Journalist

SEOYOUNG LEE
  • South Korea Sees Crypto-Related Complaints Surge More Than 1,000%, Regulator Says
    South Korea Sees Crypto-Related Complaints Surge More Than 1,000%, Regulator Says Crypto-related complaints surged more than 1,000% in a year, driving an overall rise in financial complaints as exchange-related dissatisfaction grew alongside an investment boom. According to the Financial Supervisory Service report, “2025 Trends in Financial Complaints and Financial Counseling,” released on the 21st, crypto-related complaints totaled 4,491 last year, up 1,014.4% from the previous year. The jump was a key factor behind growth in complaints in the financial investment sector. Financial investment complaints rose 65.4% to 14,944 over the same period. Crypto complaints accounted for 30.1% of all financial investment complaints, emerging as a major category. Most crypto complaints involved exchanges, including failure to deliver promised benefits from promotional events and inconvenience using systems and services. The FSS said dissatisfaction built quickly as investor protection systems remained relatively weak. Overall financial complaints also increased. Total complaints last year rose 10.4% to 128,419. By sector, insurance complaints climbed. Nonlife insurance complaints increased 19.6% to 48,281, and life insurance complaints rose 12.0% to 14,656. Disputes over how insurance payouts are calculated and paid, and whether exclusions apply, were cited as key drivers. Banking complaints fell 10.2% to 21,596, but complaints tied to voice phishing jumped more than 125%, reflecting growing inconvenience during responses to financial fraud incidents. The volume of cases handled also rose. Financial complaints processed last year increased 17.0% to 127,809, and the average processing time lengthened by 5.1 days to 46.6 days. The acceptance rate edged up to 41.3%. The acceptance rate for dispute-related complaints rose sharply to 54.7%, which the FSS said strengthened relief for 피해 victims. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-21 16:48:30
  • KB Kookmin Bank Expands Mobile Rate-Reduction Requests for Sole Proprietors
    KB Kookmin Bank Expands Mobile Rate-Reduction Requests for Sole Proprietors KB Kookmin Bank said Thursday it will expand the scope of its non-face-to-face service for sole proprietors seeking lower loan rates, aiming to reduce interest burdens and improve access. Under South Korea’s “right to request an interest rate reduction,” borrowers can ask a financial company to cut their rate when their credit profile improves, such as through employment, higher income or better credit. With the change, sole proprietor customers can apply and check results through KB Corporate Star Banking and internet banking without visiting a branch, regardless of loan type. The bank also introduced a new “credit improvement guidance” service for cases in which a request is not approved. It provides five categories of information — personal details, bank transaction data, loan transaction data, card usage data and delinquency information — to help customers manage their credit. A company official said the move is intended to help busy small business owners use financial services more conveniently and benefit from lower rates, adding that the bank will continue expanding inclusive finance services to protect consumer rights and ease financing costs.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-10 14:21:00
  • Korean Banks Shift Small-Business Lending to Sales-Based Credit Scores
    Korean Banks Shift Small-Business Lending to Sales-Based Credit Scores South Korean banks are moving to expand financing for small business owners by adopting credit-scoring models that factor in nonfinancial data such as sales and local market conditions. The shift aims to improve access to credit by moving beyond assessments centered on collateral and past borrowing history and by weighing growth potential. Major lenders including KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank are taking part in a pilot program for the Financial Services Commission’s Small Business Specialized Credit Scoring Model, known as SCB, the financial industry said Thursday. SCB is designed to evaluate future growth potential using nonfinancial indicators including sales, industry type, commercial district conditions and business capability, in addition to traditional measures. Banks plan to use SCB to identify small business owners with strong growth prospects and offer tailored support such as higher loan limits and preferential interest rates. The model is also expected to provide more precise assessments for sole proprietors with limited credit histories by focusing on business competitiveness. Woori Bank said it plans financial support totaling about 300 billion won and will pilot SCB in reviews for new loans to sole proprietors starting in the second half of the year. Shinhan Bank said it will apply preferred review standards — including higher limits and rate benefits — for new sole-proprietor loan applicants with strong SCB grades. KB Kookmin Bank said it will run the pilot with the commission for about a year and provide rate and limit benefits mainly through its business-loan products, including KB Ilsacheonri Loan and KB Together Loan. The SCB model was developed by combining existing business credit grades with growth grades calculated by the Korea Credit Information Services using alternative data such as technology capability, sales and online platform information. The Financial Services Commission previously identified the SCB rollout as a key task at a task force meeting on overhauling the credit evaluation system and asked financial institutions to join the pilot. Seven banks, including major commercial lenders, are participating. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-10 14:03:00
  • South Korea watchdog reviews IT controls at internet banks after system glitches
