Journalist

Kwon Ga-rim
  • New IBK CEO Jang Min-young Pledges 300 Trillion Won in ‘Productive Finance’ and AI Shift
    New IBK CEO Jang Min-young Pledges 300 Trillion Won in ‘Productive Finance’ and AI Shift ‘A 37-year IBK veteran,’ new IBK Industrial Bank of Korea CEO Jang Min-young began his official duties on Feb. 20, calling for the bank to serve as a catalyst for “productive finance.” He said IBK will expand financing for small and midsize businesses amid low growth and industrial restructuring, while overhauling the bank through AI-driven digital transformation and stronger internal controls. “At a time when our economy faces structural crises of low growth and polarization, we are also confronting upheaval from AI, digital change and an energy transition,” Jang said at the inauguration ceremony. “IBK must play the role of a catalyst for productive finance.” He named three core management priorities: productive finance, trust-based finance and digital transformation. “Over the past 65 years, IBK’s corporate-finance DNA built alongside small and midsize companies is a unique asset no one can replicate,” he said, pledging to “push ahead without disruption” with 300 trillion won in productive finance by 2030. Jang also called for expanding investment in new industries. “With a trained eye, we will identify future industries such as AI and semiconductors and powerfully activate our growth engine,” he said. He pledged broad financial support tailored to a company’s life cycle, “from early-stage startups through growth and maturity.” On digital transformation, Jang said he wants to redefine IBK as an “AI company.” “We will secure AI-based, best-in-class capabilities across all areas and realign our organizational DNA to be AI-friendly,” he said, adding that the bank will combine long-accumulated data with AI to upgrade credit reviews and soundness management. He also described stablecoins as a key technology that could change the capital paradigm and said the bank will review adopting related systems, with safety as a prerequisite. Jang emphasized a shift to trust-based finance as well. “We will build an internal control system that can proactively manage even unseen risks,” he said, signaling tighter risk management. He added that IBK faces the challenge of competing on equal footing with commercial banks while balancing public and commercial roles, and said he will foster a culture of mutual respect and discussion. The ceremony was held about a month after his appointment on Jan. 23, after the bank’s labor union staged a campaign to block employees from reporting to work over overtime pay issues tied to a total wage cap system. Labor and management agreed on Feb. 19 to normalize unpaid allowances, easing the dispute and allowing the bank to move toward normal operations. For his first official schedule, Jang plans to visit a Seoul branch with heavy customer traffic to encourage staff. With his term starting later than planned, he also aims to accelerate the 300 trillion won productive-finance initiative. The government’s National Growth Fund is also expected to expand IBK’s role in areas such as balanced regional development and support for advanced strategic industries, and some observers say his capital-markets background could speed up decisions on large-scale fund investments. Asset quality management is also cited as a key task. Analysts say the bank must stabilize a delinquency rate that rose into the 1% range in the third quarter of last year while continuing support for small merchants and small and midsize businesses. How the new leadership balances expanded support with risk controls is expected to be an early test. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-20 11:09:00
  • KB Kookmin Bank Union Faces Impeachment Bid Against Chair After Labor Deal
    KB Kookmin Bank Union Faces Impeachment Bid Against Chair After Labor Deal KB Kookmin Bank’s labor union has finalized its 2025 wage and collective bargaining agreement, but an unprecedented move to impeach the union chair is now being raised. The push comes after a majority of members voted against the tentative deal, yet the chair moved ahead with it under his authority. The union says it is prepared to take the dispute to court over issues including bonuses that have already been paid, signaling the conflict could drag on. According to the financial industry on Thursday, the union has formed an emergency committee and will begin voting Feb. 23 on whether to file an impeachment motion against union chair Kim Jeong. If at least one-third of members agree, the motion can be formally submitted. After a motion is filed, the chair must convene the impeachment decision-making body within two weeks. If at least two-thirds of members vote in favor, the chair must step down. Members’ anger centers on Kim’s decision to implement compensation based on the tentative agreement despite its rejection. In a second vote held Feb. 11, 5,443 of 9,369 members voted against the deal, defeating it. The tentative agreement included a 3.1% wage increase (3.3% for contract workers), a profit-sharing bonus (P/S) of 300%, a special incentive payment of 7 million won, elimination of the P/S cap and a plan to rebuild the profit-sharing system within three quarters, and a 4.9-day workweek that includes leaving work one hour early on Fridays. Internal dissatisfaction remained over the raise and the compensation structure. Kim, who won reelection last month, had made “up to 600% in bonuses” a key