Business - The Korea Times

Kakao Bank CEO's huge stake sale extends debate on betrayal of shareholders' trust

Yoon Ho-young, fourth from left, then co-CEO of Kakao Bank, poses with other dignitaries during a ceremony to mark the company's launch at the Floating Island Convention Center in southern Seoul in this photo taken in 2017. Yoon served as the sole chief of the internet banking arm of Kakao Corp. after another Co-CEO Lee Yong-woo, eighth from left, resigned in January 2020. Korea Times fileBy Yi Whan-wooKakao Bank CEO Yoon Ho-young was found to have dumped massive stakes in the company for a quick profit ― the latest in a series of mass selling of Kakao shares by its executives that led to minority shareholders' cries of betrayal.According to financial industry sources, Wednesday, Yoon exercised the stock option to sell “tens of thousands” of the 260,000 shares he holds in Kakao Bank in the fourth quarter of 2021.Yoon joins eight executives from Kakao Pay, the mobile payment business arm of IT giant Kakao Corp., who sold a combined 440,933 shares of the company they received as their stock options on Dec. 10. They collected an approximate combined profit of 90 billion won

Jan 19, 2022By Yi Whan-woo

Kakao Bank CEO's huge stake sale extends debate on betrayal of shareholders' trust

Companies desperate for female board members

gettyimagesbankRelated regulations to go into effect in AugustBy Kim Bo-eunA deadline is looming for Korean companies to add female members to their boards, but about half of the firms subject to the regulation still fall short of the requirement, data shows.The revised Capital Markets Act going into effect in August applies to listed companies with at least 2 trillion won ($1.67 billion) in assets. According to corporate tracker Leaders Index, among the 168 companies subject to the regulation, 68 firms, or 46 percent, did not have any female board members as of the third quarter of last year. This is still a significant improvement, however, from the same quarter of 2020 when 116 companies did not have any female members on their boards.However, data shows that most of the women on company boards are outside members. Among the 102 female board members at 90 companies, only nine were from their respective firms. Companies with female board members from within their organization include Naver, CJ CheilJedang, Hotel Shilla, Samsung SDI, Daesang, Netmarble, Lotte Chilsung, Kumho Tire an

Jan 19, 2022By Kim Bo-eun

Companies desperate for female board members

Korea Exchange decides to delist SillaJen from Kosdaq

SillaJen's head office in Busan / YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe Korea Exchange decided Tuesday to delist SillaJen from the secondary Kosdaq, citing a dim outlook of the troubled drugmaker's sustainable growth.SillaJen shares have been suspended from trading since May 2020 after its management was mired in an embezzlement scandal.A Kosdaq market committee will confirm whether to delist the company no later than Feb. 18, according to the corporate review committee of the Korea Exchange which made the decision.Back in 2020, SillaJen's top management ― including former CEO Moon Eun-sang ― was indicted on charges of making unmerited profits by setting up a paper company and engaging in illicit trading. The prosecution estimates that SillaJen's management generated 191.8 billion won ($160.97 million) in unfair profits.The delisting of the company will leave around 170,000 retail investors with substantial losses. According to data from the company, minority shareholders hold a 92.6 percent stake in the firm as of the end of 2020.SillaJen reacted immediately to the decision by the exchange, say

Jan 18, 2022By Lee Min-hyung

Korea Exchange decides to delist SillaJen from Kosdaq

Kyobo-Affinity feud deepening ahead of IPO

By Kim Bo-eunKyobo Life Insurance Chairman Shin Chang-jae / Courtesy of Kyobo Life InsuranceKyobo Life Insurance is seeking to settle its years-long conflict with financial investors, as its initial public offering (IPO) is only months away, but the feud is instead escalating, posing uncertainties for the company's stock market debut.A local court handed a provisional attachment order for Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman Shin Chang-jae's real estate assets last week, upholding a filing by the consortium of financial investors led by Affinity Equity Partners. A provisional attachment order is a judicial measure available to those who have a monetary claim to freeze certain assets to restrain a debtor from dissipating their assets in an attempt to frustrate a potential judgment. Affinity stated the court order recognized that the investors could exercise their put option, and that because Shin had duties he was not executing, investors had the right to withdraw their investments through the put option via a second arbitration. A put option gives a shareholder the right to sell an asset at

Jan 18, 2022By Kim Bo-eun

Kyobo-Affinity feud deepening ahead of IPO

Hana Financial signs endorsement deal with Lydia Ko

Top-ranked LPGA golfer Lydia Ko sports the logo of Hana Bank, a major affiliate of Hana Financial Group, in this photo released on Tuesday, marking the Korean banking group's official sponsorship deal with her. Their partnership has been expanded from a two-year sponsorship between Ko and Hana Capital, another of the group's affiliates, from early 2020. Ko will start wearing gear with the logo of Hana Financial Group from the LPGA's season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, to be held in Orlando, Florida, from Jan. 20 to 23. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

