South Korean stocks tumbled more than 2 percent Thursday as the new cases of the novel coronavirus surged, dimming investors' hopes for a quick global economic recovery, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 49.14 points, or 2.27 percent, to close at 2,112.37. Trading volume was heavy at 1 billion shares worth 10.6 trillion won ($8.8 billion), with losers far outnumbering winners 732 to 145. Foreigners and insti

The number of urban dwellers seeking to resettle in farms or fishing towns has decreased over the past two years, but the new coronavirus pandemic is expected to push the figure back up as more people will search for new job opportunities, data showed Thursday. The number of South Koreans resettling in farms or fishing villages reached 461,879 in 2019, or 329,986 households, according to the data compiled by the agricultural and oceans ministries. It marked a drop from 347,665 and 341,221 hou

‘Capital gains tax’ on stocks aggravates public fury

SEJONG -- South Korea said Thursday it plans to revise a law to expand capital gains taxes to all stock investors beginning in 2023, while lowering a stock transaction tax. Under the plan, all investors who hold listed stocks will be subject to a tax rate of 20 percent. If they hold stocks worth more than 300 million won ($250,041), the tax rate will be raised to 25 percent. However, the proposed tax revision allows a retail investor to be exempted from a capital gains tax when profits from

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street amid concerns over a second wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 1.13 points, or 24.47 percent, to 2,137.04 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Wednesday (local time), US stocks closed lower as investors were concerned over rising new coronavirus infections in major countries. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.7 percent, the S&am

SEJONG -- South Korea plans to start levying a new tax on consolidated gains from all financial investment in 2022, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday. In addition, the government plans to levy a capital gains tax on stock investment gains surpassing 20 million won ($16,632) beginning in 2023, Hong said. Currently, South Korea levies a capital gains tax on major shareholders who own more than 1 billion won in a single stock. The tax proposal is aimed at "revitalizing financial i

The International Monetary Fund has forecast a contraction of 4.9 percent for the global economy in 2020, citing worse-than-expected economic outputs in the first quarter and a more pessimistic forecast for the second quarter, the Seoul government said Wednesday evening. The figure is down 1.9 percentage point from the earlier estimate in April.  In its World Economic Outlook Update, the IMF also expected that the South Korean economy will post a contraction of 2.1 percent this year, do

IT experts from firms including Samsung hired for banks’ digitalization leadership, swift changes due with branch closures, machines replacing tellers

South Korea’s investment house Optimus Asset Management froze two more feeder funds worth a combined 29.7 billion won ($24.75 million) Wednesday, as prosecutors started to look into fraud allegations against the troubled asset manager. At the same time, Korea’s top financial regulator vowed to carry out a thorough inspection of all privately pooled funds here in a preemptive move to protect fund investors. Optimus on Wednesday notified NH Investment & Securities that the fund

South Korean stocks closed 1.42 percent higher Wednesday on the back of upbeat economic data from the United States and Europe and eased tensions with North Korea, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 30.27 points to close at 2,161.51. Trading volume was heavy at 895 million shares worth 12.7 trillion won ($10.6 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 518 to 319. Institutions scooped up a net 118.2 billion won

National Tax Service Commissioner Kim Hyun-jun (center) poses with actor Lee Seo-jin (left) and singer-actor IU, who were appointed as PR ambassadors of the tax agency in Seoul on Wednesday. The two actors, known as model taxpayers, received presidential citations in March for dutifully paying taxes. Lee said while accepting NTS’ honorary role that honest tax payment is the least donation he can make for all. By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)

South Korea's financial market will continue to be stabilized, but the economic fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic may increasingly become more serious and real down the road, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday. "While economic activities will gradually resume from the second half of the year, the financial market will continue to be more stabilized, but there is a possibility that the negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial system may come to the surface,&q

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 19.76 points, or 0.93 percent, to 2,151.00 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Major indexes in the United States closed higher Tuesday on recovery hopes, led by a jump in tech shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.58 percent to end at 26,156.1, while the tech-laden Nasdaq gained 0.74 percent to close at a fresh record high of 10,131.

Trade ministers from 15 nations on Tuesday reaffirmed that a mega Asia-Pacific trade pact will be signed later this year, but India again skipped the negotiations, according to Seoul's trade ministry. ASEAN members and their dialogue partners -- South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand -- effectively reached an agreement on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) last November, with the goal of signing the pact within this year. However, India did not join last Nov

Turning Seoul into a new financial hub in Asia has for long been a campaign promise of local politicians cutting across party lines. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who is now in his third term, is no exception. He had even announced plans to replace old apartment buildings with high-rises of up to 50 stories and create more parks and leisure spaces to reinvigorate the city’s financial district Yeouido. But the city’s progress in realizing these yearslong dream is being questioned as