campaign pledge, which the union said helped drive the majority “no” vote. Even so, Kim pushed the agreement through, citing the approaching Feb. 13 deadline for paying bonuses to employees taking voluntary retirement, despite the deal being rejected twice. The union said, “Even after an overwhelming majority opposition was confirmed twice in a membership vote, Kim trampled members’ will with a single statement and forced the agreement through,” calling it “a serious matter that undermines the foundation of democratic legitimacy.” In a statement issued Wednesday, Kim said, “As the payment deadline for our retired seniors drew closer, my heart burned, and I ultimately made a lonely and heavy decision with the resolve to bear all criticism alone.” He added, “As chair, I cannot wash away with any excuse that I did not fully follow members’ wishes, and I will not avoid responsibility but face it head-on.” The infighting could also spill into legal action. With the profit-sharing bonus already paid after Kim moved ahead, some observers say a court is less likely to grant an injunction to invalidate the agreement. The union, however, believes it could still prevail in a lawsuit on the merits. 2026-02-20 08:30:00
  • SC First Bank Launches Smart Box Checking Account With Rates Up to 5%
    SC First Bank Launches Smart Box Checking Account With Rates Up to 5% SC First Bank said Wednesday it is running a sign-up promotion for its “SC First Smart Box Account,” a demand deposit product offering rates of up to 5%. The account automatically splits the daily balance in half and applies different rates to the Smart Box portion and the Basic Box portion. On the Smart Box portion — half of the balance — customers can earn a preferential rate of 3.0% to 5.0% depending on conditions. The remaining half, the Basic Box portion, earns a base rate of 0.3%. The Smart Box portion starts with a 3.0% preferential rate, with additional boosts of 1.0 percentage point for first-time SC First Bank customers, 0.5 point for a Smart Box balance of at least 100 million won, 0.2 point for marketing consent and 0.3 point for payroll deposits. Interest on the Smart Box portion is compounded daily, with principal and accrued interest added each day and treated as the next day’s principal. To receive the Smart Box rate, the Smart Box portion must be at least 1 million won; there is no maximum limit. For example, a first-time customer who deposits 200 million won would be eligible for up to 5.0% on the Smart Box portion of 100 million won, depending on conditions, while the remaining 100 million won in the Basic Box portion would earn 0.3%. “Smart Box Account is a demand deposit product that automatically manages half of the daily balance at a higher rate,” said Jeong Jae-won, head of SC First Bank’s secured lending and deposit products division. He said it could be “a reasonable choice” for customers looking to manage spare cash in a volatile market. 2026-02-19 15:12:51
  • Shinhan Bank, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Sign Deal to Expand Productive Finance
    Shinhan Bank, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Sign Deal to Expand Productive Finance Shinhan Bank said Tuesday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Engineering & Construction to expand cooperation aimed at boosting what it called “productive finance.” The signing ceremony was held at Hyundai E&C’s headquarters in Seoul and attended by Shinhan Bank CEO Jeong Sang-hyeok and Hyundai E&C CEO Lee Han-woo. The companies said they will jointly review financing options tailored to each project’s characteristics and funding needs and set up a working-level cooperation system to broaden support. Under the agreement, Shinhan Bank will strengthen financial cooperation across Hyundai E&C’s businesses, including data centers, renewable energy, infrastructure and environmental projects, and power brokerage trading. The bank said it plans to support funding through project-specific financial advisory services, arranging financing and linking investments. The two sides also agreed to step up information sharing during project execution and work together to develop financial products and customized solutions suited to each project. A Shinhan Bank official said the partnership will help identify strong projects and provide tailored financial solutions so financing leads to investment and growth in the real economy.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-18 16:06:00
  • Bank Credit Loan Rates Return to 4% Range After 14 Months, Raising Borrower Costs
    Bank Credit Loan Rates Return to 4% Range After 14 Months, Raising Borrower Costs Minimum interest rates on credit loans at major South Korean commercial banks have climbed back above 4% for the first time in 14 months, adding pressure on borrowers who have relied on debt to invest or buy homes. According to the financial sector on Tuesday, credit-loan rates at the four biggest commercial banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori — stood at 4.010% to 5.380% as of Feb. 13 for top-tier borrowers with one-year maturities. The lower end of the range, which had stayed in the 3% range since December 2024, returned to the 4% range after 14 months. Compared with Jan. 16, the lower end rose 0.260 percentage points and the upper end gained 0.150 points. The move was attributed to faster increases in short-term bank bond yields, which are used as benchmarks for credit loans. As of Feb. 13, the five-year bank bond