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Articles by Seo Dae-woong
If you make a deposit, keep the maturity ‘short’…‘High-interest short-term deposits’ have become the new normal
Major commercial banks are setting higher interest rates on 3-month time deposits than on 3-year maturities. The common belief that longer maturities carry higher rates on bank deposits has been upended, and the situation of ‘high-interest short-term deposits’ is expected to continue for the time being.
Toss files complaint with the Korea Fair Trade Commission against Naver… a ‘second round’ over POS integration
Naver search and map-to-store information linking service Toss-affiliated merchants are not integrated…“unfair discrimination” claimed Toss Place, a payment-terminal subsidiary of Toss, filed a complaint with the Korea Fair Trade Commission against Naver, arguing that it is unfair that Naver refuses to integrate the POS (POS·point-of-sale information management system) operated by Toss Place with its store-information service.
This time, a blind spot in credit information oversight… Saemaul Geumgo went 11 years without inspections
Government-wide joint regular audit launched targeting the central federation No personnel for credit information examinations even amid the hacking incident A blind spot in credit information oversight has been revealed at Saemaul Geumgo, which has sparked numerous controversies for engaging in deposit and lending operations without being supervised by the financial authorities.
KRW 4.9 trillion in guaranteed non-performing loans older than 15 years to be written off… First public release next March of banks ‘Inclusive Finance Evaluation’ results
Plan to improve management of non-performing loans at financial public institutions Waive recovery of small claims after five years of delinquency Write off after 15 years regardless of arrears amount Evaluate inclusive finance at private financial firms and publish annually Among non-performing loans that transferred to financial public institutions after individuals and corporations failed to repay loans obtained from financial companies with government guarantees, claims totaling KRW 4.9...
Retirement pension ETFs ‘100% investment limit’ does not mean principal and interest are guaranteed
High risk ratings mean potential losses of principal and interest… The Financial Supervisory Service urges consumer caution The financial authorities have issued consumer guidance, saying that the phrase ‘100% investment limit’ related to exchange-traded funds (ETF) invested through retirement pension accounts does not mean principal and interest are guaranteed.
Paychecks skim past the account··· Half remains the next day, 22% after ten days; what about after a month?
People in their 60s still keep a 76% balance after one month A survey found that for salaried workers, once they are paid and various expenses are deducted, only 57% of their pay remains in the account the day after payday, and just 22% after ten days. Analyzing data from NH NongHyup Bank payroll transfer customers (net pay of at least KRW 1 million) from January to June this year showed that one day after receiving their wages, on average only 57% of the paycheck remained in the account.
More ‘first jobs’ at SMEs and in non-regular work… but moves to large firms and regular positions have decreased
Bank of Korea’s ‘Youth Employment Policy Agenda’ report ‘Employment Quality’ index for youths aged 15~29 Fell from 101.1 before COVID-19 to 94.7 Probability of moving to the primary labor market just 1.6% “Pursue industrial policy and labor market improvements in parallel” According to a Bank of Korea analysis, the downturn in youth employment has seen a pronounced qualitative deterioration since the COVID-19 pandemic, including an increased share of temporary and daily jobs.
Principal and interest on illegal private loans exceeding an annual rate of 60% are void···FSS ‘Nullity Certificate’, first use in a criminal trial
After a gift-card sale, high interest demanded when proceeds weren’t paid First use of the Nullity Certificate as evidence…the victim acquitted The Financial Supervisory Service’s ‘Nullity Certificate’, which confirms that the principal and interest of illegal lending contracts with an annual interest rate exceeding 60% are void, has for the first time been admitted as evidence proving innocence in a criminal court ruling.
IBK breaks past 2 trillion won in cumulative net profit by Q3 for the first time···achieves 272 trillion won in SME loans
2.2141 trillion won on a consolidated basis…down 2.0% year-on-year IBK said on the 26th that standalone net income through the third quarter this year came to 2.0089 trillion won, up 0.6% from the same period a year earlier. This is the first time the bank has seen cumulative net profit through the third quarter exceed 2 trillion won. The bank explained that “an improvement in interest income driven by solid growth of interest-earning assets, the core business of the bank, supported the results”.
“2,091 additional cases of data leakage confirmed”···KB Kookmin Bank hacking victims rise to 2,210
KB Kookmin Bank announced on the 26th that, after identifying additional victims of data leakage stemming from the previous hacking incident, the number of affected customers and employees has increased to 2,210.
