South Korea and China on Wednesday signed a deal that would ease tax audit burdens for several South Korean companies doing business in the world's second-largest economy, South Korea's tax agency said.The advance pricing arrangement is an ahead-of-time agreement between the tax authorities of the two countries to specify a pricing method that a South Korean company will apply to its transactions with its subsidiary in China. The arrangement can make it possible for tax officials to verify if a

Ministry announces follow-up fiscal plans to boost stalled economy

South Korean financial consumers chose Mirae Asset Daewoo as the nation’s top brokerage this year, a survey by the Korea Finance Consumer Federation showed Wednesday, as it outperformed competitors on criteria related to stability.The survey, conducted biannually by a major civic group for financial consumers here, involved more than 5,000 consumers and 56 local brokerages.  The civic group also took the firms’ financial soundness and business decisions into consideration.&

South Korea’s lackluster initial public offering market is set to gain momentum in October, according to a local brokerage firm Wednesday, with some big names gearing up to get listed. “Companies that went public on the tech-heavy secondary Kosdaq bourse in August generated an average return rate of minus 18 percent, overall below the average return on the Kosdaq market, which shed 3 percent throughout the month,” analysts at SK Securities said. “Big firms such as Lo

Monthly inflation index dips below zero, hits record-low

Eyeing the fast-growing pet industry, Korean venture capital firms have been expanding their investments in developers and manufacturers of products related to pet technology this year. Pet technology refers to technologies or products designed to help owners care for their pets through apps, e-commerce and online services.  Accelerator New Paradigm Investment, a subsidiary of venture capital firm TS Investment, invested in blockchain-based pet identification app BlockPet last month, accord

South Korea will push forward a comprehensive strategy to strengthen its national cybersecurity by 2022 to better cope with the emergence of the 5G hyper-connected world, the Science Ministry said Tuesday. Amid rising international tension in cyber space and greater security exposure brought about by the spread of 5G networks, Korea needs steps to protect its national interests, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. “Foremost among the goals is protecting its key cyber infrastructu

The government plans to increase its job creation budget by over 20 percent to a record volume of nearly 26 trillion won ($21.4 billion) next year, with unemployment benefits accounting for a record 40 percent of the total, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Tuesday.The government will spend 25.77 trillion won in 2020 on job creation, marking a rise of 21.3 percent from this year, the ministry said, citing a government budget proposal for next year that was endorsed by the Cabinet last Th

South Korea's consumer price growth hit a record low in August, remaining flat compared with a year earlier, due mainly to declines in prices of agricultural and petroleum products, government data showed Tuesday.South Korea's consumer prices remained unchanged in August from a year earlier, staying below the 1 percent threshold for the eighth consecutive month, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The reading marked the lowest since 1965, when the statistics agency started compiling dat

South Korea's economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter from three months earlier on sluggish exports and government spending, the central bank said Tuesday.The country's gross domestic product expanded 1 percent in the April-June period, rebounding from a 0.4 percent on-quarter contraction the previous quarter, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea.The latest reading marks a slight decrease from an earlier estimate of a 1.1 percent on-quarter expansion estim

South Korea is set to complete the ratification of a free trade deal with the UK at the National Assembly before the Brexit deadline of Oct. 31, officials said Monday. Since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, the Korean government has pushed for a bilateral deal with the UK to prevent the rupture of trade relations and ensure continuity.  On Aug. 22, the two nations signed a trade agreement that would allow businesses to keep trading freely after Brexit, marking the fir

Kakao Bank expected to rebound after shareholding rearrangement, K bank continues to struggle after capital increase plan falls through

South Korea's financial regulator said Monday it has requested 3.1 trillion won ($2.5 billion) in budget for next year, in order to focus on providing funds for small- and medium-sized firms and underprivileged people. The budget proposal by the Financial Services Commission is part of a budget bill of 513.5 trillion won for next year, which was drafted by the finance ministry last week. The lion's share of the FSC budget proposal, or 2.1 trillion won, will be set aside for the retrieval of

Daily credit card spending in South Korea continued to climb in the first half on increased online purchases, central bank data showed Monday. Credit card holders spent an average 1.9 trillion won ($1.57 billion) a day in the January-June period, up 5.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.An average 41,492 won was spent per credit card transaction purchase in the first half, down 3.7 percent from a year earlier. Daily debit card spending, meanwhile, rose 6.2 p

President Moon's approval rating drops below 40% for 1st time