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Hana Bank faces partial business suspension for mis-selling of funds

The photo shows a branch of Hana Bank / Yonhap By Kim Bo-eunA partial business suspension is looming over Hana Bank, as financial authorities determined the lender should become subject to the penalty for mis-selling funds to investors from 2017 to 2019.The Financial Supervisory Service's (FSS) sanctions review committee decided the bank should become subject to a partial business suspension for three months, in addition to a fine and penalties imposed on executives and employees who were involved. The proposed punitive measure will undergo further reviews until the Financial Services Commission reaches the final conclusion.The FSS sanctions committee, however, did not review penalties for Hana Financial Group's Vice Chairman Ji Sung-kyoo, who was then-Hana Bank CEO. This is because lawsuits are currently ongoing between other former bank CEOs and the FSS over sanctions that have been imposed holding them accountable for their lenders' respective mis-selling of inve

Jan 28, 2022By Kim Bo-eun
Hana Bank faces partial business suspension for mis-selling of funds

Kyobo Life seeks US sanctions against Deloitte Anjin

Kyobo Life Chairman Shin Chang-jae. By Lee Kyung-min Kyobo Life Insurance said Friday that it has filed a petition with a U.S. non-profit audit organization, seeking sanctions against Deloitte Anjin over the accounting firm's suspected irregularities in the calculation of the life insurer's total share value in 2018.This is the latest development in a protracted dispute between Kyobo and a consortium of its financial investors led by Affinity Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, over a 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) put option. Among the investors are IMM Private Equity, Baring Private Equity and GIC, the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund.The Life insurer says Deloitte Anjin accountants are under suspicion of accounting law and ethics violations in 2018, in the midst of a put option being exercised by the investors on Kyobo Life Chairman Shin Chang-jae. Shin signed a contract with the consortium in 2012, which included a put option. The contract st

Jan 28, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Kyobo Life seeks US sanctions against Deloitte Anjin

Will Samsung Life object to punitive measure for cancer insurance?

Samsung Life Insurance's headquarters in southern Seoul / Yonhap By Kim Bo-eunSamsung Life Insurance appears to be mulling its next steps after financial authorities slapped 155 million won ($128,655) in fines and an “institutional warning” on the insurer earlier, for violating regulations in refusing to cover costs for cancer policyholders.The Financial Services Commission (FSC) gave notice of a punitive measure to be taken against the insurer, Jan. 26, in the form of an institutional warning which prevents the company and affiliates from launching new businesses over the next year that need approval from authorities.Policyholders of Samsung's cancer insurance earlier called for the insurer to cover costs of being treated at nursing homes, after being treated at hospital, but Samsung had refused, stating these expenses are not covered under the policy.Yet the FSC concluded that 496 out of 519 cases that Samsung refused to pay for, affected policyholders who had bee

Jan 28, 2022By Kim Bo-eun
Will Samsung Life object to punitive measure for cancer insurance?

KB, Hana and Shinhan internationally recognized for gender equality efforts

The Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index logoBy Anna J. ParkKB Financial Group made the list of this year's Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for the fourth consecutive year since 2019. Bloomberg announced earlier this week a total of 418 companies from 45 countries that were included in the 2022 Bloomberg GEI. The GEI framework scores companies across five main criteria for gender equality: female leadership, gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies and pro-women brand identity. KB Financial has been leading the effort to raise gender-parity awareness, as the country's very first financial group that has appointed two female outside directors out of the total seven outside director positions. As an official institution supporting UN-backed Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs), the financial group's affiliate companies have been operating a number of gender-equality programs, such as the Women's Empowerment STAR mentoring system, the KB Woman of Excellence program and more.With its inclusion in the index this year, KB Financial once again solidified its s

Jan 27, 2022By Anna J. Park
KB, Hana and Shinhan internationally recognized for gender equality efforts

LG Energy Solution becomes second-largest market cap on KOSPI

Korea Exchange (KRX) CEO Sohn Byung-doo, fifth from left, and LG Energy Solution (LGES) CEO Kwon Young-soo, fourth from right, applaud along with LGES key officials and related brokerage industry leaders at the lobby of KRX's Seoul office building on Yeouido, marking the KOSPI debut of LGES stocks on Thursday morning. YonhapBy Anna J. ParkLG Energy Solution (LGES) made its debut on the country's main benchmark KOSPI on Thursday, becoming the second-largest market cap company listed on the KOSPI, following only Samsung Electronics. However, it then plunged from the initial price. The global secondary battery manufacturer's stock started off trading at the initial price of 597,000 won ($496) at the beginning of Thursday's trading session, which is nearly double the stock's IPO subscription price of 300,000 won. However, the much-anticipated stock failed to increase further from its starting price; rather, the stock price fell by 15.41 percent from its starting price, closing at 505,000 won.Since kicking off at 597,000 won at 9 a.m., the price slipped to Thursday's lowest level of 464,0

Jan 27, 2022By Anna J. Park
LG Energy Solution becomes second-largest market cap on KOSPI

