Articles by Choi Si-young
Choi Si-young
siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com-
Private companies to take over role of securing raw materials
Private companies will take over from state firms in pursuing raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel to better respond to supply shortages stemming from global political unrest, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition committee said Wednesday. “The supply bottlenecks are getting worse because geopolitical unrest is taking place worldwide and supply chains are held hostage. Demand for raw materials is growing since more electric vehicles and renewable energy are using th
Economy April 6, 2022
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Yoon’s committee starts work on digitizing government work
The transition committee working for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday discussed digitizing government work with outside experts after being briefed on digital efforts under the current Moon Jae-in government. A task force -- launched by the committee to deliver on Yoon’s promise to change the way the government works by embracing digital technology, mainly big data but also artificial intelligence -- held its first meeting to facilitate the digital shift before Yoon takes office
Economy April 5, 2022
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Kyobo Life Insurance hits snag over options contract row
Kyobo Life Insurance, Korea’s third-largest insurance company by assets, said Friday that a private equity firm-led consortium is threatening to derail its efforts to go public. The consortium is compelling the insurance company to honor an options contract that Kyobo says could undermine its CEO, the largest shareholder. The consortium -- led by equity firm Affinity Equity Partners -- signed a put option agreement with Kyobo Life Insurance CEO Shin Chang-jae in 2012.
Market April 1, 2022
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Underwear maker shares jump on bid to acquire SsangYong Motor
Shares of underwear maker Ssangbangwool rose about 29 percent Friday, as the company announced its bid to acquire SsangYong Motor, a debt-ridden carmaker whose recent takeover by a local electric carmaker fell apart. The company’s shares closed at 1,010 won ($0.83), up 29 percent from Thursday’s closing on the benchmark Kospi board. Ssangbangwool’s key subsidiary Kanglim, which trades on the junior Kosdaq, saw its shares rise by 30 percent. Kanglim manufactures special vehicle
Market April 1, 2022
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KakaoBank tops in worker productivity
Employees at South Korean mobile lender KakaoBank have higher productivity than their peers at the country’s four banking giants, data showed Friday. A KakaoBank employee was estimated to have earned 349 million won ($280,000), higher than the average figures for Hana Bank and Shinhan Bank, at 315 million won and 271 million won, respectively. Worker productivity of the other two giants -- KB Kookmin Bank and Woori Bank -- on average was 245 million won and 229 million won, respect
Economy April 1, 2022
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JB Financial chief vows profit jump in 2nd term
JB Financial Group, a Jeonju-based financial holding company offering consumer and commercial banking services, said Thursday that its incumbent chief has been elected for a second term to carry on efforts to improve profit margins. CEO and Chairman Kim Ki-hong, who took over the company headquartered in North Jeolla Province in March 2019, helped to more than double the net income between 2018 and 2021, the group said, noting the board unanimously voted in favor of his second term late last ye
Economy March 31, 2022
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KRX delays lifting trading halt on Osstem Implant
The Korea Exchange said Tuesday that it had decided to postpone its decision on whether to allow Osstem Implant to resume trading, after hours of deliberation that failed to reach consensus on the fate of the company, which had reported insider theft amounting to 221 billion won ($181 million). The largest dental implant maker in the Asia-Pacific region, which used to trade on the tech-heavy Kosdaq board, reported the theft on Jan. 3 and the KRX suspended trading that day. A month l
Market March 29, 2022
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Yoon reaches out to business leaders over labor unions
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is set to meet soon with the country’s largest group of trading companies, his transition team said Tuesday, in a move largely seen as stepping up efforts to rebuild ties with big businesses and win support for his economic plan for private sector-led growth. The meeting will follow Yoon’s gathering last week with chiefs of Korea’s six major business groups, such as the Federation of Korean Industries. It highlights Yoon’s push to reverse pr
Industry March 29, 2022
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Yoon to reverse Moon’s housing policy
The Yoon Suk-yeol government will loosen key housing rules that the current Moon Jae-in government introduced two years ago, because they had all backfired, turning the country into one of the world’s hottest property market, Yoon’s transition team said Monday. “Our team was briefed by the Land Ministry and we’re clear on one thing: A rule change coming in stages,” said Won Il-hee, the team’s deputy spokesperson, referring to rules on “jeonse,” or
Economy March 28, 2022
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Yoon warns against tough rules on owners of multiple homes
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday that the government should think carefully before enacting tougher rules than needed on those who own multiple homes, a group that has seen a dramatic hike in their taxes imposed by the Moon Jae-in government. Moon focused on heavier taxes and tighter mortgage curbs. “Some say we should carry on with crackdown on owners of multiple homes while others call for a return to market dynamics and let it run its course so those seeking homes find on
Economy March 25, 2022
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Ahn stocks hit record high on bets he could be PM
Ahnlab founder Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the transition committee for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, saw his shares shoot up to a record high in 10 years on Wednesday on market expectations that he could be the prime minister when Yoon is sworn in on May 10. The stocks closed at 175,800 won ($144.76) Wednesday, breaking the previous intraday high of 167,200 won in January 2012. The net worth of the software mogul-turned-politician soared to 327 billion won. Ahn has a
Market March 23, 2022
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Moon-Yoon feud casts doubt on Yongsan makeover plan
The fate of Yongsan-gu, Seoul’s geographically central district set to see a changing landscape in years to come, is clouded again as the feud over whether to house a new presidential office there escalates between the outgoing and incoming presidents. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is rushing to relocate the presidential office to the Defense Ministry complex in Yongsan before taking office on May 10. This is to end what he calls the “imperial presidency” Cheong Wa Dae represe
Economy March 22, 2022
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Low-income households suffer more from inflation: report
South Korea’s low-income households in the bottom 20 percent have been hit harder by COVID-19-induced inflation than high-income households in the top 20 percent, due to a sharper surge in essential spending on food, housing and utilities than in discretionary spending, a local think tank said Monday. Between 2018-2019 and 2020-2021, consumer prices rose 2.7 percent for the bottom 20 percent, about 1.4 times more than that of the top 20 percent at 1.9 percent, according to the Korea Econo
Economy March 21, 2022
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Banks use AI to enhance customer experience
South Korean banks are embracing artificial intelligence to better understand customers and enable them to take advantage of services more easily, as local financial institutions step up efforts to digitalize their operations. Hana Bank, one of the five major banks here, said Friday that it would use artificial intelligence to look through customer reviews in real-time so as to expand communication between customers and staff. “We see change every day in the banking industry. Getting imm
Economy March 18, 2022
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BOK chief nomination delayed amid Moon-Yoon friction
President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol are seen as bickering over replacing the Bank of Korea governor, whose term ends on March 31 ahead of the May inauguration day, sparking concerns of a leadership void that could add another layer of uncertainty to economic worries. The BOK, which is expected to lift the nation’s key rate in response to a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday, is walking a thin line between stemming currency depreciation and inflation at ho
Economy March 17, 2022
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