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Lee Kyung-min

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Economy

Student stresses importance of stakeholder-participatory ESG drive

Jung Gyu-seo, 27, the leader of a team whose policy proposal won first prize from Kakao and the Economic Justice Research Institute's Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), said that environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) drives empower stakeholder-participatory corporate culture. “I came to understand how stakeholder participation is increasingly becoming important through the CCEJ-organized citizen education program,” he said. Held from July 2 to July 23, the program was organized to help young people better understand international ESG policy trends and the best corporate practices of industry leaders. Students attended lectures and workshops on corporate social responsibility drives. The program offered education not only to university graduates seeking jobs but also to the underprivileged. The five-week program had four sessions, each with ESG-related lectures and job preparation training. Kakao officials gave lectures on the global rise of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the ESG sector, along with a tour of Kakao’s Pangyo office and high-

Jul 31, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Student stresses importance of stakeholder-participatory ESG drive
Economy

SME loan delinquency rates soar to 9-year high amid economic downturn

Delinquency rates of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loans extended by commercial lenders surged to the highest level in nine years, prompted by the prolonged economic downturn, market watchers said Wednesday. They say the rates will likely stay elevated in the latter half of the year, due to uncertainties in tariff negotiations between Korea and the United States. Korea’s large exporters are coming under price hike strains, which results in spillover onto their smaller business partner firms. According to financial market data, SME loan delinquency rates at the country’s four leading banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori — averaged 0.5 percent as of June. This is a slight uptick from 0.49 percent in March this year and 0.43 percent in September last year. The figure came in at 0.39 percent in June last year. Woori Bank had the highest rate at 0.59 percent, followed by Hana (0.54 percent), Shinhan (0.46 percent) and KB Kookmin (0.42 percent). Woori’s figure is the highest since the first quarter of 2019 and Hana’s figures are the highest since the first quarter

Jul 30, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
SME loan delinquency rates soar to 9-year high amid economic downturn
Economy

Ruling party's 'pro-labor' push draws concerns amid tariff uncertainties

The ruling bloc has been pushing what business groups describe as “pro-labor” bills with an aim to better protect workers and enhance minority shareholders’ rights. While the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) say these measures are necessary to improve working conditions and corporate governance, the management sector claims they will undermine their business activities. A DPK-led revision bill to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Union Act, also known as the “yellow envelope bill,” was passed at a subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee, Monday. The revision is aimed at expanding the definition of the employer to extend to subcontracted laborers at a work site and limiting companies’ claims for damages against losses caused by legitimate labor disputes. The DPK is moving to pass the revision during the extraordinary National Assembly session this month. In addition, the DPK passed the revised Commercial Act, an effort to protect minority shareholders, during the Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting. The

Jul 29, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Ruling party's 'pro-labor' push draws concerns amid tariff uncertainties
Economy

Banks struggle to adopt generative AI as cybersecurity concerns linger

Commercial lenders are finding it difficult to fully integrate generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into their financial services, impeded by the current regulation that prohibits the use of full, unencrypted personal credit information, market watchers said Monday. Local banks have embraced generative AI technologies to assess credit risk and employee assistance in customer consultation services. However, the risk of “hallucinations” lingers, essentially rendering the data unusable despite the sheer volume of rich datasets. “Generative AI adoption is a paradigm change,” a Woori Financial Group official said. “Full deregulation will help guarantee enhanced customer service and workflow efficiency, despite lingering unresolved cybersecurity and privacy risks.” The official said entry-level, or less experienced, employees will be able to reduce time needed for assisting customers, bolstering productivity. “We expect more AI-mediated services to boost our overall support capabilities.” The assessment comes amid delays in regulatory changes concerning the netw

Jul 29, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Banks struggle to adopt generative AI as cybersecurity concerns linger
Economy

More than half of foreign biz in Korea view management-labor relationship as 'confrontational'

More than half of foreign firms operating in Korea said management-labor relations remain confrontational, a survey showed Monday. This highlights continued concerns among foreign businesses that find hardline labor groups to be a major deterrent to expanding their presence in an otherwise attractive investment destination. According to a survey commissioned by the Federation of Korean Industries, out of 439 foreign-invested firms here with at least 100 employees, 52 percent view management-labor relations as “confrontational,” while 5 percent say the relationship is “very confrontational.” Only 7 percent of firms said relations seem “mutually cooperative.” Korea’s management-labor relations were seen as less cooperative than other advanced economies, the survey showed. Assuming Korea’s management-labor relations stand at 100, the figure was 122.0 for the U.S., followed by 120.8 for Germany and 115.0 for Japan. China’s figure came to 83.8. About 64 percent of the respondents said Korea’s labor market was not flexible, while only 2 percent said it was flexible. A flexibl

Jul 28, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
More than half of foreign biz in Korea view management-labor relationship as 'confrontational'
Economy

