South Korea's top financial regulator said Monday it will cut the interest on overdue debt and the premiums of indemnity medical insurance in line with the government's policy of easing the financial burdens for low-income earners. Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, also said the FSC will actively encourage insurance firms to return unclaimed insurance benefits worth 7.6 trillion won ($6.71 billion) to customers. Interest on overdue debt will be lowered by the end of th

South Korean stocks traded lower late Monday morning apparently as investors sought after safer assets on Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test staged over the weekend.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 16.47 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,341.22 as of 11:20 a.m.On Sunday, Pyongyang announced it had successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb that can be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics shed 0.56 percent, and top chipmaker S

Taxing religious groups will add 64.7 billion won ($57 million) to state coffers annually starting next year, a report said Monday.The Moon Jae-in government has pledged to levy taxes on the clergy from 2018 onwards as part of its drive for equitable taxation, although people working for churches and temples have been exempted from paying income tax until now, as their work has been regarded as a spiritual service, not labor."We estimate the amount of taxes to be paid by employees of religi

Nearly a quarter of salaried workers in South Korea did not use their vacation time from August 2015 through July of last year, a report by a local culture and tourism organization said Monday.The findings, based on a survey of 4,357 people nationwide by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, showed 23.9 percent of those checked said they did not use their vacation time. The lack of free time was reflected in South Koreans putting in some of the longest work hours in the world at the time the

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower on Monday after North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test a day earlier, escalating geopolitical tension in the Northeast Asian region.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index plunged 26.87 points, or 1.14 percent, to 2,330.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Sunday, Pyongyang claimed it successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb that can be loaded on an intercontinental ballistic missile. Tech giants lost ground, with top cap Sa

South Korea's finance minister pledged Monday to take immediate measures to stabilize the market, if the need arises, amid escalating tensions after North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test."The North Korean issue is spreading across the world," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said at a meeting with Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol and Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku. "It may not only have a short-term impact on the financial and foreign exchange markets,

The number of nonregular workers at South Korea's public institutions rose in the second quarter from three months ago despite the government's push to cut them, with over half of them posting gains, government data showed Monday. According to the government portal All Public Information in One, temporary employees at 355 public organizations stood at 39,681 as of the end of June, up 1,765 from the first quarter.Of the total, 180 institutions, or 50.7, hired more nonregulars during the three-mon

South Korea's financial regulator said Monday it has begun monitoring markets around the clock and will swiftly act if necessary, after North Korea spiked tensions by conducting its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. Zhin Woong-seob, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, held a meeting earlier in the day to review contingency measures. "It is difficult to predict the situation on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea went ahead with a nuclear test, despite intense sanctions by the

Korea's economy stumbles over Pyongyang's 6th nuke test, Washington’s FTA threat

Observers remain skeptical, citing North Korea and industry backlash

Security tension is most likely to return to focus in South Korea’s stock markets this week following the North’s sixth nuclear test Sunday, further dampening investors’ sentiment.A 5.7 magnitude tremor was detected in northeastern North Korea on Sunday at around 12:29 p.m., which North Korea claimed to be a test of a hydrogen bomb that can be loaded into its intercontinental ballistic missile.“The news would bring noise in investor sentiments and stock markets in South K

Ask a Lawyer is a regular column written by attorneys at Yoon & Yang LLC on various legal aspects of the Korean life or business. The content provided here is general legal information, not legal advice on a specific situation. -- Ed.

South Korea's top financial regulator said Sunday it will step up monitoring and carry out probes into money laundering, unauthorized financing and other illicit transactions of digital currencies. Joining Japan, China and other Asian nations in trying to regulate crypto-currencies, the Financial Services Commission  warned that the recent transaction volume and volatility of digital currencies are "excessive." The move by the FSC comes as the price of a bitcoin, the best-known di

US President Donald Trump said Saturday he would meet with his advisers next week to weigh a possible withdrawal from the US free trade agreement with South Korea.Trump made the remark to journalists during a trip to hurricane-hit Houston, Reuters said, shortly after the move was reported by the Washington Post. Citing multiple sources close to the process, the paper said Trump has instructed advisers to prepare for the withdrawal, but several White House officials are trying to stop him. &

The former Korea branch chief of U.S. equity firm Lone Star has been released in Italy, Seoul‘s justice ministry said Friday, dimming the prospects of his return to Korea for an inquiry into alleged irregularities surrounding the 2003 sale of a local bank.　The ministry said that a Milano-based court has recently set free Steven Lee, the Korean-American who headed the Seoul office between 1998 and 2005, apparently because the statute of limitations of the charges against him had expired.Lee