Insurer hacked for the first time··· Mirae Asset Life Insurance faces emergency inspection by the Financial Supervisory Service over personal data leak
A hacking attack at Mirae Asset Life Insurance led to the leak of customer personal information, prompting the Financial Supervisory Service to launch an emergency on-site inspection.
Toss Bank deposit posting error totals 32.5 billion won…“80% corrected, 7.2 billion under recovery”
The amount incorrectly reflected due to a deposit posting error at Toss Bank has reached 32.5 billion won. Toss Bank stated on the 23rd that it has completed corrections for about 80% of this. The previous day, through a disclosure to the Financial Supervisory Service, Toss Bank announced that a deposit processing error in interbank transfer transactions had resulted in a financial incident amounting to 32,493,690,000 won. The expected loss amount has not been determined.
SK hynix halts push to list Solidigm in the U.S. amid ‘duplicate listing’ controversy
SK hynix has decided to withdraw the Nasdaq initial public offering (IPO) of its U.S. second-tier subsidiary Solidigm, which had stirred controversy over duplicate listings.
KB Real Estate Trust made a supervision firm that did not take part in construction a joint guarantor for PF loans, shifting contractor risk
A real estate trust under KB Financial Group made a supervision company that did not take part in the construction join as a joint guarantor in a real estate project financing PF loan and trust agreement. The structure shifted default risk by making the supervisor assume not only the PF loans but also funds injected by the trust if construction was not completed by the deadline. The supervisor has borne 37.1 billion KRW to date.
FSS Governor Lee Chan-jin “Solidigm Nasdaq listing judged to be a dual listing”
Parliamentary audit by the National Policy Committee…“Financial Services Commission also finds it violates dual-listing rules” On the 19th, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin said of the push by Solidigm, a second-tier subsidiary of SK hynix, to list on the U.S. Nasdaq, “We are judging it to be a dual listing.” At the parliamentary audit of the National Policy Committee held at the National Assembly that day, in response to Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Kang-il pointing out...
Starting tomorrow, the maximum variable mortgage rate at the five major banks reaches 6.48% per year... Ceilings at KB Kookmin and Woori also move into the 6% range
New COFIX at 3.43%... up for the first time in two months As the Cost of Funds Index (COFIX), which serves as the benchmark for variable-rate home mortgage loans, rose for the first time in two months, the maximum variable mortgage rate at major banks will climb to 6.48% per year starting on the 16th. At three of the five largest banks, the top end of the rate range will exceed 6%.
Saemaeul Geumgo was also breached··· Names·account numbers·even balances of mutual aid members leaked
Published Oct 13, 2026 17:18 KST By Seo Dae-woong This article was translated by an AI tool. Feedback Here. On the 13th, the Saemaeul Geumgo Central Association announced on its website that information of mutual aid (insurance) members, including customer numbers, names, encrypted resident registration numbers, account numbers, dates of birth, mobile phone numbers, home phone numbers, work phone numbers, home addresses, work addresses, email addresses, and balances, had been leaked.
Ten financial firms with eased network separation drafted only security plans without implementation···their internal networks were nearly exposed to hacking
Special exceptions easing network separation granted to ten entities including Shinhan Bank Set only plans for alternative controls and failed to carry them out Some even left security administrator systems exposed outside Financial Security Institute “All deficiencies were addressed during the inspection process” Ten financial firms that received special permission to connect external internet networks to internal business networks to defend against AI-driven hacking were found to have...
Transfers failed but were posted as deposits…Toss Bank issues correction notice after five days
Toss Bank notified customers of a correction only after five days had passed since a remittance error in which transfers did not go through but were posted as deposits. On the 12th, Toss Bank sent text messages to customers affected by the transfer error, informing them that “the relevant deposit will be corrected (canceled) on the 12th”.
“Hold weekly AI hacking simulation drills under CEO accountability,” they said···Did banks ignore the guidelines
Prepared by the Financial Security Institute three months ago ‘Vulnerabilities’ responses repeatedly emphasized In the U.S., treated as ‘operational risk’ It has been learned that in July the Financial Security Institute drew up guidelines requiring regular drills to prepare for top-performance AI hacking attacks and distributed them across the entire financial sector. The institute in particular emphasized each financial company’s response to ‘vulnerabilities’.
