• The Journal of Small Business Innovation
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.1-16
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• 2016

Korean government had used public 'credit guarantee schemes' (CGS) as a counter-cyclical measure. However, it is still controversial about the effectiveness of policy financing on the SMEs. Criticism on policy financing involves the argument that supporting enterprises hampers competition and innovation of SMEs by increasing their dependence on the government and delays the exit of marginal firms. In this paper, we investigate how to effectively build up the rationale of running public CGSs. At the same time, we propose the ways to coexist of public credit guarantee and market-based private finance system for SMEs. First, CGS, as a counter-cyclical function, must coexist with the private financial system by compensating the market failure caused by pro-cyclical behavior of the private financial market. Second, CGS has the comparative advantages, compared to both the interest rate policy of the central bank and fiscal policy of the government. The credit guarantee is the symptomatic treatment that could revitalize the economy shortly by providing liquidity. Also, knowing that CGS is provided based on the leverage ratio defined by outstanding guarantee divided by capital fund, public 'credit guarantee' (CG) has an advantage that is free from the risk of government deficit. Third, the reason for existence of the CGS should be founded in supporting services for SMEs, available only in a public sector that is difficult to expect from private banks. In this regard, it is desirable to strengthen the publicness of credit guarantee over the support for start-ups, growing companies, the improvement of productivity, increase of exports, a long-term investment in facilities, the employment-creating businesses, and innovative enterprises.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.242-253
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• 2019

There has been a large literature on bank liquidity risk since the 2008 global financial crisis because liquidity risk was at the heart of the crisis. However, there is no study that investigates whether the level of investor protection influences liquidity risk-taking behavior of banks. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationship between investor protection and liquidity risk as well as to provide policy implications. Using a panel dataset of commercial banks in 21 OECD countries, we found that strong investor protection encourages banks to take lower liquidity risk. Furthermore, this positive role of shareholder protection is more prominent during a crisis, implying that legal protection of investors plays an essential role in bank stability while market discipline is largely ineffective due to extensive government guarantees in turbulent times.

• The Journal of Small Business Innovation
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.59-84
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• 2016

Using an international setting, this study investigates the relation between cash holdings and financial reporting quality, measured by accruals quality. Empirical results show that the balance of cash holdings is positively related to the opacity of financial reporting in non-U.S. international markets. The relation becomes stronger as the strength of investor protection increases, implying that precautionary motives, instead of agency motives, drive the increase of cash holdings of opaque firms. In addition, the positive relation is stronger for discretionary accruals quality. The decomposition of the aspects of investor protection shows that public enforcement through regulation authorities is the main driver of the positive relation between cash holdings and the opacity of financial reporting.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.63-83
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• 2016

This paper examines the determinants of efficiency in a KOSDAQ-listed manufacturing firm. We use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to estimate the efficiency of the export manufacturing firm. We employ two inputs (number of employees, equity) and one output (sales) in the DEA. The determinants of export manufacturing firm efficiency are estimated using the panel Tobit model. An analysis of 369 export manufacturing firms from 2013 to 2015 indicates the following results: First, the R&D intensity, the wage and salary intensity, total asset, and equity ratio each had a negative impact on both the CCR and BCC efficiency scores. However, export intensity had a negative impact on CCR efficiency scores in a KOSDAQ-listed total export manufacturing firm. Second, the R&D intensity had a positive impact on both the CCR and BCC efficiency scores, but export intensity, the wage and salary intensity, and equity ratio each had a negative impact on the CCR and BCC efficiency scores in a KOSDAQ-listed large export manufacturing firm. Third, the R&D intensity, the wage and salary intensity, total asset, and equity ratio each had a negative impact on both the CCR and BCC efficiency scores; respectively, in a KOSDAQ-listed small and medium export manufacturing firm.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.239-262
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• 2006

The paper suggests that there has been a shift in the allocation of bank credit from large firms to small firms before and after the economic crisis. The paper also suggests that the improved lending practices of financial institutions, at least partially, contributed to this shift of corporate loans from large firms to small firms. Comparing the periods before and after the economic crisis also suggests that some important changes occurred to the corporate bond market. The effect of firm size on the corporate bond market differs before and after the economic crisis. Before the crisis, the larger the firms, the more they could borrow in the corporate bond market. However, after the crisis, it is not the case. The following interpretation could be put forward. Before the crisis, investors in the corporate bond market expected that the government would rescue large firms if they face the risk of bankruptcies. However, the collapse of Daewoo Group in 1999 shattered the TBTF (Too Big To Fail) myth of the public. The liquidity crisis of Hyundai Group in 2000-2001 reinforced the disintegration of the TBTF myth.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.289-310
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• 2013

In the past, an policy measures for the promotion of the export has actively used trade finance, but also in its effect there is no doubt. However, in 2008 the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers triggered the global financial crisis. As a result, the need to effectively manage liquidity risk posed, and was a debut for Basel III. Focusing on trade finance banks are being made. Domestic commercial banks have not been able not utilize various trade finance techniques. In these situations, the introduction of Basel III can discourage trade finance. Therefore, responses should be prepared for it. Therefore, this study analyzes the status of trade finance system. And international regulation of the financial market are investigated for changes. Based on this, the development direction of Korea's trade finance is proposed.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.191-202
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• 2017