Digital Asset Basic Act proposed to bolster Korea as global leader of Web3: expert

Korea’s Digital Asset Basic Act can be aligned with European Union Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) requirements for transparency, custody and disclosure, facilitating cross-border access to tokenized markets, according to a blockchain-based settlement service provider expert. The Korean bill, proposed by Rep. Min Byoung-dug of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) in June, outlines the legal definition and regulatory framework of the digital asset industry. This bill defines digital assets as “electronically transferable” and “created and stored using distributed ledger technology.” It categorizes virtual assets into two main types: stablecoins and general digital assets. The bill seeks to provide clear guidelines on how digital assets should be treated in the legal system, regulations while ensuring transparency, security and accountability within the growing industry of digital assets. MiCA is a regulatory framework introduced by the EU to regulate digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Initially proposed in 2020, it was approved by the European Parliament in 20

Jul 26, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Digital Asset Basic Act proposed to bolster Korea as global leader of Web3: expert
Economy

Financial groups log record net income amid noninterest income portfolio diversification

The country’s four leading financial groups have registered record net income, underpinned by robust growth in noninterest incomes, market watchers said Friday. Shinhan Financial Group posted an all-time-high net income of over 3 trillion won ($2.1 billion) in the first half of this year. Interest income declines were offset by loan growth. Fee income from brokerage and investment banking services also helped. The group’s net income for the second quarter came to over 1.54 trillion won, up 8.7 percent from the previous year. The highest second-quarter figure was up 4.1 percent from the previous quarter. Its net income for the first six months came to over 3.03 trillion won, up 10.6 percent from a year earlier. The group said its strong net profit was explained by growth in loan assets, fees and securities trading, all part of noninterest incomes. “We had to beef up provisions amid economic slowdown. But one-off expenses such as equity-linked securities provisions were factored out, contributing to the strong first-half earnings.” Hana Financial Group also posted a net income of over

Jul 25, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Financial groups log record net income amid noninterest income portfolio diversification
Economy

Gov’t to bolster efforts to root out phishing scams

The government is establishing a pan-government control body in an organized effort to eradicate voice phishing crimes, the country’s top financial regulator said Friday. A monitoring center under the presidential office will take charge, supported by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the police to outline more effective countermeasures, including prevention measures. The police workforce will be strengthened to include specialized officers and investigators to provide more systematic, continuous victim support and perpetrator identification. Also mobilized will be the Presidential Secretary for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Future Planning as well as the Ministry of Science and ICT. The country’s three major telecom service providers will devise technical support. The FSC is seeking to set up an around-the-clock monitoring system among financial institutions, telecom service providers and law enforcement to detect and prevent voice phishing. The integrated system will expand the current fraud detection system (FDS), long limited to financial entities to monitor suspicious tr

Jul 25, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Gov’t to bolster efforts to root out phishing scams
Economy

Regional banks bolster support for low-credit foreign workers

Regional banks are rushing to roll out low-interest loans for foreign workers, a much-needed product for non-Korean borrowers with little credit history here, market watchers said Thursday. The so-called “thin filers” are those who find it difficult to use financial services in Korea, despite their contribution to the economy in remote non-Seoul regions grappling with severe labor shortages. Many find the borrowing costs here are low compared to their home countries, where only high-interest products are available. Jeonbuk Bank offers foreigner-only credit loans. Its interest rate is 13 percent, which one worker from Myanmar said was only 30 to 40 percent of what they had to pay in monthly interest to banks in their home country. In 2016, the North Jeolla Province-based bank became the first commercial lender in Korea to introduce credit loans for foreigners. "We saw strong borrowing demand from foreigners staying here on E-9 visas, which are issued for work in manufacturing, construction, agriculture and livestock industries," a JB Financial Group official said. Jeonbuk Bank is its s

Jul 25, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Regional banks bolster support for low-credit foreign workers
Economy

Will SK hynix shares continue to soar?

Opinions are split over whether SK hynix stock prices will continue to soar despite a year-to-date price increase of 56 percent, with many analysts betting the semiconductor powerhouse will maintain dominance in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, according to market watchers Wednesday. As of June, the firm’s market share stood in the 60 percent range, trailed by its global peers Micron and Samsung Electronics. On July 17, Goldman Sachs recommended underweighting for the firm, citing concerns about intensifying competition in the HBM market and price declines. This sent the share price down 9 percent, to around 260,000 won ($188), significantly lower than the previous high of 306,500 won, set July 11. Similarly, Hanwha Securities analyst Kim Kwang-jin said further price increases will be limited, with the possibility of a further downward price correction. “SK hynix is expected to retain its top position in the HBM market through next year, but competition will intensify. HBM output growth is projected to slow to 30 percent next year, significantly slower compared to the 90 percen

Jul 23, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Will SK hynix shares continue to soar?
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