The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) concluded on Nov. 14 that Samsung BioLogics intentionally committed accounting fraud in changing its accounting standard in 2015.Kim Yong-beom, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission who heads the SFC, told a news conference at the government o
The Financial Supervisory Service’s re-audit of Samsung BioLogics is in its final stage. The financial regulator is expected to maintain its previous conclusion that the biotech company had deliberately committed accounting fraud. As a result, the company is likely to suffer heavy penalties."A re-au
Insurance sales through bancassurance dropped significantly in the first half of the year. The total initial premiums collected from new insurance contracts sold at banks and securities companies amounted to 3.41 trillion won (US$3.02 billion) in the first half of this year, a 33 percent drop compar
Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Yoon Suk-heun warned that new financial services, such as cryptocurrencies and fintech, can cause risks in terms of consumer protection. In particular, he stressed the need to create a global regulatory system for cryptocurrencies.During an opening ceremo
The initial premiums (first-time premium after getting insurance) for domestic life insurance companies are rapidly decreasing. On the other hand, insurance termination refunds and insurance loans hit the record high since 2003 when the data began to be collected.Given the fact that insurance is the
Two former heads of the personnel department of Shinhan Bank were arrested on suspicion of giving favors to the children of the bank’s former and incumbent executives in the hiring process.Yang Chul-han, chief judge at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant again
South Korea’s top 10 business groups have increased their investment in research and development (R&D) by 10 percent on average in the first half of this year, according to data released by the Financial Supervisory Service.The data show that the total amount of R&D investments by 69 listed subsidia
Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Yoon Suk-heun announced on Aug. 6 that the FSS has signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to build a framework for cooperation.Yoon is visiting Manila of the Philippines from Aug. 4 to attend the Executives' Meeting of the East Asia
Recently, more and more South Korean financial companies are expanding their business abroad, including Southeast Asia. In particular, the Moon Jae-in administration has been pursuing “New Southern Policy” to strengthen economic and diplomatic cooperation with ASEAN member countries. Accordingly, th
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has decided to push for employee representation on the board of directors of private financial companies. The decision was a surprise in light of the negative stance on the system expressed by Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Choi Jong-ku. Last yea
Yoon Suk-heun, the governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, had declared war against financial institutions to protect consumers.The top regulator said on July 9 that he would start a war with financial institutions to protect consumers from incomplete sales of financial products."Incomplete s
Foreign financial companies operating in South Korea have transferred 1.2 trillion won (US$1.08 billion) worth of funds a year on average to their headquarters durign the past five years, according to data released by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The financial regulator submitted the dat
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has started an intensive investigation into Kyungnam Bank, KEB Hana Bank, and Citibank Korea as they have been found to have charged their customers higher than normal interest rates on loans.On June 21, the FSS announced the outcome of its recent inspection i
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has requested the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) to supplement its audit report on Samsung BioLogics.SFC made the decision because it judged that it was necessary to go over Samsung BioLogics’s accounting boo
South Korean banks posted an aggregate interest income of 37.3 trillion won last year. In the first quarter of this year, the figure reached 9.7 trillion won.Banks’ interest income comes from the gap between deposit and lending rates. It gets bigger when the gap widens.In the backdrop of the huge in
The main ground for the Financial Supervisory Service’s allegations that Samsung BioLogics had committed accounting fraud was the company’s conversion in 2015 of the status of Samsung Bioepis from a subsidiary to an affiliate. But the FSS actually argued during its special audit of Samsung BioLogics
Goldman Sachs, a global investment bank that has been suspected of carrying out naked short selling, has been found to have attempted to short sell 350 KOSPI and KOSDAQ stocks on the day of short selling. This means that the short sale volume of a single foreign brokerage is large enough to negative
Korean fianancial authorities have launched an inspection into Goldman Sachs as the global investment bank is suspected of having participated in naked short-selling.Naked-short selling is an illegal trading practice where one short-sells stocks without first borrowing them or ensuring that they can
The South Korean financial authorities are likely to wrap up their review of the accounting fraud allegations against Samsung BioLogics earlier than expected.According to the authorities, the Accounting Oversight Deliberation Committee is planning to finish its review within this month and report th