South Korea expands bonus scrutiny into insurers, card firms (updated)

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance

17/02/2023 02:58

(Updates with confirmation, share prices)
    By Choonsik Yoo
       SEOUL, Feb 17 (Reuters) - South Korea has expanded its
scrutiny of pay schemes into insurance and credit card firms
after the country's president called on companies with strong
profits to help ease the cost-of-living burden for vulnerable
people.
    The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is checking with
major insurance and credit card companies whether their
profit-sharing bonus payments were excessive relative to
profits, a media department official said on Friday, without
elaborating.
    South Korea's top insurance companies and credit card
companies include Samsung Life Insurance  032830.KS , Samsung
Fire & Marine Insurance  000810.KS  and Shinhancard.
    Yonhap news agency reported some of the major insurance
companies recently paid their employees as much as half their
annual wage as a performance bonus.
    The regulator's move extends a campaign of President Yoon
Suk-yeol that previously targeted banks and telecoms service
providers. Yoon asked companies in those two sectors this week
to share more of their profits with people who needed help. 
    Yoon's government, in office for less than a year, also
wants banks and telecom companies to share profits with
vulnerable people by lowering debt-service costs or mobile phone
service fees.
    Reaction in the shares of insurance companies and parents of
credit card companies was muted. Investors were more focused on
declines in global equity prices on worries about further U.S.
rate hikes.
 (Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Bradley Perrett and
Sonali Paul)
 ((choonsik.yoo@thomsonreuters.com; +822 6936 1464;))