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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.

K bank seeking investment from Singapore-based Temasek

K bank CEO Lee Mun-hwan speaks during a press conference at the Korea Federation of Banks headquarters in Seoul on Aug. 4. Courtesy of K bankBy Lee Min-hyungThere has been growing attention over whether K bank will attract money from the Singaporean government-owned investment firm Temasek amid a dull response from local institutional investors over its scheduled capital expansion plan.Temasek has expressed interest in investing in internet banks here and abroad; while K bank is desperate to find investors to inject additional capital to normalize its operations. Temasek Holdings is one of the largest investment firms based in the city-state.“We are preparing for a recapitalization slated for next year are contacting investment firms abroad,” a K bank official said. “Temasek was just one of the investors that contacted us earlier this year, but we did not have advanced talks,” the official added. “We just introduced our business model to the company without a detailed discussion on our valuation.”The official said the company remains open to all th

Oct 15, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
K bank seeking investment from Singapore-based Temasek

Excessive privilege for Bank of Korea officials?

Seen above is the Bank of Korea Money Museum in central Seoul. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe Bank of Korea (BOK) owns 60 residential properties nationwide for its economists to live in, while failing to properly manage some vacant facilities, a ruling party lawmaker said Thursday.The special treatment for its employees is very exceptional in that most other state-run lenders and financial authorities do not offer such an “excessive” residential benefit, according to Rep. Hong Ik-pyo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.The BOK owns a total of six residential properties in the nation's southeastern port city of Busan, but four out of them remain vacant, Hong said, citing data from the central bank. One apartment in Pohang is also empty.The lawmaker took issue with the BOK's lax management of the properties, and urged the central bank to sell them immediately and make lease arrangements for its officials.“The excessive residential welfare that the BOK offers to its officials receiving relatively high annual income is contrary to the public's mounting burden over paying

Oct 15, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
Excessive privilege for Bank of Korea officials?

Will card firm CEOs serve second terms?

By Kim Bo-eunShinhan Card CEO Lim Young-jinAttention is focusing on whether the chiefs of Shinhan, KB and Woori's card units and BC Card will serve further terms, as their current ones come to an end in December.Given Shinhan, KB and Woori managed to keep up earnings amid the COVID-19 pandemic, their CEOs are seen as likely to secure another term. Shinhan Card recorded 302.5 billion won in net profit in the first half of the year, up 11.5 percent from the same period last year. Shinhan Card's Lim Young-jin, who has served as CEO since March 2017, has been recognized for his achievements in bringing up earnings from auto installment financing and overseas subsidiaries.KB Kookmin Card CEO Lee Dong-cheolThe company launched Shinhan Vietnam Finance in the Southeast Asian country in July last year, after taking over the Prudential Vietnam Finance Company in 2018.It has also been acknowledged for its digital services including facial recognition payment service. KB Kookmin Card's net profit came to 163.8 billion won in the first half, a 12.1 percent jump.Under the leadership of CEO Lee Don

Oct 15, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
Will card firm CEOs serve second terms?

FSS to investigate Samsung Securities over merger

Financial Supervisory Service Governor Yoon Suk-heun speaks at an audit of the agency at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Kim Bo-eunThe Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will look into Samsung Securities' alleged violations of the capital market act in its alleged involvement in the controversial merger of Samsung Group's affiliates in 2015, FSS Governor Yoon Suk-heun said Tuesday.The remarks came as Rep. Park Yong-jin of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) raised the issue at this year's annual National Assembly audit of the agency.The lawmaker urged financial authorities to take immediate action to look into the allegations that Samsung Securities intervened in the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries that took place in September 2015. The brokerage was an adviser for Cheil Industries in the merger, but is alleged to have hid the fact and utilized its private bankers to secure Samsung C&T shareholders' right to vote in support of the merger.“We agree with the stance that the probe needs to be launched speedily,” Yoon said. &ld

Oct 13, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
FSS to investigate Samsung Securities over merger

FSS in dilemma over top court's ruling supporting Samsung Life

By Kim Bo-eunThe Financial Supervisory Service building's entrance on Yeouido, Seoul / Korea Times fileThe Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is in a dilemma over its plans to take action against Samsung Life Insurance over its refusal to make payments for claims on cancer insurance policies, after the top court ruled in favor of the insurer in a legal dispute on the matter.The head of a group of claimants, surnamed Lee, filed a suit against Samsung Life in November 2017 over its nonpayment of a cancer insurance claim, but the Supreme Court last month dismissed an appeal against a lower court's ruling. Lee's disputed insurance claim centered on expenses for treatment at a rehabilitation center after undergoing cancer surgery and treatment at a general hospital in 2017. She spent six months at the center the same year.Samsung Life provided Lee 94.88 million won in payments for the cancer diagnosis and surgery, but stated it would not pay the 55.58 million won in expenses accrued at the center.The lower court stated that it could not recognize the expenses of treating after effects or

