The Korea Herald

Credit raters punished for engaging in sales

Financial authorities said Wednesday it has punished the chiefs of the nation’s three largest local credit raters over illegally allowing employees to engage in both sales and running credit assessments.The sanctioned chiefs include Yoon In-sub of Korea Rating, Cho Wang-ha of Korea Investors Service Inc., and Lee Sang-kwon of NICE Investors Service Co.The three were banned from engaging in the financial sector for three years, said officials from the Financial Supervisory Service.The officials s

April 15, 2015

JTI Korea unveils new Mevius

Japan Tobacco International Korea rolled out Mevius LSS Option Evo1, the latest brand from its flagship Mevius lineup, on Tuesday in a bid to increase its presence in the local market for super-slim cigarettes. JTI said the Mevius LSS Option Evo1 had the same distinctive flavor as the rest of the products in the LSS special series. The product also includes a purple capsule inserted into each cigarette to reduce the amount of smoke and smell it gives off, according to the tobacco maker. The Mevi

April 14, 2015

Reclamation, river projects globalize green hydro tech

Korea’s two mega hydro management projects will raise the global recognition of the country’s advanced agricultural development skills, the Korea Rural Community Corp. said Sunday.Through the state-led Saemangeum development and reclamation plan and Yeongsangang River project, the nation aims at bolstering sustainable growth by elevating environment-friendly development skills to the top practice of futuristic government projects. Saemangeum on the west coast in North Jeolla Province boasts the

April 12, 2015

Reclamation, river projects globalize green hydro tech

KRC combats natural disasters with smart hydro management

Korea Rural Community Corp. vowed on Sunday to strengthen preemptive measures to secure sufficient agricultural water in drought-affected regions, seeking to raise the country’s food security. The state-run firm has shielded the Korean farmers for the past 107 years since its launch in 1908 by providing clean water for agriculture. The KRC manages about 58 percent of the nation’s agricultural water management system.The history of the KRC closely resonates with Korea’s agricultural modernization

April 12, 2015

KRC combats natural disasters with smart hydro management

BOK cuts growth forecast to 3.1%

The Bank of Korea revised down its domestic economic growth projection for 2015 on Thursday, while keeping its key base rate unchanged at 1.75 percent for April. The central bank lowered this year’s growth forecast to 3.1 percent from 3.4 percent, showing a large gap from the Finance Ministry’s forecast of 3.8 percent. The 0.3 percent reduction is mostly attributed to sluggish growth in the first quarter, as the strong won undermined Korean exports and rising household debt swayed domestic consu

April 9, 2015

Top 30 chaebol creating fewer jobs

The country’s major conglomerates created fewer jobs last year in a reflection of the lackluster economy, market research firm CEO Score reported Wednesday. The firm, which specializes in chaebol data, revealed that 274 subsidiaries of the top 30 conglomerates, including LG, Hyundai, Samsung and SK, recruited just over 1 million employees as of late 2014, down 0.3 percent from a year ago. Last year’s hiring accounted for only a 1.3 percent rise in the total number of employees. “It is very worri

April 8, 2015

Regulator seeks to bring down microfinance interest rates

The government is planning to lessen the financial burden of low-income households by slashing the interest rate on microfinance products. The Financial Services Commission, the country’s financial regulator, said Monday that it is seeking measures to lower the interest rate on several trademark loan products for young adults and the low-income households, such as Smile Microcredit Program, Sunshine Loan and New Hope Loans. The plan aims at helping the low-income debtors, who borrowed money from

April 6, 2015

FSC not prepared for low-incomers’ debt relief

Critics claim financial regulators have been negligent in cracking down on the excessively high or illicit lending rates for low-income earners charged by private moneylenders. Regulators recently instructed first-tier commercial banks to offer lower interest rates to homeowners.Though the average rate on mortgages or housing-collateralized loans ranged between 3 and 5 percent, some middle- and high-income households can access lower rates due to the government’s effort to revitalize sagging pro

April 2, 2015

Central bank loan issuance soars

The total number of loans by the Bank of Korea hit the highest level in 21 years in February, as more loans were approved to local companies for facility investment, data showed Wednesday. Loans provided through BOK’s money issuance reached 15.4 trillion won ($13.9 billion) as of the end of February, up 66.5 percent from a year ago, according to the BOK report.The level of loan issuance marks the highest since July 1994 when it reached 15.6 trillion won, excluding inflationary factors. Since the

April 1, 2015

Philip Morris rolls out new Marlboro cigarette

Philip Morris Korea has rolled out Marlboro Zing Fusion, the latest brand from its flagship Marlboro lineup, in Korea on Wednesday. “In addition to Marlboro’s signature smooth taste, the capsule-inserted cigarette exudes a distinctive note of refreshing MixballTM capsule,” the Korean operation of the world’s largest tobacco maker said. Marlboro Zing FusionBefore this, the company launched a number of brands in the Marlboro Fresh category, including Marlboro Ice Blast and Marlboro Hybrid, target

April 1, 2015

Philip Morris rolls out new Marlboro cigarette

Household borrowing soars to 13-year high

South Korea’s household mortgage debt more than tripled in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period a year ago, according to data by the banking sector and the Financial Supervisory Service.Mortgage debt hit 323.5 trillion won at the end of March, up more than 7 trillion won from 316.5 trillion won at the end of last year, according to data from seven local commercial lenders.This marks the first time the increase has reached over 7 trillion won, further raising concerns ove

March 31, 2015

Tech cluster plan advances

The government said Monday that it would accelerate the launch of the country’s biggest tech cluster in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, to develop the area into a Korean version of Silicon Valley. Government ministries agreed to lift the greenbelt development restrictions on the area by the end of this year, six months ahead of the initial schedule. To meet the December deadline, the ministries are pushing to submit the master development plan for the Pangyo Creative Economy Valley and file for state

March 30, 2015

Public utilities set for rate hikes

Local governments are considering increasing the charges for services such as public transport and water supply, saying that central government price controls have aggravated their financial difficulties.The Seoul Metropolitan Government is considering raising subway and bus fares by between 200 won and 500 won in the first half of this year. Late last year, the local government paved the way for the increase, as it passed a revised ordinance saying that the public transportation fares could be

March 29, 2015

Myung Films fuels Korean movie industry

This is the second in a four-part series featuring IBK’s support for cultural content. ― Ed.Film director Frank Capra once said that movies were one of the three universal languages, along with mathematics and music. Great films bring all walks of life into a common pool of fun and ethos, to enrich the modern times. Myung Films, too, has sought to produce great films with both fun and ethos, which can bring together cinemagoers at home and abroad. Bold themes, an efficient production system and

March 26, 2015

Top regulator demands bold, speedy reform

The new head of the Financial Services Commission called for “bold and speedy” financial reform on Wednesday, expecting to receive the first batch of reform plans as early as next month. “We will either find a way or make one,” said FSC Chairman Yim Jong-yong, quoting Carthaginian military commander Hannibal, at the first meeting of a nongovernmental council for financial reform.“We need a broad plan for reform that encompasses the financial and the nonfinancial sectors, such as foreign currenci

March 25, 2015

Top regulator demands bold, speedy reform

Articles by Chung Joo-won