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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.

KB Kookmin Bank's Hur Yin set to serve another term

KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin signs up for a financial product in which the lender collaborated with boy band BTS, at a branch on Yeouido, Seoul, June 21, 2018. / Courtesy of Kookmin BankBy Kim Bo-eunKB Financial Group said incumbent KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin has been selected in a committee meeting Tuesday as the sole candidate for the next chief of the lender.The group said the committee will interview Hur next month for a final review and his appointment will be approved at a scheduled shareholders' meeting. Hur will begin his new term on Nov. 21 and it will run through to the end of 2021.The committee said it took into account Hur's achievements during his term in reviewing his eligibility for another term as CEO.Hur has also served as Kookmin Bank's head of sales and as CFO, through which he gained experience in sales, strategy and loans."He is able to stably manage the organization and bring forth substantial change," the committee said.Hur has led the bank since November 2017. The first term of CEOs in the financial sector is two years and they serve additional one-year terms

Oct 20, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
KB Kookmin Bank's Hur Yin set to serve another term

Eximbank criticized for going against gov't's green drive

Eximbank CEO Bang Moon-kyu looks at a laptop screen during a National Assembly audit on Yeouido in Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) has come under criticism for assisting in investments of hundreds of billions of won in overseas coal projects, in a contradictory move against the government's green drive and global growth of renewable energy.The state-run lender took part in coal development projects abroad multiple times despite fierce opposition from environmentalist organizations. Its latest involvement overseas coal investments was announced last week when the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) decided to build the Vung Ang 2 coal plant in Vietnam. Eximbank will partner with KEPCO by offering loans for the project worth 2.6 trillion won ($2.2 billion).In 2017, the state-run bank provided loans worth 292.3 billion won for the establishment of the Cirebon 2 coal-fired power plant in Indonesia. The lender also offered 136.5 billion won in loans for the Nghi Son 2 plan in Vietnam in 2018.Rep. Kim Du-kwan of ruling Democratic Party of Kore

Oct 19, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
Eximbank criticized for going against gov't's green drive

Top lenders fail to increase regular employment

The headquarters of KB Kookmin Bank / Courtesy of KB Kookmin BankKB Kookmin Bank found to be least active in enhancing job stabilityBy Anna J. ParkDespite reporting record-high operating profits last year, major banks here failed to convert their numbers of irregular employees to regular employee status, while also not increasing the hiring of the latter.According to a press release from ruling party lawmaker Park Kwang-on, Sunday, the five major banks in Korea ― KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana and NongHyup ― reported aggregated total profits of 14.4 trillion won ($12.5 billion) last year, the highest since statistics started being recorded. While these major financial institutions' operating profits have continued to record annual increases, from 6.6 trillion won in 2016 to 14.4 trillion won in 2019, the profits didn't coincide with any improvement in stable working conditions for employees. The aggregated number of full-time employees at the five banks stood at 70,463 as of the fourth quarter of last year, a 1.2 percent drop from the previous year. Yet, the number of irregular wor

Oct 19, 2020By Anna J. Park
Top lenders fail to increase regular employment

Citibank Korea conducts contactless CSR activities amid pandemic

Citibank Korea employees join a “Jubgging” campaign ― a word combination of Jubda ” ― the Korean verb meaning “to pick up (an object)” ― and jogging.Citibank Korea has carried out regional corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns in a toned-down manner amid the COVID-19-induced social distancing guidelines, the company said Monday.This is part of the Citi Global Community Day campaign under which the global banking group's major subsidiaries conduct regional CSR activities. Citibank Korea has joined the drive for 15 consecutive years since 2006.This year, the Korean subsidiary of the global banking group focused on refraining from performing any large-scale campaigns in line with the government's call for abiding by tight social distancing guidelines, so the bank decided to conduct a series of small contactless campaigns, the lender said.Marking the June 5 World Environment Day, employees and executives of Citibank Korea took part in a so-called “jubgging” campaign ― a word combination of jubda ” ― the Korean verb meaning “

Oct 19, 2020
Citibank Korea conducts contactless CSR activities amid pandemic

Wedding day

Woori Multicultural Scholarship Foundation Chairman Son Tae-seung, center, applauds at a Woori Wedding Day event at the main Woori Bank branch in Seoul, Sunday. The group wedding ceremony was held for financially challenged multiracial couples. The chairman officiated at the weddings. / Courtesy of Woori Financial Group

