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Yoon Ja-young

Korea Times AI content 1 team Reporter

Yoon Ja-young is in charge of articles translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times. She is interested in improving the newspaper through AI.

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Economy

Magnetic cardholders to be denied cash advances

By Yoon Ja-young People using credit cards with the conventional magnetic stripes without integrated circuit (IC) chips will be denied cash advance service or card loans at the ATMs from this Thursday, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said. It aims to prevent credit card frauds using counterfeit cards.The financial regulator said Sunday that people holding the outdated magnetic stripe credit cards should contact their card company and ask to switch to cards with IC chips. The credit cards in question have only a stripe of magnetic information affixed to the back, without the golden or silver color IC chip at the front.The measure was taken as magnetic stripe cards are considered vulnerable to fraud. Fraudsters can copy the information in the magnetic stripe to make a counterfeit card. The IC chips are more secure against fraud or hacking. Many countries have been switching to IC chip cards.The FSS said that the old cards with only magnetic stripes would still be valid for shopping. But holders will be denied cash advance services or card loans through ATMs.The financial r

Mar 1, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Economy

Surging household debt threatens economy

By Yoon Ja-youngHousehold debt is increasing at an alarming pace, as more people take out mortgages to buy homes.Economists say the government should control the level of household debt, which has risen to become the biggest threat to the economy.According to local banks, the balance of mortgage loans at the country’s seven major banks ― Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, Nonghyup, IBK and KEB ― stood at 319.9 trillion won as of the end of February, a 3.4 trillion won increase from December.This is more than 8.2 times when compared with last year when mortgage loans increased by 423 billion won for January and February.Banks explain that more people seem to be buying houses with mortgages due to soaring jeonse prices. Jeonse is Korea's unique property rental system in which tenants pay a lump sum deposit to a landlord at the start of a rental contract. The tenant gets the full deposit back at the end of the contract, which typically lasts two years.However, over the past few years, jeonse prices have been rising steeply, prompting more people to consider buying a house. A

Mar 1, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Economy

Workers getting older

By Yoon Ja-youngHan Young-geun, 65, who retired from a state-run enterprise a few years ago, got a new job at a landscaping firm. Though it is a low-paying, manual job, Han thinks he is lucky to maintain some income.With senior citizens like Han working after retirement and the overall aging of the population, the country’s workforce is getting older.According Statistics Korea, the average age of those in the country’s workforce was 44.2 last year, up 0.2 from the previous year.The average age of the workforce has been rising each year, from 41.1 in 2004 to 42 in 2006 and 43.1 in 2010. That contrasts with 1974, when the average age was 36.3 and those in their 30s made up most of the workforce.  The rise reflects the reality that most Koreans cannot stop working, even after retirement, because they are not financially prepared.Last year, the number of employed people 65 or older increased by 105,000 to more than 2 million for the first time.The number of workers aged 55 to 64 was 4.1 million last year, up 284,000 from the previous year. The number of workers in t

Feb 27, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Economy

National Pension, companies at odds over dividends

By Yoon Ja-youngChoi KwangNPS chiefThe state-run National Pension Service’s call for conglomerates to pay greater dividends to shareholders is facing fierce opposition from business circles.The state pension fund is entitled to exercise its right to intervene in management of major companies as a major shareholder, but experts say that it is not an adequate cure.  The fund management committee of the National Pension Fund held a meeting Thursday to discuss a diverse agenda, including measures to pressure businesses with low dividend payout ratios to increase their payouts. Chaired by the health and welfare minister, the committee is comprised of representatives from pension subscribers, the business community and financial experts.  However, the meeting ended with business representatives walking out, saying the proposed measures will interfere with corporate management.  The National Pension is a huge investor in the Korean bourse, taking 6 percent of the total market cap. It is a major shareholder with more than a 5 percent stake in 266 firms.Dividends from tho

Feb 27, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
National Pension, companies at odds over dividends
Economy

Korea initials FTA with China

Two sides seeking to sign agreement by end of JuneBy Yoon Ja-young Korea has initialed a free trade agreement (FTA) with China.The initialing came three months after the end of FTA negotiations; but the deal still needs approval from the respective legislatures.The government wants to ratify the pact by the end of this year.“The two countries agreed to work for the official signing of the pact within the first half of the year,” said Deputy Trade Minister Woo Tae-hee, Wednesday.Following the deal, Korea will eliminate tariffs on 92 percent of imported items from China within the next 20 years. China will scrap tariffs on 91 percent of items imported from Korea, within the same period.The deal makes Korea the only major economy to sign an FTA with the world’s three biggest economies ― the U.S., China and the EU.The government said the deal would help Korea secure a foothold in a huge market whose GDP had been growing by more than 7 percent a year. Korean goods make up 9.7 percent of China’s import market, followed by Japan at 8.3 percent and the U.S.

