The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday imposed fines of 665 million won ($578,000) in total on three conglomerates for breaching the disclosure rules on intra-group deals.Between April 2010 and March 2013, 17 out of the 38 business units of Lotte, POSCO and Hyundai Heavy Industries engaged in the irregular intra-group trading, said the antitrust regulator.The FTC revealed 25 violations by the 17 companies. As the cases involve “not publicizing” or “delaying disclosure,” allegations could be rais

Strong logistics is the key advantage that differentiates Korea from neighboring emerging economies, chief executives of foreign-invested companies operating here said on Wednesday. The three classical incentives offered by host countries are tax reductions, site support and cash grants. Currently the Korean government charges no tax for the first 3-5 years, plus a 50 percent tax reduction for the following two years. It also provides land free of charge for 50 years and rent discounts, besides

The Financial Supervisory Service said on Wednesday that it has slapped the Korean life insurance unit of Netherlands-based ING Group with fines of 452 million won ($393,000) for breaching an insurance business law.ING Life was found to have over-purchased bonds issued by four companies including Korean Air between October 2010 and February 2012, thereby violating the law banning an insurer from owning too many bonds issued by a particular company.The FSS said the company formerly held bonds abo

South Korea’s top central banker said Wednesday that the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to start tapering its bond-buying program amid growing market expectations that the bank would take such action this month.Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo said that talk of a bond-buying stimulus program cut has shifted from whether the Fed would begin tapering to when, with only unforeseen circumstances standing in the way of its implementation.He made the remarks before holding a quarterly meeting with

South Korean stocks closed almost flat Wednesday as investors took a wait-and-see approach amid rising concerns that the United States may conduct a military strike on Syria, analysts said. The local currency closed higher against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 0.71 points, or 0.04 percent to finish at 1,933.03. Trading volume was low at 290.1 million shares worth 4.04 trillion won (US$3.68 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 384 to 381.Analysts s

South Korean stocks traded 0.13 percent lower late Wednesday morning amid rising woes over possible military action by the United States in Syria, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.42 points to 1,931.32 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech blue chips continued to trade lower, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.6 percent and flat panel maker LG Display losing 1.89 percent. Samsung Electro-Mechanics, a local industrial parts maker, shed 0.61 percent.Retailers also traded

South Korea's foreign-exchange reserves climbed to a fresh record high in August due to gains in investment profits, the central bank said Wednesday.The country's foreign reserves reached US$331.09 billion as of end-August, up $1.38 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The FX reserves rose for the second straight month in August after falling by the largest amount in 13 months in June.Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas cur

Tax agency’s list mostly consists of chaebol executives

The National Tax Service on Tuesday launched its investigation into POSCO by dispatching a group of inspectors to the steel producer’s headquarters in southern Seoul.The state tax inspectors also raided POSCO’s two steel mills in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, and Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province.Without offering a prior notice on their visit, the inspectors reportedly secured the company’s financial statements and computer hard disks in executives’ offices.As the company was subject to peri

South Korean stocks closed 0.46 percent higher Tuesday as investors' sentiment was boosted by improved economic data from the eurozone and China, analysts said.The local currency closed higher against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 8.93 points to finish at 1,933.74. Trading volume was low at 294.2 million shares worth 3.98 trillion won ($3.62 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 542 to 265.Analysts said the gain of Seoul shares came as the Purch

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investor sentiment was boosted by improved economic data from China and the eurozone, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 5.93 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,930.74 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares traded bullish, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.52 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix rising 0.71 percent. Samsung SDI, a local plasma display panel maker, added 1.18 percent.Mobile c

Foreign currency-denominated loans extended by South Korean banks to residents grew by US$1.28 billion in the first half from six months earlier on increased dollar demand to cover import bills, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.Outstanding foreign currency loans amounted to $31.21 billion as of the end of June, compared with $29.93 billion at the end of last year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).In the second quarter, such lending grew by $950 million, faster than the $33