Oct 19, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Wedding day

State-run agency provided housing guarantee for foreign owner of 42 homes

A man walks past a realtor's office in this file photo. / Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunThe Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) has come under scrutiny for having provided a housing loan guarantee to a foreign resident who owns 42 apartments here.Data from Rep. So Byung-hoon of the Democratic Party of Korea shows the state-run housing guarantee corporation in November last year became a guarantor for a mortgage for a house in the city of Euiwang in Gyeonggi Province owned by a U.S. national.HUG is a government agency that assumes a debt obligation in the event the borrower defaults.The U.S. citizen registered to operate a housing rental business in April 2018.The lawmaker estimated the amount guaranteed by the corporation would be around 840 million won. "The land ministry needs to look into why HUG provided a housing loan guarantee to a foreign landlord owning multiple properties, when the agency should be working for people's housing stability," So said.The American was found to own the sixth largest number of houses among non-Korean landlords here.The landlord in

Oct 16, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
State-run agency provided housing guarantee for foreign owner of 42 homes

GM Korea ignores KDB after borrowing $750 million

Korea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-gull speaks during a National Assembly audit, Friday. / YonhapBy Park Jae-hyukGM Korea was found to have ignored its second-largest shareholder the Korea Development Bank (KDB), although the state-run bank lent it $750 million in 2018 to normalize the cash-strapped carmaker.Data the KDB gave to Rep. Yoon Doo-hyun of the main opposition People Power Party showed Friday GM Korea had refused the bank's request made in October 2019 for access to the company's 2018 tax investigation report.The KDB made the same request in February this year, but was again rebuffed.In 2018, GM Korea faced an allegation that it evaded taxes here by rigging transfer prices.Lawmaker Ji Sang-wook of the then minor opposition Bareun Mirae Party claimed the carmaker bought auto parts for higher prices from its U.S. headquarters but sold its vehicles to them for lower prices.After the controversy was made public, the KDB asked GM Korea in 2019 to share its 2018 tax investigation report. However, the company has continued to refuse the request, citing the avoidance of doubl

Oct 16, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
GM Korea ignores KDB after borrowing $750 million

Woori Bank looks into grounds to dismiss unfairly hired employees

Woori Bank's headquarters in central Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunWoori Bank said Thursday it has begun looking into the legal grounds to cancel the recruitment of 19 employees involved in unfair hiring by the lender from 2015 to 2017."We have begun a procedure for a legal review on canceling the hiring of employees who unfairly joined the bank, an issue which was raised at the National Assembly audit on Tuesday," Woori Bank said in a statement.The FSS inspected 11 commercial banks on suspicions of irregular hiring practices by banks after the issue was raised at the National Assembly in 2017. It found irregularities in 22 cases and forwarded them to the prosecution. The prosecution indicted seven banks for having hired certain applicants by manipulating their scores. A top court ruling was made on the Woori Bank case and trials are ongoing for Shinhan, KB Kookmin and Hana banks.Rep. Bae Jin-gyo of the Justice Party said 41 out of 61 illicitly hired employees were still working for the four major lenders. Investigations showed a total of 37 applicants who had failed to pass t

Oct 16, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
Woori Bank looks into grounds to dismiss unfairly hired employees

Shinhan shareholders vying to take control of group

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung speaks during a shareholders' meeting at the group's headquarters in Seoul in March. / Courtesy of Shinhan Financial GroupIMM, BNP Paribas, Korean Japanese in hurry to increase stakesBy Park Jae-hyukShinhan Financial Group's major shareholders are in a fierce competition to maintain their influence over the nation's leading banking group, industry officials said Friday.Their moves come after Affinity Equity Partners and Baring Private Equity Asia acquired stakes of 4 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively, after the group issued new shares in early September.The key shareholders increased their stakes recently in an apparent bid to defend their positions against the foreign private equity firms (PEFs), each of which is supposed to get a Shinhan board seat next year.IMM Private Equity is the latest to join the trend of acquiring additional shares.According to Shinhan, the domestic buyout firm recently agreed to purchase shares worth 100 billion won ($87 million) through an over-the-counter block deal.“Orange Life Insurance is oblig

Oct 16, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Shinhan shareholders vying to take control of group

Shinhan Card upgrades 'Face Pay' at CU convenience store

A Shinhan Card customer uses Face Pay to buy goods at a CU convenience store at Hanyang University in Seoul. / Courtesy of Shinhan CardBy Kim Bo-eunShinhan Card said Friday it has upgraded its "Face Pay" system ― based on facial recognition ― that operates at a CU convenience store in Seoul.BGF retail's CU convenience store on Hanyang University's campus in eastern Seoul began accepting Face Pay payments in April. The system has been upgraded so that customers can be tracked as soon as they enter the store.This allows the store to operate at night without an employee because the system enables facial recognition when customers enter and when payments are made.Shinhan is the first local card firm to develop such a payment system.Customers can use it after registering their card and facial data with Shinhan Bank and the CU convenience store.Once registered, customers can make purchases without having to carry plastic cards or smartphone applications.The Financial Services Commission earlier recognized Shinhan Card's Face Pay as an "innovative financial service." Shinhan plans to increa

Oct 16, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
Shinhan Card upgrades 'Face Pay' at CU convenience store
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