Oct 12, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
FSS in dilemma over top court's ruling supporting Samsung Life

Card firm battle intensifies between Samsung, KB

By Kim Bo-eunSamsung Card CEO Kim Dae-hwanSamsung and KB Kookmin Card are engaging in heated competition to become the No. 2 card firm after Shinhan, amid the leading company's shrinking market share.Shinhan's market share in terms of credit sales in the second quarter came to 21.33 percent, down 0.64 percentage points quarter-on-quarter. Shinhan has been the leading card firm among the seven local companies after integrating with LG Card in 2007, but has been seeing its market share fall since the fourth quarter of 2018.Kookmin Card took second place in the first quarter with a market share of 17.71 percent. It was the first time for Kookmin Card to come second since it became a separate entity from KB Kookmin Bank in 2011. However, the position was taken over by Samsung in the second quarter, which took up a market share of 18.16 percent. Both saw their market shares grow from the previous quarter. Samsung's market share in the second quarter was backed by earnings from corporate clients, growing 13 percent quarter-on-quarter.Meanwhile, KB Kookmin Card has been engaging in an aggre

Oct 12, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
Card firm battle intensifies between Samsung, KB

Protesting gov't shortcomings in Lone Star scandal

Members of civic groups protest the failure of lawmakers to bring government officials involved in the Lone Star scandal to the ongoing government audit, in front of the National Assembly on Yeouido, Monday. Civic groups have protested the government's secrecy over its questionable role in the sale of Korea Exchange Bank, of which Lone Star was a stakeholder, to Hana Financial Group. The decades-long dispute remains unresolved. / Yonhap

Oct 12, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
Protesting gov't shortcomings in Lone Star scandal

Helping hands for harvest season

Dozens of employees from the NongHyup Bank business management department volunteered to help with the harvest at an agricultural community in Jincheon County, North Chungcheong Province, on Oct. 8. The staff helped harvest hundreds of boxes of sweet potatoes and purchased them to be donated to local residents. / Courtesy of NongHyup Bank

Oct 11, 2020By Anna J. Park
Helping hands for harvest season

Starbucks-branded Hyundai Card coming out soon

Mugs are decorated with logos of Hyundai Card and Starbucks Coffee at the coffeehouse chain's The Jongno R branch in Seoul in this file photo. / Courtesy of Starbucks Coffee KoreaBy Park Jae-hyukHyundai Card is expected to unveil its Starbucks-branded private label credit card (PLCC) this week at the earliest.Starbucks Coffee Korea wrote on its website Oct. 5 that its privacy policy will be revised Oct. 15 to share its customer data with Hyundai Motor Group's card-issuing arm.This came four months after Hyundai Card Vice Chairman Chung Tae-young and Starbucks Coffee Korea CEO Song Ho-seob signed an agreement to release a PLCC at the coffeehouse chain's The Jongno R branch in downtown Seoul.Back then, they agreed to launch the card during the second half of this year.If the two companies successfully launch the PLCC, it will be the first time Starbucks has rolled out a credit card with another company here.“Before launching the Starbucks card, I've been studying the brand hard,” Chung wrote on Facebook, Sept. 29, posting a photo of the Starbucks “Summer Ready Bag&rdq

Oct 11, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Starbucks-branded Hyundai Card coming out soon

INTERVIEW AIIB calls for Korea's efforts in 'climate finance'

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Director General Lee Dong-ik / Courtesy of AIIBThe cover image of “Climate Change Investment Framework” that AIIB and Amundi released in September / Courtesy of AIIBBank joins hands with Amundi to fight climate change in AsiaBy Park Jae-hyukA growing number of financial institutions here have started making efforts recently to counteract climate change, following the global trend of emphasizing management with regards to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors.Last month KB Financial Group decided to stop all its investments in construction of coal-fired power plants worldwide and Shinhan Bank joined the Equator Principles Association vowing to stop its investments in projects that can cause environmental destruction or abuse human rights.The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), however, pointed out climate commitments are still absent from most financial firms in Korea and other Asian nations, compared to those in Europe.“Unfortunately, we have not seen significant cases led by Korean institut

Oct 10, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
[INTERVIEW] AIIB calls for Korea's efforts in 'climate finance'
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