Try the Daily Briefing
Try the Daily Briefing for your country of choice for two weeks--free of charge and with no obligation.
Have a service or subscription question? We'd be happy to hear from you.
Intelligence for Better Decision Making
Erudite Risk takes an all risks approach to intelligence reporting. We categorize key intelligence into one of 40 different risk intelligence categories.
The goal is to provide intelligence that allows decision makers to avoid being blindsided by what they may have missed, while informing them to make better decisions as well.
Erudite Risk also includes operations categories so you can monitor the environment for better decision making. Everything is tied together--what happens in risk affects operations and what happens in the market impacts risk profiles.
We categorize key intelligence into one of 30 different operations intelligence categories.
Different roles and functions within the organization can monitor different key issue areas. HR may monitor employment, wages, regulations, labor and management relations, etc., while P&L leaders may monitor overall developing trends.
Nonbank lending surges in Korea even as overall household loan growth slows
Joongang Ilbo | English | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | UndeterminedFinancial System Problems
In November 2025, overall household loan growth in South Korea slowed to an increase of 4.1 trillion won compared to 4.9 trillion won in October, driven by tighter banking regulations and a government-imposed annual cap. However, nonbank institutions such as insurance companies, mutual finance firms, and credit card companies saw a significant surge in lending, rising by 64 percent from 1.4 trillion won to 2.3 trillion won. Mutual finance firms contributed 1.4 trillion won to this growth, with insurers adding 500 billion won.
The slowdown was especially pronounced in bank-issued mortgage loans, which fell from 2 trillion won in October to 700 billion won in November, the lowest since March 2022. In contrast, mortgage loans from nonbank institutions increased sharply from 1.2 trillion won to 1.9 trillion won, fueled by strong demand in Seoul and surrounding real estate markets. While regulatory measures have slowed housing price increases overall, some key areas continue to experience steady or rising prices.
Other loan categories, including unsecured loans, also grew, reaching 1.2 trillion won in November, supported by increased investment activity in domestic and overseas stock markets, although volatility concerns remain. Financial authorities postponed the third phase of the stress debt service ratio (DSR) regulation for home loans in nonmetropolitan areas by six months, allowing existing, less stringent rules to apply through June 2026 due to sluggish housing markets outside the capital region. The stress DSR applies a hypothetical higher interest rate to ensure borrowers’ ability to repay under adverse conditions, helping to maintain financial stability.
"한일 정상회담, 日나라 고찰서 개최 조율…아베 피격 장소 헌화도 검토"
Japan-South Korea summit coordinated to be held at Japanese temple…considering wreath-laying at the site of Abe's shooting
Hankyung | Local Language | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes
President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi are coordinating a summit to be held in Nara City, Japan, around January 13–14, 2026. The leaders plan to hold talks and a dinner in Nara, which is Takaichi’s birthplace and electoral district, and a former ancient capital of Japan.
The historic temple Tōdai-ji, known for its Great Buddha statue and cultural ties to the Korean kingdom of Baekje, is being considered as the venue for the summit. There is also a proposed visit to the site near Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara City, where former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in 2022, to lay flowers. Takaichi, a hardline conservative, is known to pursue Abe’s political line.
Following their first meeting at the October 30 APEC summit in Gyeongju, President Lee expressed interest in visiting Nara Prefecture, which Takaichi supported. This will be Lee’s first visit to Japan since Takaichi took office.
The summit's location in a regional area like Nara is expected to create a more intimate atmosphere by omitting formal ceremonies. Japan aims to reaffirm cooperation with South Korea amid deteriorating relations with China and continue improving bilateral ties.
경영공백 5개월 못 참아…KAI 노조 "수출입은행장, 즉각 사장 임명하라"
Cannot endure a 5-month management vacancy… KAI labor union demands Export-Import Bank president be immediately appointed as CEO
Digital Daily | Local Language | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | Strikes and Work Stoppages
The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) labor union held a rally on December 10 in front of the Export-Import Bank of Korea headquarters in Seoul, demanding the immediate appointment of a KAI president after more than five months of vacancy. Around 100 senior executives participated in the protest, emphasizing the urgency of resolving the leadership gap. The Export-Import Bank of Korea, which holds a 26.41% stake in KAI and is majority government-owned (76.38%), plays a key role in appointing KAI’s president, a role heavily influenced by government personnel decisions despite KAI not being a public enterprise.
Former KAI president Kang Gu-young, who resigned in July, was closely associated with the Yoon Suk-yeol government. Kang stepped down following the inauguration of President Lee Jae-myung, signaling a shift in leadership aligned with administrative changes. The union criticized the repeated upheaval in KAI leadership linked to presidential administrations and called for a consistent, professional, and non-politicized selection process to safeguard national strategic projects and industry competitiveness.
Kim Seung-gu, chairman of the KAI labor union, urged the Export-Import Bank to disclose clear criteria for selecting the president and to make the appointment procedures transparent. The process involves a nominating committee, board resolution, and shareholders’ meeting approval. With Hwang Ki-yeon appointed president of the Export-Import Bank in November, the union stressed that the KAI presidential appointment process should no longer be delayed. The union warned that unless the Export-Import Bank assumes responsibility and acts promptly, their protest actions will continue.
Try the Daily Briefing for your country of choice for two weeks--free of charge and with no obligation.
Have a service or subscription question? We'd be happy to hear from you.
info@eruditerisk.com
The Daily Briefing is delivered Monday through Thursday via email.
Each day's reports include a combination of:
Takes
Takes are our deep dives into a topic of enduring interest or concern. Takes include copious references to all the media resources we gathered to build them.
Developments
Developments are key issues and incidents being heavily reported on in country. These are the centers of local thought gravity around which everything else revolves.
Risk Media
Summaries and analysis of the most important risk issues reported on in media, arranged by risk category. Learn about risk trends and issues while they are developing--before they blow up.
Ops Media
Summaries and analysis of the most important operational issues reported on in media, arranged by operations category. See what's changing in your market, and what's not.
Government Releases
Government press and data releases on key economic data, regulation, law, intiatives, incidents. Straight from the government's press to your eyes in less than a day.
Embassy and Business Association Releases
Statements and news releases from foreign embassies and business/industry associations, including chambers of commerce.
The Daily Briefing can run 50-100 pages each day!
Luckily, Erudite Risk tailors every report specifically to you.
Content Filtering
We try hard to ensure that every piece of information included in each day's reports will be of interest to our readers.
To fulfill our goal of comprehensively monitoring the intelligence landscape and also keeping reports readable, we build big reports--then deliver only the information that applies to you.
Each Daily Briefing is a bespoke report matched to your concerns. Tell us what you want in it, or we can match it to your professional needs. It's that easy.