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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.

Will NongHyup carry out large-scale reforms effectively?

The recently announced reforms by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF), which also operates NH NongHyup Bank, are drawing attention over whether, and to what extent, a sweeping personnel overhaul will follow, market watchers said Thursday. The organization unveiled a wide range of measures, Monday, to restore public trust following a series of corruption scandals and operational irregularities, including employee embezzlement and poorly screened loans. At the heart of the reforms is a focus on strengthening the central cooperative’s oversight and ensuring a corruption-free regional network, with the goal of rebuilding public confidence. According to the NACF, it plans to replace more than half of its top executives, including senior management and board members, while strengthening transparency in the executive selection process. Retired NACF officials will, in principle, be barred from reemployment as part of a broader effort to end the culture of influence-driven networks. Top executives will be dismissed upon confirmation of serious misconduct, in accordance with a

Nov 13, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Will NongHyup carry out large-scale reforms effectively?

Weakening won raises concerns over banks' financial soundness

Korea’s major banks are facing mounting pressure over their deteriorating financial stability, eroded by the rapid weakness of the Korean currency against the U.S. dollar, market watchers said Thursday. The won recently hit a seven-month low of 1,470 won per dollar, weakening by 70 won in just two months. This has hurt banks’ capital ratios as the government increases pressure to expand corporate lending as part of its “productive finance” drive. The weaker won makes banks’ financial soundness look riskier on paper, because their U.S. dollar assets including loans, investments and derivatives become larger when converted into won. This happens because banks’ Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratios, a key indicator of their financial soundness, becomes lower. The ratio is measured by bank’s core capital divided by its risk-weighted assets (RWA). When the won weakens, the value of U.S. dollar assets converted to won rises, leading to higher value of RWAs. This in turn lowers the ratio, unless banks increase their capital. According to financial market data, KB Financial’s ratio

Nov 13, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Weakening won raises concerns over banks' financial soundness

Auto insurance fraud rises despite tougher penalties

The amount of detected auto insurance fraud has continued to rise each year, reaching 570 billion won ($388 million) last year, despite tougher penalties for organizing or participating in insurance fraud under the amended Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Thursday. Fraudulent claims are increasing the insurance burden on honest policyholders, prompting the FSS to sign a memorandum of understanding with the National Police Agency, the Korea Road Traffic Authority and the General Insurance Association of Korea to enhance collaboration in combating the growing sophistication and organization of insurance fraud. “Auto insurance fraud is on the rise every year, with methods becoming more sophisticated and organized,” FSS Deputy Director Kim Seong-wook said. “To eliminate evolving fraud schemes, it is crucial for relevant agencies to share information efficiently and coordinate joint efforts that utilize each organization’s expertise and infrastructure.” The financial watchdog reported that the total value of det

Nov 13, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Auto insurance fraud rises despite tougher penalties

Banks strive to stem client fund outflow to brokerages amid KOSPI rally

Banks are racing to raise deposit rates and launch products that combine savings with securities, in an effort to prevent outflows amid the KOSPI rally, which has driven a “rapid movement of funds” into the stock market, industry officials said Thursday. Demand deposit balances at the country’s five major banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — fell to 614.9 trillion won ($419 billion) as of Wednesday, down 33.4 trillion from the end of September and 12.6 trillion from the end of October. Daily withdrawals this month have averaged 1.14 trillion won. The decline in demand deposits, largely idle funds, is attributed to the stock market rally, as the KOSPI surged more than 20 percent in just over a month, drawing large amounts of liquidity from the banking sector. This prompted banks to raise deposit rates to retain customer funds, despite the Bank of Korea keeping its base rate at 2.5 percent since May. KB Kookmin Bank raised the interest rate on its one-year time deposit from 2.65 percent to 2.7 percent on Wednesday, while Shinhan Bank increased the same term

Nov 13, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Banks strive to stem client fund outflow to brokerages amid KOSPI rally

Korean brokerages near 'W2 tril. club' amid trading boom

A growing number of Korean brokerages have surpassed 1 trillion won ($681.8 million) in operating profit this year, driven by a buoyant stock market and a surge in both retail and institutional trading, industry officials said Thursday. The 2-trillion-won threshold is generating growing anticipation — a milestone that would mark a first for the sector. Korea Investment & Securities reported its third-quarter operating profit soared 117.8 percent from a year earlier to 835.3 billion won. Cumulative profit for the first three quarters reached 1.98 trillion won, putting the firm on track to join the so-called "2 trillion won club" by year-end, according to analysts. Other major firms are also seeing robust gains. Samsung Securities, Kiwoom Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, and NH Investment & Securities posted cumulative operating profits of 1 trillion won, 1.14 trillion won, 1.07 trillion won and 1 trillion won, respectively — already crossing the 1 trillion won threshold within three quarters. Trading activity remains the primary driver. Average daily trading volume in the domestic

Nov 13, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo
Korean brokerages near 'W2 tril. club' amid trading boom

