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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Korean Re sues AXA, Allianz in London

Korean RE logoBy Anna J. ParkKorean Reinsurance Company, or Korean Re, filed lawsuits against Allianz and AXA at a U.K. court earlier this month, asking the two global financial firms to pay a total of $12.4 million based on their reinsurance contracts, to cover the cost of insurance of the Stellar Banner ― a 300,000-ton vessel grounded off the Brazilian coast last year.According to the U.K. court documents, Korean Re claimed that the two insurers breached their reinsurance contracts made in 2019.Polaris Shipping, the Korea-headquartered owner of Stellar Banner, took out a $96.4 million insurance with Mertiz Fire & Marine Insurance back in 2019 against vessel accidents, while Meritz reinsured 83.8 percent of it with Korean Re.Korean Re then signed two other reinsurance policies with AXA and Allianz in order to cut its exposure to the ship's accident. AXA agreed to take on 8 percent of the loss incurred by Meritz and Allianz 12 percent.Following the vessel accident in February 2020 after leaving Brazil's Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal, Polaris Shipping had attempted to salvage

Mar 24, 2021By Anna J. Park
Korean Re sues AXA, Allianz in London

KB, Hana suspend AI services amid new Financial Customer Protection Act

A customer talks with a bank clerk at a sales office in Seoul in this file photo on April 2, 2020. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungKB Kookmin Bank and Hana Bank have suspended some of their artificial intelligence (AI)-powered banking services, amid concerns that the smart services may breach the new Financial Customer Protection Act.KB Kookmin Bank made notice of the decision to suspend its Smart Teller Machine (STM) service until the end of April. The STM is an upgraded version of an ATM that allows users to access a wider range of smart services without visiting a conventional bank office.But the lender decided to suspend operation of the machines amid fears of possibly violating the Financial Customer Protection Act, which will take effect on Thursday. Under the enhanced customer protection law, banks should deliver their explanations of financial products to customers either in person or via email.KB plans to update the STM's internal system over the next few weeks in line with the newly implemented act.Hana Bank also decided to suspend its Hi Robo robo-adviser service from Thursday until

Mar 23, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
KB, Hana suspend AI services amid new Financial Customer Protection Act

Banks wary of toughened customer protection law

Financial Supervisory Service Governor Yoon Suk-heun speaks during a National Assembly plenary session on Yeouido in Seoul, Feb. 17. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungKorean financial firms are growing nervous about a planned introduction of a customer protection act, amid concerns that the new law may weaken their sales activities and add more confusion when they communicate with customers to settle disputes.Under the Financial Customer Protection Act, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) plans to step up its monitoring of banks and securities firms and slap stronger penalties on those found to have engaged in unfair marketing activities and false or exaggerated advertisement. The act will take effect from Friday.The act appears to be a step in the right direction, as it comes at a time when banks and investment firms here face sanctions for their mis-selling of some fund products last year. The nationwide financial scandal raised the need for stricter regulations to protect customers.Mis-selling refers to a sales practice in which a product or service is deliberately misrepresented or a cus

Mar 23, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Banks wary of toughened customer protection law

Hana expands Korean New Deal investments

Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai speaks after taking office as leader of the KLPGA in Seoul, on March 11. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungHana Financial Group scaled up its earlier plan to offer 60 trillion won ($53.1 billion) for financing the Korean New Deal to 83 trillion won by 2025, the financial holding firm said Sunday.The decision came after the banking group achieved bigger-than-expected annual funding in its drive last year. Hana planned to supply loans and investments worth 12 trillion won last year to back up the government-led Korean New Deal initiative, but it executed financing worth 26 trillion won during the same period.Hana said it is set to focus on enhancing financial support in three key areas: customized financing for the Digital New Deal and Green New Deal, technology innovation of startups and digital personnel education.For the Digital New Deal, the group will invest 100 billion won this year into a fund ― tentatively called the Hana New Deal Growth Fund ― to help innovative startups.Hana's Green New Deal support will be made in line with its efforts to fulfi

Mar 21, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Hana expands Korean New Deal investments

SK Securities, first Korean financial company to acquire right to trade carbon emissions

The headquarters of SK Securities, located on Yeouido, Seoul / Courtesy of SK SecuritiesBy Anna J. ParkSK Securities announced that it acquired Korean Offset Credits (KOC), the official right to trade carbon emissions, becoming the first financial company to do so in Korea. The offset credit is a right to carbon emissions that can be traded on the carbon market. According to SK Securities on Friday, the firm's acquisition of the carbon emissions rights aims to strengthen the company's ESG management criteria, which the brokerage firm has been focused on improving during the past few years. “Through the firm's efforts to develop and expand so-called green financial businesses, SK Securities plans to lay the groundwork for the firm's sustainable growth, while it strengthens close communication among customers, shareholders, employees and society at large,” an official from SK Securities said. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) validates and allows its member countries to set quotas on the carbon emissions of local businesses through their nat

Mar 20, 2021By Anna J. Park
SK Securities, first Korean financial company to acquire right to trade carbon emissions

