HOUSTON, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stewart Information
International, Inc. has purchased a majority interest in Escrow A&K, located
in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The company will be renamed Stewart Korea Ltd.
"We are so pleased to expand our operations into Asia," said Jeannie
Osborne, president and chief operating officer, Stewart Information
International. "Korea has a very dynamic commercial real estate market, and
we look forward to providing escrow services, title searches and reinsurance
to enhance investment opportunities."
Although title insurance is now being used in Korea, escrow services have
not been offered. Stewart Korea will offer escrow services through a standard
escrow agreement to provide additional security and speed in a real estate
transaction. As an impartial third party trustee, Stewart Korea will accept
fiduciary responsibility to see that all funds are properly allocated in the
transaction according to the escrow agreement.
"Compared to other business systems in Korea, the real estate system is
underdeveloped, and Stewart will assist us with developing a totally new
system," said Seung Ho Chung, president and chief executive officer, Stewart
Korea. "Secondly, title insurance is new in the Korean market, and we are
introducing reinsurance to help spread the risk in large commercial
transactions."
Mr. Chung is an author, lecturer and visionary in Korea in the history and
need for title searches, and has acted as a consultant for national real
estate brokerage firms.
Mr. Soon Ko Paik will serve as chairman and representative director of
Stewart Korea, and as country manager for Stewart International.
Stewart Information International, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Stewart Information Services Corp. (NYSE: STC). Stewart International
provides the oversight and leadership for the Stewart organization's expansion
to markets outside of the United States. Currently, Stewart provides title
guaranty and/or insurance, escrow services and real estate information
services in Canada, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dominican
Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Japan,
Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Slovakia, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago,
Turks & Caicos, and reinsurance in Belize.
Stewart Information Services Corp. is a technology driven, strategically
competitive, global real estate information company. Stewart provides title
insurance and related information services through more than 6,800 issuing
locations in the United States and several international markets. Stewart
meets the needs of the real estate and mortgage industries through the
delivery of information services required for settlement using e-commerce.
These services include title reports, flood determinations, document
preparation, property reports, background checks and online property auctions.
Stewart also supplies post-closing services to lenders, automated county clerk
land records, property and land ownership mapping, and GIS for governmental
entities. Stewart provides expertise in tax-deferred exchanges. More
information about Stewart can be found at http://www.stewart.com/ .
SOURCE Stewart Information Services Corp.
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Related links:
http://www.stewart.com
Photo Notes:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030429/STEWLOGO
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PRN Photo Desk, +1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840
CONTACT:
Ted C. Jones, Director-Investor Relations,
+1-713-625-8014, or ted@stewart.com ; or Jeannie Osborne,
President & COO of Stewart International, +1-713-479-2500, or
josborne@stewart.com
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