Wealthy Koreans face excessive taxes: think tank

South Korea has placed an excessive tax burden on members of its top income bracket in recent years, a think tank said Wednesday, suggesting that this could cause an exodus of wealthy Koreans. The income tax rate on annual earnings exceeding 1 billion won ($858,400) rose twice in the last five years to the current 45 percent, a report from the Korea Economic Research Institute showed. In 2017, the year President Moon Jae-in took office, the rate increased to 42 percent from 40 percent. It was

Sept. 8, 2021

IBK signs MOU with Saudi SME Bank to support small enterprises

Industrial Bank of Korea said Wednesday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Small and Medium Sized Bank through a videoconference, in a bid to share IBK’s knowledge and expertise in financial support for small companies. Under the agreement, IBK will help Saudi SME Bank in developing a credit loan system and products, business strategies, risk management measures and IT and computer systems. IBK will also form a taskforce with working-level staff to directly communicate a

Sept. 8, 2021

‘Jeonse’ squeeze builds: Even semibasements fetch W100m

The average rent for semibasement apartments in Seoul on two-year “jeonse” leases topped a record 100 million won ($85,900) this year, suggesting low-income households in the city are facing heavier financial burdens, data showed Wednesday. Jeonse, a two-year housing lease that requires a lump sum deposit, for semibasement apartments measuring 60 square meters or smaller in the capital city came in at an average of 104.4 million won as of end-August, according to the Land Ministry d

Sept. 8, 2021

[News Analysis] What is behind South Korea’s rising milk prices?

Retail milk prices are expected to rise soon following an increase in the price of raw milk last month. After the decision by the Korea Dairy Committee to raise the price of raw milk from Aug. 1, major milk and dairy product suppliers are mulling when to reflect this in their retail prices. “When to increase the prices or by how much are still under discussion,” one official at Seoul Dairy Cooperative, the largest milk producer in South Korea, told The Korea Herald. “With r

Sept. 8, 2021

Daily card spending up 8.4% in H1 amid pandemic

Daily card spending in South Korea rose 8.4 percent in the first half from a year earlier, supported by increased online purchases amid the pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. Holders of credit and debit cards spent an average 2.7 trillion won ($2.3 billion) per day in the January-June period, compared with 2.5 trillion won the previous year, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). Credit card spending rose 10.2 percent on-year to a daily average of 2.1 trillion won, led by

Sept. 8, 2021

Banks' household loans grow at slower pace in Aug.

South Korean banks' household loans grew at a slower pace in August from the previous month due largely to slowed growth in overdrafts for stock investments, central bank data showed Wednesday. Outstanding bank loans to local households came to 1,046.3 trillion won ($898 billion) as of end-August, up 6.2 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The August reading slowed from a 9.7 trillion won on-month increase in July, the data showed. The BOK

Sept. 8, 2021

BOK forecast to hike key rate again in Nov.

South Korea's central bank is expected to raise its interest rate in November to cope with concerns over a financial imbalance, a report said Wednesday. "The Bank of Korea is likely to raise its benchmark rate to 1 percent from 0.75 percent at its Nov. 25 policy meeting in consideration of worries about a financial imbalance related to an economic recovery, rising inflation and the hot housing market," Woori Finance Research Institute said in the report on the local financial market.

Sept. 8, 2021

Exports of materials, parts and equipment hit fresh high in Jan-July

South Korea's exports of industrial materials, parts and equipment set a new record in the first seven months of 2021, data showed Wednesday, on the back of the country's efforts to beef up competitiveness of the key industrial sectors amid the prolonged trade row with Japan. Outbound shipments from the sectors came to $203.2 billion in the January-July period, up 23.3 percent on-year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports also moved up 25.5 perc

Sept. 8, 2021

[Graphic News] Samsung, LG dominate global TV market in H1: report

　South Korea’s top two TV makers - Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics - represented half of the global TV market in the first half of the year, a report showed, as they maintained their leadership in the premium segment. 　Samsung accounted for 31 percent of the global TV market in terms of sales revenue to defend its top status in the first six months of 2021, while LG followed with 19 percent, according to data from industry researcher Omdia. 　Japan’s Sony came in third w

Sept. 8, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on Wall Street losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking losses on Wall Street amid concerns about the pace of US economic recovery. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 18.16 points, or 0.57 percent, to trade at 3,169.26 points in the first 16 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.76 percent and the S&P declined 0.34 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite inched up 0.07 percent after the release of a disappointing US jobs report