Spending tens of billions of won each year and even disclosing a “perfect security score of 100”···banks still failed to stop customer data hacks
Banks that failed to fend off all-out hacking attacks highlighted in their latest semiannual reports that they had obtained various security certifications and top-tier ratings. Despite investing tens of billions of won annually in security, they failed to defend against hacking attempts to steal customer data.
Welcome Savings Bank also hit by data breach… 2,200 corporate-customer records leaked
Amid random hacking attacks targeting the domestic financial sector, it has emerged that more than 2,000 corporate-customer records were also leaked at Welcome Savings Bank. According to the financial sector on the 4th, Welcome Savings Bank confirmed during an internal inspection the previous day that it had been subjected to a hacking attack related to corporate customers and reported it to the authorities.
“The ID-password method is vulnerable to credential stuffing”…there had been a prior warning from the Financial Security Institute
It has been found that the Financial Security Institute already issued a warning last year that the ID-and-password authentication method used by financial firms is vulnerable to bypass hacking that steals customers’ additional information through random-entry attempts on other websites.
Loan broker lookup site became the ‘weak link’ …Shinhan Bank customer information on 25,000 leaked
Emergency on-site probe by financial authorities Shinhan Bank CEO expresses “deep apology” A large-scale hacking incident occurred at Shinhan Bank, leaking information on about 25,000 customers. Loan brokers, who are external to the bank, had entered customers' loan-related information into the bank website server, and it was leaked by an external hack.
Data on 25,000 Shinhan Bank customers leaked…including resident registration numbers and CI
Emergency on-site inspection by financial authorities Shinhan Bank president issues public apology…“Full compensation for losses” A large-scale hacking incident occurred at Shinhan Bank that leaked the information of around 25,000 customers. Financial authorities launched an emergency on-site inspection, and Shinhan Bank issued a public apology.
LS Cable & System to establish rare-earth and permanent magnet production bases in Vietnam and Gumi
LS Cable & System will establish rare-earth and rare-earth permanent magnet production bases in Vietnam and in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, respectively. The move aims to build a domestic response to the China-concentrated rare-earth supply chain. On the 30th, LS disclosed that its subsidiary LS Cable & System will acquire 150 million shares of Korea Motion Works, an affiliate engaged in manufacturing and selling rare-earth permanent magnets, for 150 billion KRW.
Trying to earn 22.4 billion won, now saddled with 272 billion won in debt···It’s illegal, yet the subcontractor is told to repay?
A, a construction firm specializing in power distribution works, joined as a subcontractor in December 2021 for the Okjeong Knowledge Industry Center project in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province. The contractor obtained a real-estate project financing (PF) loan and invested a total of 97 billion won in the project. The amount awarded to A was 13.4 billion won. By contract value alone, A accounted for only one-seventh of the overall project.
From next April, bank branches will open at 9:30, not 9:00
Bank labor and management reach a tentative wage-and-collective agreement… total wages up 3.0% Starting in April next year, bank branches will begin operating 30 minutes later, at 9:30 a.m. instead of 9:00 a.m. The Korean Financial Industry Union (the union), composed of unions at banks and related financial institutions under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, and the Financial Industry Employers Council (the council) announced on the 28th that they had reached a tentative agreement on...
‘Ye-tech’ era is back···Parking accounts paying 8% per annum appear
The five major commercial banks: 3.4%3.6% per annum Top bank time-deposit rate up to 3.92% p.a. One-month installment savings offering 10% p.a. also available Keep maturities short in a rate-hike cycle With the Bank of Korea raising the base rate and shifting monetary policy, major commercial banks are steadily increasing rates on deposits and installment savings.
Exchange rate loss after canceling an overseas card payment?…Compensation will become easier
Financial Supervisory Service “Make it so no separate application is needed” Mr. A paid 7.4 million won for airline tickets for an overseas trip with friends, and a month later canceled one ticket. He should have received 1.85 million won back, but the refund was 1.75 million won. This was because over the month the won dollar exchange rate fell by 80 won, from 1,480 won to 1,400 won. Only after submitting a compensation request directly to the card issuer was Mr. A able to get 100,000 won back.
