The head of Korea’s top financial watchdog criticized the current oligopolistic system dominated by five major commercial lenders, which hinders them from sharpening their global competitiveness. “If (Korean banks) stay the way they are now, they will likely have a hard time gaining an edge in the global market,” Financial Supervisory Service Chief Lee Bok-hyun said during a meeting with foreign investors in Seoul on Wednesday. This meeting was organized by the FSS to provide i

Industry Feb. 22, 2023

Top commercial Korean banks are moving to lower their lending rates further amid backlash from financial authorities and the public against its presentation of a social contribution plan that was deemed inadequate for easing pressing burdens from high rates. Many have demanded South Korean banks share their profits with society after they enjoyed a bumper year on last year's interest rate hikes. The top four Korean financial groups -- Shinhan, KB, Hana and Woori -- saw their combined ne

Industry Feb. 21, 2023

South Korea ranked near the bottom on reported levels of life satisfaction among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a report released this month. Statistics Korea's report Quality of Life Indicators in 2022 showed that South Korea ranked 36th among 38 OECD countries in terms of life satisfaction, based on data collected from 2019 to 2021. The country had a score of 5.9 out of 10, substantially lower than the OECD average of 6.7. Thi

Industry Feb. 20, 2023

South Korea’s financial watchdog emphasized the need for a stronger regulatory system to prepare for new risks that might arise as big tech companies expand their finance business. “There should be in-depth discussion and research on introducing entity-centered regulations for big tech,” Lee Bok-hyun, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, said during a speech at the Diagnosis and Future Tasks of Big Tech's Financial Industry seminar held in Myeong-dong, Seoul, Fr

Industry Feb. 19, 2023

Local banks are hurriedly laying out plans to carry out profit-sharing corporate social responsibility activities after President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned them for enjoying hefty bonuses even as people suffer under higher interest rates. But the efforts appear to be falling short of quelling public criticisms. According to the Korea Federation of Banks on Wednesday, its new social corporate responsibility project will bring a support effect of around 10 trillion won ($7.8 billion) to society ov

Market Feb. 16, 2023

In order to improve Korea's suffering trade deficit, a Korean trade lobby group on Wednesday called for the government to ease regulations for foreign businesses. “Korea's export industry, which is mainly composed of intermediate goods and semiconductors that are sensitive to economic fluctuations, is one cause of the sluggish exports. But fundamentally, the global export market share is the key problem,” KITA Vice Chairman Jeong Marn-ki said during a press conference held

Industry Feb. 15, 2023

James Kim (left), chairman and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, meets with Foreign Minister Park Jin on Tuesday at the ministry's building in Seoul. They are said to have discussed measures to nurture Korea as the top business and investment destination for global companies. (American Chamber of Commerce in Korea)

Industry Feb. 14, 2023

The top five Korean banks -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NongHyup – handed out hefty bonuses last year, after they posted record earnings thanks to higher interest income. The five banks’ bonuses in 2022 amounted to a combined 1.38 trillion won ($1.08 billion), up 35 percent on-year, according to data provided to the Democratic Party of Korea’s Rep. Hwang Un-ha by the Financial Supervisory Service. The FSS data showed that NongHyup gave out the greatest amount in bo

Industry Feb. 14, 2023

Foreign investors bought listed stocks here worth a net 6.14 trillion won ($4.8 billion) in January, according to the Financial Supervisory Service on Monday. This is the highest net buying amount that South Korea has seen in nine years, since September 2013, when the total was recorded at 8.32 trillion won. It is also the first time since November 2020 that net purchases surpassed 6 trillion won. Most of the investments centered on the Kospi market. Foreign investors’ net buying of Kosp

Industry Feb. 13, 2023

This is the third part of a series on South Korea’s largest investor, the National Pension Service, analyzing its current status and identifying tasks that lie ahead. -- Ed. The new chief investment officer of the National Pension Service, the country's largest investor, vowed in December last year to be a more vocal shareholder to shore up returns and assert more control over how companies are run. In other words, the CIO aims to more strictly follow the so-called “stewards

Industry Feb. 13, 2023

South Korea’s top four financial groups -- Shinhan, KB, Hana and Woori – saw their combined net profit last year hitting a record high of 15.85 trillion won ($12.53 billion), largely buoyed by robust interest. This figure broke last year’s record of 14.54 trillion won, as there was an 8.99 percent increase in net profit on-year. Shinhan reclaimed the top position among the four financial firms in Korea by posting a net profit of 4.64 trillion won. Following Shinhan, KB marked

Industry Feb. 10, 2023

Shinhan Financial Group reclaimed the top position among financial firms in Korea by posting net profit outpacing other players last year. According to Shinhan's earnings report released Wednesday, its net profit marked 4.64 trillion won ($3.68 billion) in 2022, surpassing its cross-town rival KB Financial Group’s net profit by more than 200 billion won. Since KB’s net profit outperformed Shinhan for the first time in 2017, the two top-tier banking groups have been running a nec

Industry Feb. 8, 2023

IT behemoth Apple announced Wednesday it will launch its mobile payments service Apple Pay in Korea, where rival Samsung has already enjoyed a dominant position in the market for years. “Apple will launch Apple Pay in Korea,” Apple said in a statement without further details. Apple's local partner, Hyundai Card, also released a statement saying it looks forward to collaborating with Apple to introduce the digital wallet to South Korea. "We will share more details in the c

Industry Feb. 8, 2023

Lee Bok-hyun, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, pledged to help local finance companies beef up their presence in the overseas market on Monday. The country's financial watchdog will first hold talks with counterparts in Southeast Asia, which are considered the major market for domestic financial firms. “I understand that there are demands from local banks and securities firms, asking the FSS to communicate with foreign financial watchdogs in markets that they have entered,&

Industry Feb. 6, 2023

  French President Emmanuel Macron's recent proposal to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 is believed to be the optimal solution to tackle the country's soon-to-run-out public pension reserves, French economist Philippe Aghion said during an interview with The Korea Herald on Jan. 24. "The best way to deal with the pension deficit is to increase how much time you spend in life working, and that’s what the reform (in France) intends to do – increase the number of years

Industry Feb. 6, 2023