Business - The Korea Times

Heads of financial firms attend CES to scout AI opportunities beyond lending

Senior executives of major financial companies will attend CES 2026 in Las Vegas next month to explore how global artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can be applied to financial services, industry officials said Tuesday. KakaoBank will be the only Korean internet-only bank attending the event, while the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) will be the country's only bank to operate an exhibition booth. KB, Shinhan and Woori financial groups will also send CEOs and digital strategy teams. Financial firms’ growing presence at CES reflects their efforts to explore the future of finance and identify pathways for digital innovation, as earnings foundations come under pressure from a prolonged low-interest-rate environment and tighter regulations. According to KakaoBank, CEO Yun Ho-young, also known as Daniel Yun, will attend alongside members of the bank’s AI and strategy teams to monitor global technology trends. “CES 2026 will showcase AI agents, blockchain-based fintech solutions, AI-driven security technologies and on-device authentication, all of which are directly relevant to the

Dec 31, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Heads of financial firms attend CES to scout AI opportunities beyond lending

Woori Financial Chairman Yim Jong-yong to serve 2nd term

Woori Financial Group Chairman and CEO Yim Jong-yong has been nominated as the sole final candidate for the group’s top post as his first three-year term nears its end, the group said Monday. While Yim’s appointment will be confirmed at the shareholder meeting scheduled for March 2026, industry officials said he has virtually secured a second term, given the favor typically shown to the final candidate. The second tenure would last another three years, running through March 2029, and commence immediately at the end of his first term in March 2026. “The chairman was chosen as the only candidate following interviews with four contenders conducted by the executive candidate recommendation committee,” the group said. The four shortlisted candidates in early December were Yim, Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wan and two external candidates whose names were withheld for privacy reasons. The committee praised Yim’s success in expanding nonbanking portfolios, noting, “He successfully expanded into the securities business and acquired insurance companies.” It added, “Yim completed a compreh

Dec 29, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Woori Financial Chairman Yim Jong-yong to serve 2nd term

Mirae Asset eyes crypto asset exchange Korbit for acquisition

Mirae Asset Financial Group is considering an acquisition of Korbit, the fourth-ranked among Korea’s five digital asset exchanges, sparking speculation that the deal could shake up a market long dominated by Upbit and Bithumb, according to industry officials Monday. The Seoul-based financial group has been centering on traditional finance since its founding in the late 1990s and has no prior involvement in crypto-related businesses. The officials said Mirae Asset is in talks to acquire a 60.5 percent stake from NXC, Korbit’s largest shareholder, and a 31.5 percent stake from SK Planet, its second-largest shareholder. The combined 92 percent stake is estimated to cost between 100 billion won ($69.68 million) and 140 billion won. The potential purchase would be led by Mirae Asset Consulting, the group’s real estate and consulting affiliate, about 60 percent of which is controlled by founder Park Hyeon-joo and his wife. The consulting firm sits at the top of the group’s corporate structure, which spans securities, asset management, venture capital, life insurance and pension operatio

Dec 29, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Mirae Asset eyes crypto asset exchange Korbit for acquisition

Financial groups favor leadership continuity amid regulatory governance push

Major financial groups’ year-end CEO appointments at their subsidiaries are widely viewed as prioritizing continuity over bold reshuffles, despite broad-based organizational overhauls that have included the creation and expansion of teams focused on productive finance in line with the Lee Jae Myung government’s financial transformation drive, industry officials said Monday. Financial authorities, meanwhile, have raised concerns over entrenched practices in appointing financial holding group chairmen and CEOs and are preparing to launch a task force to overhaul corporate governance more broadly, heightening tensions across the financial sector. The four major financial groups — KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori — have a total of 52 subsidiary CEOs. Of these, 28 are set to see their terms expire by the end of the year, meaning more than half face renewal or replacement. As of Dec. 24, KB, Shinhan and Hana Financial Group have completed their appointments of subsidiary CEOs. Of the 18 executives subject to review, only five were replaced, while the remaining 13 were retained. At Woori Fi

Dec 29, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Financial groups favor leadership continuity amid regulatory governance push

Sharp won gain triggers $100 bill sellout at bank branch

A bank branch reported that $100 bills had sold out, with some investors buying them on expectations of a reversal in the recent sharp appreciation of the Korean won against the U.S. dollar, market watchers said Friday. Some say the incident is indicative of lingering skepticism over whether the foreign exchange (FX) authorities can stabilize the currency. It comes amid a lack of measures to fundamentally tackle structural issues dragging down the value of the Korean currency in the context of the receding power of the global reserve currency. According to a Hana Bank branch in Gangnam, southern Seoul, it ran out of $100 bills late Wednesday. The news made headlines after it posted a notice informing customers that U.S. currency was unavailable. The lender said the shortage was due to timing issues, adding that requests for additional dollar bills from headquarters had not been made in time. However, the episode fanned expectations among retail investors that strong demand for dollars would continue, with many of them seeking to buy the U.S. currency during what they consider a short-live

