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Senior US Treasury official meets fintech leaders in Korea

Brian Nelson, the U.S. Treasury Department's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, meets KakaoBank CEO Yun Ho-young at the Pangyo headquarters of the internet-only lender, June 29. YonahpA senior U.S. Treasury Department official has met with leaders of Korean fintech service industries.Brian Nelson, the U.S. Treasury Department's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, visited the Pangyo headquarters of internet-only lender KakaoBank, Tuesday, and met with KakaoBank CEO Yun Ho-young, Naver Financial CEO Park Sang-jin and Fintech Center Korea chief Byun Young-han. "I met with FinTech leaders #KakaoBank, #Naver, and the Fintech Center Korea today in #Pangyo to learn about Korea's innovative tech and regulatory sandbox policy," Nelson tweeted Tuesday.Pangyo ― Korea's answer to Silicon Valley ― is home to many technology companies, including KakaoBank and internet portal operator Naver.Nelson visited KakaoBank and was briefed on Korea's fintech industry and KakaoBank's overall business operations, a KakaoBank official said, without giving any furthe

Jun 29, 2022
Senior US Treasury official meets fintech leaders in Korea

KB Kookmin Bank to co-lead JFK airport project financing

The headquarters of KB Kookmin Bank located on Seoul's financial district Yeouido / Courtesy of KB Financial GroupBy Anna J. ParkKB Kookmin Bank announced Wednesday that it will jointly lead a financing project for constructing the New Terminal One (NTO) at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The Seoul-based lender said it will be leading the project financing deal along with other global partners, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and ING Bank.According to the bank, the participating financial companies jointly form a loan syndication of $6.6 billion, through which a group of lenders fund various portions of the loan needed for the rebuilding construction. KB Kookmin Bank submitted a co-financing commitment letter, vowing to support $300 million of the loan. The bank explained that the co-leading of the project financing is the result of a strategic alliance between KB Financial Group and the Carlyle Group signed in 2020. The Carlyle Group is a key financier covering the costs for the JFK redevelopment plan. “Through

Jun 29, 2022By Anna J. Park
KB Kookmin Bank to co-lead JFK airport project financing

Meritz Asset CEO offers to quit amid controversy

Meritz Asset Management CEO John Lee / YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungMeritz Asset Management CEO John Lee has offered to step down following allegations that he violated the capital market law while managing the firm's peer-to-peer (P2P) private equity fund.Lee has led the asset management firm since 2014 and extended his term three times. His current term expires at the end of March next year, but he appears to have chosen to resign from the post to take responsibility for the controversy.The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is still investigating the company as well as Lee to look into whether the CEO breached the law by making Meritz invest in a P2P real estate firm. His wife holds a 6.57-percent stake in the company and Lee is suspected of using a borrowed name for the stake investment.Meritz declined to comment on why Lee abruptly decided to resign. It also remains unclear whether the company will accept his resignation.Lee is best known for his appearance on major TV shows after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, where he advised more people to jump into the stock investment. He

Jun 29, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Meritz Asset CEO offers to quit amid controversy

Int'l tribunal brings to close decade-long Korea-Lone Star dispute

A sign indicating the location of Lone Star Fund's former Korean office at the Star Tower in Seoul / Korea Times fileAn international tribunal declared an end to all proceedings in a multi-billion dollar suit U.S. private equity firm Lone Star filed against Korea's government 10 years ago over disputes surrounding its asset sell-off, according to the justice ministry Wednesday.The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes declared the "termination of the proceeding" on the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) between Lone Star and Korea, paving the way for a verdict as soon as within 120 days.Lone Star filed the suit in November 2012 to seek $4.68 billion in compensation from the government, claiming that its 2007 plan to sell a controlling stake in the now-defunct Korea Exchange Bank to HSBC fell through because Seoul's financial regulatory authorities unreasonably delayed approval of the deal.The firm claimed it ended up selling off the KEB stake for a margin much smaller than what it could have gained from the botched deal. Lone Star eventually sold the stake

Jun 29, 2022
Int'l tribunal brings to close decade-long Korea-Lone Star dispute

INTERVIEW NH Investment & Securities accelerating growth in Hong Kong

NH Investment & Securities' Hong Kong subsidiary CEO Lee Jung-soo / Korea Times photo by Kim Bo-eunHong Kong subsidiary accounts for over 80 percent of securities firm's overseas earningsBy Kim Bo-eunHONG KONG ― Korean financial firms are seeking to expand overseas operations as they face limits in the domestic market. But as relative latecomers and foreign entities, overseas expansion has proven a difficult task due to substantial barriers to entering overseas markets that are dominated by larger existing players. NH Investment & Securities, which has been in Hong Kong since 1994, has managed to beat the odds and establish itself in the local market. The securities firm was formerly owned by the conglomerate, LG, and then by Woori Financial Group, before being acquired by NongHyup Financial Group in 2014. NH is one of the largest brokerages in Korea, and the Hong Kong subsidiary is among the best-performing of its Korean peers.The scale of overseas earnings of Korean securities firms still accounts for a small percentage of the total earnings, but the companies are intent on