Sept. 8, 2021

Fitch keeps S. Korea’s credit sovereign at AA-

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings said Tuesday that it would maintain South Korea’s credit rating and keep the economic growth projection positive, citing economic resilience, despite the latest wave of the pandemic hitting the country. During a webinar on assessing regional outlooks, Jeremy Zook, director at Fitch Ratings, expected the credit rating for Asia’s fourth-largest economy to remain intact from its July projection of AA-, the fourth-highest level of the agency’s

Sept. 7, 2021

EV Expo expands scope of e-mobility

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island -- Amid accelerating global efforts to go carbon-neutral, global automakers are pushing pure electric vehicles into the mainstream, to fundamentally change the face of mobility. The 8th International Electric Vehicle Expo, which kicked off on Tuesday on the southern island of Jeju, seeks to expand the scope of e-mobility, shedding light on other means of transportation, including ships and urban air mobility. “The goal of a carbon-free island cannot be done

Sept. 7, 2021

Hyundai Motor vows to make hydrogen cars as cheap as EVs

Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday unveiled a new hydrogen vision that includes plans to make hydrogen vehicles as cheap as electric vehicles within 10 years. During “Hydrogen Wave,” the automaker’s first global hydrogen event, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun laid out his 20-year vision for hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen mobility. “Hyundai Motor envisions a future society where hydrogen energy is available for everyone, everything and everywhere. I have no d

Sept. 7, 2021

LG Chem develops new material for foldable displays

LG Chem has developed a new material for foldable displays that is as hard as glass, but can bend both ways without the creasing issue, it said Tuesday. According to the South Korean firm, the “real folding window” could be used for surfaces of foldable smartphones, as well as other portable devices, including laptops and tablet PCs. Hard as glass yet thinner than existing polyimide films, the new material is a plastic film coated with the firm’s own coating technology tha

Sept. 7, 2021

Severance Hospital to introduce telemedicine program for inpatients

Yonsei University‘s Severance Hospital has decided to introduce non-face-to-face care program for inpatients to increase efficiency and minimize the risk of virus infection amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Severance announced Tuesday that it will introduce the telemedicine application My Severance, which will make doctors’ ward rounds digital. Patients at the hospital will be advised to download the application, which will automatically send alerts to patients at the time o

Sept. 7, 2021

Financial firms ask regulators to keep hands off internal affairs

South Korea’s financial services lobby groups have called on regulators to take a step back from their involvement in corporate internal affairs, industry sources said Tuesday, apparently irked by the authorities’ clampdown on their chiefs held responsible for private fund misselling scandals. Six representative bodies for financial service firms here, including commercial banking, brokerage and insurers, filed a joint request Monday asking regulators to hand the companies’ b

Sept. 7, 2021

Seoul stocks slump amid US tapering uncertainties

South Korean stocks retreated Tuesday amid lack of major market-moving events as investors still assess weak US job data and its impact on the Federal Reserve's timeline for tapering its stimulus. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) decreased 15.91 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 3,187.42 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 745 million shares worth some 11.7 trillion won ($10.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainer

Sept. 7, 2021

Daily mobile stock trading volume surges 220% in 2020

Stock trades carried out through mobile transaction platforms in South Korea hit an all-time high in 2020, data showed Tuesday, reflecting retail investors’ strong appetite for stock investment during the pandemic-hit market. The daily average amount of stock transactions via mobile trading systems came to 26.66 trillion won ($23.03 billion) last year, up 219.6 percent on-year from 8.34 trillion won, the Bank of Korea said in its annual report on financial information. An average of 11

Sept. 7, 2021

[Newsmaker] LX Hausys enters race for top furniture maker Hanssem

LX Hausys, formerly LG Hausys, which specializes in windows and interior materials, has entered the race to acquire South Korea’s top furniture maker Hanssem. The company, which is part of LX Group – a new entity that was separated from LG Group earlier this year, is the latest to show interest in buying a controlling stake in the firm, following other retail giants including Lotte, according to multiple reports. For its bid, LX Hausys will be joining a private equity fund set up

Sept. 7, 2021

Financial holding firms' H1 profit jumps 50% on interest income

South Korea's 10 financial holding firms saw their combined net profit jump 50.3 percent in the first half due mainly to higher interest income, data showed Tuesday. The combined net profit of KB Financial, Shinhan Financial and eight other financial holding firms stood at 11.47 trillion won ($9.9 billion) in the January-June period, compared with a profit of 7.63 trillion won for the same period last year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The FSS attributed

Sept. 7, 2021