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Lee Kyung-min

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Banking & Finance

NTS Seoul office head named as tax commissioner

Kim Hyun-junBy Lee Kyung-min National Tax Service (NTS) Seoul Regional Office head Kim Hyun-jun, 51, has been designated as the new NTS commissioner, the tax agency said Wednesday.Kim has led key departments including investigation, tax revenue management and legal affairs. His past performance has helped crack down on overseas tax evasion and various other forms of tax dodging through exploiting legal loopholes. Kim was given a high evaluation for his previous work such as securing tax revenue by incentivizing those who pay taxes on time. He worked at the Tax and Customs office under the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Tax Tribunal under the Prime Minister's Office and served various senior positions that require leadership, effective management and coordination among related government offices. His noted performance includes a crackdown on overseas tax evasion committed by owners of large conglomerates and their family members as well as multinational companies in July 2017 when he was the head of the NTS investigation department. Kim has a reputation for maintaining high e

May 29, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
NTS Seoul office head named as tax commissioner
Banking & Finance

KB strengthens pension service

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyooBy Lee Kyung-min KB Financial Group will set up a control tower to strengthen its pension service and better serve individual customers in Korea's fast-aging society, the group said Tuesday. The envisioned unit will be set up under the group's wealth management division to map out a clear, common strategy to be shared among its four subsidiaries ― banking, non-life insurance, securities and credit cards. The subsidiaries will each have a new pension planning unit. The group said that profit generation via development of new products will be boosted by closer cooperation among the group's key subsidiaries as well as its investment banking units. It plans to develop new products fully capitalizing on digital transformation, granting real-time, fuller access to customers without geographical limitations or restrictions. One-on-one consultations will be available throughout the subscription period to help customers better understand how their investments are managed. The group will hire experts on different types of pension payout programs to con

May 28, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
KB strengthens pension service
Banking & Finance

Will gov't win ISD suit over Lone Star?

By Lee Kyung-min Opinions are divided over whether the recent win of Hana Financial Group against Lone Star Funds bodes well for the ongoing, higher-stakes dispute suit involving the Korean government and the U.S.-based private equity fund. The government maintains the suit may help or at least not hurt the case, but industry watchers and lawyers caution against any rash conclusions given little information is available of the highly secretive proceedings. On May 15, Hana Financial Group said it won an international arbitration case against the U.S. buyout fund over its purchase of the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), later acquired by the group to become KEB Hana Bank. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) found in favor of Hana Financial, dismissing Lone Star's claim of “fraud, duress and mistakes.”The ruling came nearly three years after Lone Star filed the suit seeking over $1.4 billion (1.6 trillion won) against the financial group saying the latter cut the buyout price of KEB, citing government pressure. John Grayken, Lone Star Funds chairman / Korea Times fileIn a

May 27, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Will gov't win ISD suit over Lone Star?
Banking & Finance

'I will strive to become best in Asia'

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, fifth from right, and Mey Ponlok, fifth from left, an official at KB Daehan Specialized Bank (KDSB) in Cambodia, pose with and his colleagues from the KDSB at the welcoming ceremony at the KB headquarter in Seoul May 20. Courtesy of KB Kookmin CardBy Lee Kyung-min Mey Ponlok, 32, a Legal & Compliance officer team head at KB Daehan Specialized Bank (KDSB) in Cambodia, a subsidiary of KB Kookmin Card, said his understanding about KB Financial Group's vision has been greatly enhanced following a recent workshop.“I was able to share the group's corporate vision which is to become the best in Asia in all financial sectors,” he said. Eight other employees from the Cambodian subsidiary came to Korea for a weeklong workshop that began May 20. They underwent a special training program on risk management, auto finance, digitization and credit card marketing. “When I return home, I will share my knowledge and experience from this workshop with all KDSB staff to help them understand the mission and vision of KB,” he said. Po

May 27, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
'I will strive to become best in Asia'
Banking & Finance

Woori to strengthen service in Cambodia

By Lee Kyung-min Woori Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with Wing, a leading mobile banking service provider in Cambodia, to better serve Cambodians living here, the bank said Monday.The move is part of Woori's strategy to strengthen its presence in the Southeast Asian country and identify a new source of growth amid the domestic market fast nearing saturation. Through the cooperation, the bank plans to offer a real-time currency remittance service between the two countries in the latter half of 2019.Cambodians living in Korea will be able to use the service after downloading an app created by the bank. The service will be available to those who visit the bank, or via an ATM by entering a cell phone number or bank account number. The service will help pay back loans taken out by foreigners from WB Finance, a Phnom Penh-based Woori corporate entity in Cambodia set up in 2003. “Over 40,000 Cambodians live here in Korea, and the number is rising steadily,” a Woori official said. “Closer cooperation with Wing and WB Finance will help Cambodians here use fin

