SEOUL, March 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The amount of insurance payments collected in insurance frauds climbed to an all-time high last year, prompting authorities to step up efforts to curb such practices, the financial regulator said Sunday, Insurance scammers took a record 1.15 trillion won (US$794.6 million) through wrongful filings in 2024, up 3 percent [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s antitrust regulator said Wednesday that it has launched a reinvestigation into allegations that the country’s four major banks colluded on setting lending limits, the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has dispatched its investigators to the headquarters of Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank as part [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s major banks are rapidly closing physical branches, citing the rise of digital banking and cost-cutting measures, even as they continue to report record-high interest income. The trend, however, is sparking concerns over reduced financial accessibility for elderly customers and those unfamiliar with mobile banking. KB Kookmin Bank [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of exclusive insurance agents in South Korea has increased despite the growing influence of independent insurance agencies (GAs) in the market, according to industry data released on February 6. Unlike GA agents who sell products from multiple insurers, exclusive agents are directly employed by insurance companies and sell [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Korea Bizwire) - South Korea’s financial watchdog said Tuesday that it will map out a stricter supervisory system for banks and take stern measures against their lack of internal control systems and risk management. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Woori Bank, KB and NH Nonghyup had extended inappropriate loans worth [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — KB Kookmin Bank’s labor union has filed for dispute mediation with the National Labor Relations Commission, demanding a performance bonus equivalent to 300% of base salary and an additional 10 million won in special incentives. If mediation fails, this could lead to the bank’s first general strike since 2019. [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — In a significant healthcare reform initiative, the South Korean government announced plans to reclassify certain non-critical and uninsured medical treatments, including manual therapy, under a new “managed care” category that will require patients to pay over 90% of the costs. The policy change, unveiled at a public forum on healthcare [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The use of cashless payment methods, such as credit cards and digital wallets, has led to a record low number of counterfeit bills detected in South Korea last year, according to the Bank of Korea. In its report released on January 9, the central bank stated that only 143 counterfeit [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — A new study has revealed that individuals who have previously filed claims for private medical insurance not only visit hospitals more frequently but also spend more on outpatient care compared to those who haven’t filed claims. According to research published in the recent issue of the Korean Journal of Hospital [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s National Health Insurance (NHI) system achieved a surplus for the fourth consecutive year in 2024, with its reserve fund reaching a record 29.7 trillion won, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) announced on January 7. In 2024, NHI revenue totaled 99 trillion won, while expenditures amounted to [...]