yield — a key reference for fixed-rate mortgages — rose 0.107 percentage points from the previous month, while the one-year bank bond yield, a major benchmark for credit loans, climbed 0.158 points. With mortgage rates already elevated, the rise in credit-loan rates could further increase repayment burdens, the report warned. Even if tighter rules cool mortgage lending, a pickup in unsecured credit could become a new trigger for household debt growth. Minimum mortgage rates moved into the 4% range late last year and have continued to rise. As of Feb. 13, mixed-rate mortgages at the four banks were 4.360% to 6.437%, with the lower and upper ends up 0.230 and 0.140 percentage points, respectively. Adjustable-rate mortgages that reset annually were 3.830% to 5.731%, with both ends up about 0.1 point. Borrowers using overdraft-style credit lines, known as “minus accounts,” are expected to feel the impact more sharply. These products have a much higher share of floating rates than standard credit loans, and customers repeatedly borrow and repay within their limits. With rate cuts seen as unlikely in the near term, borrowers’ interest costs are expected to rise further. Credit lending has also been increasing recently amid demand for investment funds, including for stocks. As of Feb. 12, outstanding credit loans at the five major banks — KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — totaled 104.8405 trillion won, up 95 billion won from the previous month. Overdraft balances hit a roughly three-year high of 40.0837 trillion won at the end of November, eased to the 39.7 trillion won range at the end of December and in January, then rebounded to the 39.8 trillion won range this month. A financial industry official said credit loans typically decline early in the year as bonuses are paid, but this year some demand appears tied to investment amid a strong stock market, including the KOSPI’s move above 5,000. “If credit lending rises while rates are increasing, borrowers’ interest burdens could grow if the market corrects or rates climb further,” the official said. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-18 16:03:00
  • Toss, Naver Pay Roll Out Lunar New Year Deals on Gifts, Holiday Food and Travel
    Toss, Naver Pay Roll Out Lunar New Year Deals on Gifts, Holiday Food and Travel Fintech platforms are rolling out Lunar New Year promotions, from holiday gifts and traditional foods to overseas travel perks. According to the financial industry on the 14th, Toss is running Lunar New Year gift and food promotions on its commerce platform, Toss Shopping, through the 15th. The Lunar New Year gift promotion includes about 200 items, with discounts of up to 87% off regular prices. Products priced at 50,000 won or less make up about 68% of the lineup. Featured items include “Seogwipo direct-shipped, sweetness-graded Jeju tangerines,” “Pungnyeonbogam 6-year Korean red ginseng extract All Day Good Time,” “Rucipello toothpaste and mouthwash gift set (six items),” and “Merchant collagen eye cream for wrinkle care and brightening.” The Lunar New Year food promotion covers about 100 items, offering discounts of up to 77%. Items priced at 20,000 won or less account for 67% of the selection. Toss said it is focusing on easy-to-prepare options for holiday tables and family meals, including tteokguk ingredients and seasonal foods. The lineup ranges from rice cakes for tteokguk, beef-bone broth, dumpling tteokguk meal kits, and ready-to-eat soups and stews to holiday ingredients such as seasoned greens, pancake ingredients, japchae, Korean beef and other meats, and seafood. Traditional snacks such as songpyeon, injeolmi, chapssaltteok and yakgwa are also included. Featured items include “Midji Meat LA galbi,” “Susan Eats frozen pollock fillets,” and “Korean bracken that requires no trimming.” Naver Pay has also prepared promotions for users traveling overseas during the Lunar New Year holiday period. Its “Overseas Travel 10% Payback” promotion, which returns 10% of spending made via Npay Overseas QR and the Npay Money Card as points, runs through June. For users whose mobile carrier is KT, those who apply for the event and then sign up for a roaming plan and make at least 20,000 won in overseas QR payments will receive a 10,000 won roaming fee discount and 10,000 points. Naver Pay also offers instant discounts for QR payments at Alipay+ and PayPay merchants, including airports, drugstores and shopping malls in mainland China and Japan.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-14 18:03:00
  • Korean Banks Split Lunar New Year Pay, With Bonuses Varying by Lender
    Korean Banks Split Lunar New Year Pay, With Bonuses Varying by Lender Ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, many South Korean bank employees will see a temporary bump in take-home pay, though the money is not always a true bonus. Some banks pay extra holiday allowances, while others simply split contracted base pay into additional installments. Bankers may call it a shell game, but many still welcome the lump-sum payment. According to the financial industry on the 14th, banks have paid holiday allowances ahead of the Lunar New Year break. Practices vary by bank. Some include holiday pay within base salary and pay part of annual compensation around Lunar New Year and Chuseok. Others provide an additional holiday payment on top of base pay. KB Kookmin Bank pays a separate holiday allowance in addition to base salary. It provides a payment equal to about 50% of