KOR

Research Staff

Research Staff

Lee, Seokhoon Senior Research Fellow Financial Services Industry
Research Field

Profile

TEL
82-2-3771-0639
E-mail
shlee@kcmi.re.kr
Education
Ph.D. in Economics (2006), The University of Texas at Austin
M.A. in Economics (1999), Sogang University
B.A. in Economcis (1997), Sogang University
Professional Experience
2006. 7 ~ Research Fellow, Korea Capital Market Institute
2018. 1 ~ Senior Research Fellow, Korea Capital Market Institute

Publications

Financial Services Industry
보고서 1
Big Tech in Finance and Fair Competition Senior Research Fellow Lee, Seokhoon and others / Jan. 27, 2023
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Capital Markets
보고서 1
Korea’s Specially Listed Technology Companies: Long-Run Performance and Implications Senior Research Fellow Lee, Seokhoon / Aug. 29, 2022
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Financial Services Industry
보고서 1
Directions for Improvement in Internal Controls of Financial Firms Senior Research Fellow Lee, Hyo Seob and others / Jan. 27, 2022
File
Asset Management/Pension
보고서 1
Behavioral Economics and Investor Protection Senior Research Fellow Lee, Seokhoon and others / Mar. 09, 2021
File

Opinion

Data Sharing through MyData Services: Implications for Big Techs’ Fair Competition / Oct. 25, 2022
With the launch of MyData in January 2022, Korea is expected to see the financial platform market serving as an intermediary between financial institutions and consumers growing further. This would trigger fierce competition for the market among big techs, fintechs and financial institutions. The adoption of open banking by the EU and UK was primarily driven by their policy goal of spurring competition for financial innovation. The open banking system aims to allow fintechs or big techs to gain access to consumer data held by financial institutions once a consumer gives consent. This has enabled many fintech startups to make a foray into the financial services industry by offering distinctive services underpinned by consumer financial data. However, some researchers have raised concerns that the current open banking regime could undermine its goal of encouraging competition because it also enables big techs that have already retained big data to benefit from data sharing by financial institutions. Open banking should play a crucial role in fostering competition for financial innovation and giving financial consumers a wider range of choices. To this end, it is worth considering devising a policy measure to require big techs to open up their data based on the principle of reciprocity.
Major Countries’ Default Option Scheme and its Implications: From the Perspective of Behavioral Economics / May. 03, 2022
Korea will implement the default option scheme for retirement plans in the second half of this year. Despite high expectations for its effect, concerns have been raised about the default option structure differing from that of major countries. Against this backdrop, this article intends to explore default options implemented by major countries and relevant implications from the behavioral economics perspective. Under the Pension Protection Act that incorporates target date funds (TDFs) into qualified default options, many companies in the US have shifted from conservative funds to TDFs when designating the default option. Japan has set forth qualitative criteria through a revision to the relevant law to improve its default option scheme primarily comprised of principal-guaranteed products. Major countries are seeking institutional reform into designating a default option suitable for long-term investment, and are nudging individuals to the default option. Unlike such countries, Korea has designed its default option scheme to guarantee freedom of choice for DC plan members. Although plan providers would take a careful approach to the composition of default options, DC plan members would still be required to select an investment product. Thus, Korea’s system may not sufficient to help DC plan members with a lack of interest or financial literacy to make better investment decisions. This necessitates the review of specific regulations to make up for the institutional deficiency before default options are implemented.
The Long-Run Performance of IPOs in the Hot Market and its Implications / Nov. 23, 2021
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, there have been signs of the hot IPO market, characterized by investor enthusiasm in IPOs and high IPO volumes, and a high trading in the IPO aftermarket. This article analyzed both first-day returns and three-year cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) for IPOs between 2003 and 2018. The analysis on these returns by year showed that in the 2010s the post-IPO three-year returns increased considerably and even surpassed the market return level. This article found that IPOs in the hot IPO market tended to be more underpriced on the first trading day but they showed worse performance in the long run. Therefore, in the hot IPO market, investors need to trade in the IPO aftermarket based on thorough evaluation and analysis, rather than being overly optimistic about prospects of IPOs.
Internal Controls of US Broker-Dealers: Evolvement and Characteristics / May. 18, 2021
In the wake of the recent cases related to internal controls of financial firms, both financial authorities and the industry appear to agree on the need for regulatory improvement. An effective compliance program is certainly one of the essential elements to internal controls of financial firms. This article takes a brief look at the case of the US, a country that boasts its advanced compliance program for securities firms. The compliance program of US securities firms evolved thanks to sanctions based on sentencing guidelines (the USSG), and supervisory duty set forth under the Securities Exchange Act, instead of regulatory mandates. Among others, this could be largely attributable to an effective incentive mechanism that offers tough sanctions combined with a penalty mitigation policy, and supervisory duty backed by safe harbor provisions. It is worth closely studying the case of the US that lays stress on those firms’ action such as self-reporting and cooperation with investigation, instead of fully focusing on formulating a perfect compliance program. Admittedly, Korea and the US are starkly different in terms of the legal framework and internal controls of securities firms. Still, however, the US case could serve as an important reference in discussions about improving Korea’s internal controls going forward.

Seminar Presentation

관련 세미나 이미지
2017 Sep 20
Capital Market CEO Tenure and Management Performance (Korean)
  • Presenter Senior Research Fellow Lee, Seokhoon
관련 세미나 이미지
2015 Oct 01
Analysis on Underwriter Competition Structure (Korean)
  • Presenter Senior Research Fellow Lee, Seokhoon
관련 세미나 이미지
2014 Apr 22
Changes in Securities Industry Environment and Necessary Regulatory Improvements (Korean)
  • Presenter Senior Research Fellow Lee, Seokhoon
관련 세미나 이미지
2014 Jan 15
Financial Industry Trends and Outlook: Securities Industry (Korean)
  • Presenter Senior Research Fellow Lee, Seokhoon

Research performance

Measuring the Effect of Branch Network in the Korean Banking Industry