Business - The Korea Times

MetLife in-house reporters

MetLife Korea CEO Song Young-rok, back row third from left, stands together with the insurer's in-house reporters during a starting ceremony for their coverage activities at the firm's head office in Seoul, Wednesday. The 12 in-house reporters are MetLife Korea's life planners and branch managers. They will cover a wide range of the insurer's operations across the country. / Courtesy of MetLife Korea

May 29, 2019By Jhoo Dong-chan

Movie night

KEB Hana Bank CEO Ji Sung-kyoo, second row second from right, smiles with junior workers in an auditorium at the bank's headquarters in Seoul, May 28. Ji, together with over 200 bank employees, watched a movie after work as part of a monthly movie night event designed to help workers relieve stress. Courtesy of KEB Hana Bank

May 29, 2019By Lee Kyung-min

NTS Seoul office head named as tax commissioner

Kim Hyun-junBy Lee Kyung-min National Tax Service (NTS) Seoul Regional Office head Kim Hyun-jun, 51, has been designated as the new NTS commissioner, the tax agency said Wednesday.Kim has led key departments including investigation, tax revenue management and legal affairs. His past performance has helped crack down on overseas tax evasion and various other forms of tax dodging through exploiting legal loopholes. Kim was given a high evaluation for his previous work such as securing tax revenue by incentivizing those who pay taxes on time. He worked at the Tax and Customs office under the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Tax Tribunal under the Prime Minister's Office and served various senior positions that require leadership, effective management and coordination among related government offices. His noted performance includes a crackdown on overseas tax evasion committed by owners of large conglomerates and their family members as well as multinational companies in July 2017 when he was the head of the NTS investigation department. Kim has a reputation for maintaining high e

May 29, 2019By Lee Kyung-min

NTS Seoul office head named as tax commissioner

S&P assigns 'A' rating to Shinhan

The headquarters of Shinhan Financial Group / Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-kyoungS&P Global Ratings has assigned its “A” long-term and “A-1” short-term issuer credit ratings to Shinhan Financial Group, the global credit ratings agency said Wednesday.The outlook on the long-term rating is stable.The agency said the Shinhan ratings reflect the group's strong market position as the largest financial holding company in Korea. “Shinhan has a diversified business structure across banking and non-banking businesses and adequate capitalization to support its business growth,” it said. “We also believe that Shinhan will likely maintain its asset quality backed by prudent underwriting standards. The group's extensive retail customer deposit base underpins its overall stable funding and liquidity profiles, in our view.”S&P said Shinhan has a high likelihood of receiving extraordinary government support if the bank were to fall into financial distress. It expects Shinhan to maintain its strong business franchise in Korea. “The group has

May 29, 2019By Kim Jae-kyoung

South Korea remains on US list of countries to monitor for currency practices

An employee at the Korea Minting, Security Printing and ID Card Operating Corp. inspects the graphic template for 50,000-won banknotes. Courtesy of Korea Minting, Security Printing and ID Card Operating Corp.The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday kept South Korea on a list of countries to monitor for currency practices but indicated its possible removal in the next reporting period.The list was revealed in a semiannual report to Congress that also named eight other trading partners as countries warranting attention to their currency practices.The others are China, Japan, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.The Treasury said South Korea met only one of the three criteria for a currency manipulator and could be removed from the monitoring list if it remains so in the next six-month period."Given that Korea now only meets one of the three criteria from the 2015 Act, Treasury would remove Korea from the Monitoring List if this remains the case at the time of its next Report," it said. "Korea must demonstrate that improvements against the criteria are durable before

May 29, 2019

South Korea remains on US list of countries to monitor for currency practices

Korea should brace for US-China currency war

Rules hindering internet banking boom

A man walks past Kiwoom Securities, whose proposal for an internet bank was rejected on May 26. YonhapBy Park Hyong-kiThe financial sector was shocked by the regulator's May 26 announcement that it had rejected business proposals for an internet bank from both Kiwoom Securities and Viva Republica. Even Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Choi Jong-ku said he was surprised when he heard the decision made by an external committee that reviewed the proposals.The reasons behind the rejection were Kiwoom Bank's proposal was not innovative enough, and Viva's Toss Bank had a governance problem.“I honestly thought one of them would make it. I think the committee was very cautious about picking another internet bank that would end up looking like other banking applications in the market,” an industry source said.All commercial and internet banks say in the beginning they will offer something different and unique. But they have all become similar or the same, the source added.“So this begs the question: Do we really need another same app in this small market?”

