SEJONG -- Recent indices are signaling a possible vitalization of the real estate market later this year, with expectations growing over deregulations, which had been pledged by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol. A major property index showed Friday that the gap between the number of people, who want to purchase homes and those, who want to sell homes has somewhat narrowed. But the potential sellers...

SEJONG -- The Korean government will lower tariffs on a portion of imports for three major rare gases -- neon, xenon and krypton -- which are used during the process of manufacturing semiconductors down to zero percent, starting from next month. The action of slashing tariffs for a certain portion of imports of the three gases, but not for all, comes as part of the government’s countermeasures a...

SEJONG -- The price of imported grains reached the highest in more than eight years, fanning hikes in the price tags of processed food and fodder in the nation, state data showed Wednesday. According to the Korea Customs Service, the nation’s monthly grain imports came to 1.96 million metric tons, which is worth $758 million in February. This indicates that the price per ton came to $386, up 26...

SEJONG -- A key issue in the real estate market this year is whether the coming Yoon Suk-yeol administration will follow up on his promise to grant a reprieve for a capital gains tax surchargers on owners of multiple homes in Seoul. President-elect Yoon had pledged to delay the application of extra taxation on owners of multiple homes for up to two years. His pledge came amid criticism that mult...

SEJONG -- The real estate market could see a boost in the second half of this year, as the coming Yoon Suk-yeol administration is seeking to ease mortgage rules for homebuyers. President-elect Yoon had pledged to raise the loan-to-value ratio up to 70 percent in Seoul and other regions, which is the same level during the Park Geun-hye administration from 2013-2017. But skyrocketing apartment pr...

SEJONG -- A series of failed policies by the Moon Jae-in administration to tame South Korea’s housing market has been at the center of the presidential election this year, with candidates taking housing-related schemes to the fore of their campaigns. It is obvious that housing policy will be included in the first batch of to-do lists by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, as soon as he forms a transi...

SEJONG -- Concerns are growing over the possibility that the nation’s import prices will further shoot up in the wake of the continuously weakening Korean currency against the US dollar amid the Ukraine-Russia war. The unfavorable scenario has come to the fore amid the recent situation that import prices of raw materials, including crude, had already sharply climbed over the past several months....

SEJONG -- Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said Thursday the Ukraine-Russia conflict could have a “long-term” negative effect on the South Korean economy, and that the extent of coming impacts is unpredictable at the current stage. During a task force meeting in Seoul, Lee said the uncertainty from the geopolitical risk has expanded in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and as the int...

SEJONG -- South Korea is struggling to avoid the current unfavorable situation, in which its tech-oriented companies should receive endorsement from the US before they export products to Russia. Though Korea has dispatched senior officials to the US to overcome the situation, critics are saying it is too late. The situation comes as the Korean government took a relatively passive stance in Febr...

SEJONG -- The nation’s average exports a day reached an all-time high in February despite deepening market and geopolitical uncertainty, involving high raw materials prices worldwide and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, state data showed Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, South Korea’s average daily exports recorded $2.69 billion last month, up 17.6 percent, compared t...

SEJONG -- The nation is projected to see the fiscal deficit sharply increase this year in the wake of allocation of the supplementary budget worth 16.9 trillion won ($14 billion), state data showed Monday. In addition, there is a possibility that the fiscal deficit will further increase, as two major presidential candidates have pledged to draw up new supplementary budgets amid growing uncertain...

SEJONG -- The tax administrative agencies of South Korea and India have agreed to closely coordinate on easing tax burdens for businesses by holding a bilateral meeting of chiefs, the National Tax Service said Friday. The two also have decided to exchange know-how in uncovering practices of offshore tax evasion. During their meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, NTS commissioner Kim Dae-ji expresse...

SEJONG -- Hybrid cars will likely be excluded from a government list of eco-friendly cars in the coming years, rendering hybrid-car owners no longer able to enjoy tax benefits or state-led purchase subsidies. During a ministerial meeting for the nation’s innovative growth in Seoul on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki unveiled a policy to regard only electric cars a...

SEJONG -- A longer-than-expected standoff between Ukraine and Russia involving a possible war could deal a severe blow to the Korean economy, Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said Wednesday. During a task force meeting in Seoul, Lee said that particular impacts have yet to be seen in the local market at the current stage, despite the escalating tension between the two countries. “But (worseni...

SEJONG -- At least 1 in 2 South Koreans were found to have predicted home prices to go down in the coming year, amid a variety of tight regulations and rising interest rates, data from the Bank of Korea showed Tuesday. According to the monthly consumer survey conducted by BOK, the index for households’ outlook on housing prices sat at 97 in February, down three points from a month earlier. The ...