Dec 26, 2025By Lee Kyung-min

Sharp won gain triggers $100 bill sellout at bank branch

Domestic, foreign banks tap into wealth management to drive revenue diversification

Domestic and foreign lenders are intensifying their push into wealth management to secure new long-term growth drivers beyond traditional interest income, seeking to target high net worth older adults with senior-focused services and digital advisory platforms, market watchers said Friday. The competition is underpinned by demographic and income trends. According to KB Financial Group’s latest wealth report, the number of individuals with over 1 billion won ($694,000) in financial assets rose to 476,000 in 2025, up from 354,000 in 2020. Those with more than 30 billion won in financial assets recorded the fastest growth, increasing at an average rate of 12.9 percent each year. The collective move also comes as net interest margins face pressure from regulation, competition and rate volatility. Wealth management and trust services are emerging as a key source of sustainable growth. Hana Bank runs Club1, a flagship wealth management hub jointly operated with securities firms. It has steadily expanded its premium products to 207 private banking centers nationwide, staffed by 827 wealth ma

Dec 26, 2025By Lee Kyung-min

Domestic, foreign banks tap into wealth management to drive revenue diversification

Hana Financial teams up with Korea Senior Citizens Association to lead financial services for seniors

Hana Financial Group has partnered with the Korea Senior Citizens Association to strengthen financial security, convenience and long-term asset management for the country’s growing senior population, the group said Thursday. The move comes as Korea becomes a super-aged society and financial services are expanding beyond traditional banking to enhance seniors’ quality of life. The group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the association to better respond to demographic changes and provide comprehensive financial support tailored to seniors. The signing ceremony was held at the association headquarters in central Seoul, attended by association chairman Lee Joong-keun and Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo. The two agreed to identify joint initiatives, including the launch of products for association members such as pensions, senior-focused financial counseling and education, as part of a broader financial cooperation to improve their welfare. A key benefit of the partnership is tied to cards issued by Hana Card, the group’s subsidiary. Association members who sig

Dec 25, 2025By Lee Kyung-min

Hana Financial teams up with Korea Senior Citizens Association to lead financial services for seniors

Retail US equity investors lukewarm about gov't tax incentives

Kim, a 41-year-old office worker in Seoul who holds shares of major U.S. tech companies, said she would rather pay the tax than sell the stocks. “The recently rolled out tax exemption looks big in headlines, but it doesn’t come close to the upside I expect from the U.S. market,” she said, adding that she is not sure how the tax incentives can reverse a structural shift toward overseas assets. “This is obviously a short-term measure. I don’t think retail investors would return to the problem-fraught KOSPI market where large-cap market leaders like SK hynix shares are placed under a warning over a standard meant to curb short-term price manipulations by speculative forces. At least the U.S. equity does not have that kind of unreasonable, nonsensical and baffling market rules.” Another retail investor named Park, 35, who has steadily increased his U.S. equity investment over the past three years, is equally unconvinced. “This feels like a policy aimed at fixing the Korean currency weakening against the U.S. dollar using individual investors,” he said. “I think I speak for m

Dec 25, 2025By Lee Kyung-min

Retail US equity investors lukewarm about gov't tax incentives

FSC to launch on-site inspection of Shinhan Card following data leakage

The financial regulator said Wednesday it will conduct an emergency on-site inspection of major card issuer Shinhan Card, a day after the company reported a massive leakage of its partnered merchant operators' data. "If any leaks of personal financial information are found, such as bank account information, we plan to swiftly take follow-up measures in accordance with the related laws," the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a meeting held at the administrative office in Seoul. The FSC said it will also expand the inspection to other financial companies, if necessary, and take stern measures should there have been any serious lapses in their security systems. The move comes after Shinhan Card reported a data breach, with more than 190,000 suspected cases of partnered merchant operators' business and personal data being leaked. Shinhan reportedly said the data breach was not caused by hacking but was linked to misconduct by employees who sought to boost their new recruitment performances. The company has said the leaked information only included non-sensitive data, such as the nam

Dec 24, 2025By Yonhap

FSC to launch on-site inspection of Shinhan Card following data leakage

Korea's wealthy split over inheritance timing, asset allocation

High net worth individuals broadly share concerns that they are insufficiently prepared for inheritance and gifting, but sharp generational differences emerge over what drives conflict in asset transfers, according to a report published Wednesday by Hanwha Life’s Inheritance Solution Institute. Wealthy respondents in their 30s and 40s identified asset allocation as the primary source of tension, while those in their 60s and 70s focused more on the timing of wealth transfers. The report also revealed contrasting views on family business succession. The institute released “Journey of Wealth 2025,” its first in-depth study tracing the full life cycle of wealth, from accumulation to transfer through inheritance and gifting, viewed through a life-stage perspective. The study noted that Korea’s rapid economic growth has produced distinct generational experiences among grandparents, parents and children, resulting in fundamentally different attitudes toward wealth. Focusing on high net worth individuals in their 30s and 40s and those in their 60s and 70s — both pivotal age ranges for

Dec 24, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Banking & Finance