Shinhan Financial Group has allowed Shinhan Bank president & CEO Suh Jin-won to take a second term for the next three years.Amid the past internal management woes, Suh was appointed to the post as the bank CEO at the end of 2010 to finish out a former CEO’s term.Now he has been chosen to enjoy the regular three-year term until 2015, the financial group said Thursday.CEO Suh has the goal of making Shinhan one of the top 10 commercial banks in Asia and No. 1 in Korea by 2015.Suh, who began his car

HSBC has predicted that Korea would overtake the U.K. in trade ranking within 15 years by seeing a cumulative growth of 142 percent in trade volume by 2026.The projection for Korea by HSBC Global Connections far surpasses the figure for the world’s trade volume. It forecasts that the world’s trade will expand 86 percent by 2026.“Countries that will see increases in their share of world trade to 2026 include South Korea, which will replace the U.K. as the sixth-largest trading nation due to trade

KB Financial Group chairman Euh Yoon-dae expressed his willingness to collaborate with Samsung Life Insurance to take over ING Life’s Asia-Pacific operations.“ING Life is operating seven or eight units in the Asia-Pacific region. We have no capability to buy all of them,” he told reporters on Wednesday.If ING Life sells off only the ING Korea unit, KB Financial could participate in the coming bidding as a single bidder, he said.But if the company chooses to sell its entire Asia-Pacific operation

Korea Exchange Bank president & CEO Yun Yong-ro unveiled his business policy direction to bolster the bank’s global sectors.In his inaugural speech at the bank’s headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday, Yun said KEB should restore its traditional competitiveness in foreign currency trading and overseas operations.“(Unlike past years), many experts in the market do not think KEB is grabbing the dominant position in sectors like foreign exchange and overseas business,” he told the staff. He said the we

Nation’s No. 5 lender holds largest sales networksThe National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or Nonghyup, will establish a financial group early next month, becoming the nation’s No. 5 lender in the financial industry.The new financial group’s debut reflects the government’s policy to separately operate the credit or financial sector and the economy or farm products marketing sector.The dividing of the business sector will mark the first time in 51 years since Agriculture Bank merged with

Biennial car show expected to be largest ever with participation of 18 automakersThe Busan International Motor Show 2012 is likely to be the largest scale ever, with new offerings from 18 automakers including 13 import brands.The previous Busan Motor Show, which was held in 2010, attracted only two import brands.Two years ago foreign carmakers downplayed the benefits of participation, but this year’s event could be a great chance for the 13 import brands as they are set to unveil a number of ne

Hana assures KEB independent management, job security for 5 yearsHana Financial Group and the hard-line labor union of the Korea Exchange Bank on Friday reached an 11th-hour compromise on how to manage KEB, taken over by Hana.With the agreement, the KEB union leaders withdrew its plan to go into a general strike against Hana’s merger of their bank. Under the agreement, the KEB brand will be maintained for five years ― separate from the group’s flagship Hana Bank ― as a new unit of Hana Financial

Regulators ask prosecutors to probe insurer over alleged stock riggingGreen Non-Life Insurance, which has been accused of stock manipulation, faces the possibility of business suspension or delisting from the stock market.Though the insurance firm has been mapping out a plan for management normalization, financial regulators filed a complaint against the firm and its chairman with the prosecution for allegedly rigging stocks.The regulatory sanction could make it impossible for the company to inc

Positive projections regarding Korea’s 2012 economy are drawing interest amid the looming gloomy outlook over major Asian economies.Though the optimists shared the view that Korea could also see a slowdown in economic growth this year, they say the damage would be relatively minimal as the nation’s fundamentals remain competitive.Among the economists positive about the nation’s economy is Anoop Singh, director for the Asia-Pacific department of the International Monetary Fund.Korea’s fundamental

Hyundai Motor’s Genesis was the highest-ranked model in the midsize premium car segment in the 2012 Vehicle Dependability Study conducted by U.S.-based J.D. Power.The VDS, which was released on Feb. 16, measures problems experienced during the past 12 months by the original owners of three-year-old (2009 model year) vehicles.The Genesis received 81 points in the annual test, an all-time low ― which is the best performance ― for Hyundai Motor vehicles in the VDS.The BMW 520d and Mercedes-Benz E33