May 29, 2019

Line Pay seeks to become lifestyle platform

Line Pay CEO Ko Young-su / Courtesy of Line PayMobile payment firm expands ties with startups, merchants to boost ecosystemBy Park Hyong-kiLine Pay is moving to become more than just a mobile payment service provider, according to Line Pay Chief Executive Ko Young-su.The Japan-based tech company said it is seeking to become a platform where people can not only be able to make financial transactions, but also play music, listen to the radio, read the news, get the latest on the weather and interact with other people.Line will invest $180 million this year to develop fintech services and optimize the Line Pay platform for both users and merchants."Our focus is to provide a seamless and convenient service customized to users' needs and preferences," Ko said in an email interview.“We are aiming to become the world's leading smart portal, a one-stop mobile lifestyle platform that enables people to connect to all information, services, products and other people in their lives.”Line Pay is part of Tokyo-based Line, a popular mobile messenger in Japan and some markets in Southeas

May 29, 2019

Line Pay seeks to become lifestyle platform

KB strengthens pension service

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyooBy Lee Kyung-min KB Financial Group will set up a control tower to strengthen its pension service and better serve individual customers in Korea's fast-aging society, the group said Tuesday. The envisioned unit will be set up under the group's wealth management division to map out a clear, common strategy to be shared among its four subsidiaries ― banking, non-life insurance, securities and credit cards. The subsidiaries will each have a new pension planning unit. The group said that profit generation via development of new products will be boosted by closer cooperation among the group's key subsidiaries as well as its investment banking units. It plans to develop new products fully capitalizing on digital transformation, granting real-time, fuller access to customers without geographical limitations or restrictions. One-on-one consultations will be available throughout the subscription period to help customers better understand how their investments are managed. The group will hire experts on different types of pension payout programs to con

May 28, 2019By Lee Kyung-min

Naver, Kakao to compete in mobile payment services in Japan

By Kim Bo-eunNaver and Kakao Pay will extend their mobile payment service battle to Japan in June as both are set to launch services there, which will enable Korean travelers to Japan to make purchases via their systems.The move comes after the government revised related regulations a week ago to enable local mobile payment services to operate overseas. The revised regulation will go into effect today.This is a promising opportunity for Naver and Kakao, which both operate mobile payment systems here. To seize the opportunity, they have joined hands with global counterparts for overseas services.The mobile payment systems have enormous growth potential as they do not charge fees for global purchases, like credit cards do. Card users pay about 1 percent in fees to global card companies such as Visa or Mastercard when making purchases overseas.The mobile payment system also enables users to skip the currency exchange process when they travel overseas. Instead they will be able to make payments in foreign currency through the system, if they charge their applications with Korean won.User

May 28, 2019By Kim Bo-eun

Naver, Kakao to compete in mobile payment services in Japan

Woori Bank's intellectual property rights recognized

Woori Bank's Chief Customer Officer Cho Su-hyeong, center, poses with Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, left, and a Woori Bank official at an award ceremony for inventors hosted by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), at COEX in southern Seoul, Tuesday. Woori Bank was the first financial firm to receive the presidential award for its intellectual property. Cho, who is in charge of Woori's brand and intellectual property rights, received an individual award from the Presidential Council on Intellectual Property for his contributions. / Courtesy of Woori Bank

May 28, 2019By Kim Bo-eun

Banking & Finance

Banking & Finance

MetLife in-house reporters

Movie night

NTS Seoul office head named as tax commissioner

S&P assigns 'A' rating to Shinhan

South Korea remains on US list of countries to monitor for currency practices

Rules hindering internet banking boom

Line Pay seeks to become lifestyle platform

KB strengthens pension service

Naver, Kakao to compete in mobile payment services in Japan

Woori Bank's intellectual property rights recognized

Most Read in Business