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Lee Kyung-min

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KB Financial Group to set up 'infra fund' for balanced growth, youth job creation

KB Financial Group will set up a 1 trillion won ($688 million) infrastructure fund to support advanced industries, reduce regional inequality and create quality jobs for young people, as part of its growing role in financing Korea’s long-term economic growth, the company said Thursday. The initiative supports the government’s 150 trillion won national growth fund plan and its regional balanced growth strategy, widely known as “five growth poles, three special zones.” The strategy seeks to establish key regional hubs, in a shift from decades of Seoul-centric growth to a more sustainable model. The fund will focus on long-term national infrastructure projects and help attract additional private investment. KB said the new fund, called the KB Kookmin growth infrastructure fund, will be fully financed by KB’s major affiliates, becoming one of the largest infrastructure funds in Korea funded within a single financial group. It will adopt a closed-end structure designed to reduce short-term profit volatility. It will also allow for stable, long-term capital deployment, managed by the

Feb 19, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
KB Financial Group to set up 'infra fund' for balanced growth, youth job creation
Others

International traveler spending up 30%, non-Seoul transactions rise

International travelers to Korea spent more last year, with the increase in consumption spreading outside the Seoul area, data showed Sunday. This indicates that tourist spending is no longer limited to iconic landmarks in Seoul but rather becoming a growing part of the country’s regional economy. According to Orange Square, the operator of the foreigner-only payment platform WowPass, it reached 1.97 million users in 2025, up 33 percent from 1.48 million the previous year. This is far faster than the 15.7 percent increase in the number of inbound foreign tourists. Total transaction volume and number of payments also increased 29 percent and 26 percent, respectively. Average spending per visitor remained stable, meaning more tourists are making frequent small-scale transactions rather than occasional high-value purchases. Seoul, which accounted for 89 percent of transactions in 2023, saw its share drop to 83 percent last year, while 17 percent took place in regions outside the capital, up from 11 percent. Restaurants, cosmetics and clothing were among the most popular spending categories,

Feb 18, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
International traveler spending up 30%, non-Seoul transactions rise
Others

Foreign holdings in Korean shares double amid KOSPI rally

Foreign investors nearly doubled their Korean stock holdings to 1,327 trillion won ($916 billion) in 2025, compared to 673 trillion won the previous year, buoyed by a 75 percent surge in the benchmark KOSPI, data showed Sunday. Their share of total market capitalization rose to 30.8 percent, up from 27 percent, led mostly by U.S. investors. Artificial intelligence (AI)-related sectors, especially semiconductors and electronics, drove much of the gains, despite net foreign sales of 9.2 trillion won. Foreign investors were able to realize near 100 percent gains despite overall net selling, as they heavily favored AI-related stocks, which rose more than 120 percent. According to financial market data, the U.S. investors held a total of 546 trillion won worth of Korean stocks, followed by the U.K. (144 trillion won), Singapore (88 trillion won), Luxembourg (70 trillion won) and Ireland (58 trillion won). The Cayman Islands, widely known as a tax haven, accounted for 30.3 trillion won. U.K. and Cayman-based investors favored high-frequency trading, while U.S. investors focused on long-term hol

Feb 18, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Foreign holdings in Korean shares double amid KOSPI rally
South Korea

Divorce rate goes up after national holidays due to family conflict, mental stress

Divorce filings tend to rise in the months following days of family gatherings, prompted by holiday-related stress and years of underlying tensions that remain unresolved, data showed Sunday. Many say divorce rarely results from a single event. Rather, major holidays that heighten pressure lead to a spike in mental stress that both spouses had previously kept unaddressed. A growing number of couples are choosing permanent separation, saying it is “not worth it” to try to have a conversation once they have reached the point where they no longer want to talk to each other. According to 2024 marriage and divorce statistics released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the total number of divorces last year remained in the low-90,000 range. What was notable was that January through March — which generally includes the Lunar New Year holiday — saw a relatively higher share of annual divorce filings than other months. January alone made up nearly 9 percent of the annual total. Couples married five to nine years accounted for the largest share of divorces, followed by those married fou

Feb 15, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Divorce rate goes up after national holidays due to family conflict, mental stress
Others

Activist funds ramp up pressure on listed firms ahead of March shareholder meetings

A growing number of activist funds are seeking to launch a coordinated campaign to strengthen shareholder returns in the areas of boardroom decision-making, capital allocation policies and executive pay structures, market watchers said Sunday. The collective move comes ahead of next month's upcoming shareholder meetings where corporate governance is set to emerge as a major minority shareholder rights issue. Together with the ongoing revision to the Commercial Act — characterized by strengthened corporate governance and enhanced shareholder rights — many say shareholder activism will take center stage in the coming weeks, led by not only domestic activist funds but also foreign hedge funds. According to the financial investment industry, two domestic funds — Align Partners Capital Management and Truston Asset Management — and the U.K.-based Palliser Capital are calling for greater shareholder returns. Align Partners has pressed for what it calls “normalization” of shareholder returns at DB Insurance, a non-life insurer, and APlus Asset Advisor, a non-life and life insurance s

Feb 15, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Activist funds ramp up pressure on listed firms ahead of March shareholder meetings
Others

Hahn & Company sells SK Shipping’s Korea wet tanker business to Pan Ocean for $668 mil.

