South Korea’s top financial regulator on Monday called on banks to act as “gatekeepers” in monitoring cryptocurrency-related transactions, elaborating on the need to set off a nationwide survey Monday on banks that have provided virtual accounts for the transactions. “Concerns are rising as banks have kept mum about money flows for illegal use, instead of taking the role of gatekeepers,” said head of the Financial Services Commission Choi Jong-ku in a press conferen

Kakao Bank, South Korea‘s leading direct bank by transaction volume, denied news reports Monday that it is looking to turn to corporations to diversify its customer group, currently solely composed of retail customers. Earlier Monday, the online-only bank was reported to have revised its terms and conditions in December to allow for business entities to open checking accounts through its mobile platform, with interest rates settled quarterly. Kakao Bank said Monday the revision was meant t

Banks in South Korea are likely to tighten their rules on household loans in the first quarter of this year amid a recent trend of rising interest rates, central bank data showed Monday.The overall index measuring banks' "attitude" toward extending loans to households came to minus 13 for the January-March period, compared with minus 17 a quarter earlier, according to data by the Bank of Korea (BOK).A reading below zero means banks will implement tougher screening for household loans,

Authorities close in on alleged influence by incumbents for reappointments

A special investigation will be implemented on virtual accounts used for cryptocurrency deals, as part of the government’s recent pledge to crack down on excessive speculations, officials said Sunday.The Financial Services Commission-affiliated Korean Financial Intelligence Unit and Financial Supervisory Service will jointly lead the inspection of six major banks, starting from Monday. The corresponding banks are KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, NongHyup Bank, Industrial Bank of

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance ministry said Sunday that it has finalized the details on a tax code overhaul whose main features are the levying of an additional tax on owners of multiple homes, a move intended to curb rising housing prices, and the raising of the highest corporate income tax rate.Late last year, the National Assembly approved a bill that, starting in April, will impose an additional tax of up to 30 percentage points on owners of multiple homes.The parliament also passed a bill

The number of donees who had reported gift taxes upon receiving at least 100 million won ($94,000) as of 2016 surpassed 50,000, increasing 21 percent from the previous year, data from the National Tax Service showed.By age, most, or 14,840, were in their 40s, followed by those in their 50s and 30s.By rate of increase, the number of those aged 10-19 who inherited 100 million won or more shot up 31 percent. A total of 715 aged under 10 were in the group as well, up 11 percent from 2015.Industry wa

This is the 48th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.South Korea announced in October last year the upcoming PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games will become the test bed for the nation‘s first fifth-generation network. The news triggered anticipation for the hyper-connectivity -- or connectivity between humans and things -- powered by what would roughly be 10 times faster than 4G long-term evolution standard in the country that boast

South Koreans' investment in overseas stocks came to US$30.5 billion in the first 11 months of last year, central bank data showed Sunday.The figure represents a 55 percent hike from $19.6 billion tallied in the January-November period in 2016, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea.South Koreans' investment in overseas stocks could hit the highest mark for the whole of 2017 since 2007, when the comparable figures came to $52.6 billion.Meanwhile, South Koreans' investment in overseas bo

South Korea's current account surplus narrowed in November over the previous year, due mainly to a sharp rise in the service account deficit, central bank data showed Friday.The country's current account surplus reached $7.43 billion in November, down slightly from a surplus of $8.03 billion a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.November was the 69th consecutive month of a current account surplus, which started in March 2012.The services account deficit widened to

South Korea is expected to benefit from China's rapidly growing service industry if the two countries agree to upgrade their bilateral free trade agreement to include the service and investment sectors, experts said Friday.South Korea and China implemented the FTA in December 2015 and recently agreed to launch follow-up negotiations to expand the scope of the trade deal to lower barriers in the service and investment sectors.Experts and industry officials expressed hope that a high-level market

Kakao Corp, the operator of the country's top mobile messenger service Kakao Talk, will launch debit cards next week to jump into the offline payment business, company officials said Friday.Promotional events are already under way before the official launch Wednesday for the debit cards that will be linked with Kakao Pay, officials said.Kakao Corp already has debit card services that are partnered with some commercial banks and credit card firms. It is the 10% owner of Kakao Bank, which issues d

Economic policymakers will take measures in case of excessive fluctuations in FX market

South Korea's top economic policymakers said Thursday that they will do their best to manage economic and financial risks to maintain economic growth momentum in the new year."Despite some downside risks at home and abroad, the South Korean economy pulled off favorable growth last year thanks to strong fiscal policies," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a breakfast meeting in Seoul with Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon."This year, we expect the economy to continue on the recove

WASHINGTON -- South Korea pushed Wednesday to stop the United States from imposing import restrictions on its large residential washers, saying such a move would adversely impact the American economy.A South Korean government and business delegation made the case at a public hearing held by the US trade representative in Washington with only weeks to go before a final decision by President Donald Trump.Kim Hee-sang, a South Korean diplomat in charge of the issue, stressed that "should the U