July 4 involving three high-tech materials used in smartphone displays and chips including fluorinated polyimides, resists and hydrogen fluoride. Under the new requirement, Japanese exporters must seek approval with its authorities based on the number of contracts. This is a major “hassle,” given the previous rules allowed export of such materials sufficient for up to three years of production on a single approval. The KB economist said chipmaking ― Korea's pillar industry ― stands to lose the most due to the heavy reliance on Japanese materials.According to Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper,
By Lee Kyung-min With the introduction of a shorter workweek ― 52 hours from 68 ― from July 1, financial services firms have introduced various measures to improve productivity and minimize potential pitfalls. Under the new system, owners of businesses with more than 300 workers that fail to follow the revised law will be given a verbal warning.Those who ignore the verbal warning will face up to two years in prison or up to a 20 million won ($18,000) fine. But Businesses with fewer than 300 workers will be granted a six-month grace period. Woori Bank has launched a “Dos and Don'ts” campaign to give clear sguideline to senior and junior level workers.In May, the bank said after-work get-togethers should not necessarily involve drinking alcohol and let cultural activities count including watching movies or art performances. In June, workers were directed not to engage in matters relevant to work, and senior figures were ordered to go home early to let lower-ranking workers feel easy in following suit. In July,
KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin, third from right, poses with Myanmar's ambassador to Korea U Thant Sin, second from left, Myanmar's Construction Minister Han Zaw, third from left, and other officials in front of the bank's headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul, July 4. They have agreed to foster cooperation and exchanges in the area of housing finance. Courtesy of KB Kookmin Bank
Andy Xie / Korea Times file'Bitcoin is a gambling instrument for Chinese, Koreans and Japanese'By Lee Kyung-min Cryptocurrency will not be recognized as a legal currency due to its high volatility, with only a handful of exchange operators standing to gain, a noted global economist and financial market expert said Thursday. “Bitcoin is primarily a gambling instrument for Chinese, Koreans and Japanese,” Andy Xie, a vocal critic of the bitcoin craze, told The Korea Times. “Even though so many argue it could be used to replace the fiat currency, its huge volatility makes it impossible.”The former Morgan Stanley economist is well-known for having forecast the 1997-98 Asian currency crisis and has long warned that consequences will be much more severe than the 2008 global financial crisis due to what he calls fraud.“Cryptocurrency will never be recognized as legal currency, because the governments cannot issue bonds in that. Its volatility could bankrupt such a government,” he said. His critical view comes as the bitcoin price recovered recently to over