Korea’s real estate tax burden grew at fastest pace in 2020

South Korea plans to announce measures to boost the domestic reserves of key items related to economic security in the first quarter in a bid to cope with risks from strains on the global supply chain, a senior government official said Friday. In a related move, the country plans to boost the stockpile of rare metals to 100 days of use from the current 57 days and raise the reserves of some rare metals to a maximum of 180 days of use in case their supply faces instability, according to First Vi

Trade volume between South Korea and Britain grew 33 percent for about one year after the implementation of a bilateral free trade deal, the industry ministry said Friday. Seoul and London clinched the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in August 2019, and the pact went into effect in January 2021 following Britain's departure from the European Union. During the first 11 months of last year, their trade volume came to $10.6 billion, up 33 percent from the same period a year earlier, accordin

South Korea plans to increase the supply of key foodstuff needed to prepare for the Lunar New Year holiday starting next week in a bid to help tame inflationary pressure, a senior government official said Friday. The government will begin to supply a record amount of 204,000 tons of holiday-related foodstuff, such as napa cabbages, beef and pork, on Monday for three weeks in the runup to the traditional holiday set for Jan. 31-Feb. 2, according to First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon. Dema

Seoul shares opened higher Friday as tech stocks advanced despite losses on Wall Street, but investors remain concerned about the US' looming tapering move. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 26.23 points, or 0.90 percent, to 2,946.76 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index rebounded from a 2.3 percent drop in the past two sessions. The decline was attributable to Fed meeting minutes that suggested the US central bank may raise interest rates sooner

K Auction, South Korea’s second-largest auction house by revenue, said Thursday that it plans to go public on Jan. 24, in what its chief said will be the first step to take on its bigger rival Seoul Auction. “A transparent platform that will maximize the positive impact of art and outcompete our rival, that’s what we have in mind,” K Auction CEO Do Hyun-soon said at an online conference. Seoul Auction began trading on the junior Kosdaq exchange in 2008. K Auction, whic

Individual investors are seeking legal action for damages caused by an employee at Osstem Implant who was arrested Wednesday for having allegedly stolen 188 billion won ($156 million) from the Kosdaq-listed company. The stolen money accounted for 91 percent of the company’s equity as of last year. The shares of the implant maker, worth a little over 2 trillion won in market value, were suspended from trading Monday after the company reported the massive theft to police. “There is

South Korea is ready to take measures to stabilize the foreign exchange market, if needed, a senior government official said Thursday, as the Korean currency has sharply weakened against the US dollar in recent weeks. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said the government plans to closely monitor the forex market amid the prospects for the won's further descent as the US Federal Reserve would raise its policy rate at a faster-than-expected pace. "The government plans to step up effo

Heads of the nation’s financial policymaker and watchdog held their first meeting of the year on Thursday and vowed to cooperate on adopting stronger preemptive measures to counter lingering pandemic risks. Financial Services Commission Chairman Koh Seung-beom and Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Jeong Eun-bo agreed to make risks tied to the nation’s household debt growth, accumulating debt of the self-employed and small business owners and the non-banking sector their top priori

South Korean stocks retreated for the second straight session Thursday, largely as the US Federal Reserve minutes stoked concerns that the Fed may push harsher-than-expected rate hikes. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) decreased 33.44 points, or 1.13 percent, to close at 2,920.53 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 774 million shares worth some 13.1 trillion won ($10.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 665 to

South Korean shipbuilders received the largest orders in eight years in 2021, and the country ranked the world's No. 1 in terms of the construction of high value-added vessels, the industry ministry said Thursday. Local shipbuilders won new orders totaling 17.44 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) last year, more than doubling from the previous year's 8.23 million CGTs, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It is the largest since 2013 when the figure

South Korea plans to provide tax incentives for research and development (R&D) on green technology designed to help cut carbon emissions in an effort to nurture new industries, the finance ministry said Thursday. Currently, the country has picked 235 technologies in 12 sectors, including next-generation vehicles and bio health, as "new growth and original technologies" and provided tax incentives on R&D expenditures on such spending. For such technology, the country has appli

Excess funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit agencies increased in the third quarter of last year on a rise in income from pandemic-related state support and less spending on houses, central bank data showed Thursday. Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by local households and nonprofit organizations serving households amounted to 35 trillion won ($29.1 billion) in the July-September period, up from 29.8 trillion won a year earl

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Exim Bank) said Thursday that it has issued $3 billion worth of dollar bonds to foreign investors. The state lender has sold three-year bonds worth $1 billion, another $1 billion in five-year bonds and $1 billion worth of debt that will mature in 10 years. It marks the largest-ever issuance of foreign-currency bonds among local institutions except the government, the bank said. Exim Bank added it has successfully floated its planned amount of bonds a

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as the US Federal Reserve minutes stoked concerns that the Fed may push harsher-than-expected rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 13.69 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,940.28 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a lackluster start, tracking the overnight Wall Street tech plunge. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 3.34 percent overnight and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.07 per