This is a part of a series of interviews and analyses of South Korea’s top bankers, policymakers and investors leading the financial industry here. This is the fifth installment. -- Ed. Throughout its 60-year history, South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank managed to build an unparalleled reputation as the nation’s most successful agricultural and commercial bank. Hinting its popularity among Koreans in retail banking, its net profit in the first three months of this year gained ro

South Korea’s Woori Financial Group said Sunday it has decided to launch a comprehensive mobile payment solution platform to establish ground in the digital payment market, currently dominated by fintech firms. The solution will integrate and offer the payment services for all of the group’s subsidiaries and affiliates, including Woori Bank and Woori Card. Through the platform, the group is seeking to reach beyond its existing customers. It will grant access to users with no Woor

NH NongHyup Bank, one of South Korea’s five major banks, said Sunday that it has been granted a license to operate a branch in Hong Kong, taking a solid step towards global expansion. With the green light given by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Thursday, the lender will make a foray into Asia’s largest financial hub. NH NongHyup plans to launch its Hong Kong branch by the end of the year, after selecting the location of its headquarters, according to the firm. “Hong Ko

 A trail spanning 21 kilometers surrounds Seoul’s eastern district of Songpa-gu, packed with nature, adventure and culture.  The Songpa Trail, which opened to the public in 2019, has been serving both locals and visitors alike as a favorite spot to enjoy jogging or a leisurely walk.  In recent years, the trail has managed to build its own unique ecosystem, as it is built alongside three freshwater streams that feed into the larger Han River. It is easy to spot animals en

S&P Global Ratings affirmed South Korea’s credit rating at AA with a stable outlook, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Wednesday. Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s long-term sovereign credit rating has remained at AA -- the third-highest level on the agency’s rating scale -- since August 2016. “While the Korean economy contracted for the first time since 1998, growth is back on track, and the decline was less than that of most other high-income economies

South Korea’s economy expanded 1.6 percent on-quarter in the first three months of the year, signaling a faster-than-expected recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels, central bank data showed Tuesday. Bolstered by improvement in private consumption and exports, “the 1.6 percent growth in the first quarter has pushed the real gross domestic product level higher than that of the last three months of 2019,” Park Yang-su, head of the economic statistics department at the Bank of Korea, sa

Standard Chartered Bank Korea will extend a special promotion aimed at helping young customers build better savings habits for an extra month until end-May, the lender said Sunday. The promotion, which was initially planned to run from March to April, offers 10,000 won ($9) to those aged 18 or under who open SC Bank Korea savings accounts if they meet certain conditions. The customers would need to open a Dream-Youth Deposit checking account as well as a First Household Installment Deposit s

South Korea’s KB Financial Group outperformed the three other major banking groups here in terms of first-quarter net profit, buoyed by its strong brokerage and other nonbanking businesses, data released Friday showed. KB’s net profit in the first three months gained 74.1 percent on-year to 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion) -- a record-high quarterly net profit since it became the holding entity of KB-branded financial and banking firms in September 2009. The value of its total asse

Standard Chartered Bank Korea will extend a special promotion aimed at helping young customers build a better savings habit for an extra month until end-May, the lender said Sunday. The promotion, which was initially planned to run from March to April, offers 10,000 won ($8.95) to those aged 18 or under who open SC Bank Korea savings accounts if they meet certain conditions. The customers would need to open a checking account, named Dream-Youth Deposit, and a savings account, called First Hou

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group announced Thursday it has set a goal to pour 60 trillion won ($53.7 billion) into its long-term environmental, social and governance finance plan. Under its ESG financing blueprint, the group will issue relevant bonds worth 25 trillion won, loans worth 25 trillion won, fund management worth 2 trillion won and other related investments worth 10 trillion won by 2030. In line with its ESG financing goals, Hana aims to achieve carbon neutrality in its int

South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group on Tuesday launched a mobile payment solution, as traditional banking groups seek to bolster their digital capabilities in competition against rising fintech firms. The payment solution, Shinhan Pay, provides Shinhan Card subscribers with easy-to-use payment services and money transfers at several offline stores. For Shinhan Bank users, Shinhan Pay allows them to easily subscribe and activate mobile debit cards linked to their bank accounts. Shin

Hana Financial Group has been receiving intense backlash over its credit card unit chief and bank branch manager’s alleged inappropriate and sexist behaviors that were reported only weeks apart. On April 6, Hana Card’s then-CEO Jang Kyung-hoon stepped down after a leaked audio recording of him saying picking a credit card was like “choosing a wife,” went viral last month. He also drew comparisons to female companions in so-called “room salons” here, which are

Citigroup has yet to announce the details of its retail banking exit strategy from South Korea as of Sunday, but the most probable scenario is that the firm will break up its consumer business here before selling, according to industry watchers. On Friday, Citigroup decided to exit retail banking in Korea and other 12 markets across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa as part of reorganization plans. The move signals a significant downsizing for Citibank Korea, a wholly owned subsidiary o

South Korea’s central bank chief said Thursday that the nation’s economy is likely to expand in the mid-3 percent mark this year, rosier than its previous forecast in February. The bank also decided to keep its policy rate frozen at a record low of 0.5 percent on concerns of a looming fourth wave of the COVID-19 virus. “The current situation surrounding both the global and the Korean economy show that the mid-3 percent growth for this year is a possible outcome,” Bank o

Women accounted for merely 7 percent of the management boards of financial institutions in South Korea, despite making up nearly half the sector’s workforce, data submitted to a lawmaker showed Wednesday. The number of women who hold executive positions in 444 financial institutions stood at 358, or 7.4 percent of the entire executive pool of 4,855 as of end of last year, according to Financial Supervisory Service data submitted and distributed by the minor progressive Justice Party Rep.

South Korean households spent a monthly average of 7.2 percent more on lottery tickets last year, compared with the previous year, data from the Korean Statistical Information Service showed Tuesday. Korean households each spent a monthly average of 590 won ($0.52) on lottery tickets last year, according to Kosis. The data also took households that didn’t purchase lottery tickets into account, in calculating the average figure. The increase in lottery ticket spending came amid a recor

South Korea’s financial watchdog on Friday imposed a penalty on Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung, holding him responsible for its commercial banking unit’s misselling of funds tied to the 1.7 trillion-won ($1.52 billion) Lime Asset Management scandal. The penalty puts further pressure on Sohn, who is already in a legal fight against the Financial Supervisory Service over its sanction slapped on him for another misselling issue. Sohn was reprimanded with the third-str

South Korean households spent a record-high net 83.3 trillion (74.5 billion) won in stock investment last year, central bank data showed Thursday, but their borrowing also surged to an unprecedented level, indicating where their money for investment came from. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, local households and nonprofit agencies serving households invested a total 63.2 trillion won in Korean stocks and 20.1 trillion won in overseas shares in 2020, according to the preliminary data by the Ba

South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank said Wednesday it has earned preliminary approval from China’s financial authorities to open a branch in Beijing. The nation’s sixth-largest lender by assets won the approval from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on Friday, after lodging the application in August last year. It plans to receive the final approval by the end of the year, officials said. The opening of the branch would mark NH NongHyup’s first move to lau

South Korean banking groups have approached the financial authorities in hopes of launching their own internet-only lenders, industry insiders said Tuesday, amid the growing popularity of platforms such as Kakao Bank. The Korea Federation of Banks, a body that represents commercial lenders here, recently received a joint message from the banking groups, including the five major ones -- KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH -- conveying their plans to foray into the internet-only banking business, if