KDB chief calls EU 'selfish' for disapproval of HHI-DSME deal

Korea Development Bank (KDB) Chairman Lee Dong-gull speaks during an online press conference at the KDB headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of KDBBy Yi Whan-wooKorea Development Bank (KDB) Chairman Lee Dong-gull criticized the European Union, Thursday, over its disapproval of Hyundai Heavy Industries' (HHI) proposed acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), calling the EU decision “extremely selfish and only prioritizing the interests of its member countries.”He said the state-run KDB, the main creditor of DSME, will look for various alternatives, including privatization, to normalize the financially troubled shipbuilder, saying “We're open from Plan B to Plan D.” However, he brushed aside the possibility of injecting fresh capital into the company, saying it would give a bad impression to other countries if debt-ridden enterprises in Korea are seen as relying on state support for survival. He noted such an impression can result in more disapprovals of mergers and acquisitions between other Korean enterprises requiring consent f

Jan 27, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
KDB chief calls EU 'selfish' for disapproval of HHI-DSME deal

PEFs eyeing Osstem Implant

The headquarters of Osstem Implant in Seoul / Courtesy of Osstem ImplantBy Anna J. ParkDespite the ongoing risks surrounding Osstem Implant stemming from an employee's embezzlement of some 220 billion won ($187 million), private equity firms (PEFs) are setting their eyes on the firm in the event it opens up to a possible acquisition. According to the investment banking industry this week, a few PEFs are said to have contacted the dental implant manufacturer to discuss the possibility of putting the firm's management rights up for sale. As the goal of most PEFs is to acquire a quality company at a low price and resell it for more, Osstem Implant is drawing PEFs' attention for its solid fundamentals. As it is now expected that more than half ― or 141 billion won ― out of the embezzled 221 billion won will be retrieved, PEFs see Osstem Implant's position as the top dental implant manufacturer in the country will not be significantly impacted. Founded in 1997, Osstem Implant occupies about 50 percent of the local market share, and the firm also enjoys one of the top-tier positions with i

Jan 27, 2022By Anna J. Park
PEFs eyeing Osstem Implant

Krafton employees hit by plunging stock price

Krafton founder and Chairman Chang Byung-gyu speaks during the firm's online IPO press conference last summer. Courtesy of KraftonEmployee stock ownership: not always a jackpot By Anna J. ParkWhile the news of young salaried workers reaping hundreds of millions of won through employee stock ownership has made headlines following the IPOs of some keenly watched companies, this is not always the case.As game developer Krafton's stock price continues to plunge since December, the firm's employees, who subscribed for company stocks at last summer's IPO as members of the employee stock ownership association, are now incurring great losses. After the stock hit its all-time high of 580,000 won ($484) in mid-November, it has been on a continual losing trend for the past two months, hitting 281,000 won as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday. It is not only more than a 50 percent fall from the peak price, but also a more than 44 percent loss from the stock's initial offering price of 498,000 won. As the stock ownership association holds 351,525 shares, each of the 1,330 employees owns 264 shares on average

Jan 26, 2022By Anna J. Park
Krafton employees hit by plunging stock price

Banks drop ground-floor branch locations to cut costs

Customers sit at a branch of a KB Kookmin Bank branch in Seoul. YonhapBy Anna J. ParkWhile about 70 percent or 80 percent of banks' suburban branches used to be located on the ground floor in the past, it now seems harder to find banks on the street level. Instead it's easier to find bank branches situated on the second floor of the building or higher, with cafes and other stores now more likely to greet customers on the main floor.Recent statistics back up the easily observed phenomenon. According to statistics compiled by Rep. Yoon Doo-hyun of the main opposition People Power Party, more than half of the local branches of the country's four major banks ― KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori ― are now more often than not situated on the second floor or higher. Out of 6,326 branches of 17 local banks in Korea, the number of the four major banks' branches is 3,256, of which 50.2 percent, or 1,637 branches are located on upper floors. If branches located on underground levels are included, then the number rises to 52.5 percent. KB Kookmin Bank has the highest ratio of branches located o

Jan 25, 2022By Anna J. Park
Banks drop ground-floor branch locations to cut costs

Market cap of top 30 groups spikes more than 33% over 4 years

gettyimagesbank Korea's top 30 family-controlled conglomerates have seen their stock market capitalization spike more than 30 percent over the past four years, with Samsung Group taking the top spot, a market tracker said Tuesday.The combined value of 201 listed firms belonging to the leading business groups, known as chaebol here, came to 1,504 trillion won ($1.26 trillion) as of last Friday, up 33.2 percent from Jan. 2, 2018, according to Leaders Index.The number of their listed units was up 16 over the cited period.Including battery maker LG Energy Solution and two other firms set to go public this year, their total market value is estimated to reach 1,624 trillion won, up 43.8 percent from four years earlier.The market capitalization of LG Energy Solution, a unit of LG Group, is forecast to reach roughly 100 trillion won when it is listed on the market Thursday. Hyundai Engineering, a plant engineering affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, is projected to have a mar

Jan 25, 2022
Market cap of top 30 groups spikes more than 33% over 4 years
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