Jun 29, 2022By Kim Bo-eun
[INTERVIEW] NH Investment & Securities accelerating growth in Hong Kong

ABL Life Insurance simplifies claims process for senior customers

ABL Life Insurance's headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Yoon Ja-youngMaking insurance claims can be a complicated process, especially for those unfamiliar with digital technologies. ABL Life Insurance is making efforts to bring down this barrier, especially for elderly customers who have had problems making claims through the firm's mobile app. ABL Life Insurance launched its “digital hybrid insurance claim service” in April, which enables customers to make claims by contacting a call center.According to the insurer, this initiative is the first of its kind in the life insurance industry here. Many senior customers often contact call centers as they are not accustomed to making insurance claims through mobile apps, but the call center could only tell them how to file the claim digitally, as the customers were not able to make insurance claims directly through the call center. With the launch of the digital hybrid service, customers can make insurance claims by contacting the call center. After verifying the customer and their medical diagnosis, the call center wil

Jun 29, 2022
ABL Life Insurance simplifies claims process for senior customers

INTERVIEW 'Asia-Pacific region has potential to lead global decarbonization sector'

Deloitte Asia Pacific Sustainability & Climate Leader Will Symons speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the headquarters of Deloitte Korea on Yeouido, Seoul, earlier this month. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukDeloitte's ESG leader talks about Asia's opportunities and challenges in sustainability agendaBy Anna J. ParkOne of the most noticeable changes in the global business scene in recent years is that the so-called environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles have evolved from a rhetoric put forth by mostly non-profit organizations into a core business strategic consideration by competitive companies around the world. The tide of the change has been accelerating, as it's now essential that ESG factors constitute an integral key part of a firm's strategic planning as well as investment criteria by major global asset managers. In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Deloitte Asia Pacific Sustainability & Climate Leader Will Symons, who has been in the international sustainability consulting business for more than two decades, said he has w

Jun 29, 2022By Anna J. Park
[INTERVIEW] 'Asia-Pacific region has potential to lead global decarbonization sector'

Hyundai Card opens first digital office

An employee at Hyundai Card checks her work cubicle reservation at a kiosk set up in the firm's new digital office in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Hyundai CardBy Lee Min-hyungHyundai Card opened its first digital office in Seoul to enhance employees' work efficiency by relieving the burden of commuting they face, the company said Tuesday. The office is located in the nation's densest business district near Gangnam Station in southern Seoul. Equipped with video-conferencing booths and a variety of spaces for working, meetings and rest, it serves as a base office for employees who live in the southeastern part of the city and enables them to hold video conferences with other employees who are either at the firm's headquarters on Yeouido or working remotely. The card firm decided to open the new office space to embrace the new paradigm of remote work that has emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company gives employees the autonomy to work from home or remotely from other places and allows them to set up their own work schedules one week in advance, which are processed immediately w

Jun 28, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Hyundai Card opens first digital office

Toss Bank draws over 3.6 million customers

Toss Bank CEO Hong Min- taek speaks during a press conference held in central Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Toss BankInternet bank announces nine-month achievement since launching By Anna J. Park Since Toss Bank was launched last October as the country's third internet-only bank, it has succeeded in attracting 3.6 million customers in just nine months. More than 2.5 million customers have been added this year alone, and the number of customers has tripled during the past six months. The bank announced its upcoming plans to launch differentiated products to help customers make wiser investment decisions and receive more benefits. “On average, it means that 13,600 people are joining Toss Bank per day,” the bank's CEO Hong Min-taek said during a press conference held in central Seoul, Tuesday. “And 83.2 percent of those customers actually turned out to have put money into their accounts. Customers' high reliance on Toss Bank's innovative operation shows that digital banking is meeting the needs of financial customers.”The CEO of the mobile-based bank specified its

Jun 28, 2022By Anna J. Park
Toss Bank draws over 3.6 million customers

KB Kookmin Bank mulls further capital increase for Indonesian subsidiary

Employees of Bank KB Bukopin work at one of the bank's branches in Indonesia. Courtesy of KB Kookmin BankBy Anna J. Park KB Kookmin Bank might need to inject additional capital into its Indonesian subsidiary, Bank KB Bukopin, as the Southeast Asian country's financial authority urged Seoul's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) to cooperate on reducing the Indonesia-based bank's debts.According to the financial industry, Tuesday, the Indonesian financial authority has stressed the need to get rid of the subsidiary bank's bad loans, calling on the Korean financial supervisory agency to discuss the matter. An FSS official explained that the Indonesian financial authority has asked for a capital increase on the part of KB Kookmin Bank to normalize Bank KB Bukopin's management.Regarding such calls, KB Kookmin Bank said that the bank is currently looking closely into its Indonesian subsidiary's financial statements and situation to see whether it needs a further capital increase. “As of now, nothing has been specifically determined as to the capital increase plan,” an official

Jun 28, 2022By Anna J. Park
KB Kookmin Bank mulls further capital increase for Indonesian subsidiary
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