Foreign workers earning income in South Korea should file their year-end tax settlements for 2020 before they receive February’s salary, the tax agency said Thursday. According to the National Tax Service, foreign employees are required to settle their year-end taxes by submitting related documents to their employers between Jan. 15 and March 2. The process determines whether they owe more taxes or qualify for reimbursement of income taxes paid over the past year. The procedure is cover

In 10 weeks, 17% climb seen in Ilsan, 15% in Paju

South Korea said Thursday it plans to expand subsidies provided for electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell automobiles this year in line with the country's green energy drive. Under the plan, South Korea will allocate 1 trillion won ($930 billion) to promote sales of electric cars, which marks a 25 percent rise from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The budget allocated for hydrogen cars will also reach 365.5 billion won, up 52 percent on-year. The cou

The number of beef cattle in South Korea rose nearly 4 percent in the fourth quarter of the year on increased beef consumption, government data showed Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy had 3.36 million beef cattle, including Korean-breed cattle known as "hanwoo" here, as of Dec. 1, up 3.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It represents the largest-ever fourth-quarter tally since the statistical agency began tracking related data in 1983.

Local retail sales of processed rice products shot up nearly 11 percent in 2019 from a year earlier due to the growing demand from single-member households while more people opt for convenient meals, data showed Thursday. Retail sales of processed rice products, including ready-to-eat steamed rice, porridge, and noodles, came to 884 billion won ($804 million) in 2019, compared with 797.3 billion won posted in 2018, according to the latest data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and R

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains as US President Joe Biden took office. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 22.24 points, or 0.71 percent, to 3,136.79 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks rose on expectations that the new US administration's potential spending increase would spur demand for export-intensive economies. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged up 0.11 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gaining

South Korea's exports rose 10.6 percent on-year in the first 20 days of January on the back of robust shipments of chips and autos amid the pandemic, customs data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $28.2 billion in the Jan. 1-20 period, compared with $25.5 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports also grew 10.6 percent on-year during the cited period. Imports inched up 1.5 percent on-year to $28.6 billion in the 20-da

South Korea's producer prices rose 0.7 percent on month in December last year, aided by a modest rise in prices of farm goods, central bank data showed Thursday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 103.78 in December, compared with 103.09 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with a year earlier, the index rose 0.1 percent, the BOK data showed. In November last year, producer prices stayed flat, underscoring lackluster demand

The new administration of US President Joe Biden is expected to have a positive impact on South Korea's exports as he pledged to reverse the Trump administration's protectionism and trade wars, along with a massive economic relief package. However, trade tension between the US and China is likely to persist as he is predicted to confront Beijing by stepping up cooperation with Washington's European and Asian allies, although Biden is unlikely to engage in a trade war seen under Trump. "Wh

Viva Republica, the operator of leading finance app Toss, on Wednesday announced that it plans to add 330 new staff in the first quarter ahead of the launch of an internet-only bank and an online securities arm later this year. The latest hunt for talent comes as the 6-year-old startup prepares to become the country‘s third internet-only bank, expected to launch in July, and to kick off the mobile securities firm Toss Securities next month. With five units under its umbrella, including f

South Korean stocks advanced for a second consecutive session Wednesday, as auto and tech stocks continued to rebound. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 15.97 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 3,114.55 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 24.3 trillion won ($22.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 511 to 322. Foreigners sold a net 236 billion won, while retail investors purchased

The government will extend some 38.4 trillion won ($34.86 billion) in financial support for companies and small merchants suffering from liquidity crunch ahead of Lunar New Year’s Day, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. The size of the financial support package, usually planned weeks before the holiday to spur spending, has increased by 2.1 trillion won from last year. The three-day Lunar New Year holiday kicks off on Feb. 11. “Although the third wave of the COVID-19 epidemic

South Korea’s financial authorities said Wednesday they plan to adopt stricter guidelines, regulations and monitoring for foreign exchange trading by local non-banking institutions such as brokerages and insurers. “Three types of new monitoring standards will be adopted to keep an eye on forex liquidity in non-banking financial institutions,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said in a press briefing. “We will improve the effectiveness of the monit

South Korean asset management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments is poised to become a lead manager of the state-supervised investment pool of 63 Korean pension funds, according to the government on Wednesday. The pension fund investment pool has been under the monitoring of the Ministry of Economy and Finance since it was established in December 2001 on the basis of the National Finance Act. Mirae Asset will take the place of one of the current lead managers, Korea Investment Management, wh

Seoul-based investment firm KB Asset Management said Wednesday it had closed a 220 billion won ($200 million) bond-investing private fund in order to embolden its focus on environmental, social and governance factors. The new private fund -- the largest of its kind in Korea -- will deploy at least 70 percent of its cash to certified South Korean green, social and sustainability bonds or issuers that received integrated ESG rating of “B+” or higher from evaluator Korea Corporate Gove