May 27, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Woori to strengthen service in Cambodia
Banking & Finance

KB strengthens ties with O2O startups

KB Financial Group Chief Digital Innovation Officer Han Dong-whan, fifth from left, pose with heads of fintech firms at Korea Fintech Week 2019 in Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, May 23. Courtesy of KB Financial GroupBy Lee Kyung-min KB Financial Group plans to launch Liiv, a comprehensive, cloud-based digital service platform, in the latter half of 2019, a group official said Friday. “We are reviewing specifics concerning legal matters, and the service will be launched after July,” a KB official said. The development of the online-to-offline (O2O) platform undertaken by six firms ― mostly fintech startups ― seeks to expand CLAYON, the group's current platform with limited data on group subsidiaries. “We provide technological infrastructure and overall guidance for the firms to create a platform that can enhance customer experience and convenience. Profits will be put back into development to strengthen customer service,” he said. The envisioned platform will enable customers to make reservations and receive information on a regular or request-based basis on

May 24, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
KB strengthens ties with O2O startups
Economy

Review begins for internet-only bank approval

Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Choi Jong-kuBy Lee Kyung-min An ad-hoc review committee has begun the screening process to review whether to issue two consortiums a preliminary license to run internet-only banks, the financial authorities said Friday.The two are led each by Kiwoom Securities, an online brokerage services provider, and Toss, a mobile money transfer app owned by Viva Republica. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) chose seven members with expertise in finance, legal, consumer protection, fintech, accounting, IT security and risk management to conduct a three-day review to determine whether their business proposals meet the requirements. Factors taken into account will include paper screening, a prior FSS review and presentation by the two scheduled for Saturday. The whole process will be kept confidential including the personal information of the committee members. Six evaluation criteria include innovation (35 percent), stability (20 percent), inclusiveness (15 percent), financing plan (10 percent), infrastructure and human resources (10 percent) and s

May 24, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Review begins for internet-only bank approval
Economy

For low-carbon economy

Government leaders hold copies of a memorandum of understanding signed to boost efforts to invigorate the carbon emissions trading market at the Korea Exchange in Seoul, May 24. From left are Korea Exchange Chairman & CEO Jung Ji-won, Korea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-gull, Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) Chairman Kim Do-jin. Courtesy of IBK

May 24, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Economy

Bad loans weigh on banks, card firms

By Lee Kyung-min An increasing number of small- and medium-sized enterprises and low-income households are failing to make interest payments on time, a sign that these relatively vulnerable groups are beginning to feel the pinch of the economic slowdown. According to the nation's three major commercial banks ― Shinhan, KEB Hana and KB Kookmin ― and the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), the default rate for SME loans has increased over the past few months. The IBK saw the highest default rate in the first quarter of 0.61 percent in March 2019, up from 0.53 percent at the end of 2018. KB Kookmin Bank saw the rate jump to 0.31 percent from 0.26 percent in December. A year earlier, the rate was 0.22 percent. KEB Hana's rate rose to 0.48 percent from 0.41 percent during the same period, while the comparable rate for Shinhan was 0.34 percent, up from 0.29 percent.Korea Institute of Finance (KIF) researcher who refused to be named said the rising default rate is a byproduct of stricter lending rules for consumer loans.The Moon Jae-in administration's anti-speculation measures, inclu

May 23, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Bad loans weigh on banks, card firms
Politics

Financial firms strengthen foothold in South East Asia

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min A growing number of financial services firms have expanded their overseas branches in Southeast Asia, a key untapped region President Moon Jae-in is seeking to help local firms enter. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Thursday, the firms opened 15 new outlets in the region, while closing nine.Of the 437 branches in 43 countries, 15 were set up in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia in 2018. Korea Investment and Securities and Mirae Asset Daewoo established corporate entities in Indonesia and Singapore, respectively while Kiwoom Investment and Securities opened a branch in Vietnam. The increase in the number of corporate entities and branches has translated into a jump both in their assets and net profits. They reported a combined $179 billion in total assets in 2018, a 14 percent increase, or $21.8 billion in 2018, from the year before. Branches in the U.S. reported the highest amount ($61 billion), followed by China ($32.5 billion) and Hong Kong ($17.9 billion).The FSS said it will help boost cooperation with the financial aut

May 23, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Financial firms strengthen foothold in South East Asia
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