Back to ‘the era of tightening’···U.S. Fed raises benchmark rate 0.25%P↑ for the first time in 3 years, BOK also seen hiking again in November
After Europe·Hong Kong, Japan to decide on the 18th The U.S. Fed likely to raise once more within the year Central banks around the world, which had been cutting rates through last year or holding them steady this year, have returned to ‘the era of tightening’. The U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) on the 16th (local time) raised the policy rate for the first time in 3 years and 2 months.
The era of tightening has returned···the United States raises rates, Japan may also hike, and the Bank of Korea may add another increase this year
Central banks around the world, which had cut rates until last year or held them steady this year, have returned to the ‘era of tightening’. The U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) raised its policy rate on the 16th (local time) for the first time in 3 years and 2 months. The European Central Bank (ECB) lifted rates last week, and Japan is also expected to raise rates again on the 18th.
‘The barbecue restaurant terminal at the Jensen Huang samso get-together’ Why did Naver·Toss fight over it
Switch from Toss to Naver terminals sparks ‘conflict’ Naver, “Toss is advertising on the Naver platform” Toss “Naver is excluding only the Toss payment system” In an era where ‘user data is money’, a battle to seize the No. 1 platform In early June, at a barbecue restaurant in Mapo District, Seoul, where Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and the heads of major Korean groups held a samso (pork belly plus soju) get-together.
FSS Governor Lee Chan-jin issues a warning message: “Strengthen fairness in succession procedures for CEOs of subsidiaries of financial holding companies”
FSS Governor Lee Chan-jin called for stronger fairness and transparency, saying that the succession procedures for chief executive officers (CEOs) of subsidiaries of financial holding companies, including bank chiefs, are inadequate. The remarks came as the terms of bank chiefs at major financial groups are set to expire at the end of this year and are seen as sending a warning message to financial holding companies.
The economy may be growing rapidly, but the Bank of Korea says “Polarization, home prices·household debt could grow again”
BOK ‘Monetary and Credit Policy Report’ Although the Korean economy has posted unprecedented growth so far this year, the Bank of Korea has sounded a warning that the ‘shadow of growth’ could deepen. As the warmth of growth fails to spread, gaps between large·small and medium-sized firms and between high-income·low-income households could widen further, and with consumption and wages rising, the likelihood of prices climbing again has increased.
‘Surpassing $30,000’ after 12 years… Per capita GNI at $40,000 ‘certain’
Sixth among countries with populations of 50 million or more Q2 nominal GDP up 26.4% ‘driven’ Korea GNI $40,000 ‘certain’ Buoyed by a semiconductor boom that has lifted gross domestic product (GDP), a per capita gross national income (GNI) of $40,000 this year now looks assured. Nominal GDP in the second quarter rose 26.4% from a year earlier, the highest in 47 years.
Q2 nominal GDP up 26.4%↑ from a year earlier… highest in 47 years
Real GDP up 0.6% quarter on quarter↑… same as the advance estimate Real GDI up 15.6% year on year↑… highest in 38 years In the second quarter of this year, nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in South Korea increased 26.4% from the same period a year earlier, marking the highest level in 47 years.
‘Pandemic-era ultra-low-rate’ mortgages whose fixed-rate periods have ended, an ‘interest bomb’ boomerang
Borrowed at rates in the 2% range five years ago, but since last year the time to switch to variable rates has arrived At high rates in the 4% range, on a 500 million won loan the monthly payment surges ‘1.97 million won → 2.63 million won’ Mr. A took out a mortgage of 350 million won in 2021 to buy an apartment in Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. He had been repaying 1.4 million won a month in principal and interest, but starting in April the monthly amount jumped to 1.67 million won.
As climate disasters intensify, advanced economies expand issuance of ‘disaster bonds’, while Korea remains at ‘0’
ESG bonds that invest in no-disaster outcomes Global outstanding amount, $65.6 billion “Issuance is difficult, but discussion is expected” As the climate crisis brings droughts, torrential rain, and floods, ‘disaster bonds’ that support disaster-hit regions have surpassed $65 billion this year. However, in Korea, ‘disaster bonds’ have not been issued even once.
“OO-man Electronics, now is a bargain sale” Such market analysis reports are not allowed
Video ads on online channels will also be subject to review by the Korea Financial Investment Association “OO-man Electronics, now is a bargain sale” Going forward, market analysis reports that contain content encouraging the purchase of specific stocks will be driven out of the market. The financial authorities have decided to hold financial investment companies that release false or exaggerated advertisements that cloud investor judgment accountable.