Mirae Asset stops sponsoring LPGA golfers to prioritize ESG

Kim Sei-young holds a trophy at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida, in this December 2020 file photo, after she was named the 2020 LPGA Player of the Year. Reuters-YonhapBy Park Jae-hyukMirae Asset Financial Group has stopped its 12 years of sponsorship for Korean female golfers to concentrate more on its efforts to satisfy environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria, the company said Friday.The financial group did not renew its contract with world's second-ranked LPGA golfer Kim Sei-young, whom the group's asset management arm had been sponsoring since 2011, starting when she was an amateur. Kim said Thursday she signed a three-year contract with Mediheal, a Korean cosmetics brand that also sponsors Ryu So-yeon, Lee Da-yeon and Choi He-yong.When a rumor about the Mirae Asset's decision first spread earlier this year, it was seen as a surprise move by many, considering its founder's keen interest in golf.Mirae Asset founder Park Hyeon-joo, who is serving as the global investment strategy officer of the group's brokerage arm, Mirae Asset Daewoo, is said to have

Mar 19, 2021By Park Jae-hyuk
Mirae Asset stops sponsoring LPGA golfers to prioritize ESG

K bank overtakes Kakao Bank after partnering with crypto exchange Upbit

The logos of K bank and Kakao Bank By Anna J. ParkInternet-only K bank is enjoying a surge in the number of young customers thanks to a partnership with local crypto currency exchange “Upbit.”During the first two months of this year, the number of new customers who opened new accounts at K bank stood at about 920,000, far exceeding the track record of internet-only rival, Kakao Bank, which saw 380,000 new customers during the same period.K bank said the number of people using its mobile banking service increased to 3.11 million as of the end of February, surging 42 percent compared to just two months ago when the number of users stood at 2.19 million.What is noteworthy is that about 70 percent of K bank's new users during the first two months of this year were in their 20s or 30s. Young Koreans have flocked to the mobile-based bank to invest in coin assets such as bitcoin or Ethereum at crypto exchange Upbit, which requires users to have an account at K bank to depo

Mar 19, 2021By Anna J. Park
K bank overtakes Kakao Bank after partnering with crypto exchange Upbit

Top regulator under pressure to ease punishment of bank leaders

From left are Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung and Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong. Courtesy of each firmBy Lee Min-hyungThe Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is facing growing pressure to mitigate disciplinary punishment on leaders of Shinhan Bank and Woori Financial Group, as the regulator continues to face accusations of abusing its power.The watchdog sent an advance notice in February threatening tough sanctions against the top management officials of the lenders, citing their failure to supervise the sales of soured fund products offered by Lime Asset Management.The FSS warned that Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung will be suspended from duty and Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong will be reprimanded. All of those measures are classified as tough forms of sanctions. When the FSS makes its final decision on the sanctions, the bank heads will be banned from working at financial institutions here for at least three years after they end their present terms.But after the regulator delivered the advance notice early last month, the FSS has faced an escalating backlash.

Mar 18, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Top regulator under pressure to ease punishment of bank leaders

Hyundai Card unveils 'the Purple osee'

An image of Hyundai Card's “the Purple osee” card / Courtesy of Hyundai CardBy Kim Yoo-chulHyundai Card unveiled “the Purple osee,” a renewed version of its premium card, the Purple, the company said Thursday.The Purple osee offers ramped up rewards for customers and adopted a new voucher program. Osee, a French word meaning “bold,” has been added to the name of the credit card to reflect new features, according to Hyundai.The new premium card replaces the “the Purple Edition2” and comes in three versions according to the preferences of customers. One is centered around M Points or a cash-like reward system offered by Hyundai Card, while the other two offer airline rewards linked to either Korean Air or Asiana Airlines.The former gives back M points that are equivalent to up to 2 percent of monthly transactions made with the card. The point rewards are proportionate to a customer's monthly expenditure.Regardless of where the payment is made, spending between 500,000 won and 1 million won using the card will generate M points equivalent

Mar 18, 2021By Kim Yoo-chul
Hyundai Card unveils 'the Purple osee'

Financial firms brace for shareholders' meeting

From left are Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai, Hana Bank CEO-nominee Park Sung-ho and Woori Bank CEO Kwon Kwang-seok. The three top executives will start or extend their leadership after receiving approvals from shareholders' meetings slated for next week. Courtesy of each firmBy Lee Min-hyungKorea's major financial holding firms are bracing for shareholders' meetings next week amid concerns that their largest shareholder ― the National Pension Service (NPS) ― may exercise voting rights against key management objectives.Some outstanding issues include the extension of leadership, the appointment of nonexecutive directors and a series of post-coronavirus issues ― such as their decisions to reduce dividend payouts.Most critical items are widely expected to pass during the upcoming meeting despite NPS opposition. But financial firms are in a touchy situation amid rising discontent from shareholders due to a recent decision by banks to reduce their dividend offerings in line with calls from authorities.Starting with Shinhan Financial Group's planned meeting slated for March 25

Mar 17, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
Financial firms brace for shareholders' meeting
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