Woori Financial Group reported a net profit of 2.15 trillion won ($1.88 billion) last year, a record-high yearly performance for the group.Its 2011 performance compares to 1.28 trillion won in net profit posted a year earlier.The financial group also saw its total assets maintain the No. 1 position in the local financial industry.In a statement, Woori Financial said it has strived to reduce insolvent assets over the past four years since the 2008 global financial crisis.Meanwhile, Woori Financia

Speculation rampant that two sides near compromise over mergerHana Financial Group chairman Kim Seung-yu has been striving to prevent the union of Korea Exchange Bank, which has been acquired by the group, from going on strike.While KEB unionized workers have threatened to stage an all-out strike, Kim held a low-key negotiation with leaders of the union on Thursday.According to a speculation, raised by an online news provider, the two parties reached an agreement, which includes that KEB will be

Import car sales to consumers under 30 increased while the percentage of young customers in the overall market including Korean carmakers dropped last year.According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, combined car sales by local and foreign automakers to consumers in their 20s stood at 140,777 units in 2011, down 6.4 percent from a year earlier.Further, sales to consumers under 20 declined by 17.4 percent to 1,897 units.As a result, the percentage of consumers under 30 dropped by

Financial regulators filed a complaint against Green Non-Life Insurance and its chairman Lee Young-doo with the prosecution for manipulating stocks.The Securities and Futures Commission said Wednesday that the insurance firm has been suspected of frequently rigging stocks between July 2010 and September 2011.During the period, the insurance firm engaged in more than 3,000 cases of fraudulent trading, according to the regulator.The SFC alleged that the practices were aimed at raising the “risk-ba

Government may intervene in management through pension serviceForeign investors are leaving Hana Financial Group by disposing of their stake amid uncertainties from the group’s takeover of Korea Exchange Bank.Following the departure of Temasek Holdings in October, Goldman Sachs sold off its entire stake in Hana Financial on Tuesday.At the end of June 2011, Temasek, an equity fund controlled by the Singapore government, and Goldman, a global investment bank, were the largest and second-largest sh

Ssangyong Motor unveiled its business strategy to expand its presence in the European market, saying that it will showcase the XIV-2 concept model at the Geneva International Motor Show in March.The XIV-2, the concept vehicle as a premium crossover utility vehicle, is aimed at increasing sales in Europe, the company said in a statement.Based on the hardtop XIV-1 concept from last year’s Frankfurt show, Ssangyong says the XIV-2 blends “the characteristics of a robust and powerful SUV with the dyn

Hyundai Motor and Toyota Motor have launched a keen competition to dominate the emerging hybrid car market in Korea this year.Though the ratio of hybrids out of the total cars sold by Korean companies stayed at 1.3 percent last year, and 3.7 percent of import brands, they recently vitalized the eco-friendly car marketing and sales.Toyota Motor Korea, which launched the New Camry Hybrid in January, will unveil three models of the New Prius series ― Prius S, Prius M and Prius E ― next week.The Pri

The Financial Supervisory Service is scheduled to hold an annual conference with foreign and local financial companies in March.The meeting, dubbed FSS SPEAKS, is particularly designed to provide foreign financial services firms with more detailed information on Korea’s market conditions, including stock and bond investments.Since its inaugural meeting in 2009, the meeting has established itself as a leading channel for direct communication between market participants and regulatory officials.“T

Growth of exports to China slows; major Asian nations post unfavorable indicesWorries are growing over the possibility that Korea’s economic growth will be undermined by the gloomy indices of major Asian countries.Apart from the eurozone debt crisis, Asian countries facing symptoms of an economic slowdown include China, Japan, India, Indonesia and Vietnam, according to think tanks at home and abroad.Economists say there is a possibility that the Chinese economy could undergo a hard landing due m

28,000 imported cars called back for defects in 2011The number of imported cars subject to recalls for manufacturing faults has surged over the past five years.According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, more than 28,000 imported cars were recalled in 2011, while the number remained below 8,000 in 2006.As foreign automakers saw their 2011 sales reach 105,037 units last year, the figure is equivalent to about 27 percent of the imports sold here.Lexus, the premium brand of