Korean firms’ business activities, such as risk management and foreign investment, have been affected by the obligation since 2011 to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Korean banks may need to reshape their credit-rating models and enhance their loan-collection systems to prepare for further changes in loan-loss accounting. In addition, the financial authorities must provide adequate guidelines to minimise discretionary accounting and organise regulatory acts in order to prevent false disclosure. Korea’s accounting standards, and the quality of financial information, have improved since the adoption of IFRS in 2011, but comparability between financial statements has declined. IFRS was first adopted for listed companies in EU member countries in 2005. Since then, it has expanded rapidly across the globe, leading Korea… Read more
Bruegel blog
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Effects of IFRS on Korean banks, and future prospects
11th May 2012
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Development of the mobile payments market in Korea
2nd February 2012
Figure 1: Use of mobile banking in KoreaSource: Bank of Korea. Improved mobile communications, and links to credit card providers, along with the smartphone boom, has encouraged growth in Korea's domestic mobile payments market. In February 2010, SK Telecom secured a 49 percent share of the Hana SK Card to become the first limited partnership offering a form of 'communication-card'. Then, in June 2011, KT Capital acquired 38.86 percent of BC Card, becoming the largest shareholder. As of March 2011, the number of smartphone subscribers in Korea had already exceeded 10 million, while the use of mobile banking has expanded strongly since late 2009. Recently, NFC (Near Field Communication) technology has been added to USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity Module) cards.… Read more