'Bank-led won stablecoins risk limiting innovation'

South Korea's proposed bank-led approach to won-backed stablecoins could give institutions with established payment networks little incentive to build alternatives, global industry executives said at a Seoul roundtable Wednesday. "If you give licenses to tier-one banks, as most regulators are inclined to do, there's little incentive to push the boundaries in building out infrastructure compared with giving them to a fintech," said Anthony Koo, head of payments at Singapore-based stablecoin issue

2026-10-04 08:15:26:00

Hana, BNK report data breaches as hacking hits Korean banks

Hana Bank and BNK Financial Group reported data breaches Friday, extending a string of hacking incidents following customer information leaks at Shinhan Bank and KB Kookmin Bank. Hana said hackers accessed its sales support system, known as ODS, exposing personal information belonging to 89 customers. The data included resident registration numbers, names, addresses, contact details and employer names. "The system is separate from internet and mobile banking transaction systems," the bank said,

2026-10-02 19:03:46:00

Hana Financial opens Cheongna headquarters in Incheon

Hana Financial Group opened its new headquarters in Cheongna-dong, Incheon, Friday, bringing financial and technology teams together to strengthen collaboration among affiliates and to accelerate its adoption of artificial intelligence. About 2,200 employees from the holding company and 10 major affiliates began moving into the headquarters in September. The complex will house about 4,000 financial and IT personnel, including staff at its existing data center, Hana said. The opening completes th

2026-10-02 15:12:33:00

Hanwha Life to buy Acuon Capital stake for W440b

Hanwha Life Insurance agreed to buy a controlling stake in Acuon Capital for 440 billion won ($325.4 million), filling a gap in its financial services portfolio as it expands beyond insurance. Hanwha Life will take 50.54 percent of the lender, while a fund managed or established by Centroid Investment Partners will buy a further 49.39 percent, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. Hanwha Life owns 15 percent of Centroid, making it the private equity firm's second largest shareholder. Acuon

2026-09-30 18:06:14:00

Korea lifts tax revenue forecast to record W478.6tr on chip boom

South Korea raised its tax revenue forecast to a record 478.6 trillion won ($353.5 billion) this year, as an artificial intelligence boom fuels chipmakers' profits and a stock market rally lifts trading-related collections. The government expects to collect 63.2 trillion won more than projected in its supplementary budget, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said Wednesday, citing that the semiconductor boom and stock market rally had been difficult to anticipate during budget planning. The revi

2026-09-30 12:19:01:00

Why Korea’s banking day could get shorter — and who pays the price

South Korean banks could give customers half an hour less at the counter each day under a tentative labor deal aimed at cutting employees’ working time. The agreement, reached Monday after five months of talks between the Korean Financial Industry Union and employers, would push branch opening to 9:30 a.m. from next April while keeping the 4 p.m. closing time. The aim is to bring pre-opening duties into regular working hours. The trade-off is less time for branch visits — with no guarantee yet t

2026-09-29 17:36:46:00

Kakao Pay Insurance bucks digital insurer retreat

Korea's first wave of standalone digital insurers is retreating, with two early players returning to their traditional insurance parents after years of losses. Yet Kakao Pay Insurance is moving in the opposite direction, posting rapid growth while narrowing its losses and expanding its product portfolio. Their paths into digital insurance, however, were markedly different. Kyobo Lifeplanet, Korea's first online life insurer, is set to be absorbed by parent Kyobo Life in April 2027, while Carrot

2026-09-27 13:39:42:00

Won weakens sharply to near 1,400 again

The Korean won's brief advance into the 1,330s has quickly unwound, with the currency weakening past 1,388 per dollar Monday, losing nearly 50 won to the dollar in less than two weeks as renewed US tightening concerns and foreign stock selling have brought the 1,400 level back into view. Analysts see room for the won to weaken back above 1,400, but say such a move would not by itself signal renewed instability, with Korea's current account surplus and exporter dollar selling providing a buffer a

2026-09-21 15:20:15:00

Hana Bank issues $100m digital bond with same-day settlement

Hana Bank issued a $100 million digital bond through Euroclear's blockchain platform, completing the transaction on the same day in a first for Korea's foreign currency bond market. The five-year bond was issued Friday using Euroclear's Digital Financial Market Infrastructure, or D-FMI, which processes the issuance, registration and settlement of securities on a distributed ledger, the bank said Monday. The offering achieved T+0 settlement, with bond allocations and payments completed on the iss

2026-09-21 13:06:08:00

Shinhan’s Incheon win: Why banks fight for city funds despite thin margins

Shinhan’s renewed Incheon mandate highlights the value of public accounts as gateways to deposits, customers and regional business Shinhan Bank’s latest win gives it another four years managing Incheon’s main treasury, an account handling nearly 15 trillion won in annual public spending. But the value of the mandate lies less in the headline figure than in the business it can help generate. Municipal treasury contracts can be costly to secure and slow to turn a profit. Banks offer competitive de

2026-09-18 16:35:01:00