monthly base pay for Lunar New Year and again for Chuseok. Shinhan Bank divides 90% of annual salary into 14 parts, paying 12 parts monthly and the remaining two parts as one additional payment each around Lunar New Year and Chuseok. For example, an employee with an annual base salary of 56 million won would receive 8 million won in the months that include Lunar New Year and Chuseok, double the usual amount. Hana Bank pays 12 monthly salaries and adds holiday payments for Lunar New Year and Chuseok. Early in the year, a performance-based payment is added, bringing the total to 15 installments, though amounts vary. Woori Bank divides annual salary into 13 parts, paying 12 parts monthly. The remaining one part is split in half and paid at Lunar New Year and Chuseok. With an annual salary of 52 million won, an employee would receive 4 million won per month, plus an extra 2 million won at each holiday. NH NongHyup Bank gives employees 500,000 won worth of Rural Love Gift Certificates ahead of the holidays. Performance pay is also typically paid before major holidays. By contrast, policy banks such as Korea Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of Korea and IBK Industrial Bank of Korea do not provide separate holiday bonuses, paying only performance pay tied to annual public-institution evaluation grades. A financial industry official said that because some banks are simply dividing base pay already included in contracted annual compensation, it is hard to call it a bonus. The official added that while it may feel like a shell game, KB Kookmin Bank and NH NongHyup Bank employees receive what amounts to a genuine additional payment, leading to mixed reactions. Industry officials also say the days of collecting holiday pay equal to twice a month’s salary are long gone, and that differences in holiday payments now carry little practical meaning because true bonuses have largely disappeared from banking. Before the financial crisis, some large banks paid separate holiday bonuses of about 500,000 to 1 million won, but those payments largely vanished around the 2008 financial crisis. Many bank employees now focus more on special performance pay paid early in the year when banks post excess profits. A financial industry official said that while manufacturing still has a bonus-paying tradition, banks often do not have enough room to justify calling these payments bonuses. A separate survey found that more than half of companies in general pay Lunar New Year bonuses. The Korea Employers Federation surveyed 447 companies nationwide with at least five employees and found 58.7% planned to pay holiday bonuses. Among large companies with 300 or more employees, 71.1% paid bonuses, compared with 57.3% among companies with fewer than 300 employees. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-14 06:03:47
  • Korean Banks Open Mobile Branches at Highway Rest Stops for Lunar New Year Cash Needs
    Korean Banks Open Mobile Branches at Highway Rest Stops for Lunar New Year Cash Needs Even if you did not prepare new bills for the Lunar New Year holiday, banks are offering help. During the holiday period, several lenders will operate mobile branches at highway rest stops to make it easier for travelers to handle basic banking, including exchanging cash for new notes, making transfers and updating passbooks. According to the financial industry on the 14th, KB Kookmin Bank will run a mobile branch at Giheung Service Area on the southbound lanes of the Gyeongbu Expressway from the 13th to the 14th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Customers can use an ATM for withdrawals of new bills, account transfers and passbook updates, and can also exchange cash for new notes. Shinhan Bank will operate a mobile branch for two days starting on the 13th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Hwaseong Service Area on the southbound lanes of the Seohaean Expressway. Shinhan also offers “Saturday Plus,” a video-consultation service based at its unmanned Digital Lounge locations. The service provides remote consultations every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at nine sites: Digital Lounge Seoul National University Station, Digital Lounge Ujangsan Station, Digital Lounge Gaepo-dong Station, Digital Lounge Changwon Jungang, Digital Lounge Daebul Industrial Complex, Seosomun Branch, Gimhae Foreign-Customer Center, Doksan-dong Foreign-Customer Center and Ansan Foreign-Customer Center. Over the same period, Hana Bank will hold a new-bill exchange event through its “Moving Hana Bank” mobile branch at Yangjae Man-namui Gwangjang Service Area on the southbound lanes, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. NH NongHyup Bank will operate its “NH Wings” mobile branch from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hanam Dream Service Area on the Jungbu Expressway. The bank said its mobile branches also provide services at local festivals and disaster sites. IBK Industrial Bank of Korea will run a mobile branch on the 13th at Deokpyeong Service Area on the Yeongdong Expressway, in the direction of Incheon, to support holiday travelers. iM Bank will also operate “iM Mobile Branches” offering new-bill exchange and ATM services at two locations: Dongmyeong Service Area (toward Chuncheon) and the plaza at Dongdaegu Station.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-14 06:03:00
  • South Korea watchdog chief urges banks to overhaul governance, put consumers first