SK Shipping signed an agreement with Pan Ocean to sell its Korea wet tanker business for $668 million, Hahn & Company said, Thursday. The company, Korea’s largest private equity firm, acquired SK Shipping in 2018. SK Shipping will sell 10 very large crude oil carriers (VLCCs) to Pan Ocean under long-term, secured contracts to import crude oil into Korea. The 10 VLCCs being sold are currently deployed under long-term crude transportation contracts with major domestic shippers. Those contracts will also be transferred to Pan Ocean as part of the transaction. SK Shipping said it plans to use the proceeds from the deal to secure new growth drivers and strengthen its future business portfolio. Hahn & Company has transformed the shipping firm into one of the most profitable transportation companies globally by focusing on servicing secured, long-term contracts while suspending speculative spot market operations. Since the acquisition, the private equity firm has shifted the company’s business structure away from segments highly sensitive to freight rate volatility to more stable operations.

Feb 12, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Hahn & Company sells SK Shipping’s Korea wet tanker business to Pan Ocean for $668 mil.
Others

Hana Financial Group declares consumer protection charter

Hana Financial Group unveiled a group-wide consumer protection charter, in a move to elevate consumer protection as the top priority to strengthen corporate governance, the group said Thursday. The charter seeks to integrate consumer protection into the group’s decision-making, risk management and corporate culture across all affiliates, as well as expanded board oversight. The strategy will in turn strengthen accountability and establish consumer trust as a defining driver of its long-term competitiveness, Hana said. The charter was announced at a ceremony attended by Chairman Ham Young-joo, the heads of its affiliates, chief consumer officers and employees. “Consumer protection is our top priority and our core competitive strength,” Ham said. “As trust is the essence of finance, this charter must not remain a declaration. All employees must unite and ensure it is put into practice. We will move beyond compliance-driven mandates and foster a company-wide mindset that places consumer rights and interests at the center of all operations.” The charter outlines five core commitment

Feb 12, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Hana Financial Group declares consumer protection charter
Others

Social infrastructure, education investment outside Seoul critical to social mobility: BOK

Expanding social infrastructure and dramatically increasing education investment in regional areas beyond Seoul are critical to boosting social mobility and helping break the cycle of inherited poverty, a central bank report said Wednesday. The latest Bank of Korea (BOK) paper highlighted the need for structural reform to mitigate deepening regional disparities that undermine national cohesion and exacerbate low birthrates. The findings renew the warning that Korea’s Seoul-centered development model is no longer sustainable, with accelerated social and economic divides cementing demographic decline. The central bank found that children born in non-Seoul regions saw their incomes and assets grow if they moved to the Seoul metropolitan area. Children born in the Seoul area also tend to move up in social class when they move within the Seoul metropolitan region, especially if they come from low-income families. However, those who moved only between cities or provinces outside the capital region saw far weaker prospects in income and asset growth. “Housing in Seoul is expensive, so many lo

Feb 11, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Social infrastructure, education investment outside Seoul critical to social mobility: BOK
Others

Korea Eximbank to extend $103 bil. export financing amid growing trade uncertainty

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) Chairman and CEO Hwang Ki-yeon pledged on Wednesday to mobilize the bank’s full policy capacity to help small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) weather mounting global trade uncertainties, aided by a financial support package that will revitalize exports, bolster regional economies and secure Korea’s strategic industries. Marking his 100th day in office, Hwang held a press conference at the Korea Federation of Banks building in central Seoul to outline policy goals to overcome what he described as a “trade crisis” and to foster a healthy industrial ecosystem where not only large conglomerates but SMEs are able to seek support. Central to the drive is a strengthened policy package for exporters worth 150 trillion won ($103 billion), designed to help firms struggling with heightened geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions and slowing global demand, as well as artificial intelligence (AI) transformation. “We will concentrate all of our policy capabilities on overcoming trade challenges, building a robust industrial ecosystem

Feb 11, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea Eximbank to extend $103 bil. export financing amid growing trade uncertainty
Others

Labor union blocks new IBK head from entering office over wages

Chang Min-young, the new Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) head, remains blocked from entering the bank’s headquarters in Seoul amid disputes with the state-run lender’s union over unpaid overtime wages and demands that they be exempt from the government-imposed total wage cap system, market watchers said Tuesday. Authorities reportedly prefer paying the roughly 780 billion won ($580 million) in unpaid wages over time to ease the impact on IBK’s capital. However, the union has rejected this, claiming that installment payments only exacerbate what they consider “ongoing wage theft.” As for the wage cap, the Financial Services Commission is in a bind due to fairness concerns. The cap applies broadly to state-run institutions, so granting the IBK union’s labor demands could trigger opposition from other entities that have long complied with budget limits. According to the financial market, the IBK union has blocked Chang from entering bank headquarters for 19 days. Chang maintains that discussions with the government are underway and progress is being made in forming “a broad con

Feb 10, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Labor union blocks new IBK head from entering office over wages
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