The number of employees for South Korea's major companies has declined by nearly 30,000 over the past three years, with global tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. having the largest workforce, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The combined headcount of the country's top 100 firms stood at about 1.39 million as of the end of 2020, down slightly by over 27,000 from three years earlier, according to the CXO Institute. Last year alone, the number decreased by 9,000 from the previous year, marking t

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday the government plans to provide more than 70 percent of emergency relief funds to small merchants hard hit by the pandemic over the next two weeks. The move is aimed at accelerating the provision of cash handouts to pandemic-stricken merchants as the country is grappling with the fourth wave of the pandemic. The country plans to provide a total of 4.22 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in relief aid to micro business owners by the end of September as it crea

Citibank Korea Inc., the South Korean unit of Citigroup Inc., will decide on its exit plan for its retail banking unit next week, an industry source said Tuesday. Citibank Korea will hold a board meeting Aug. 26 during which the lender will confirm how to sell the retail banking division. In April, Citigroup said it will exit consumer banking operations in 13 markets, including South Korea, as part of its global business reorganization. Four financial firms have conducted a due diligence of C

Some foreign cryptocurrency exchanges have distanced themselves from South Korea as Korean authorities are set to enforce tighter regulations against virtual coins. By Sept. 24, cryptocurrency exchanges targeting Korean investors must register with the nation's anti-money laundering body and disclose their details on risk management. Under the tougher regulations, banks will issue real-name accounts in line with stricter guidelines to prevent money laundering. Beginning Sept. 25, cryptocurrenc

South Korea's exports and imports of camping goods reached a fresh high in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, a report showed Tuesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy exported and imported $399 million worth of camping equipment last year, an all-time high and up 40 percent from the previous year, according to the report from the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute. In the first half of this year alone, the country's trade in camping gear stood at $293 million, above the $285 million reg

South Korean stocks opened a tad higher Tuesday as tech large caps showed signs of a rebound from their weeklong plunge, in addition to strong advances by financial stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.63 points, or 0.05 percent, to 3,172.92 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index opened with mild gains as the country's two largest chipmakers rose after tumbling on pessimism about a future price fall of DRAMs. Gains by financial and ban

The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea’s Indonesian subsidiary, its largest ASEAN business, fell deeper into the red in the second quarter, while its Korean rivals are raking in robust profits from their businesses there. Flagging warning signs for its annual performance this year, Bank IBK Indonesia reported a net loss of 14.3 billion won ($12.2 million), failing to extend its growth momentum gained in the first quarter of 1.2 billion won in net profit. “In the early stages, net lo

Under the highly controversial Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which was codified by the National Assembly in January this year, business owners and responsible executives are required to comply with new health and safety obligations. A failure to comply with such requirements that results in serious bodily harm will subject them to significant civil liability and administrative/criminal penalties. The introduction of the act is seen as a legislative effort by the South Korean government to

Samsung Asset Management has withdrawn its plan to merge its hedge fund arm following a yearslong delay since the announcement, a filing showed Monday. The proposed merger of Samsung Asset and its wholly owned Samsung Hedge Asset Management was scrapped with the consent of the parties concerned, according to the filing submitted to the Korea Financial Investment Association. The merger plan was announced in April 2020 and was designed to be completed by August the same year. But the plan has

South Korean investors’ appetite for shares in electric vehicle maker Tesla has been on the wane over the past few months, with many turning to vaccine-related stocks, including Moderna, data showed Monday. While Tesla remains a top pick for Korean investors, with combined holdings of $9.7 billion as of Aug. 10 -- the highest here among US-listed stocks -- there were signs that Koreans had begun selling off shares in the world’s largest electric car maker in June, according to data

Tax collection on properties, stocks up W33tr during pandemic

The blame game between financial authorities and discount app operator Mergeplus intensified Monday, leaving customers who bought coupons uncertain as to whether they would lose their money. Mergeplus launched Mergepoint, an electronic payment service, in 2018. Consumers can buy Mergepoints for 20 percent less than their face value, and use them in local retail franchises, convenience stores and coffee shops. The substantial discounts on offer have helped the service attract about 1 million u

By The Investor team 　 The South Korean financial and investment market has been going through probably the biggest and fastest change in its modern history under the COVID-19 pandemic, which still shows no sign of abating. It may not be the case just for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, as global markets as a whole have also been greatly touched by the spread of the virus and a series of expansionary fiscal measures, as well as the lockdowns that followed. What appears to have made the

South Korea's antitrust regulator will soon decide on punitive actions against the country's leading shipper, HMM Co., and other shipping lines over suspected price fixing, government sources said Sunday. Since 2018, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has been looking into allegations that HMM and others colluded to fix higher freight rates for a Southeast Asian sea route. After expanding its investigation into foreign firms, the regulator informed 23 shippers at home and abroad in May tha

South Korea is seeking to draw up a national budget of around 600 trillion won ($513.3 billion) for next year in a bid to maintain expansionary fiscal spending amid the pandemic, government sources said Sunday. If confirmed, this would mark a 7.5 percent on-year increase from this year's national budget of 558 trillion won, according to sources at the finance ministry and the National Assembly. The government is seeking to keep the on-year growth pace of the 2022 budget in the 7-percent range,