South Korea's tax authorities said Wednesday that it has launched probes into 30 offshore tax evasion cases as part of its efforts to clamp down on tax dodging.The National Tax Service (NTS) said the investigation is targeting companies and individuals who have allegedly concealed their wealth using offshore paper companies in various tax havens around the world.A total of 1.3 trillion won (US$1.08 billion) in taxes were slapped on evaders as a result of its offshore probes last year, up 5 perce

South Korea plans to unveil a new index tracing online retail prices this year by using big data from private sector to reflect actual economic sentiment, according to Statistics Korea on Tuesday. The state-run agency plans to release an online price index that will complement the consumer price index by the end of this year, the agency reported in its 2016 plan to President Park Geun-hye.To develop the new indicator, Statistics Korea is currently collecting price data from six major online shop

South Korea’s central bank chief called for a careful monitoring of the Chinese economy Wednesday.  BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol (front row, second from right) speaks at a meeting with economists on Wednesday. (Yonhap)“Considering its impact on the global economy, we cannot but be sensitive to changes in the Chinese economy,” Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a monthly meeting with economists.Lee said the difficulties South Korea currently faces may have also been caused by uncertainties concerning

South Korean shares opened higher on Wednesday following overnight gains on Wall Street.  A dealer looks into a monitor at the New York Stock Exchange. (Yonhap)The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 20.40 points, or 1.09 percent, to 1,882.09 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The index was trading 24.9 percent higher at 1896.59 points as of 9:50 a.m. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 1.78 percent and the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.09 percent on a recovery in oil prices tri

KB Financial Group chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo (center) and Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Zhin Woong-seob (right, front row) at a visit to a traditional market in Seoul on Tuesday. The visit was part of efforts to revive business in conventional markets ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.  KB Financial Group

The fourth-quarter reporting season kicked off Tuesday amid low expectations as Korea’s listed firms continue to suffer from sluggish exports and a global slowdown.This week, some 32 companies listed on the main KOSPI bourse are planning to report their results for the October-December period in 2015.Analysts have been constantly revising down their outlook amid a series of weak quarterly performance reports by major Korean companies despite their efforts to restructure operations throughout las

On Nov. 11, 2010, with just 10 minutes for the stock market to close in Seoul, three traders in Hong Kong dumped 2.4 trillion won ($2 billion) worth of Korean shares, triggering a 2.7 percent drop on the country’s main KOSPI index. The massive and coordinated sell-off by Deutsche Bank employees wiped out 28 trillion won in value from Korea’s equity market, but those involved in the transaction made a combined profit of 44.9 billion won through derivative positions they had arranged in advance. M

Share buybacks by South Korea's listed firms surged over 72 percent from a year earlier in 2015, data showed Tuesday, amid a government call for the companies to return more of their profits to shareholders.According to data from the Korea Exchange (KRX), operator of the Seoul bourse, 209 listed firms bought back some 10.59 trillion won ($8.81 billion) worth of their own shares last year.The amount marks a 72.3 percent jump from a year earlier.Stock repurchases are considered a way of returning

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Weak inflation is expected to be the key topic when the Federal Reserve opens a two-day monetary policy meeting Tuesday, its first since its historic interest rate rise in December.Coming less than a week after the European Central Bank signaled it could expand stimulus measures in March if inflation slows further, the Fed is not expected to take any policy action.  (AP-Yonhap)With its first interest rate increase in over nine years in place for just six weeks, the Federal Ope

This is the eighth in a monthly series contributed by executive members of the Financial Supervisory Service to address key ongoing financial issues. ― Ed. Kim Yoo-mi, senior director general of the IT & Financial Information Protection department at the Financial Supervisory ServiceThe purpose of a credit rating system is to investigate and analyze factors that impact consumers’ credit status and make a decision on the supply of credit services. Finance is often said to be the blood vessels of

South Korean share prices opened lower on Tuesday on faltering fourth-quarter earnings posted by some of the nation’s top companies.  Share prices are displayed at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, southwestern Seoul. (Yonhap)The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index opened lower at 1881.87, and lost 12.58 points, or 0.66 percent, during the first 15 minutes of trading.The index was trading more than 1 percent lower at 1869.41 as of 10:07 a.m. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics declined 0

The market value of South Korea’s top 10 business groups plunged this year, mostly on account of increased overseas volatility, data showed Tuesday. An office worker watches the share price of Samsung Electronics displayed on an electronic board. (Yonhap)The combined market capitalization of the listed affiliates of these firms stood at 721.99 trillion won ($602.6 billion) as of Monday, down nearly 5 percent from the end of 2015, according to the Korea Exchange.The decline compares to the 3.5 pe

This is the first in a series of articles analyzing the top 10 companies by market capitalization traded on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ stock market. ― Ed. Celltrion’s biosimilar drug Remsima, based on Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co.’s anti-inflammatory biologic drug Remicade. (Celltrion)Hot stocks on KOSDAQ, the Korean equivalent of the U.S.’ Nasdaq, often hold hints of where the future lies for Korea Inc.Back in 1996, when the bourse first opened as the market for innovative tech firms, the compan