Well, I guess everyone who’s going to watch it has watched it already, but nevertheless I’ve tried to avoid any major spoilers in the below. Here’s the list of things that struck me most about the hit series. Most enjoyable reveal Runner up was the identity of the multi-gazillionaire who set up the game, But the … [Read More]
Tag: Financial Regulation
Selected publications
- Hail Park, Joon Kyung Kim, Yung Chul Park: Financial Liberalization and Economic Development in Korea, 1980–2020, Harvard University Press 2021
Dodgy savings bank loans provide unique buying opportunity
Fancy a Lamborghini? Contact the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, who are trying to offload assets from failed Korean savings banks. The cars were repossessed when their owners failed to pay up. Via Wall Street Journal http://on.wsj.com/L1CQiS [Read More]
A look back at 2011 – part 3
In the final part of our look back at 2011, we summarise some of the news stories which caught our eye. China This year the region’s biggest economy continued flexing its muscles: it conducted the first test flight of its new stealth fighter, announced that it had deployed stealth missile speedboats in the East China … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Suicide Forecast
LKL ponders on how a surprisingly charming film on the difficult subject of suicide could have useful lessons for financial sector remuneration strategy and sales practices. [Read More]
The Seoul Initiative?
As a Koreaphile whose day job is financial regulation, do I think Basel III should be rebranded “The Seoul initiative?” Um, no. http://bit.ly/dcuBt0 # [Read More]
A belated look back at 2009
For the past 3 years LKL has concocted a quiz of the year as a way of gathering together some of the news stories which have most caught our eye. This year, as I came to draw up the list in mid December I found it hard to think of anything amusing or diverting: most … [Read More]
KIKOs are enforceable after all
Invest Korea Journal: Knock-in, Knock-out (KIKO) contracts may be enforceable after all, but suitability principles apply: http://bit.ly/zLXq3p # [Read More]
The financial sector as engine for growth
There was no hope of applying the Chatham House rule at yesterday’s talk by HE Dr Jun Kwang-woo, chairman of Korea’s Financial Services Commission. With two TV cameras and numerous digital recorders on show, this meeting was firmly on the record. Reflecting the more formal nature of this meeting, Dr Jun spoke from a prepared … [Read More]
Top banking watchdog in town. You too can quiz him
Dr Jun Kwang Woo, the Chairman of the Korean Financial Services Commission, is in Paris and London this week for a range of meetings, including the UK finance minister and the FSA. He will also be speaking to the Korea Discussion Group at Chatham House on Friday afternoon at 4pm. His subject is Korea’s responses … [Read More]
Chaebols owning banks: should we be concerned?
One of the ideas to surface in the run-up to the Korean elections was that chaebols should once more be permitted to invest in banks. The proposed revision in policy prompted KBS to try to do a brief survey of practices in various markets in relation to rules regarding ownership of banks by non-bank companies. … [Read More]
KEB blow by blow
Reports of HSBC’s renewed interest in KEB have given me the impetus to resurrect a post which has been work-in-progress for a while. I’ve been periodically trying to google back in time to reconstruct the whole KEB saga, and yesterday’s FT coverage gave a very useful framework on which to build. So here is another … [Read More]
A regulatory nerd picks apart a Hankyoreh article
An interesting article (at least for that tiny population of amateur Koryologists whose day job involves bank regulatory capital ratios) in the Hankyoreh about Kookmin’s acquisition of Korea Exchange Bank. As usual though, one gets frustrated reading stories written by people who don’t have a clue what they’re talking about and which are not properly … [Read More]
More on Lone Star / KEB and the US Kaesong visit
I’m guessing that Douglas Anderson from the US House of Representatives has now reported back to base following his visit to Kaesong. Jay Lefkowitz, the US envoy for NK human rights has condemned the low wages and poor conditions there, to the understandable irritation of the South. I’m also guessing that the messages taken back … [Read More]
Korea and foreign investment
Standard Chartered Bank chairman Brian Sanderson, in a recent meeting with Roh Moo-hyun, said SCB’s experience in Korea had been positive so far. It will be remembered that SCB bought Korea First Bank, South Korea’s eight-largest lender, from US private equity firm Newbridge Capital and the Korean government for around $3.2bn a year ago, sneaking … [Read More]