KOR

KOREA CAPITAL MARKET INSTITUTE

KOR

Research Staff

Choi, Soon Young Senior Research Fellow Financial Services Industry

Research Field

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

Entry into the Crypto Assets Business by Global Financial Services Firms Senior Research Fellow Choi, Soon Young / Sep. 13, 2022

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Financial Services Industry Strategy in the Ear of Ultra-Low Interst Rates Senior Research Fellow Choi, Soon Young and others / Apr. 28, 2021

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The Transformation of Investment Banks after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis Senior Research Fellow Choi, Soon Young / Apr. 15, 2021

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Characteristics of Korea’s MA Market and Analysis of the Determinant of MA Performance Senior Research Fellow Choi, Soon Young and others / Mar. 31, 2017

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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.

Diversification of the Global ESG Bond Market and the Need for Improvements in Post-Issuance Reporting / Dec. 07, 2021: The global ESG bond market continues to enjoy rapid growth. The issuance of ESG bonds approached 90% of the 2020 level in the first half of 2021 and is expected to break the 2020 record high by the year’s end. The composition of ESG bonds has also diversified. Until recently, the global ESG bond market has been driven primarily by green bonds, but the market saw a surge in both social bonds and sustainability bonds in 2020 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the bond issuer base is expanding with the establishment of the Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles (SLBP) and the publication of the Climate Transition Finance Handbook in 2020. On the other hand, broader participation in the ESG bond market has sparked concerns about greenwashing. In this regard, post-issuance reporting, and especially the need for improving information with respect to the use-of-proceeds and impacts of EGS bond financing have come to the forefront in discussions about ESG bonds. For strengthening market confidence and sustaining the development of the ESG bond market, improvements are needed in measuring the actual impact of financing towards resolving the major global issues such as climate change.