Jan 18, 2022By Yi Whan-woo

Hana Financial signs endorsement deal with Lydia Ko

Banks finding breakthroughs in digital battle against big tech firms

A promotional image for Shinhan Bank's new food delivery service app / Korea Times fileBy Yi Whan-wooCommercial banks appear to be getting a sense of how to counter big tech firms, which have been muscling in on the banking industry by capitalizing on their digital prowess as platform operators.The traditional lenders are becoming more sophisticated over the years in their breakthrough strategies, which are characterized by maximizing their potential as platform operators on the one hand, and getting help from an ally in the ICT sector to make up for their digital shortcomings on the other hand.Although still in their nascent stages, such strategies are an improvement considering the banks had previously only been mimicking big tech firms and offering supplementary, non-banking services on their respective apps.Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong, left, and KT President Park Jong-ook hold a certificate of strategic partnership during a signing ceremony at the lender's headquarters in central Seoul, Monday. YonhapThe latest move comes from Shinhan Bank, perhaps the most ardent pursuer to a d

Jan 18, 2022By Yi Whan-woo

Banks finding breakthroughs in digital battle against big tech firms

KT partners with Shinhan Bank to develop AI, metaverse services

gettyimagesbankKT said Monday that it has partnered with Shinhan Bank to collaborate in new businesses, including artificial intelligence and platform services.The telecom services provider said it will acquire a 2.1 percent stake in Shinhan for 437.5 billion won (US$366.9 million) next week to ensure a stable partnership between the two companies.Under the partnership, KT and Shinhan Bank will kick off 23 projects in artificial intelligence, non-fungible tokens, the metaverse and platforms among others.The two companies also plan to cooperate in fostering new digital finance services, including developing an AI call center operator specializing in finance.KT said it ultimately seeks to enter the global platform market through a successful partnership. (Yonhap)

Jan 18, 2022

KT partners with Shinhan Bank to develop AI, metaverse services

'Parachute appointments' prevail at public financial entities as presidential term nears end

Seen above is the Seoul office of Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), a financial institution that operates under the wing of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The corporation recently appointed four figures who have connections with the government and the ruling party as its standing and outside directors. Korea Times fileBy Yi Whan-wooThe administration of President Moon Jae-in, whose single, five-year term is nearing the end, is drawing criticism as a number of pro-government and pro-ruling party figures are being parachuted into high-level posts at multiple public financial institutions. Moon has strongly criticized that practice while running the office.According to sources familiar with the matter, at least two state-run financial institutions appointed new auditors between late December and this month who have connections with the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).The two are Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) and Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO), which all operate under the wing of the Ministry of Ministry of Economy and Fi

Jan 17, 2022By Yi Whan-woo

'Parachute appointments' prevail at public financial entities as presidential term nears end

LG Chem, POSCO, Kakao face mounting criticism amid stock fall

Regulator plans to step up monitoring on firms' split-off practicesBy Lee Min-hyungRetail investors are crying foul over Korean conglomerates' practice of carving out their key businesses, as this has ended up with a steep stock fall with regards to the mother firms.Most recently, LG Chem and POSCO have drawn criticism from small investors amid the woe. LG Chem shares are particularly on the decline ahead of the split-off from the battery business.The stock price of LG Chem reached its peak at around 1 million won ($838) per share in January 2021, but its value dropped to as low as 611,000 won in December, as LG Chem's plan to split off its promising battery business comes closer. The battery maker LG Energy Solution is scheduled to go public on Jan. 27.According to data from the Korea Exchange, the country's bourse operator, LG Chem was the most shorted stock last week on the main bourse. As short-selling is a trading strategy betting on a possible stock fall at some point in the near future, it reflects investors' expectations that LG Chem shares will continue losing ground ahead o

Jan 17, 2022By Lee Min-hyung

LG Chem, POSCO, Kakao face mounting criticism amid stock fall

LG Energy Solution's IPO eating up stock market liquidity like 'black hole'

LG Energy Solution's headquarters located on Yeouido / Courtesy of LG Energy SolutionBy Anna J. ParkAhead of LG Energy Solution's massive IPO slated later this month, the huge size of the global battery manufacturer is drawing towards it liquidity from around the local stock market, as institutional investors are readjusting their investment portfolios to include the soon-to-be listed company.While the battery company is set to receive retail investors' subscriptions for the IPO for two days this Tuesday and Wednesday, the firm's institutional investor subscriptions have resulted in an all-time record high ― the competition rate of 2,023:1 ― in the history of KOSPI-listed companies, with orders standing at a whopping 15.2 quadrillion won ($12 trillion) worth of stocks. Although the firm's market cap size based on the subscription price is around 70 trillion won, its market cap is expected to reach some 100 trillion won, given the success of the IPO subscription rate. The company is also expected to be included in various major global indices, such as the FTSE, MSCI and KOSPI 200, whi

Jan 16, 2022By Anna J. Park

Banking & Finance