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Lee Kyung-min

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Knife-cut noodle soup tops list of biggest price hikes in Seoul’s dining-out staples

Kalguksu, a Korean noodle soup made with knife-cut noodles, recorded the steepest price increase among the popular dining-out menu items last month, data showed Sunday. Some have taken to characterize this as “noodle-flation,” a portmanteau of noodles and inflation, reflecting how the rising cost of living is hitting consumers through a dish long considered one of the most affordable options. According to data by the Korea Consumer Agency, as of last month, the average price of eight major restaurant menu items in Seoul rose 3.44 percent from December last year. Kalguksu showed the largest increase, climbing nearly 5 percent to 9,846 won ($6.7), up from 9,385 won during the same period. Some popular restaurants charge 11,000 won or more for a bowl. This is a more than 50 percent jump from October 2015, when the average cost of the dish was 6,545 won. The price hike is explained by the spike in global wheat costs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Samgyetang, a traditional Korean ginseng chicken soup, recorded the second-largest jump in dining-out prices. Its avera

Nov 23, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Knife-cut noodle soup tops list of biggest price hikes in Seoul’s dining-out staples
Banking & Finance

Hana Bank receives FSC commendation for infomation security

Hana Bank has received the Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman’s commendation for contributions to information protection in the finance sector, the lender said Thursday. The recognition came amid escalating cyber threats in the financial industry and subsequent calls for strengthened regulations to bolster digital data protection. The award is one of the most prestigious cybersecurity honors in Korea’s financial industry. Hana received the award during this year's Financial Information Security Conference at the Conrad Hotel in Seoul. The conference shared insights on financial security trends, technologies and policy developments. The company was recognized for strengthening efforts to adapt to the rapidly expanding digital financial environment. Also highly assessed were its effort to cultivate a culture of information protection through enhanced communication and collaboration, as well as building a multilayered security defense system designed to manage cyberthreats proactively. Hana also developed an advanced methodology in which the impact of information security is acc

Nov 20, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Hana Bank receives FSC commendation for infomation security
Economy

McKinsey & Co. appoints 3 new partners in Korea

McKinsey & Co. announced the promotion of three associate partners from its Korea office, the global consulting firm said Thursday. They are An Yu-jin, Yeom In-ji and Lew Jeong-hwa. An leads McKinsey’s electric power and natural gas practice in the Seoul office. With over a decade of experience in the energy sector, she has a comprehensive understanding of the critical challenges and evolving needs associated with energy transition. Leveraging her extensive expertise, she has successfully advised a broad range of clients both within Korea and globally, helping them navigate business transformation and identify new growth opportunities. She helped develop a global market entry strategy for offshore wind equipment manufacturers. Her other works include advising an energy developer on mid- to long-term growth strategies and business models for renewable energy and energy solutions. An also identified energy storage system opportunities and developed a U.S. market entry strategy for a power equipment manufacturer. She led a corporate-wide transformation across for one of the world’s larg

Nov 20, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
McKinsey & Co. appoints 3 new partners in Korea
Economy

Young salaried workers favor retirement age extension

Kim Sung-ho, 38, an office worker, said he is increasingly opening up to the idea of raising the retirement age. “A few years ago, I opposed extending the retirement age,” he said. “But now, living costs and housing prices are getting higher. I worry more about my own future. I think I will need a stable source of income until I get older. Extending retirement age isn’t about the older generation anymore. It’s about preparing for the future for my generation too.” Similarly, An Ju-young, a marketing assistant, 34, said income from being employed as a regular salaried worker is better than relying on the state-run pension payout. “My generation doesn’t trust the pension system. I think I speak for my generation when I say we don’t believe the national pension will support us by the time we get to the retirement age, given Korea’s superaged population and all that," she said. "That’s the hard truth and everyone knows it. If retirement age is pushed back, then at least we would have more years to earn monthly income and save for postretirement life. It’s more practi

Nov 19, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Young salaried workers favor retirement age extension
Banking & Finance

NH NongHyup Financial to conduct intense oversight of investment subsidiary amid reform drive

NH NongHyup Financial Group will conduct a thorough oversight into its investment subsidiary, NH Investment & Securities, in a first step to strengthen compliance across the group affiliates, the company said Wednesday. The two-week inspection scheduled from Nov. 24 to Dec. 5 will identify questionable employee conduct amid months of controversies involving misuse of undisclosed information for personal gains and falsifying official filings during initial public offerings (IPOs). NH NongHyup plans to strengthen monitoring systems, providing grounds for sanctions that would essentially bar perpetrators from continuing careers in the financial sector. The drive spearheaded by Chairman Lee Chan-woo seeks to restore the lost trust of the public, recently amplified by the head of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF), the group’s parent firm, involved in bribery allegations. “We will hire two law firms with extensive experience in financial regulation and compliance to redefine internal control,” NH NongHyup Financial Group chairman said. NACF Chairman Kang Ho-dong is s

Nov 19, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
NH NongHyup Financial to conduct intense oversight of investment subsidiary amid reform drive
Economy