    South Korea watchdog chief urges banks to overhaul governance, put consumers first Lee Chan-jin, head of South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service, met with the heads of major domestic banks and called for a shift in management practices, including stronger corporate governance. He urged banks to make consumer protection their top priority and to move on governance reforms on their own if needed. Speaking at a meeting with the CEOs of 20 domestic banks at the Korea Federation of Banks building in central Seoul on Feb. 12, Lee said banks should make “gyeonri-saui” — putting what is right ahead of profit — a core management value. He also urged them to “think about consumer protection before anything else.” Lee emphasized the need to improve governance. While the Financial Services Commission and the FSS plan to release a “governance advancement” package in March, he said banks should not delay if preemptive changes are necessary. The meeting was held about six months after Lee first met bank chiefs shortly after taking office in August last year. He asked banks to overhaul the entire process of financial product design, review and sales from a consumer-protection perspective and to establish a consumer-focused key performance indicator system to match. He also urged banks to move away from relying on easy interest income and to more actively supply funding to innovative companies and small and midsize firms. Cho Yong-byeong, chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks, said the industry would work together to meet rising public expectations by strengthening consumer protection and improving governance. Bank CEOs also said they would tighten consumer-focused checks across the full process, from product sales to dispute mediation. Meanwhile, the heads of the four major commercial banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori — did not respond when asked what issues they planned to raise with financial authorities. They also declined to comment when asked about possible reductions in penalties tied to equity-linked securities linked to Hong Kong’s H Index. Choi Woo-hyung, CEO of K Bank, which is preparing for an initial public offering, said, “I think it will go well.” 2026-02-12 16:15:00
  • IBK Industrial Bank CEO Blocked From Office as Union Presses Pay Dispute
    IBK Industrial Bank CEO Blocked From Office as Union Presses Pay Dispute Jang Min Young, CEO of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, has been unable to enter his office for 19 days since his appointment because of union opposition. Blocking a new CEO’s first days at work has repeatedly occurred at the state-run bank, but this time the union says it will keep Jang out until he brings back a solution with financial regulators over overtime pay. The standoff has raised concerns in the financial sector that a leadership vacuum could drag on.  Jang arrived at the bank’s headquarters in Seoul’s Euljiro area at about 8:35 a.m. Monday but turned back after a five-minute confrontation with union members who blocked the entrance.  Union members shouted, “Don’t come back until you bring an answer on an exception to the total wage cap.” The union argues that the wage-cap system has replaced overtime pay with compensatory leave, but limits on actually using that leave amount to unpaid wages. The bank has been discussing with the Financial Services Commission a plan to pay 78 billion won in unpaid overtime in long-term installments, but the union opposed it, saying, “Why take dividends all at once while splitting up compensation for employees’ overtime?”  Jang said the wage-cap issue “is something the president ordered, and I, too, am someone appointed by the president,” adding, “I will communicate and resolve it quickly, so I ask you to wait.”  As he left, Jang told reporters he has repeatedly urged the commission to allow an exception “considering IBK’s special circumstances,” and that “a broad consensus is forming.” He said the blockade is disrupting normal operations and asked the union to allow him to work while negotiating with the government.  The union’s efforts to block a new CEO are not new. Citing weaker benefits than commercial banks and what it calls “parachute” appointments, past CEOs have followed a familiar pattern: appointment, union opposition and then a compromise.  Yoon Jong Won entered the headquarters office 27 days after taking the job in 2020, after promising the union greater transparency in selecting executives, a resumption of voluntary retirement programs and more flexible leave periods. In 2022, when Jung Eun Bo, then head of the Financial Supervisory Service, was floated as a CEO candidate, the union launched a blockade campaign, calling it a parachute appointment. After that backlash, Kim Sung Tae, an internal candidate, was ultimately selected. Similar protests also occurred when outside candidates such as Kim Jong Chang and Yoon Yong Ro were chosen.  If no agreement is reached by this week, before the Lunar New Year holiday, Jang is expected to set a record for the longest period a CEO has been blocked from work. A financial industry official said IBK’s role has become especially important under the current government in areas such as balanced regional development and advanced strategic industries, and that decisions such as large-scale fund investments cannot be made unilaterally by working-level staff, making Jang’s return to normal management urgent. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-10 16:25:24