Feb 25, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Korea initials FTA with China
South Korea

President faces tough test on structural reform

President Park Geun-hye stands with CEOs of major conglomerates ahead of a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. From left are Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, Park, Doosan Yonkang Foundation Chairman Park Yong-hyun, Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun, CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, Eagon Industrial Chairman Park Young-ju, and Naver Chairman Lee Hae-jin. During the meal, they discussed ways to boost competitiveness in the culture and sports industries. / YonhapBy Yoon Ja-youngWith three years left in her term, President Park Geun-hye’s administration should focus on forming a virtuous circle in the economy through structural reform, economists advise. They also cite consensus on social welfare and preparation for the aging population as pressing issues.  “There is a reason why welfare has become the topic of our time. There should be consensus on welfare, and that welfare is an investment. Then the whole of society should discuss and choose among the options ― whether to pay less tax and get less w

Feb 24, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
President faces tough test on structural reform
Economy

KB subsidiaries getting spotlight for achievements

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo speaks with young employees in this file photo. Subsidiaries of the group have been in the spotlight for changes and achievements made since his inauguration. / Korea Times fileBy Yoon Ja-young After a successful reshuffle by KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, the group’s subsidiaries are getting the spotlight for changes and achievements.KB Savings Bank is expanding loans to diverse groups such as low-income earners and those with poor credit ratings, as well as corporate executives and employees and the self-employed, at lower interest rates than its competitors. The bank got an award from the Financial Supervisory Service last year for active financing for the working class.KB Capital, meanwhile, is seeing steep growth in auto financing. It signed an MOU with India’s Mahindra Group, the biggest shareholder of Ssangyong Motor, to set up a joint capital company last April. It is expected to create significant synergy. It was also designated as the official financier for Jaguar Land Rover Korea.The company is also f

Feb 24, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Economy

Housing market recovery to continue

A woman walks past a real estate agency in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, in this file photo taken on Feb. 11. The housing market is expected to extend amodest recovery on government steps to boost the real estate market. / YonhapBy Yoon Ja-youngCha Ju-young, who works at a bank in Seoul, recently bought an apartment on a mortgage in downtown Seoul. He decided to do so when his homeowner requested him to pay 130 million won more as a jeonse deposit, up from the current 300 million.Jeonse is Korea’s unique rental system where a tenant gives the landlord a large fixed-sum deposit over a rent period of typically two years. At the expiration of the contract, the landlord is obliged to return the full amount back to the tenant.Jeonse prices have been soaring during the past few years as many people chose to live in such a house instead of buying one, on the pessimistic outlook for the real estate market.Now, however, jeonse price has risen so much that it is pressuring people to buy instead.In the case of Cha, the price of the 106 square meter house stands at around 530 million won. As

Feb 17, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Housing market recovery to continue
Economy

Shinhan Bank seeking leadership in FinTech

A Shinhan Bank employee demonstrates how to use an electronic filing service (EFS), which enables customers to subscribe to diverse financial products via tablets. / Courtesy of Shinhan BankBy Yoon Ja-youngFinTech, or financial technology, is expected to change the landscape of the financial industry. Online platform leaders ranging from messenger and social networking services (SNS) to online shopping malls and game sites are jumping into the arena, while global ICT companies from the United States and China are seeking advancement into Korea’s payment and settlement market through alliances with local players.Shinhan Bank, which has been leading innovation in the country’s financial industry, is seeing FinTech as a new opportunity.The bank jointly launched “My Shinhan Pay” with a payment gateway company in July, for the first time among local banks. With the service, customers can directly make payments from their bank account using the Shinhan S Bank application in their smartphones, without having to carry cards or cash.It also started USIM smart authentic

Feb 16, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
Shinhan Bank seeking leadership in FinTech
Economy

Bubble brewing up on rising Chinese investment in Jeju

By Yoon Ja-youngForeigners, led by the Chinese, have steadily invested in properties on Jeju Island and now own 0.9 percent of Korea’s largest resort island.But analysts and residents are concerned that unrestricted foreign investment could trigger developments that damage the environment and cause steep rises in property prices.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Thursday that foreigners owned 234.7 million square meters of land in Korea as of 2014, which is a 3.9 percent increase on the previous year. The total value of the land is 33.6 trillion won.More than half the investors were ethnic Koreans with foreign nationalities, while corporations took more than 40 percent.By nationality, 52.8 percent of investors were from the U.S., 10.9 percent from the EU, 7.3 percent from Japan and 5.6 percent from China.Most notable was the Chinese investment in Jeju Island, which boosted the foreign purchase of land there by 51.6 percent, with 0.9 percent now belonging to foreigners.Jeju has been encouraging foreign real estate investment. For instance, foreigners invest

Feb 12, 2015By Yoon Ja-young
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