KB Financial Group decided to deposition its deputy president and chief strategy officer Park Dong-chang, a close aide to chairman Euh Yoon-dae, for spreading groundless information to shareholders, the company said Monday.Park came under hot water as he is suspected of leaking “false” insider information to a U.S.-based proxy advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and shareholders. Park allegedly told ISS that three of KB’s outside directors ― and former high-ranking state offic

The majority of households that frequently purchase lottery tickets do not belong to the low-income bracket, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.Citing a survey, the ministry claimed that 72.6 percent of steady lottery buyers were from households whose average monthly income surpassed 3 million won ($2,750).It also said the households with an average monthly income of more than 4 million won took up 35.3 percent of the total buyers.“The poll result counters the social bias that mostly destitute p

Hite Jinro, Korea’s leading beer and soju producer, said Tuesday that its lager Max has won the top prize at one of the world’s three largest brewing contests in Britain.The Korean brewer was selected as a gold medalist in the 4.5―4.9 percent alcohol by volume lager sector, beating Singaporean lager Tiger and Japan’s Asahi Super Dry which took silver and bronze, respectively.The company was the only Korean winner of the International Brewing Awards 2013, hosted by the Brewing, Food & Beverage In

Local major insurance firms have decided to freeze premiums under regulatory instruction from the Financial Supervisory Service.Industry sources said Tuesday that life insurance firms, including Samsung Life, Kyobo Life and Hanwha Life, have dropped their stance to raise premiums on products sold to policyholders. These firms had abortively planned to raise the rates on insurance products in April, when the standard rate of interest is expected drop about 5 percent. Major nonlife insurance firms

Koreans have become more cautious in opening their wallets due to concerns over a prolonged economic slowdown, government data showed Monday. According to Statistics Korea and Shinyoung Securities, the average monthly household spending increased 1.38 percent to 2.4 million won ($2,200) in the fourth quarter of last year from a year ago. Following a mere 0.96 percent increase in the third quarter, it was the first time that year-on-year growth stuck below 2 percent for two consecutive quarters s

Korea will likely see a slow economic recovery as various indices ranging from domestic consumption to exports registered lackluster figures, a state-run think tank said on Sunday.Exports, the country’s main growth engine, dropped about 9 percent in February from a year ago, but Korea was able to record a trade balance surplus of some $2 billion, the Korea Development Institute said in the report.The fall in exports is in part due to sluggish outbound shipments of ships and automobiles, as well

The number of female employees at domestic banks is nearly equal that of their male peers, but only a few reach high-ranking positions, according to banks and news reports. The reports said about 48.8 percent of workers at six major domestic banks were female but only 4.4 percent of bank executives were women.Even at Hana Bank, Korea Exchange Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea ― whose proportion of female employees exceeded 50 percent ― female executives were scarce, fueling concerns that gender

Companies’ social contributions are important in helping society stay healthy. Among different corporate management philosophies that abound in Korean society, British American Tobacco Korea has held on steadfastly to social responsibility.The company has over 1,000 employees and operates a manufacturing facility in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province.“Some people believe tobacco and social responsibility do not mix,” a BAT Korea spokesperson said. “Tobacco can involve risks, but those risks are

British American Tobacco Korea said Monday that it would apply a 200 won price cut to three types of its 2,500 won ($2.30) ultra-slim cigarette Vogue, starting March 14. The company said it decided to adjust the price of Vogue 1 mg, Vogue Blue and Vogue 0.3 mg to better compete against the 2,300 won rival products. Now 2,300 won a pack, “(Vogue) will be armed with stronger competitiveness in the (tobacco) market,” BAT Korea chief executive Guy Meldrum said in a statement. Previously, the tobacco

KT&G said Thursday that it began changing names for four of its tobacco products, removing words that can create a false impression that cigarettes are harmless to the body.Starting from the beginning of February, the company began changing name of “Timeless TIME Lights” to “Timeless TIME MID” and three kinds of the “Esse Soon” lineup to “Esse Soo.” “Soon” in Korean stands for “pure” or “mild” and soo means “excellent.” Last September, the government planned to revise the National Health Promoti