Lotte Insurance, financial authorities head for courtroom showdown

Lotte Insurance has decided to launch a full-scale confrontation with financial authorities by pursuing legal action over the Nov. 5 decision to place the insurer under prompt corrective action, one of Korea’s most stringent regulatory measures for financial institutions, company officials said Wednesday. The insurer had faced repeated concerns over its financial stability, prompting the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to step in with disciplinary measures. Legal disputes between financial institutions, which operate under strict regulatory oversight, and their supervisory body are highly uncommon. The prompt corrective action system was introduced in 1997 during the Asian financial crisis to prevent the insolvency of financial institutions. It is designed to detect early signs of financial distress and guide companies toward management improvements before problems escalate. The system encourages authorities to intervene preemptively to contain potential risks, as the bankruptcy of a financial institution can trigger instability across the financial market. The system consists of t

Nov 12, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Lotte Insurance, financial authorities head for courtroom showdown

Hanwha Life invites Vietnamese fintech talent for financial innovation program

Hanwha Life Insurance has invited 30 outstanding students from Vietnam for a five-day program focused on financial innovation, the firm said Wednesday. The program, which began Monday, is part of the insurer’s global corporate social responsibility initiative, FuturePlus. The selected participants include winners of the Vietnamese Olympiad in Informatics, top students from the fintech department at the Vietnam-Korea University of Information and Communication Technology (VKU) and scholarship recipients in finance and ICT from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. A welcoming ceremony was held Tuesday at the insurer’s headquarters at the 63 Building in Seoul. The participants then visited Hanwha Life’s open innovation hub, DreamPlus Gangnam, where they explored Korea’s dynamic startup ecosystem and observed fintech innovation firsthand. They also attended lectures organized by Hanwha Life’s artificial intelligence (AI) division and external experts on topics such as AI-driven innovation in insurance services. On Wednesday, the group visited Korea University and Sogang Univer

Nov 12, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Hanwha Life invites Vietnamese fintech talent for financial innovation program

Korean startup Crosshub wins CES award in fintech category

Korean startup Crosshub has been named the winner of the Best of Innovation Award in the fintech category at the CES 2026, the company said Tuesday. The firm, established in May 2024, earned the accolade for its blockchain-based digital identity verification service, IDBlock, and its global cross-border payment platform, B-Pay. The awards, organized by the Consumer Technology Association, recognizes companies demonstrating outstanding technological innovation and leadership across industries. Winners are announced ahead of the world’s largest consumer electronics and IT exhibition, held every January in Las Vegas. IDBlock combines artificial intelligence (AI)-driven facial recognition with passport eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) verification to deliver a secure blockchain-based digital identity solution. The service underpins B-Pay, which allows international users to access Korean domestic services, including food delivery, public transportation, accommodations and reservations, providing seamless cross-border payment experiences. Since its founding, Crosshub has achieved a cumul

Nov 11, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Korean startup Crosshub wins CES award in fintech category

Travel cards gain popularity as new foreign exchange investment tool

Choi, an IT startup employee in her 40s, recently began using her travel card not just for overseas trips but also as an investment tool to profit from currency fluctuations. In September, when the won traded at around 1,320 won against the U.S. dollar, she preloaded dollars onto her Travlog card issued by Hana Card. When the rate later rose to the 1,390-won range, she converted the remaining balance back into won, earning about a 5 percent gain. “I used to use my travel card only when traveling abroad, but with exchange rates fluctuating so much lately, I’ve started treating it as a small-scale investment,” she said. “It’s convenient because I can check rates in real time. I’ve even set up alerts in the app so I don’t miss the right timing.” Travel cards are specialized payment tools for foreign currency transactions jointly offered by card companies and banks. They typically waive currency exchange fees or offer preferential exchange rates when converting won into foreign currencies. As the won-dollar exchange rate has become increasingly volatile in recent months, swin

Nov 11, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Travel cards gain popularity as new foreign exchange investment tool

Financial firms rush to adopt AI-mediated services for efficiency, accuracy

A growing number of insurers and other financial service providers are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) to meet customer demands, from investment recommendations and overall consulting to insurance design and complaint processing, market watchers said Monday. The shift improves efficiency, accuracy and speed, since AI agents are taking over repetitive, time-consuming or information-heavy tasks previously performed by human employees. The insurance sector in particular is experiencing enhanced, faster services, as the AI-reviewed complex insurance consultations reduce mistakes. KB Insurance has launched an AI complaint resolution assistant whereby recorded customer calls are analyzed to classify complaint types before being referred to relevant procedures and department staff. The self-learning AI continuously improves its accuracy, reflecting consumer and employee feedback entered during complaint handling and processing, thereby enhancing response quality, the insurer said. “The AI-powered consumer service helps speed up the consumer complaint management system, including legal re

Nov 11, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Financial firms rush to adopt AI-mediated services for efficiency, accuracy
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