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(Photo= Yonhap news) |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] South Korea's five major banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup) have reportedly spent over 360 billion won on legal fees over the past five years and six months, with Hana Bank leading in expenditures.
According to a report submitted by the five banks to Kim Byung-ki, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, the total legal expenses from 2019 to June 2024 amounted to 360.256 billion won.
Among the five banks, Hana Bank accounted for nearly one-third of the total legal costs, spending 130.735 billion won. In 2022 alone, Hana Bank spent a staggering 31.744 billion won on legal fees. Excluding 2019, it spent over 20 billion won annually on legal expenses in all subsequent years. In the first half of this year, the bank alone incurred 13.607 billion won in legal costs.
Following Hana Bank, Woori Bank spent 125.025 billion won on legal fees during the same period. In 2022, Woori Bank paid out 38.845 billion won. However, it significantly reduced its spending to 6.219 billion won in the first half of this year. Shinhan Bank spent 61.910 billion won, KB Kookmin 25.742 billion won, and NH Nonghyup 17.844 billion won. Both KB Kookmin and NH Nonghyup never exceeded 10 billion won in annual legal fees.
The law firm most frequently utilized by these banks during legal disputes was Kim & Chang, regarded as the top firm in the country. Kim & Chang ranked first in legal expenditures for each bank a total of 14 times. It held the top position for both KB Kookmin and Hana Bank continuously from 2020 to June 2024.
Following Kim & Chang, the law firm Hwa Woo ranked first in legal expenses for 10 instances. Shinhan Bank consistently used Hwa Woo as its primary law firm from 2020 to August 2024, excluding 2022. Woori Bank also prioritized Hwa Woo for legal expenses from 2020 to 2022, and NH Nonghyup reported the highest legal fees to Hwa Woo during the same period.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