The total value of foreigner-owned Korean stocks hit a record high last week, riding on the optimism of a global economic recovery, the Korea Exchange said on Wednesday. Breaking the 420 trillion won ($387 billion) mark for the first time, the total sum of foreigner-owned Korean stocks ― including those listed on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market ― surpassed 420.4 trillion won on Feb. 20. Analysts said the increase stemmed from the country’s strong economic fundamentals despite the global economic sl

Citibank Korea and Standard Chartered Bank Korea have raised commission fees for loan services despite state regulators’ efforts to lower them, according to reports.Since the third quarter of 2012, state financial regulators have publicized a list of banks’ service fees, in an attempt to cut lending fees that are closely related to loan interest. However, the two foreign banks raised lending fees, largely surpassing those of their domestic counterparts. For mortgage loan services, fees were 0.41

The number of tourists traveling overseas hit a January record, thanks to a strong won, travel portal Tourgo said Tuesday.The state-run online database engine revealed that the number of tourists headed abroad totaled slightly more than 1.4 million, a 21.8 percent increase from the previous month.In particular, about 50 percent more prospective travelers are visiting travel agencies, searching for tour packages to Japan, hoping for more economical deals thanks to the strength of the won against

Despite the global economic slowdown, Korean banks are increasingly determined to set up more branches overseas to boost trade financing and diversify sources of profit, a report showed.The report released by the Financial Supervisory Service on Monday said that securing more foreign currency assets was the key objective of the 2013 expansion plans of banks here.Banks here opened a total of 11 branches abroad in 2012, largely in Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia.

Standard Chartered Bank Korea, the Korean operation of London-based Standard Chartered that spans more than 70 countries worldwide, has been struck by not one, but a series of blows by the nation’s financial authorities.The three state regulators ― the Financial Supervisory Service, the National Tax Service and the Financial Services Commission ― took turns squeezing the British Bank. On Friday, the FSC finalized its decision to impose a 17 million won ($16,000) fine on the bank for offering and

Tobacco manufacturer KT&G has put 1 million packs of The One Impact Maxim Edition on sale for a limited four-week period. The outer cover was designed in collaboration with Maxim, the world’s best-selling men’s monthly magazine, to attract young male smokers in their 20s and 30s ― who comprise about 70 percent of The One series sales ― the tobacco maker said. The One Impact Maxim Edition is the first limited-edition and sixth product from the low-tar, hard-filtered The One lineup since the brand

The nation’s largest tobacco manufacturer KT&G has begun distributing the fourth generation of RAISON Black, RAISON Blue and RAISON Green, the three best-selling flavors of the decade-old brand. Its first version launched in 2002, and the fourth RAISON lineup revised its outer cover design of the package “to strengthen its soft, simple image through a single, white background color plus a curvy-font logo,” KT&G said in a statement. The renewed RAISON adopts a design that targets young smokers wh

Hyundai Card has established the Hyundai Card DESIGN LIBRARY, the world’s largest library for design-related books and reference material, in Gahoe-dong, central Seoul, the company said on Monday. Founded in the vicinity of Gyeongbok Palace and Bukchon hanok village, the design library will display some 11,500 design-related books that have been published at home and abroad.The design reference materials in the library highlight the tides of design that surfaced after the foundation of “Bauhaus,

Lotte Group’s financial affiliates ― Lotte Insurance, Lotte Card and Lotte Capital ― were found to have relied most on illegitimate support from the group to boost sales, compared with their financial rivals, sources said Sunday. Amid mounting calls for economic democratization and fair competition in business, Lotte affiliates have been marching in the opposite direction to bring larger profits to chaebol, or local conglomerates, the financial policy team of Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Jus

Financial Services Commission chairman Kim Seok-dong has tendered his resignation to Cheong Wa Dae, the FSC said Wednesday. Kim’s decision to step down before his three-year term expires early next year reflects his philosophy that a new administration needs a new pool of people, an FSC official said. He had reportedly expressed his willingness to resign from his post before the presidential election in December.Since taking the helm of the FSC in January 2011, he has led the restructuring of tr