Finance Minister vows to raise accuracy in tax revenue

SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki has expressed his commitment to raising accuracy and transparency in generating figures on tax revenue, reiterating his apology for the government’s excess revenue beyond its earlier estimate. In his meeting with reporters on Monday, Hong said the Finance Ministry would “focus on raising transparency (in operation and forecast of tax revenue) as well as revising the calculating system.” If the coming calculation

EconomyJan. 17, 2022

Investor disappointments continue for Kakao

Started as a mere app developing company, South Korea’s platform giant Kakao has been on the fast track of success, becoming the nation‘s fifth-largest business entity just in 11 years. Founded by Kim Beom-su, who used to run a PC room and work at Samsung SDS, the dominant takeover of the messenger app KakaoTalk laid the groundwork for the Kakao group’s expansion in the last decade. According to the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Kakao had 158 affiliates and subsidiaries in the

IndustryJan. 17, 2022

Air carriers expand mileage services before merger

Korea’s two leading carriers, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, plan to expand mileage services to encourage customers to spend their points that would otherwise be left unused over travel restrictions. The plan is to cut down liabilities on their balance sheets by incentivizing customers to use up mileage points which is counted as “debt.“ Reducing debts on their balance sheets is a must for the two, as they are awaiting for authorities‘ approval for their merger. Korea

IndustryJan. 17, 2022

Number of self-employed falls by 18,000 in 2021

SEJONG -- The number of self-employed workers declined by 18,000 in South Korea last year, despite improvement in employment indices, state data showed Monday. Self-employed workers refers to non-salaried people who operate businesses without hiring employees or do so with several employees, mostly less than five. The country has a dominant portion of self-employed people engaging in sectors such as food service, lodging, wholesale and retail. According to Statistics Korea, the tally for self-

EconomyJan. 17, 2022

Seoul stocks hit 7-week low on inflation risk

South Korean stocks dropped to their lowest in almost seven weeks on Monday as investors dumped holdings on concerns about mounting inflationary pressure. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 31.82 points, or 1.09 percent, to close at 2,890.1 points. The reading marked the lowest closing since Nov. 30. Trading volume was moderate at about 571 million shares worth some 9.8 trillion won ($8.2 billion), with losers outnumbering g

MarketJan. 17, 2022

KT, Shinhan ink cross-shareholding deal to forge digital alliance

South Korea’s No. 2 telecom carrier KT and the nation’s second-largest banking group Shinhan Financial Group said Monday that they have forged a new alliance to spur collaborations on futuristic technologies in a cross-shareholding deal. Under the deal worth 437.5 billion won ($367 million), KT will acquire a 2.08 percent stake in Shinhan Financial Group, while Shinhan Bank, the group’s banking unit, will in return acquire a 5.46 percent stake in KT. As the result of the tr

TechnologyJan. 17, 2022

Banks turn to richest clients for 2022

With government restrictions on loans getting tighter and financial technology firms expanding their presence, South Korean banks are turning to their wealthiest clients and their asset management as a survival tactic this year. NongHyup Bank CEO Kwon Joon-hak pledged Monday to adopt a new model that connects customers with wealth managers through its own digital channel. He said he plans to provide professional and quality services to customers using its digital wealth management channel, in

MarketJan. 17, 2022

Retail subscriptions open for LG Energy Solution IPO

LG Energy Solution is offering retail investors the opportunity to submit bids for its shares ahead of what could potentially be South Korea’s biggest-ever initial public offering next week, having already attracted vastly oversubscribed institutional bids to the tune of some 15,000 trillion won ($12.6 trillion). The world’s second-largest battery maker for electric vehicles is offering a little over 10 million shares -- nearly a quarter of the 42.5 million shares in total -- to ret

MarketJan. 17, 2022

Finance chief calls for stern actions against property-related tax evasion

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki called Monday for stern actions against tax evasion related to real estate deals as he renewed the government's commitment to stabilizing the housing market this year. Hong made the remarks during his meeting with the chiefs of the country's four major agencies under the finance ministry -- the National Tax Service (NTS), the Korea Customs Service, the Public Procurement Service, and Statistics Korea. "As this year is an important turning point in stabilizing

EconomyJan. 17, 2022

Korea’s kimchi exports soar to all-time high

South Korea’s exports of kimchi recorded an all-time high last year, reaching a trade surplus for the first time in 12 years, data showed Monday. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish made of spicy sauce and fermented cabbage. According to the Korea Customs Service, exports of kimchi surged by 10.7 percent on-year to $159.9 million last year. The figure surpassed the record-high exports of $144.5 million in 2020. More than half of last year’s exports went to Japan, followed by

