In line with the rise of the liberal Moon Jae-in government and the appointment of a former financial unionist as labor minister, financial labor unions have recently been increasing their leverage with their employers, especially over the issue of leadership appointment.On Wednesday, the labor union of the Financial Supervisory Service issued a statement, lashing out at the government’s purported decision to appoint Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra CEO Choe Heung-sik as the next chief of the

South Korea’s economic and financial authorities vowed Monday to take stern measures to stabilize the market in response to uncertainties triggered by North Korea’s sixth nuclear test the previous day.“(The North Korean nuclear issue) may have not only a short-term influence on the financial and foreign exchange markets, but also a negatively impact upon the real economy,” Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said at a meeting of t

South Korea’s economy faced serious threats on two fronts Sunday, following North Korea’s strongest-ever nuclear test, as well as increased indications from the United States that their bilateral free trade deal was under threat.Such challenges, combined with the Korea-China tension over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and the prolonged slow growth trend, is likely to further weigh down on Asia’s fourth-largest economy.Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs and Fina

Tension heightened between Seoul and Washington over the weekend, upon reports by the US media that said President Donald Trump is considering a possible withdrawal from the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement.With many viewing Trump’s gesture as an attempt to gain an upper hand in stalled renegotiations, a Seoul official with the Trade Ministry said that South Korea has no change in its policies on the FTA with the United States despite Trump’s hints.The US president on Saturday told repo

South Korea’s central bank on Thursday froze the key interest rate for August, keeping the nation’s benchmark rate unchanged for 14 months straight since June last year.The monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted in its monthly meeting to hold the key rate steady at 1.25 percent for the intermeeting period, officials said.“The board shall operate the monetary policy focused on financial stability so that the (current) growth recovery may continue and the inflation rate

The government on Tuesday released a state budget plan for 2018 worth 429 trillion won ($381 billion), marking the steepest annual rise in nine years and advocating an expansionary fiscal plan in welfare and job creation to back President Moon Jae-in’s income-led growth economic initiative.The tentative budget for 2018, endorsed by the Cabinet in the morning, is up by 7.1 percent from this year’s 400.5 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.With its approval

Hyundai Card, the credit card issuer affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group, has launched an artificial intelligence-based chatbot service to respond to customer inquiries, as part of its vision to evolve beyond finance into a digital company, according to officials.Buddy, the virtual agent available through Hyundai Card’s mobile application or website, offers users a real-time conversation with two personas -- Fiona and Henry. The service kicked off earlier this month as a beta version and i

After years of overcoming a series of economic challenges, global investors led by private equity funds are now ready to step back into the merger and acquisition market, especially in new technology sectors, data showed.According to a survey conducted by Ernst & Young Han Young, the Korean office of the London-based accounting firm, the number of global M&A deals signed in January-June this year stood at 18,363, up 4 percent from the same period last year.Topping the market in amount wa

President Moon Jae-in’s vision of improving economic equity may suffer some setbacks due to a group of Christian lawmakers’ resistance to an incoming taxation bill on religious leaders.While the administration and the parliamentary cluster remained at odds over the issue, a public poll showed a majority of the public consider religious taxation necessary.Civic groups, led by the Korea Taxpayers’ Association, on Thursday held a press conference in front of the National Assembly,

Major banks are holding off their second-half employment notice, pressed between their financial need for downsizing and the Moon Jae-in administration‘s drive for job creation.While the central bank and a partially state-controlled bank vowed to expand recruitment, most commercial banks prolonged their ambiguous silence, apparently reluctant to make pre-emptive moves.The Bank of Korea said Tuesday that it will hire 70 new employees in the latter half of the year, increasing its recruitmen

The government and ruling party on Friday vowed to draw up an expansive budget for next year in order to pursue President Moon Jae-in’s welfare programs, while cutting down costs in conventional land development projects.Representatives from the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance sat together at the National Assembly to share their views on how the state operation budget should be allocated.“We have been drawing up the budget upon the be

For President Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s first progressive state chief in almost a decade, challenging goals include reducing economic inequality and expanding state-led public welfare, without financially burdening the average taxpayer.To achieve the goals, the president has been saying that his set of economic democratization plans do not require an extra tax increase, while leaving room for “further discussion” on the matter. “It is absolutely crucial to stabilize real

South Korea’s finance minister and fiscal policy chief on Wednesday vowed to take stern measures to stabilize the financial markets if necessary, as response to the tensions caused by North Korea’s nuclear provocations.Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon and Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol attended a luncheon, seeking cooperation amid the challenging economic situations.“(The government), together with the BOK, will keep a close watc

Science, Technology and Innovation Office chief Park Ky-young leaves the Ministry of Science and ICT in Gwacheon on Friday. (Yonhap)Park Ky-young, President Moon Jae-in's newly appointed senior science innovation chief official, stepped down Friday amid escalating controversy over her involvement in a stem cell research scandal 11 years ago."I once again apologize for disappointing the people and causing continuous controversies," she said through a written statement released Friday evening."I s