NTS likely to order Samsung to pay additional tax

South Korea's tax agency will likely order Samsung Electronics Co. to pay at least 100 billion won (US$89.04 million) in unreported tax and related penalties, sources said Monday.The order will be made soon as the National Tax Service (NTS) is wrapping up its regular tax audit this week into the nat

IndustryFeb. 13, 2012

Hana Financial inks deal to buy stakes in U.S. lender

Hana Financial Group Inc. said Sunday that it has signed a deal to buy majority stakes in a U.S.-based lender in a bid to expand its presence in the United States.Under the memorandum of understanding with Saehan Bancorp, the South Korean banking group will purchase newly issued shares to secure a 5

Feb. 12, 2012

Medical fair expects deals worth $470m

Nearly 1,000 companies from 30 countries will showcase their latest medical equipment and health care technologies at a trade show in Seoul starting Thursday.The Korea International Medical Hospital Equipment Show 2012 is the country’s largest exhibition for the burgeoning industry, co-hosted by Korea E & EX, the Korea Medical Devices Industrial Cooperative Association and the Korea Medical Devices Industry Association at COEX in southern Seoul.During the four-day event, about 60,000 local profe

IndustryFeb. 12, 2012

iPad sales surpass 1 million in Korea

Apple is estimated to have sold more than 1 million iPad tablet computers in the Korean market, outpacing its local rival Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Tab by a wide margin. Apple’s iPad debuted here on Nov. 30, 2010 and its sequel iPad 2 was introduced on April 29 last year. About 700,000 units were sold last year alone, dominating the nascent tablet computer market here.Given that many early adopters bought iPad even before the product was formally available on the local market, the actual numbe

TechnologyFeb. 12, 2012

Chaebol credit ratings inflated

The corporate credit ratings for Korean conglomerates and their affiliates have gone up amid growing worries over the neutrality and credibility of local credit ratings agencies, data showed Sunday. Korea’s three major ratings agencies ― NICE Investors Service, Korea Investors Service and Korea Ratings ― have issued more upgrades than downgrades, boosting the up/down ratio for corporate credit ratings to 3.4, according to the Korea Capital Market Institute. A ratio above 1 means upgrades outnumb

Feb. 12, 2012

Seoul shares set to expand gain this week

South Korean stocks may expand their gain this week, buoyed by lessening eurozone default risks, local analysts said Saturday.The benchmark KOSPI closed on Friday at 1,993.71, up 1.4 percent from a week earlier.The index surpassed the keystone 2,000 mark for the first time in six months during the weekly trading session, although it lost some ground on Friday as investors remained cautious that a bailout deal for Greece may not end Europe’s fiscal woes.Market watchers said there are some downsid

Feb. 12, 2012

Korea remains world’s top derivatives market

South Korea retained its position as the world’s largest financial derivatives market in terms of trading volume last year, claiming 27 percent of total trading volume, data showed Sunday.The trading volume of financial derivatives, such as futures and options, on the local bourse gained 4.4 percent on-year to 3.81 billion contracts, according to the data from the World Federation of Exchanges. In the same period, global trading volume jumped 9.4 percent to 14.14 billion contracts.The on-year in

Feb. 12, 2012

Jobs at 8 Korean firms increase 8.7% in 2011

The number of jobs at eight South Korean conglomerates rose 8.7 percent last year as companies acquired affiliates and expanded into new business areas, data showed Sunday.The tallied conglomerate groups, including tech behemoth Samsung and auto giant Hyundai Motor, employed 622,000 people as of the end of 2011, compared with 572,000 the previous year, according to the data they provided to Yonhap News Agency.The eight conglomerate groups are Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, LG, POSCO, Hyundai Heavy

Feb. 12, 2012

FSS to host meeting for foreign firms

The Financial Supervisory Service is scheduled to hold an annual conference with foreign and local financial companies in March.The meeting, dubbed FSS SPEAKS, is particularly designed to provide foreign financial services firms with more detailed information on Korea’s market conditions, including stock and bond investments.Since its inaugural meeting in 2009, the meeting has established itself as a leading channel for direct communication between market participants and regulatory officials.“T

Feb. 12, 2012

Banks’ long-term foreign borrowing up in January

South Korean banks’ mid- and long-term overseas borrowing jumped in January as lenders secured foreign currency liquidity to brace against a possible deterioration in external conditions, the financial watchdog said Sunday.The refinancing rate of 12 local banks’ mid- and long-term foreign debts came to 382.2 percent at the end of last month, up from 174.4 percent in December, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The rollover rate gauges the percentage of fresh overseas borrowing agains

Feb. 12, 2012

Korea checking Google’s new privacy policy

South Korea’s communications regulator said Saturday it is checking to see if Google’s new privacy policy of combining all user information into a single trove violates local laws.A source at the Korea and Communications Commission said an investigation is underway to see if the measures being planned by the global search engine conflict with domestic private information protection and open use of Internet rules. Google’s changes are expected to go into effect on March 1.The comments come after

TechnologyFeb. 12, 2012

Sagging Asian economy to hit Korea’s GDP

Growth of exports to China slows; major Asian nations post unfavorable indicesWorries are growing over the possibility that Korea’s economic growth will be undermined by the gloomy indices of major Asian countries.Apart from the eurozone debt crisis, Asian countries facing symptoms of an economic slowdown include China, Japan, India, Indonesia and Vietnam, according to think tanks at home and abroad.Economists say there is a possibility that the Chinese economy could undergo a hard landing due m

Feb. 12, 2012

BMW fined $3 million by U.S. for delaying auto defect reports

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s largest premium automaker, must pay a $3 million U.S. civil penalty for delays in reporting auto-safety defects and recalls of about 338,700 vehicles in 2010.Munich-based BMW’s fine is the largest related to safety by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the investigator of automobile defects and regulator of recalls, since the record $16.4 million levied against Toyota Motor Corp. in 2010. It’s NHTSA’s second-largest penalty since at

MobilityFeb. 12, 2012

Imported car registration tops 600,000

The number of imported vehicles that were registered in South Korea surpassed the 600,000 mark for the first time last month as demand grows among local consumers for cars manufactured by overseas automakers, data showed Sunday.A total of 606,825 imported cars were registered as of the end of January, up from the 597,766 vehicles registered the previous month, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA).The local market for imported cars has bee

MobilityFeb. 12, 2012

Imported car registration tops 600,000

The number of imported vehicles that were registered in South Korea surpassed the 600,000 mark for the first time last month as demand grows among local consumers for cars manufactured by overseas automakers, data showed Sunday.A total of 606,825 imported cars were registered as of the end of Januar

MobilityFeb. 12, 2012