More than 70,000 people under the age of 30 are obliged to pay a gift tax for receiving assets in 2021, marking a two-fold increase from the year before, data showed Monday. According to Rep. Jin Sun-mee from the Democratic Party of Korea, 70,115 people under 30 are obliged to pay a gift tax for receiving land, properties or securities in 2021. Jin is a member of the Strategy & Finance Committee at the National Assembly and the data was provided by the National Tax Service. Jin argued the fi

Woori Bank, one of South Korea’s top banks, is offering multilingual services on Sundays at five branches around the country. The five branches -- Ansan, Uijeongbu and Balan in Gyeonggi Province, Gwanghui-dong in Seoul and Gimhae in South Gyeongsang Province -- will be open on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Foreigners can access general banking services in 10 languages, including English, Chinese, Thai and Indonesian. The services include making deposits, withdrawals, overseas transfers an

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as investors were cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's rate-setting meeting this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 10.54 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,378.50 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Several major economic developments from the United States are due this week, as the Fed is to hold a two-day rate-setting meeting starting Tuesday and is likely to deliver a 50-basis point hike. The Fed has raised the interest ra

Wemix forecasts coin destruction, GDAC exchange comes to the rescue

Foreign investors remained net buyers of local securities, recording a net inflow of $2.74 billion (3.56 trillion won) in local securities in November, data from the central bank showed Friday. According to the Bank of Korea’s report on the international finance and foreign exchange market, foreigners purchased a net $2.1 billion worth of shares and $630 million worth of bonds in Korea in November, continuing the buying rush from the month before. The figure adds up to a total of $8.05 bil

South Korean stocks ended higher Friday, snapping a five-day losing streak, as foreigners and institutions picked up oversold shares amid uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy direction. The Korean won sharply strengthened against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 17.96 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,389.04. The main index fell 2.6 percent this week through Thursday. Trading volume was moderate at 309.52 million shares worth 7.09 trillion

Seoul stocks opened higher Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street, as investors await key US inflation data this week for clues as to whether the Federal Reserve could scale down its aggressive monetary tightening. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.72 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,375.80 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Kospi rebounded after a five-day slide. Stronger-than-expected US jobs report and service sector activity released earlier this week weighed on consumer se

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the second consecutive month in October, but the amount was much smaller than the previous year amid expanded imports and outbound travel, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus came to $880 million in October, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. This marked the second straight month of a surplus, though the surplus was nearly halved from the previous month's $1.58 billion. It also re

South Koreans’ overseas card spending continued to grow in the third quarter as outbound travel spiked bolstered by eased pandemic curbs, central bank data showed. The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, came to $3.81 billion in the July-September period, up 4.1 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. Compared with a year earlier, consumption jumped 32.6 percent. The latest data marked the se

Shinhan Bank President Jin Ok-dong, 61, has been appointed as the final candidate for the new chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea's No. 2 bank by total assets, Thursday. The group said that nonexecutive directors of the group unanimously voted for Jin at a candidate recommendation meeting held at the firm's headquarters in central Seoul. Other candidates were Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung and Shinhan Card CEO Lim Young-jin. Though it was rumored that cur

Seoul-based private equity house MBK Partners Founder and Chairman Michael Byung-ju Kim has been named one of the 15 “Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy” by US business magazine Forbes for the second year in a row. He was the only Korean to make this year’s top philanthropist list. Kim was one of only three people -- the other two being billionaire brothers Ronnie and Gerald Chan who are the co-founders of Hong Kong’s Morningside Group -- to be recognized for two consecu

Seoul stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight falls on Wall Street, amid concerns that the US Federal Reserve may continue its aggressive monetary tightening following solid economic data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 1.05 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,381.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The unexpectedly strong US jobs report and service sector activity released early this week bolstered the case for the Fed to keep policy tightening to tame runaway inflat

A Seoul court on Wednesday denied an injunction request filed by the operator of cryptocurrency Wemix to block the enforcement of crypto exchanges' decision to delist the coin. In late November, the Digital Asset eXchange Association -- an alliance formed by Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax -- announced they will terminate transaction support to the cryptocurrency operated by online games company Wemade, from Dec. 8. They said Wemade had provided false information on the planned numb

Seoul shares extended their losing streak to a fourth day Wednesday amid concerns the Federal Reserve may keep its aggressive monetary tightening following solid U.S. economic data. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 10.35 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,382.81. Trading volume was moderate at 323.9 million shares worth 5.9 trillion won ($4.5 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 540 to 311. Institutions and foreigners sold

BOK says 50,000-won banknote has life span over 15 years, compared to 23 years of $100 and 41 years of 50-pound bills