With the PF market in a slump… Real estate trust subsidiaries of the four major financial holding groups post an 80% substandard-and-below asset ratio
The ratio of substandard-and-below assets at real estate trust subsidiaries of the four major financial holding groups has been found to average 80%. According to the semiannual reports of the four major financial holding groups (KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori) released on the 26th, as of end-June, the average ratio of substandard-and-below assets (loans) at the four real estate trust companies under these groups stood at 80.38%.
What benchmark interest rate do domestic financial groups expect for the second half of this year?
Korea base rate “additional hike within the year” Economic growth this year expected to exceed 3.0% Major domestic financial groups presented an outlook that the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed·the Fed), will keep the policy rate unchanged in the second half. For Korea, they judged that the likelihood of an additional base-rate increase within the year is high. They expected the Korean economy to grow by more than 3.0% this year.
“What about my child, what about the house? I can’t sleep at night”···Employees unsettled by rumors of relocating financial institutions to the provinces
Government to announce plan for relocating public institutions to the provinces as early as the 25th Financial Services Commission·Financial Supervisory Service·Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation to Sejong, Export-Import Bank of Korea·Korea Development Bank·Industrial Bank of Korea likely to Busan Employees protest, saying “decisions on matters of livelihood are being made lightly for political reasons” NH NongHyup·National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives also in turmoil···moving to...
Why have 4%-range savings bank deposit rates suddenly disappeared···The reason they lowered rates in a rate-hike cycle
Stock-market decline last month lifted deposit balances Government oversight of household debt curbs loan growth Proactive rate adjustments to ease the burden of attracting deposits Three set rates even below the base rate Although the Bank of Korea raised the base rate last month and the possibility of additional hikes has been floated, deposit rates at savings banks are instead falling. Some have even set rates below the base rate.
Starting next year, loans for high-priced apartments will get stricter… banks will have to build up more capital when lending
Financial Supervisory Service to revise standards for calculating capital Larger capital buffers erode bank profitability Compared with loans for apartments priced over 1.52.5 billion won Revamp to make lending to mid- to low-priced homes more favorable Starting next year, the financial authorities plan to require banks that extend mortgage loans secured by high-priced apartments to hold more capital.
Mortgage lending capacity at the five major banks expected to expand by 7.5 trillion won… Mutual finance likely to resume group loans
Discussions begin on allocating 30 trillion won in household-loan supply capacity Household debt balance to enter the 2,000 trillion won range at end-second quarter Prudential management emerges as a key task As the financial authorities doubled this year's target growth rate for total household debt, the capacity of major commercial banks to supply home mortgages is expected to increase by about 7.5 trillion won.
Cheong Wa Dae “In consultation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on housing supply at Yongsan Park… to break ground on 1.5 million homes within the term”
“100,000 homes on new sites… additional announcements within the year beyond 27,000” Ha Jun-kyung, Senior Secretary for Economic Growth at Cheong Wa Dae, said on the 13th that 1.5 million homes could break ground within the term of the Lee Jae Myung administration.
Bill Gates, in Korea for the first time in a year, will meet Prime Minister Han Sung-sook, Chairman Chung Ki-sun, and others tomorrow
Talks on SMR cooperation planned amid surging AI-driven power demand Bill Gates, Microsoft (MS) co-founder and founder of the next-generation nuclear company TerraPower, arrived in Korea on the 13th. During his visit, Gates is expected to meet key figures from the government, the National Assembly, and the business community to discuss expanding cooperation on small modular reactors (SMRs). This is his first visit in a year since last August.
“Does the National Pension Service prop up a floor in domestic stocks and defend the exchange rate? That is completely wrong···there is only one purpose: securing retirement for the public”
Executive Director Bae Jae-hyun, who led investment strategy for 12 years at the pension fund “Within one month, the allocation to the risky asset of domestic equities was increased by 6% The ‘public declaration’ that there would be no sell-off bomb was a decisive blunder The public-interest principle in the investment guidelines means do not harm the public good Twenty supervisors···the Fund Management Headquarters must be independent from the Service” “The National Pension Service is a...
460,000 personal data records leaked from SamproTV… some account and card information included
Accounts 2972 records·Card information 317 records A personal data breach occurred in the finance-focused YouTube channel ‘SamproTV’ application. For some members, bank account and credit card information was also leaked.
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