South Korea plans to temporarily cut fuel taxes in a bid to ease upward pressure on inflation amid surging oil prices, a senior government official said Friday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon also said the government plans to additionally cut import tariffs on liquid natural gas (LNG), currently at 2 percent, as part of efforts to ease people's burdens on a hike in energy costs. "The government will unveil details about fuel tax cuts, including the timing and the scope, next wee

Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to South Korea, has seen a sharp recovery in the number of inbound and outbound travelers over the past two months amid the country's push for a "Living with COVID-19" plan. According to Incheon International Airport Corp., the state-run operator of the airport, the number of international travelers departing or landing via Incheon jumped 44 percent, compared with a year earlier, to some 338,000 in August. It was the first monthly figur

Despite policymakers’ assurance of home prices having reached their peak, the government appears to have set tax revenue on a scenario of housing values rising further next year. Rep. Yoo Gyeong-joon of the main opposition People Power Party on Thursday, quoting a state-funded study, said that the government’s tax revenue next year has been drafted based on its own estimation of housing prices in Seoul and the surrounding area growing 5.1 percent, According to the study conducted

KB Financial Group Inc. on Thursday reported its third-quarter net profit of 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion), up 9.3 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 1.78 trillion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 1.41 trillion won a year ago. Sales rose 56.4 percent to 16.47 trillion won. The operating profit was 7.1 percent higher than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap New

SEJONG -- The number of layer chickens raised in South Korea dropped 4.2 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier due to the impact of the bird flu outbreak, data showed Thursday. The number of layer chickens came to 70.7 million as of end-September, compared with 73.8 million a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Yet it was up from 65.9 million three months earlier and 62.1 million as of end-March, which was the lowest in more than three years. The on-year decr

South Korea's exports rose 36.1 percent on-year in the first 20 days of October on the back of robust demand for chips, petroleum products and autos, customs data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $34.2 billion in the Oct. 1-20 period, compared with $25.1 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 48 percent on-year to $36.7 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.49 billion during the cited period, the data show

South Korea’s finance minister once again downplayed the possibility of delaying taxation on cryptocurrency earnings, while emphasizing that his ministry is gearing up to carry out its plan as scheduled. Hong Nam-ki, the minister of Finance and Economy, made such remarks during an Assembly hearing on Wednesday when asked about the preparedness of taxation infrastructure on crypto assets. Hong’s remarks came one day after a lawmaker revealed a survey result in which three crypto e

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings said Wednesday that it would maintain South Korea’s stable credit rating and keep its economic growth projection positive, citing the country’s economic resilience. During a webinar hosted by Fitch on assessing regional outlooks, Jeremy Zook, a director at Fitch Ratings, reaffirmed the credit rating for Asia’s fourth-largest economy at AA-, the fourth-highest level in the agency’s system, in line with its July projection. It has rema

South Korea is considering temporarily lowering fuel taxes to ease consumer burden from surging gasoline prices, the country's top economic policymaker said Wednesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will unveil relevant actions, including a fuel tax cut, as early as next week. "As the international oil prices are on the rise, driving up gasoline prices and putting upward pressure on consumer prices, we are considering such preemptive measures as a fuel tax cut," Hon

South Korean brokerage houses have sharply lowered their third-quarter earnings outlook for major listed firms amid rising inflation and other negatives, a market tracker said Wednesday. The combined net profit forecast for 168 major listed firms came to 29.7 trillion won ($25.2 billion) for the July-September period as of Tuesday, up 4.3 percent from a year earlier, according to financial information provider FnGuide. Yet, it represents a 34 percent plunge from their estimate of 44.9 trillion

IMF cautious over monetary tightening here, welcomes aggressive fiscal policy, short selling resumption

The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) said Tuesday it has successfully issued $1.5 billion worth of bonds to foreign investors. The lender has sold 10-year bonds worth $300 million and 5 1/2-year bonds worth $500 million. The KDB has also issued $700 million worth of green bonds that will come due in three years and three months, which will be used to finance Green New Deal projects, such as rechargeable batteries and renewable energy. The state bank said its has floated those bonds at t

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea rose sharply in September from a month earlier as exporters increased dollar holdings, central bank data showed Tuesday. Residents' outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits came to $94.2 billion as of end-September, up $1.6 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It represents the second consecutive month of on-month increase. In August, they climbed by $470 million from the previous month. Residents inc

Sales of equity-linked securities (ELS) in South Korea plunged more than 30 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The value of ELS products in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 11.6 trillion won ($9.8 billion) in the July-September period, down 30.8 percent from the second quarter, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. The figure, however, was up 17.8 percent from the 9.8 trillion won floated during

Beset by curfews and fewer customers amid the coronavirus pandemic, the retail industry in South Korea is now pinning hopes on a business rebound, as the government is set to ease long-enforced strict restrictions under the "Living with COVID-19" scheme set to be introduced next month. Department stores, supermarkets and other retailers are expected to be among those likely to benefit, given that eased restrictions on gatherings and business operations will bolster consumer sentiment