    South Korea watchdog reviews IT controls at internet banks after system glitches The Financial Supervisory Service has urged internet-only banks and affiliated securities firms to strengthen IT internal controls to prevent system incidents. The regulator said it held a review meeting Tuesday with chief information officers and other officials from five companies — K Bank, KakaoBank and Toss Bank, as well as Kakao Pay Securities and Toss Securities — to check their IT risk management status and improvement plans. The FSS shared recent examples of system failures, including a recent Toss Bank incident involving a system error tied to its “half-price yen exchange” service. The watchdog stressed compliance with basic internal controls, calling for thorough procedures when changing programs, including advance impact analysis, testing and third-party verification. It also highlighted the need to expand computing infrastructure to handle surges in transaction volume, review emergency response systems, and speed recovery and consumer notifications when outages occur. Preparedness for cyber threats such as distributed denial-of-service attacks and ransomware was also listed as a key review item. Lee Jong-oh, the FSS deputy governor for digital and IT, said internet banks and related firms must build IT stability and accident-prevention systems that match their growth. He also called for stronger self-regulation, including internal audits, to prevent repeat incidents caused by weak basic controls. The FSS said it plans to shift its oversight toward prevention to stop IT incidents from recurring, and it will take strict action if major system failures occur due to inadequate internal controls.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-01 10:06:19
  • South Korea’s Four Biggest Banks Sue to Overturn LTV Collusion Fines
    South Korea’s Four Biggest Banks Sue to Overturn LTV Collusion Fines South Korea’s four major commercial banks are taking legal action to challenge the Fair Trade Commission’s sanctions over alleged collusion involving loan-to-value ratios, or LTVs. The financial industry said Thursday that KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori banks planned to file an administrative lawsuit seeking to overturn the FTC’s penalty decision. The FTC previously concluded the banks restricted competition in the real estate secured-loan market by exchanging LTV-related information and imposed total fines of 272 billion won. The commission said the banks kept LTVs below certain levels to limit loan supply and, as a result, increase interest income. The FTC also said the conduct reduced access to loans for borrowers such as small and midsize enterprises and small business owners. The banking industry has countered that the exchanges amounted to information sharing and do not constitute collusion. It argues LTV is not a competitive factor like price or interest rates, but an internal risk-management standard operated within financial regulators’ rules. Banks also say the FTC’s view is hard to sustain because higher LTVs typically allow larger loans and greater earnings, making it difficult to argue they intentionally lowered ratios to boost profits.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-20 18:15:00
  • Musical Actor Nam Kyung-ju Sent to Prosecutors on Rape Allegation
    Musical Actor Nam Kyung-ju Sent to Prosecutors on Rape Allegation Musical actor Nam Kyung-ju, 63, has been referred to prosecutors on a rape allegation, police said. According to police and other officials on Tuesday, Seoul’s Bangbae Police Station last month sent Nam to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office without detention on suspicion of intercourse by abuse of authority. Nam is accused of sexually assaulting a woman, identified only as A, in Seoul last year. A is reported to have left the scene shortly afterward and called the emergency number 112. Nam denied the allegation during police questioning, but police said they determined the suspicion was supported based on related circumstances and forwarded the case to prosecutors. Nam’s Instagram account has been deleted, and no official statement has been released. Nam is considered part of South Korea’s first generation of musical theater actors, along with Choi Jung-won and Park Kalin. He won best actor at the 13th Daegu International Musical Festival in 2019 and is a professor in the performing arts department at Hongik University.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-11 20:42:16
  • Kim Yunji Wins Another Silver, Sets South Korea Record for Most Winter Paralympic Medals at One Games
    Kim Yunji Wins Another Silver, Sets South Korea Record for Most Winter Paralympic Medals at One Games Kim Yunji, a 19-year-old rising star in South Korean para sports, added a silver medal on Tuesday to set a new national record for the most medals won by a South Korean athlete at a single Winter Paralympics. Kim finished second in the women’s 10-kilometer interval start cross-country skiing race at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics, clocking 26 minutes, 51.6 seconds at the Tesero Cross-Country Stadium in Italy. Oksana Masters of the United States won gold. The result gave Kim one gold and two silvers at these Games, the most by a South Korean athlete at one Winter Paralympics. The previous mark was set by Shin Eui-hyun at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games with one gold and one bronze. Kim earlier won South Korea’s first Winter Paralympic gold medal by a female athlete in the women’s 12.5-kilometer individual biathlon and also took silver in the cross-country sprint. South Korea has four medals so far at these Games, including Kim’s three and a bronze by snowboarder Lee Je-hyeok. In wheelchair curling, the mixed doubles team of Baek Hye-jin and Lee Yong-seok has reached the final, guaranteeing at least a silver medal.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-11 20:27:00
  • South Korea watchdog to tighten checks on banks’ sales of high-risk products
