Incheon International Airport Corp. was ordered to pay up to 228.8 billion won ($221 million) in back taxes over the past five years, according to the National Tax Service. The taxation authority asked the airport to pay an extra tax of 106.8 billion won in 2008 and 122 billion won in 2013 through two separate tax investigations. It is very rare for a public enterprise to be ordered to pay a colossal amount of extra tax after an NTS investigation. The nation’s top airport operator appealed again

Japanese investors have poured their money into South Korean stocks since April, partly fueled by Japan’s accommodative monetary policy, data showed Thursday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, Japan-based investors sold more Korean stocks than they bought in the January-March period, but they purchased a net 1.57 trillion won ($1.52 billion) worth of them from April through Thursday. The influx of Japanese funds into the local equity market in the May-August period averaged around

The South Korean financial regulator has concluded that Chinese online payment firm Alipay does not need its approval to do business here, but on the condition that it only services Chinese nationals, financial sources said Thursday.The Financial Services Commission has notified Alipay, a non-bank Internet payment affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, of its conclusion, according to the sources.The Chinese firm has promised to comply with the FSC’s condition, they said.Alipay star

South Korea's central bank is expected to keep the base rate on hold in September as it measures the policy effect of last month's rate cut and watches out for risks of ballooning household debt, a poll showed Thursday.All 16 analysts surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, forecast the Bank of Korea (BOK) to stand pat on the current policy rate of 2.25 percent at a board meeting on Friday.The latest result comes after the BOK cut the base rate in August for the

Japanese investors have poured their money into South Korean stocks since April partly fueled by Japan's accommodative monetary policy, data showed Thursday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Japan-based investors sold more Korean stocks than they bought in the January-March period, but they purchased a net 1.57 trillion won (US$1.52 billion) worth of them from April through Thursday. The influx of Japanese funds into the local equity market in the May-August period averaged

South Korean securities companies have slashed more than 10 percent of their payrolls and shut down over 200 offices at home and abroad over the past year amid a prolonged economic slump, data showed Wednesday.As of end-June, the nation’s top 28 brokerage houses by revenue had a combined 33,091 workers, down 10.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by Chaebul.com, which tracks the country’s family-run conglomerates, known as chaebol.The securities firms had a total of 1,344 domest

South Korea's central bank is expected to freeze the key interest rate in September as it monitors the impact of last month's rate cut and the government's stimulus measures, a survey showed Tuesday.The Bank of Korea lowered the base interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.25 percent last month in a widely-expected move to join the government's efforts to spur the economy, but a clear majority of market watchers didn't expect a rate cut for a second month in a row. According to the surv

Some 510 stocks on South Korea's main bourse have hit 52-week highs so far this year, more than half of them in the second half, exchange data showed Tuesday.The tech-heavy secondary bourse also rallied, pushed by foreign investors, according to the data.Domestic consumption, services and real estate-related shares led the rise on the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index in the period between Jan. 3 and Sept. 3 this year, with 510 stocks reaching their highest in 52 weeks, the data showed

Chinese have been bringing a large amount of money into South Korea in search of high returns, increasing their investment in the Korean equity market by 44 times in the last five years, data showed Tuesday. The value of local securities and bond accounts held by Chinese snowballed to 20.8 trillion won ($20.2 billion) as of end-2013, compared to 471.1 billion at end-2008, according to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service. Chinese have additionally brought in 2.5 trillion won du

NH Financial Group, the country’s fourth-largest banking group by assets, on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with DGB Financial Group to sell its 98.90 percent stake in its insurance unit Woori Aviva Life Insurance, company officials said.DGB Financial, led by local Daegu Bank, will study the books of Woori Aviva for six weeks starting as early as mid-September, and finalize the deal by January next year, according to NH officials.“It was a win-win strategy for all three firms. While

NongHyup Financial Group Inc., South Korea's fourth-largest banking group by assets, plans to sell its 98.89 percent stake in its insurance unit, Woori Aviva Life Insurance Co., to DGB Financial Group, a local banking group, industry sources said Thursday.NongHyup Financial Group will sign a preliminary deal to sell its stake in the insurance company to DGB Financial Group, led by the Daegu Bank Ltd., which is based in Daegu, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul, shortly after its board meeting t

Earnings by South Korean credit card companies rose 13.5 percent in the first half of 2014 from a year earlier due to gains from asset sales, the financial watchdog said Thursday.The combined net income of eight stand-alone card firms stood at 1.07 trillion won ($1.05 billion) in the January-June period, compared with 946.3 billion won the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The jump in the net income came as their gains in stock sales offset a drop in interest income