Amid Korea’s continued strive for increased transparency and regulatory business reforms, the Fair Player Club and US Embassy Seoul hosted a joint seminar on better regulatory compliance in Seoul on Thursday. The seminar invited keynote speaker Aaron Szabo, senior adviser for International Regulatory Cooperation of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in Washington, who shared the U...

South Korean stocks fell slightly Friday, pulling back from a record high, led by a sell-off by foreign and local retail investors. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.14 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 2,473.62. Trade volume was moderate at 233 million shares worth 6.7 trillion won ($5.93 billion). The KOSPI opened high...

Slightly fewer South Koreans now think that they will be better off in the future amid the sluggish pace of recovery in Asia's fourth-largest economy, a survey showed Friday. According to the poll conducted by Gallup Korea between Tuesday and Thursday, 22 percent of the 1,500 respondents said their livelihoods will improve within the next one year, down 2 percentage points from a month earlier. ...

South Korea's tax agency said Friday it will crack down on tax evasion by big businesses and wealthy individuals to boost its tax revenue. The National Tax Service plans to thoroughly look into possible capital outflows by high-income earners and conglomerates and check moves to pass on managerial control of firms without paying related dues, the NTS said in the documents produced for the parlia...

South Korea's trade minister said Friday that he will consider all possibilities when renegotiating the terms of the free trade agreement with the United States, so as to protect the country's interests and not give in to unilateral demands. Last week, the two nations agreed to begin the long-anticipated process of amending the FTA at Washington's request. US President Donald Trump has blamed th...

South Korea's national tax revenue continued to increase in the first eight months of this year on a modest recovery pace of Asia's fourth-largest economy, the finance ministry said Friday. The government collected 189.5 trillion won ($167.4 billion) in taxes in the January-August period, up 17.1 trillion won from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The...

The South Korean government is gearing up to expand and systemize support for industries to lead in the “fourth industrial revolution” that is anticipated to bring about some 40 trillion won ($35.3 billion) in economic effects. On Tuesday, President Moon Jae-in attended the first session of the presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, during which he pledged to introduce a “r...

The South Korean economy is enjoying a steady uptick in overseas sales and a modest improvement in manufacturing production in recent months, but the pace of recovery is being hurt by lukewarm private consumption caused by rising uncertainties, a state-run think tank said Thursday. In the latest monthly economic report, the Korea Development Institute said that Asia's fourth-largest economy is b...

Banks in South Korea are likely to maintain strict rules on extending loans to households in the fourth quarter, central bank data showed Thursday, amid the government's efforts to stabilize the overheated housing market. The overall index measuring banks' "attitude" in extending loans to households came to minus 20 for the October-December period, compared with minus 7 a quarter earlier, the Ba...

The amount of agricultural and fishery products smuggled into the country has risen sharply in recent years, with nearly half of them coming from China, customs data showed Thursday. The amount rose to 123.9 billion won ($109.3 million) last year from 40.3 billion won in 2014 and 67.7 billion won in 2015, according to findings released by the Korea Customs Service. By country, China accounted f...

Foreign investment banks predicted South Korea's economy will not be able to achieve 3 percent growth this year, according to a report released Thursday by a South Korean institute. Nine foreign investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Nomura and Barclays, said that Asia's fourth-largest economy could grow by 2.8 percent on average, according to the Korea Center for International Finance. The ...

The electricity production cost will surge sharply in the coming decades as the Moon Jae-in administration's plans to halt construction of new nuclear power plants in pursuit of eco-friendly energy, an opposition lawmaker said Thursday. The liberal Moon government has announced plans to decommission several aging nuclear power plants earlier than expected and scrapped plans for the construction ...

About half of South Koreans who file tax returns earn an average 1.72 million won ($1,515) a month, data from the tax agency said Thursday, an amount which is just enough to sustain a single temporary worker. The median income in 2015, is derived by dividing the income distribution into equal halves, compared with a monthly average income of 2.69 million won, according to the data provided by th...

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon on Wednesday left for Washington to attend a series of economic meetings including the Group of 20 summit of financial ministers and central bank governors. During his six-day visit, the top financial policymaker is expected to seek progress in key US-related issues, such as the renegotiation of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, and reite...

Calls are rising for South Korea to take full precautions against a possible exodus of foreign capital in the course of tensions escalating over North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs. Government officials have said the impact of the North Korea risk on the local financial market will be limited. Their measured remarks might be intended to avoid exacerbating volatile market sentiment...