The Korea Herald

Lagarde chosen to lead IMF; first woman in top job

Jun 29, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) _ French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde was chosen Tuesday to lead the International Monetary Organization and will immediately confront a European debt crisis that threatens the global economy. Lagarde will be the first female managing director of the 66-year-old global lending organization and the 11th European. Next week, she will begin a five-year term. Among her challen...
Current account surplus hits 7-month high

Jun 28, 2011

Korea’s current account surplus rose to the highest level in seven months in May on solid exports and decreased dividend payments to foreign investors, the central bank said Tuesday. The current account surplus reached $2.26 billion in May, up from a revised $1.28 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. The M...
Hana chief shies away from Woori bidding

Jun 28, 2011

Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Seung-yu on Tuesday downplayed the possibility of the financial company participating in a bidding competition for Woori Financial Group. His remarks came one day ahead of the deadline for submitting letters of intent to financial authorities to attend the takeover bidding for state-run Woori Financial. He told reporters that it would not be easy for the group ...
Securities firms could be hit by ban on short-term loans

Jun 27, 2011

The stock brokerage industry faces a revamping as financial regulators have decided to restrict transactions of “call money,” short-term loans provided to securities firms from financial companies. Citing the necessity of reducing the liquidity risk among securities firms, the Financial Supervisory Service said last week that it would ultimately ban brokerages from applying for call loans starti...
SC First Bank faces mass strike

Jun 26, 2011

Bank offers ‘final proposal,’ but union sees no difference About 3,000 unionized workers of Standard Chartered First Bank Korea are poised to go on an indefinite strike this week as they have failed to reach a compromise with management on salary. Despite continued efforts at persuasion and proposals by management, the union still opposes plans from the U.K.-based bank’s Korean unit to introduc...
Labor union of SC First Bank goes on indefinite strike

Jun 26, 2011

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Unionized workers of SC First Bank, the South Korean unit of Standard Chartered Plc, launched an indefinite strike Monday in protest against the management's move to introduce a performance-based pay system. "The labor union has kicked off an indefinite labor strike, and we will not budge until the management withdraws its move and the two sides reach a collective bargaining ag...
Man makes $1 heist to get prison health care

Jun 26, 2011

A former Coca-Cola truck driver committed a $1 bank robbery to get free health care while in prison, The Telegraph reported. James Richard Vernone, who has never been in trouble with law, decided to rob a RBC bank in North Carolina. Mr. Vernone, 59, has been unemployed and suffering from several health problems. He walked into the bank with a note saying “This is a bank robbery. Please give me ...
Minister vows to deregulate further to support companies

Jun 24, 2011

Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said Friday that the private sector needs to take a bigger role in the economy, vowing to create a business-friendly environment. In his first meeting with heads of the nation’s five major business lobby groups, Bahk attributed the economy’s fast recovery from the financial crisis to “jobs created, overseas investments made and taxes paid” by the private sector busi...
Watchdog vows to curb household debt

Jun 23, 2011

Korea’s financial watchdog plans to curb excessive growth of household debt by tightening banks’ loan-to-deposit ratios and requiring non-bank institutions to raise loan-loss reserves, its head said Thursday. Korea is grappling with snowballing household debt as heavy indebtedness is feared to crimp economic growth by putting restraints consumer spending. The government plans to unveil a set of ...
Eximbank should focus on overseas projects: minister

Jun 23, 2011

Korea Eximbank should focus on long-term projects of a global scale as the key export credit agency of the country, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said Thursday. Speaking at a forum organized by the state-run bank, Bahk said, “The Bank should reduce short-term products such as trade financing, which can be mainly provided by the private sector, but increase mid- to long-term financing for large-s...
Emergence of big investment bank not in sight

Jun 23, 2011

Failure of two brokerages’ merger dims prospects The nation is facing a stumbling block in establishing a large-scale investment bank although the chief financial regulator has unveiled a policy toward activation of IB businesses. The pessimistic view comes after KDB Financial Group failed to take over Woori Financial Group amid an uneasy sentiment between the two state-run financial companies....
Seoul to crack down on international cartels: FTC chief

Jun 22, 2011

Watchdog’s move comes as price-fixing, collusive wrongdoings on increase The Fair Trade Commission will step up efforts to crack down on international cartels, promising stern punishment for those engaged in unfair trade practices or abusing their market dominance, commission chief Kim Dong-soo said Wednesday. “A typical example of foul play in the market economy is cartels, the No. 1 enemy of ...
CJ CheilJedang fined W340m for probe interference

Jun 22, 2011

CJ CheilJedang, Korea’s largest food company, was slapped with 340 million won ($316,000) in fines for interrupting the corporate watchdog’s probe into alleged price-fixing activities, the Fair Trade Commission said Wednesday. The fine is the largest single penalty imposed for unlawful interference in an investigation by the watchdog. The FTC said it is seeking to punish five workers at the comp...
FSS seeks to curb power of financial chiefs

Jun 22, 2011

Regulator focuses on enhancing independence of groups’ units Regulators are moving to scale down the authority of major financial group chairmen, saying the current system provides them with “excessive” power to control all of their groups’ units. “The direction would be focused on enhancing the independence of financial groups’ subsidiaries by tackling chairmen’s authority,” said an official o...
MSCI keeps Korea’s emerging market status

Jun 22, 2011

Global investment index provider MSCI Inc. retained Korea’s emerging market status on its global equities index, citing problems stemming from its market rigidity and lack of accessibility. The move represents another setback for Korea. MSCI left Korea’s status unchanged in 2009 and 2010 due to the “rigidity” of its investor identification system and lack of an active offshore market for the Kor...