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Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong has become South Korea’s richest stakeholder, replacing his father’s name that held the title for decades, data showed Wednesday. The vice chairman’s stock value stood at 9.07 trillion won ($8.35 billion) as of Tuesday, nearly 2 trillion won more than last year, according to CEO Score, a local corporate researcher. Stock ownership of the 49-year-old heir to the world‘s largest chipmaker is set to grow, as he and his famil

South Korea and Britain plan to kick off their bilateral free trade agreement this week to maintain the continuity of trade activities in line with London's departure from the European Union, the trade ministry said Wednesday. South Korea has been closely monitoring London's divorce with the EU, as the separation would mean that its existing pact with the world's largest economic bloc will no longer be valid for Britain. To avoid a possible hard landing, South Korea and Britain signed a free t

The COVID-19 pandemic is projected to add fuel to South Korea’s low birthrate, marriage rate and rapidly increase the nation’s aging population, the central bank said Wednesday. “The pandemic will have a negative impact on the nation’s marriage and birthrate, leading to an acceleration of aging in the population,” the Bank of Korea said in its regular report on economic issues. The total fertility rate for 2022 may even become lower than the Statistics Korea&rsq

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Wednesday it will clear regulatory hurdles in the new year to foster convergence between finance and new technologies. According to the Financial Services Commission’s key policy tasks for the financial sector in 2021, the authority will revise its financial regulatory system in July next year to allow local banks to operate nonfinancial services like food delivery via their mobile applications.  “Discussions and research are un

A plan to sell some of the government’s stake in Woori Financial Group this year foundered due to the high market volatility triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial regulator said Wednesday. Earlier this year, a sub-committee of the Financial Service Commission, which controls the sale of state-owned firms and shares, said it would start selling off Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.’s stake in the bank in the first half of 2020.  The plan was to sell the entire stake in

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, the last trading session this year, as investors sought to lock in gains after the benchmark index closed at an all-time high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.75 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,815.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local stocks got off to a weak start, led by financial, tech and bio losses. The KOSPI closed at a record high for a third straight day Tuesday. Market bellwether Sam

South Korea's corporate direct financing plunged nearly 21 percent in November from the previous month due to a sharp drop in stock sales and a seasonal factor, data showed Wednesday. Local companies raised a combined 16.3 trillion won ($14.9 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, down 21.3 percent from October, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate stock sales sank 29.7 percent on-month to 871.3 billion won, with the value of initial public of

South Korea's industrial output rose in November from a month earlier on improving exports, but consumption declined for the second straight month amid a resurgence in new coronavirus cases, data showed Wednesday. The nation's overall industrial production increased 0.7 percent in November from the previous month, compared with a 0.1 percent on-month fall in October, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, the industrial output fell 0.6 percent in Nove

The number of employees with total paychecks exceeding 100 million won ($91,400) reached a record high of 852,000 in 2019, up some 50,000 from the previous year, data showed Tuesday. According to the National Tax Service, earners of over 100 million won accounted for 4.4 percent of the total 19.17 million salaried workers. An employee here earned 37.4 million won on average, before tax, last year, rising 2.7 percent, or 970,000 won, from 2018. Those who reported non-salary financial income

Consumers who order more than 20,000 won ($18.30) on designated delivery apps with a credit card will get 10,000 won as a cash back reward or discount, the government said Tuesday. Currently, seven delivery apps including Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo, Payco and Coupang Eats are participating, and four more apps are expected to join as soon as they complete system maintenance. 　 Payments have to be made on the delivery apps with credit cards issued by nine card companies -- KB Kookmin, NH Nonghyup,

South Korea’s central bank said Tuesday that it had published an English-language version of a booklet narrating its 70-year history. The Korean version was published in June to mark the Bank of Korea’s 70th anniversary. The booklet focuses on Korea’s growth into Asia’s fourth-largest economy, as well as on the establishment of the BOK and its role, the central bank said. The BOK plans to distribute the booklet to its overseas counterparts, international organizatio

South Korea’s housing price rally, sparked by a supply shortage and tightened regulations throughout the year, is likely to continue next year, stoking concerns about housing market instability.　 According to KB Financial Group in a report, housing prices across the country will see an upward march overall next year while two-year rentals requiring a refundable lump-sum deposit in lieu of monthly rent, called “jeonse,” will also be more expensive. The report, based on a surve

The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives said Tuesday it has launched Saemaul Geumgo, a community based financial institution supervised by the KFCC, in a rural village in Laos.  In partnership with the Lao government, the KFCC has helped residents of Km52 village located in Phonhong district of the captial city Vientiane establish Saemaul Geumgo in the region by offering management support of its financial systems as well as business models. Officials from the Lao governmen

Of 35 member nations studied, Korea’s personal income tax grew seventh-fastest