SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed a bill that eases ownership rules for Internet-only banks as the government plans to grant approval to more web-only banks this year, the financial regulator said. The bill allows information technology firms, such as Internet portal Naver or gaming firm Nexon, to hold more [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Insurance Development Institute announced on January 7 that it has started developing a new assessment tool called ‘Automobile Repair Cost On-line Service-α’ (AOS-α). The system’s artificial intelligence (AI) will estimate vehicle repair costs by analyzing pictures of car wrecks caused by traffic accidents. The institute is planning [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Workers at KB Kookmin Bank, South Korea’s leading lender, launched a nationwide strike Tuesday for the first time in 19 years over wage system reforms and bonuses, its labor union said. The one-day walkout started at 9 a.m., as last-minute overnight negotiations between the labor and the management did [...]
SEJONG, Jan. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea said Monday that it will impose a 10 percent tax on profits from trading all stock index-related derivatives in the latest move to revise the country’s tax code. The revision — set to take effect in April — covers the KOSDAQ 150 Futures, KOSDAQ 150 Options and [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s initial public offering (IPO) market is widely expected to gather ground sharply in 2019 as several large companies are seeking to sell shares for the first time, industry sources said Monday. The market is projected to reach up to 10 trillion won (US$8.9 billion) this year, compared [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Workers at KB Kookmin Bank, a major South Korean lender, will go on a general strike next month for the first time in 19 years, its labor union said Thursday. Around 96 percent of some 12,000 unionized workers voted in favor of the walkout in protest of the management’s [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — The financial regulator said Sunday it can give preliminary approval to two Internet-only banks in May next year, but hinted that only one group could receive approval if another group is unsuccessful. Two Internet-only banks — K-Bank and Kakao Bank — were launched last year, challenging traditional banks in [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The financial watchdog said Thursday it has revised its guidelines to allow borrowers to make online requests to banks for lower loan rates starting in 2019. Currently, borrowers with a good credit score must visit a physical bank branch to ask a bank to cut their loan rate. From [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Korea Bizwire) – South Koreans use online banking services more than 100 million times a day via computers or smartphones, exceeding 53 trillion won (US$46.9 billion) in transactions, as an increasing number of customers are going online to check bank statements, wire cash, and get a loan. The Korea Institute of Finance [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Major local banks have been offering or plan to offer voluntary retirement programs to their workers as part of restructuring efforts amid a greater application of digital-driven technology, industry sources said Sunday. Nonghyup Bank announced a voluntary retirement program last month. A total of 610 employees applied for the [...]