The chief of South Korea’s financial watchdog on Tuesday urged private financial firms to disclose corporate environmental information, as part of a move to mitigate the detrimental effects of climate change on financial circles.  “Global consensus has arisen over the so-called ‘green finance’ and ‘sustainable financial services’ following a series of environmental improvement agreements,” Yoon Suk-heun, governor of the Financial Supervisory

Market Sept. 22, 2020

The combined market capitalization of Hyundai Motor Group affiliates surpassed the 100-trillion won ($85.9 billion) mark last week on the back of market expectation on its strength in green vehicle technology, data showed Monday.  As of Thursday, the auto giant‘s 12 listed affiliates had a combined market capitalization of 100.2 trillion won, re-entering the 100-trillion-won club for the first time in 28 months, according to the Korea Exchange. Of the total, the combined market va

Market Sept. 21, 2020

The South Korean government has rolled up its sleeves once again to help virus-battered small businesses. Next Wednesday it plans to expand its ongoing emergency loan program for merchants and entrepreneurs, and a Finance Ministry representative said it will also try to minimize the impact of the lockdown measures on the economy. 　 “The government has raised the credit limit on the second round of its emergency lending program, from the previous 10 million won ($8,620) to 20 million won

Economy Sept. 18, 2020

To facilitate remote working amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the nation’s financial watchdog will ease restrictions on external access to network systems at local financial companies.  The Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday it would allow employees to stay connected to the company’s internal communication software throughout the day by revising the regulations on the supervision of electronic finance, which stipulate the so-called “network separation syst

Market Sept. 17, 2020

Global Komsco Daewoo, a Korean cotton pulp maker in Uzbekistan owned by the state-run Korea Minting Security Printing and ID Card Corp., has become a major supplier of raw materials for banknotes to minting agencies in more than 10 advanced economies, the company said Wednesday. Cotton pulp is widely used in making bills, checks, gift vouchers, and secured bank papers. It also serves as a main material for synthetic chemistry products and new material textiles. Marking its 10th anniversary t

Market Sept. 16, 2020

The number of consumer complaints brought against local financial companies jumped 15 percent on-year in the first-half of 2020, mainly related to the mis-selling of private equity funds and a surge in requests for loans to counter the coronavirus impact, data showed Tuesday.  According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service, the financial watchdog received a total of 45,922 consumer complaints against securities firms, commercial banks, insurance companies and credit card operat

Market Sept. 15, 2020

Responding to an explosive surge in Korean lenders’ credit loans extended to borrowers, financial authorities have embarked on working-level talks with banking circles to implement selective loan regulations, officials said Sunday.  The move came as outstanding unsecured loans extended to individuals by the nation’s five major banks -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup -- surged to 124.3 trillion won ($105 billion) as of end-August, up 4.1 trillion won from Jul

Market Sept. 13, 2020

To help delinquent debtors get back on their feet, Korean authorities plan to draft new legislation that enables them to request a debt restructuring program to financial institutions and have a mediator in the process, the Financial Services Commission said Wednesday. The “consumer credit bill” can force local lenders to cease debt collection activities, upon the debtor‘s request, and offer a revised version of a repayment program within 10 working days. Currently, borrowe

Market Sept. 9, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has hit small businesses in South Korea. The number of self-employed people decreased at an alarming rate in July compared with a year earlier, data showed Tuesday.  According to data compiled by the Korea Small Business Institute and Statistics Korea, the country had 5.548 million self-employed people registered as of last month, down 127,000 from the previous year. The sharp on-year drop was nearly five times as steep as in July last year, when the number of se

Economy Sept. 8, 2020

In continued efforts to combat the prolonged coronavirus outbreak, the Bank of Korea will reportedly operate its own video conferencing platform in mid-September and hold its monetary policy board meetings online if the current anti-virus steps are raised to the highest Level 3, officials said Monday.  “The BOK has decided to implement its own video conferencing system in all regional headquarters as early as in the middle of this month after completing system optimization process

Market Sept. 7, 2020

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday it has assigned a budget of 170 billion won ($142.8 million) for 2021 to develop a homegrown vaccine against the novel coronavirus. Designed to support local companies’ research and development of the COVID-19 vaccine, the government will inject 31.9 billion won into clinical trials of candidate materials for the drug and 7.4 billion won for non-human clinical trials, the ministry said.  Also,131.4 billion won will be spent on a seri

Economy Sept. 4, 2020

South Korea on Friday said it will implement a second round of state emergency relief funds targeted at small business operators and beleaguered families most affected by an explosive surge in COVID-19 cases. “Discussions are underway to identify the most damaged small business sectors. (The government) plans to announce a comprehensive plan for the second round of emergency relief grants as early as next week,” Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said Friday in an interview with

Economy Sept. 4, 2020

Citibank Korea said Thursday it has conducted diverse social contribution programs to help the community cushion the impact of the prolonged coronavirus outbreak. The bank held a series of job mentoring sessions dubbed “Over the Lan Job Talk” last month, whereby its employees gave lectures on job positions at the company as well as required skills through a video conferencing platform. The programs are designed to encourage young job seekers hit hard by sluggish job market, the ba

Market Sept. 3, 2020

South Korea’s major banks saw their credit loan balance rise by more than 4 trillion won ($3.37 billion) on-month in August, data showed Wednesday, due to persisting ultra-low interest rates, as well as side effects from new loan regulations.  Outstanding personal loans extended to individuals by the nation’s five major lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana and NH NongHyup -- stood at nearly 124.27 trillion won last month, up 4.76 trillion won from a month earlier. This

Market Sept. 2, 2020

President Moon Jae-in will meet with top executives of Korea’s five major banking giants on Thursday to discuss measures to promote the government’s social infrastructure investment scheme, dubbed the “New Deal fund,” industry sources said Tuesday. Set up to support the Korean version of the “New Deal” initiative unveiled in July, the envisioned fund will mainly finance digitalization of national infrastructure and provide at least a 3 percent rate of retur

Market Sept. 1, 2020