Foreign spending in Gyeongju triples during APEC summit week

Foreign visitor spending in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, grew more than threefold during the week of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, compared with the same period last year, data showed Tuesday. The increase shows the high-profile diplomatic event led to greater economic activity in the southeastern part of the country, where the culturally rich city expected a boost in tourism demand from inbound travelers. According to data by Hana Card, foreign credit and debit card spending in Gyeongju exceeded 3.2 billion won ($2.1 million) between Oct. 27 and Nov. 2. That was up 210 percent from the same period a year earlier when the figure came to 1.04 billion won. The number of transactions stood at 41,322, more than doubling from 20,069 the previous year. At the top of the shopping list were beauty products, bolstered by a strong demand for K-beauty, defined by an emphasis on healthy skin care. Purchases totaled 102 million won, more than quadrupling last year’s 25 million won. Hotel and amenities spending surpassed 1.7 billion won, triple last year’s 537 million

Nov 18, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Foreign spending in Gyeongju triples during APEC summit week
Banking & Finance

Year-end gatherings fuel demand for group banking accounts

Kim Jin-a, 32, a marathon club leader, uses KakaoBank’s group account when buying T-shirts in bulk and paying race fees. “Our marathon club has to manage monthly race fees and team T-shirt costs. KakaoBank’s group account has helped me a lot.” The transparent records shared among members ensure there are no misunderstandings about how the collected funds are spent. “There’s no room for suspicion or doubt, since members can see where their money goes. Other expenses are also easily manageable. Without the group account, I would have had to check everything manually — a lot of time spent on work that often goes underappreciated.” Similarly, Lee Jun-seung, 39, an office worker, said Toss Bank’s group account Co-leader feature is very useful, since each leader’s daily spending is capped at 1 million won ($682). “My friends and I sometimes had disagreements in the past over one person — whoever was in charge at the time — spending too much on unnecessary things. This feature helps eliminate that risk," Lee said. All group members can monitor monthly fee contributions i

Nov 18, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Year-end gatherings fuel demand for group banking accounts
Economy

Assembly budget office voices concerns over declining added value of manufacturing

Korea’s manufacturing sector is expected to see its added-value growth weaken next year, eroded by the U.S. tariff shocks and intensifying competition with China, the parliamentary budget office said Monday. Meanwhile, the services sector is likely to offset the slowdown in traditional growth-driver industries in real value added. According to a report by the National Assembly Budget Office, real added value in manufacturing is expected to grow 1.5 percent in 2026, down from 1.8 percent this year. This is explained by the impact of U.S. tariff policies, compounded further by prolonged weakness in the construction industry. The automotive industry is facing a grim outlook due to softening global automobile demand and new U.S. tariffs targeting a key Korean export industry. The initial tariff on Korean cars was 25 percent, but a Korea-U.S. tariff agreement reached late last month reduced it to 15 percent. Meanwhile, real added value in the service sector is forecast to grow 2 percent next year, up from 1.4 percent this year, about 0.5 percentage points higher than in the manufacturing se

Nov 17, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Assembly budget office voices concerns over declining added value of manufacturing
Economy

Lee's inclusive growth drive pressures banks, raises questions about fairness

President Lee Jae Myung’s push for inclusive growth is pressuring banks, with questions lingering about fairness as well as the erosion of free market principles, market watchers said Monday. Central to the criticism is his repeated calls to cut interest rates for low-credit borrowers, a group of people required to pay higher rates in the current system, which he characterized as a “financial caste system.” This take has fueled debate about whether commercial lenders should continue to bear the burden and whether borrowers with relatively strong credit scores are being unfairly discriminated against despite their record of timely debt repayments. The debate followed Lee’s comment that banks should use part of their profits to support vulnerable borrowers — a step he said was crucial for expanding the role of finance, which has long been limited to government-backed programs such as "sunshine loans." These public-guarantee-mediated loans reduce interest rates by shifting default risk to the government, thereby allowing greater loan opportunities for vulnerable borrowers. Financi

Nov 17, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Lee's inclusive growth drive pressures banks, raises questions about fairness
Economy

Korean won expected to strengthen against dollar on Korea-US agreement, strong fundamentals

The Korean currency is expected to gain against the U.S. dollar, stabilized by the Korea-U.S. tariff agreement that outlined the export-reliant economy’s foreign exchange (FX) stability needs, market watchers said Friday. The exchange rate, which surged to 1,475 won per dollar, has been and will continue to improve, underpinned by Korea’s strong economic fundamentals, including higher-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP), recovering semiconductor exports and the narrowing interest rate differential between Korea and the U.S., according to analysts. According to financial market data, the won opened at 1,471.9 per dollar, up 4.2 won from the previous session, before later rising to 1,475 won. However, the rate later decreased to around 1,455 before noon, after finance minister Koo Yun-cheol vowed to “use available tools” to stabilize the currency volatility. This was the first verbal intervention by FX authorities since October. The won closed at 1,457 as of 3:30 p.m. Friday, 10.7 won stronger than the previous session. Further bolstering the currency was the release of the Ko

Nov 14, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Korean won expected to strengthen against dollar on Korea-US agreement, strong fundamentals
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