Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai (fifth from left, second row) poses with female midlevel managers during a launch ceremony of a new in-house program titled Hana Waves held at its headquarters in central Seoul on Tuesday. Members invited to the first series of programs have been recommended by CEOs of Hana affiliates to develop their leadership roles as part of the group‘s gender diversity efforts at the C-suite level. (Hana Financial Group)

Market June 17, 2021

Economies with solid demand for home-backed lending, including South Korea, are likely to see housing prices decrease merely 3 percent in the event of a 1 percentage point hike in the benchmark interest rate, a report showed Tuesday.  Korea’s ratio of mortgage loans to gross domestic product came to 47.1 percent last year, up 14.7 percentage points from the 2010 estimate, according to a report from the London-based Centre for Economic Policy Research on how monetary policy affects

Economy June 15, 2021

Hana Financial Group said Monday that it has obtained a preliminary license from Singapore’s financial authorities to open an asset management company in the Southeast Asian country. The Monetary Authority of Singapore granted the partial approval Friday, though it hasn’t notified the banking giant when a final business license will be issued, officials said. Hana Financial’s attempt to make inroads into Singapore’s promising asset management market is part of the group

Market June 14, 2021

Hana Financial Group said Friday it had launched an internet-only bank in Indonesia through a partnership with Line, Naver-affiliated Japanese messaging app provider. Hana Financial became the first banking group to operate internet-only banking services in Southeast Asia. Branded Line Bank, it offers contactless banking, including savings account opening, subscription to deposit savings products, utility bill payment and cash withdrawals.  The newly launched digital lender will expand

Market June 11, 2021

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Friday that a key interest rate hike is plausible by the end of this year in step with economic recovery. “If our economy is expected to stage a modest recovery, (the BOK) will normalize the current easing of monetary policy in an orderly way at an appropriate time,” Lee said in a statement to mark the 71st anniversary of the BOK’s foundation. Earlier in April, the BOK froze its key interest rate at a record low of 0.5 percent amid concer

Market June 11, 2021

South Koreans are experiencing greater economic pain in recent months, largely due to soaring consumer prices and higher unemployment rates amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Thursday.  The nation’s so-called misery perceptions index, calculated by adding the seasonally adjusted jobless rate to the annual inflation rate, stood at 6.6 in May, sharply up from 4.2 estimated a year earlier. The latest figure marked the highest since May 2011 when it hit 7.1, said Rep. Choo

Economy June 10, 2021

The Korean Financial Industry Union and the Finance Industry User Council have agreed that workers who get vaccinated for COVID-19 are entitled to up to three days of paid leave, officials said Sunday. Under the agreement, which will take effect Monday, employees of 22 financial institutions registered with the Korea Federation of Banks -- a body that represents commercial banks -- will receive two days off work, the day of the vaccination and the day after.  Those who show signs of ad

Market June 6, 2021

Despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing rules in place, some indoor golf facilities featuring simulators and golf courses have been enjoying increased popularity, thanks largely to their relatively less crowded environments, a report said Sunday.  According to the report published by research firm KB Financial Group Research Institute, Golfzon, the nation’s leading virtual golf simulator company, saw its total sales increase more than 20 percent on-year in 202

Market June 6, 2021

The ruling Democratic Party is considering a new round of COVID-19 emergency cash handouts for all nationals before the Chuseok holiday as social distancing rules have continued to weigh on the local economy, according to party officials Wednesday. “Another round of universal COVID-19 response stimulus checks backed by a second extra budget is urgently needed,” said Yun Ho-jung, the ruling Democratic Party floor leader.  “(The party) will kick off a review of fiscal stra

Economy June 2, 2021

Amid the recent market frenzy surrounding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, the volume of deposits and withdrawals made through bank accounts for virtual coin trading has surpassed 64 trillion won ($57.85 billion), data showed Tuesday.  During the first quarter, nearly 64.2 trillion won flowed in and out of real-name bank accounts from commercial lenders, including Shinhan Bank, NH Nonghyup Bank and internet-only K bank, for digital token investments through South Korea’s four major c

Market June 1, 2021

A 170-square-meter land in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, where South Korean beauty brand Nature Republic’s flagship store is located, has been named the most expensive real estate property in the country for the eighteenth consecutive year, data showed Monday.  The prime plot in the middle of the downtown shopping district was appraised at nearly 200 million won ($179,800) per square-meter, up 3.8 percent from 190 million won estimated a year earlier, according to data released by th

Market May 31, 2021

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Thursday it will host a special session ahead of the upcoming P4G Seoul Summit to discuss the finance industry’s role in the global fight against climate change. The event will be held virtually on Saturday at 8 p.m. under the theme of “Role of Finance in Post COVID-19 Green Recovery,” convened by Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo, Environment Minister Han Jeoung-ae, Korea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-gul

Economy May 27, 2021

Line Plus, a subsidiary of the Naver-owned Line Corp., said Thursday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with NuriFlex, a global provider of blockchain-based payment solutions, to develop a transaction platform for central bank digital currency targeting Latin American and African countries. Under the business partnership, the two companies will set up the envisioned payment system in a way that complies with Latin American and African states’ financial regulations and provid

Market May 27, 2021

The South Korean government said Wednesday it will expand financial support for domestic companies in green sectors to make inroads into the global market, in partnership with the Green Climate Fund. Launched in late 2010, the South Korea-based United Nations climate fund aims to channel money from industrialized nations to developing countries to help them tackle climate change-related problems. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Yannick Glemarec, executive director of the GCF, agreed to inc

Economy May 26, 2021

South Korea’s market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service said Tuesday it has ordered the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea to compensate up to 80 percent of the losses from the lender’s misselling of problematic funds structured by Discovery Asset Management.  The dispute arbitration committee under the FSS set the reimbursement rate for individual investors, who signed up for Discovery funds through IBK, ranging between 40-80 percent, the FSS said in a statement.  Th

Market May 25, 2021