KOR

Research Staff

Research Staff

Choi, Soon Young Senior Research Fellow Financial Services Industry
Research Field

Profile

TEL
82-2-3771-0688
E-mail
soonchoi@kcmi.re.kr
Education
Ph.D., The University of Chicago, 2004
M.A., The University of Chicago, 1996
B.A., The University of Chicago, 1992
Professional Experience
Korea Capital Market Institute , 2010 -
Samsung Research Institute of Finance, 2007 - 2010
SK Research Institute for SUPEX Management, 2005 - 2007
McKinsey Co., 2004 - 2005

Publications

Opinion

Korean Securities Firms’ Overseas Expansion into Asian Emerging Markets / Apr. 30, 2024
Korean securities firms have pursued a strategic shift in their overseas expansion since the 2010s. In the past, their ventures into global markets centered predominantly on developed market countries like the US, UK, and Hong Kong. Despite sustained efforts, however, they experienced limited success in these markets, largely due to the lack of competitive advantage beyond Korean Paper brokerage services. Building upon these experiences, Korean securities firms have redirected their focus towards Asian emerging markets since 2010, adopting a retail brokerage-centric business model.The strategy of Korean securities firms venturing into Asian emerging markets has yielded some promising results. In Vietnam and Indonesia, where Korean securities firms are concentrated, local subsidiaries have gained significant market share and are ranked among the top 10 brokerages. However, despite increasing top-line growth in these markets, profitability of local subsidiaries still falls short of expectations. While some of the reasons for the lagging profitability are attributable to the rising cost of expanding business operations, it is also due in part to the slower-than-expected pace of capital market development in emerging Asia, including Vietnam and Indonesia. As a result, business in these markets poses substantial risks. Although Asian emerging markets hold high potential, it should be noted that successful overseas expansion into these countries requires a long-term vision and patience.
Current State and Challenges of Korea’s Sustainability-Liked Bond (SLB) Market / Oct. 24, 2023
In July 2023, Hyundai Capital successfully issued Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs) for the first time in Korea. This is particularly encouraging in that there have been no issuances for nearly a year since the introduction of SLBs in the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) segment of the Korea Exchange (KRX) in October 2022. SLBs were designed to offer financing routes to companies struggling to issue conventional ESG bonds, especially green bonds. As they place no restrictions on the use of funds and allow non-environmentally friendly companies to issue ESG bonds, it was initially expected for Korean companies to make extensive use of SLBs. However, the SLB issuance in Korea is still below expectations, which is partly attributable to a lack of awareness of SLBs and the complexity of how SLBs are designed. Against this backdrop, Hyundai Capital’s SLB issuance provides a good opportunity to better understand SLBs and identify challenges for boosting Korea’s SLB market.
Revitalizing Korea’s ESG Bond Market to Achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2050 / Apr. 18, 2023
The Korean government has recently released the blueprint for “achieving carbon neutrality and green growth by 2050”. The blueprint contains the current Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets including transitioning to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 and a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (compared to 2018 levels). Attaining the goals of the blueprint requires not only efforts by the government, but also the active participation of the private sector in adopting a lower carbon intensive mode of production and operations. Considering that the low carbon transition requires a large amount of investment, such as for securing mitigation technologies, a more active use of ESG bonds is needed. Despite a slowdown in the global ESG bond market in 2022, a wide range of environment and energy policy measures adopted by major economies have injected new growth momentum into the market. This shift in policy direction demonstrates that environmental issues are directly connected with not only response to climate risk but also with economic growth factors including energy security and technology initiatives. Against this backdrop, Korea also needs to consider various measures to stimulate the ESG bond market, to achieve carbon neutrality and to gain industrial competitiveness.
Global Financial Services Firms’ Entry into the Virtual Assets Business / May. 17, 2022
Recently, major global financial firms are pushing for participation in the virtual assets market. Previously, leading investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan have been hesitant to actively enter into the virtual asset space, due to their ambiguous legal status and high price volatility. But, growing demand for cryptocurrency investment by customers is leading to a change in attitude. The push into virtual assets is taking place in multiple ways. To grow capabilities in virtual assets, banks are establishing dedicated virtual asset divisions and growing functions such as research. Also, to acquire virtual asset related human capital and technology, banks are actively investing in fintech firms. In addition, the firms are offering virtual asset-related trading and wealth management services to institutional investors and wealthier clients. The virtual assets market has grown significantly both in terms of size and development, and although innovation is being led by fintech firms, the growing participation by large banks will likely intensify competition even further going forward.

Seminar Presentation

관련 세미나 이미지
2017 Sep 20
Impacts of Corporate Ownership Structure on M&A of Korean Listed Companies (Korean)
  • Presenter Senior Research Fellow Choi, Soon Young
관련 세미나 이미지
2016 Oct 06
Characteristics of Korea’s M&A Market (Korean)
  • Presenter Senior Research Fellow Choi, Soon Young