KONEX (Korea New Exchange) is the organised stock exchange for small enterprises. It is a channel through which venture start-ups at their early stage can raise funds without a huge burden of debt. We explain the regulations in this market and examine the effects of major changes in the relevant regulations. The first change was replacing the call auction mechanism with the continuous auction mechanism. The change improved the information asymmetry among investors. The second was lowering the minimum deposit requirement for individual investors from 300 million won to 100 million won. As the result of the change, market liquidity increased a lot and the number of investors increased. The last change was introducing the small investment account. Although this raised the participation of individual investors but did not lead to the improvement in market liquidity or information asymmetry. In overall, encouraging more investors to participate in the transactions in KONEX is the fast way to boost the market, while the long-term strategy should focus more on improving the information asymmetry by helping information generating and transferring activities.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.177-189
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• 2022

This study proposes policy recommendations for the Korea New Exchange ("KONEX"), which is a financial platform for SMEs and startups that relied on indirect and policy financing in the past. SMEs and venture firms with limited human and physical listing resources can grow through market incubation, and venture capitalists expect an early exit or return on investment. However, the lack of liquidity and sluggish trading volume have weakened the function of the market. Despite prior policy efforts, the number of newly listed companies has decreased while listing demand for KOSDAQ and K-OTC has increased. This study aims to suggest short- and long-term improvements in regulations and throughout the KONEX firms' listing life cycle. First, the minimum deposit requirement on individual investors should be abolished to increase the number of investors. Second, information disclosure should be conducted by firms so that the nominated advisor can focus on discovering and supporting new listed companies. Third, in order to increase trading volume, the 5% dispersion rule should be changed to 25% dispersion incentive principle. Fourth, a new track without profit condition in expedited transfer listing should be introduced because the KOSDAQ relaxes the profit realization requirements for listing. Lastly, transfer listing without additional review for firms that fulfill ownership dispersion, information disclosure, and investor protection will strengthen the incubating role of the KONEX.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.146-153
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• 2009

The year 2008 was a hard year for Korea's construction companies. The real estate downturn resulted in halting new construction and stopping existing work, and inflation of global oil prices caused price hikes in rebar and concrete materials. As a solution to reducing the budget, the newly appointed government announced plans to increase low cost bid contracts from 10 billion to 30 billion won. When such economical and political factors negatively impact the construction market, projects based on low cost contracts are the hardest hit. Many problems already inherent in low cost bid contracts become accentuated. Consequently, this provides an opportune time to actually study and analyze the issues in these projects. This paper introduces the findings made from investigating four projects struggling to make ends meet in the year 2008. Results show that flow of cash (i.e., liquidity), or lack thereof, was the root cause which in turn was hampered by failed mechanisms for design changes, material inflation. Attributing cash flow risk to the bottom of the production structure (i.e., small business subcontractors) was also a problem within the industry. Contractors need a better way to prepare against material price fluctuations, and owners need to assist in expediting payment during times of extreme downturn.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.111-131
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• 2015

There are only a handful number of research conducted on pattern analysis of corporate distress as compared with research for bankruptcy prediction. The few that exists mainly focus on audited firms because financial data collection is easier for these firms. But in reality, corporate financial distress is a far more common and critical phenomenon for non-audited firms which are mainly comprised of small and medium sized firms. The purpose of this paper is to classify non-audited firms under distress according to their financial ratio using data mining; Self-Organizing Map (SOM). SOM is a type of artificial neural network that is trained using unsupervised learning to produce a lower dimensional discretized representation of the input space of the training samples, called a map. SOM is different from other artificial neural networks as it applies competitive learning as opposed to error-correction learning such as backpropagation with gradient descent, and in the sense that it uses a neighborhood function to preserve the topological properties of the input space. It is one of the popular and successful clustering algorithm. In this study, we classify types of financial distress firms, specially, non-audited firms. In the empirical test, we collect 10 financial ratios of 100 non-audited firms under distress in 2004 for the previous two years (2002 and 2003). Using these financial ratios and the SOM algorithm, five distinct patterns were distinguished. In pattern 1, financial distress was very serious in almost all financial ratios. 12% of the firms are included in these patterns. In pattern 2, financial distress was weak in almost financial ratios. 14% of the firms are included in pattern 2. In pattern 3, growth ratio was the worst among all patterns. It is speculated that the firms of this pattern may be under distress due to severe competition in their industries. Approximately 30% of the firms fell into this group. In pattern 4, the growth ratio was higher than any other pattern but the cash ratio and profitability ratio were not at the level of the growth ratio. It is concluded that the firms of this pattern were under distress in pursuit of expanding their business. About 25% of the firms were in this pattern. Last, pattern 5 encompassed very solvent firms. Perhaps firms of this pattern were distressed due to a bad short-term strategic decision or due to problems with the enterpriser of the firms. Approximately 18% of the firms were under this pattern. This study has the academic and empirical contribution. In the perspectives of the academic contribution, non-audited companies that tend to be easily bankrupt and have the unstructured or easily manipulated financial data are classified by the data mining technology (Self-Organizing Map) rather than big sized audited firms that have the well prepared and reliable financial data. In the perspectives of the empirical one, even though the financial data of the non-audited firms are conducted to analyze, it is useful for find out the first order symptom of financial distress, which makes us to forecast the prediction of bankruptcy of the firms and to manage the early warning and alert signal. These are the academic and empirical contribution of this study. The limitation of this research is to analyze only 100 corporates due to the difficulty of collecting the financial data of the non-audited firms, which make us to be hard to proceed to the analysis by the category or size difference. Also, non-financial qualitative data is crucial for the analysis of bankruptcy. Thus, the non-financial qualitative factor is taken into account for the next study. This study sheds some light on the non-audited small and medium sized firms' distress prediction in the future.