    South Korea watchdog to tighten checks on banks’ sales of high-risk products The Financial Supervisory Service said it will strengthen oversight of banks’ sales of complex, high-risk financial products and will deploy a separate financial consumer protection inspection team during regular examinations. The move is aimed at tightening controls on the sale of high-risk products at bank counters after a mis-selling scandal involving equity-linked securities tied to Hong Kong’s H Index. The FSS announced the plan on 9 at its “2026 banking sector financial supervision briefing,” outlining its supervision and inspection priorities. The watchdog said it will step up monitoring of sales of complex investment products. It will review how banks are operating a system that limits in-person sales of high-risk products to designated hub branches, and will closely examine sales volumes, excessive promotions, and consumer complaints and dispute cases. During regular inspections, it will form a dedicated consumer protection team to comprehensively review safeguards across the full process of product design, screening and sales. The FSS also said it will strengthen protection of consumer rights by checking business practices that hinder customers from exercising rights, including delays in handling requests for interest-rate reductions and cancellations. It said inspections will also cover whether banks properly provide guidance on debt restructuring under the Personal Debtor Protection Act and whether procedures for managing delinquent loans are appropriate. To support financial system stability, the FSS said it will encourage banks to calculate and manage debt service ratio, or DSR, for internal control purposes and will guide them to set DSR management standards by loan type. It also plans to review quarterly provisioning levels and liquidity management, and to analyze how a high exchange-rate environment and inclusion in the World Government Bond Index, or WGBI, could affect the foreign exchange market. Governance and internal controls at banks will also be reviewed. The FSS said it will check progress and implementation of reforms focused on board independence, fairness and transparency in selecting chief executives, and the reasonableness of performance-based pay. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-09 17:24:00
  • SC First Bank Net Profit Plunges 57% on Hong Kong H-Index ELS Provision, One-Off Costs
    SC First Bank Net Profit Plunges 57% on Hong Kong H-Index ELS Provision, One-Off Costs SC First Bank said its net profit plunged last year, hit by one-time costs including a provision tied to sanctions over Hong Kong H-index equity-linked securities (ELS) and expenses for a special retirement program. The bank said Thursday that net profit for the year totaled 141.5 billion won, down 57.3% from 331.1 billion won a year earlier. The decline was driven largely by sizable one-off charges. In the fourth quarter, the bank booked 88.0 billion won in special retirement costs and set aside 151.0 billion won in provisions related to sanctions over Hong Kong H-index ELS. Net interest income fell as the net interest margin narrowed amid lower market rates. Net interest income came to 1.2076 trillion won, down 2.0% from 1.2321 trillion won the previous year, and the net interest margin dropped 0.16 percentage points over the period. Noninterest income also declined. While wealth management performed well, gains from securities and foreign-exchange derivatives fell, pulling noninterest income down 8.0% to 311.2 billion won from 338.3 billion won. Selling and administrative expenses rose on special retirement costs and higher labor and inflation-related expenses. The bank reported 1.0754 trillion won in such costs, up 17.7% from 913.6 billion won a year earlier. By contrast, total expected credit losses and other provisions fell 16.9% to 106.7 billion won from 128.4 billion won. Assets expanded. Total assets stood at 92.2781 trillion won at the end of last year, up 7.5% from 85.8409 trillion won a year earlier. Profitability indicators weakened. Return on assets was 0.15%, down 0.23 percentage points, and return on equity was 2.56%, down 3.53 percentage points. The ratio of nonperforming loans rose 0.14 percentage points to 0.56%. The bank also said its board approved a year-end dividend of 125.0 billion won and will submit it as an agenda item for a regular shareholders meeting on the 30th. After the dividend, the bank said its BIS total capital ratio was 18.59% and its common equity Tier 1 ratio was 15.65% as of the end of last year, remaining above regulatory requirements.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-06 18:04:16
  • KB Kookmin Bank Nominates Yeon Tae-hoon as New Outside Director
    KB Kookmin Bank Nominates Yeon Tae-hoon as New Outside Director KB Kookmin Bank said Thursday its outside director nomination committee recommended one new outside director and three outside directors for reappointment. The committee nominated Yeon Tae-hoon, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute of Finance, as the new outside director candidate. Yeon graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in economics and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in economics at the University of Michigan. He previously worked at the Korea Institute of Public Finance and the Korea Development Institute, and now researches capital markets and financial consumer protection, among other topics, at the Korea Institute of Finance. Yeon has also served as an outside director at IBK Investment & Securities, Sh Suhyup Bank, Hyundai Card and Korea Growth Investment Corp. He has held roles including a deliberation member at the Credit Recovery Committee and chair of the Financial Services Commission’s conflict management review committee. The bank said he is regarded as having both on-the-ground financial experience and expertise in consumer protection. The committee said it made the final recommendation after six meetings and three rounds of screening and qualification reviews. Outside directors Moon Soo-bok, Kim Sung-jin and Lee Jung-sook were recommended for reappointment for one-year terms. The nominees are to be formally appointed after a vote at the annual shareholders meeting on March 25. Outside director Seo Tae-jong will step down after the shareholders meeting as his maximum term ends.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-06 16:24:20