ConsumerJan. 17, 2022

HDC chairman resigns over series of Gwangju accidents

Hyundai Development Company Chairman Chung Mong-gyu stepped down Monday, apologizing for two fatal accidents at the builder‘s construction sites in Gwangju.  “I apologize deeply to the family members of the victims in the accident in Gwangju and to the public,” he said during a press conference at its headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul.  “I promise to give all effort and support to amend the situation at the accident site and regain public trust.” The HDC c

IndustryJan. 17, 2022

Louis Vuitton to shut downtown duty-free shops in Korea

French luxury brand Louis Vuitton is closing shops at all downtown duty-free stores in South Korea by March 2023. Having stopped running its store at Lotte Duty Free Jeju in December, Louis Vuitton will close three more -- at the Shilla Duty Free in Jeju, Lotte Duty Free in Busan and Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, Seoul -- in March, according to UK travel retail media outlet Moodie Davitt Report. Louis Vuitton also plans to pull out from the three remaining downtown duty-free stores -- Lotte Du

ConsumerJan. 17, 2022

Lotte Hotel to launch boutique hotel in Chicago next year

Lotte Hotel, the hotel chain owned by Korea’s retail giant Lotte Group, said Monday that it will open a new hotel in Chicago next year, the first overseas launch under its lifestyle boutique hotel brand L7. Lotte said it completed an acquisition of Kimpton Hotel Monaco Chicago for 42.8 billion won ($35.9 million) on Friday (US time) in a joint investment with the state-run Korea Overseas Infrastructure Development Corp. The 13-story hotel with 191 rooms is expected to be refurbished int

ConsumerJan. 17, 2022

TSMC prepares $44b investment to shake off Samsung in foundry race

The goal of Samsung Electronics becoming the No. 1 foundry player by 2030 is facing a major hurdle as its rival TSMC prepares a whopping $44 billion investment in 2022 to consolidate its lead, according to industry sources Monday. “Last year, Samsung Electronics spent roughly 40 trillion won ($33.5 billion) in memory, foundry and infrastructure investments. This year, TSMC plans to spend more than 50 trillion won solely for the foundry business,” said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at

IndustryJan. 17, 2022

LG Uplus names ex-AT&T data expert as new data chief

South Korean telecommunication company LG Uplus has named Gabe Hwang, former executive at AT&T and WarnerMedia, as its inaugural chief data officer in its push for an innovation to enhance consumer experience and boost productivity, the company said Monday. Hwang will lead data-related businesses of LG Uplus from delivering data capabilities for client to the company’s artificial intelligence integration and digital transformation. Hwang’s addition will allow LG Uplus to

TechnologyJan. 17, 2022

Mask fraud alert: Dating apps crack down on heavily masked profiles amid complaints

Wearing a mask has become commonplace during this pandemic. Though the act is often encouraged to stop the spread of COVID-19, there is one place where it is definitely frowned upon – dating apps. Users say profiles with only masked up photos can be misleading. Amid growing complaints, some dating app operators are cracking down on those considered a “magikkun” -- a portmanteau from the English word “mask” and the Korean word “sagikkun” which means a fr

TechnologyJan. 17, 2022

3 firms fined W233m for price fixing over steel plate transportation

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Monday it has decided to impose a combined 233 million won ($195,800) in fines on three companies for colluding to fix bidding prices over the transport of steel plates. Dongbang and two other firms colluded to fix their quotations between 2016 and 2018 for bids on thick plates by the country's largest steelmaker POSCO, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). Prior to the bidding, the companies colluded to divide the sections over which they will tr

IndustryJan. 17, 2022

Banks expected to pause in toughening household loan controls in Q1: survey

Banks in South Korea are expected to take a wait-and-see attitude in their lending policy during the first quarter after significantly toughening loan controls for months in line with the government's push to rein in household debt. According to the poll of 17 banks and other financial institutions by the Bank of Korea, the index measuring the banks' attitude toward home-backed and unsecured loans came to zero and minus six, respectively, for the January-March period. The figures were higher t

EconomyJan. 17, 2022

Seoul stocks open lower on auto, financial losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday, weighed by losses of auto and financial heavyweights. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 13.39 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,908.53 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index got off to a weak start, following a two-day losing streak amid concerns about the rising inflationary pressure at home and in the United States. In Seoul, leading carmaker Hyundai Motor lost 1.67 percent, with its smaller affili

MarketJan. 17, 2022

[Market Eye] Korean tech giants fall prey to patent trolling

Though the pandemic has driven record-breaking profits for tech firms as demand for at-home leisure and communication hardware rises, it has also stoked a growing threat coming from patent trolls. Companies specializing in exploiting patent rights have been buying up intellectual property from firms struggling amid the pandemic and using it as ammunition against Korean firms. The approach is often seen as a “file-and-settle” strategy, as their targets would often prefer to avoid f

TechnologyJan. 16, 2022