Report shows heavy debt burden on low-income group

More than a quarter of the low-income group are indebted, with the amount of the debts rising with age, a welfare agency report said Thursday.A study conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said that as of 2014, 26.8 percent of the low-income people owed an average 38.97 million won ($33,290) of debts, which incurred 1.43 million won in annual interest payments.The low-income group was defined as those whose earnings are 50 percent or less than the national average income.

Jan. 19, 2017

Korea expects trade with Sudan to rise

South Korea is expecting exports to Sudan to rise down the road as the United States decided to lift sanctions on the African country, a trade promotion agency said Thursday.Last week, US President Barack Obama decided to issue a decision canceling two executive orders imposing economic sanctions on Sudan.The U.S. has been imposing sanctions on Sudan since 1997 and putting it on its list of countries sponsoring terrorism since 1993.After a six-month surveillance, sanctions on the African country

Jan. 19, 2017

Turning KDB, IBK, Eximbank public stokes debate

South Korea’s government is considering designating 10 public organizations as government enterprises for stricter control, a move strongly opposed by labor unions. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance will have a meeting by Jan. 31 to decide whether or not to change the status of the 10 public organizations, including three government-owned banks currently categorized as “other public agencies” to public enterprises.  (Yonhap)The three banks include Korea Development Bank, Industrial Bank of Ko

Jan. 18, 2017

Marginal firms drag down corporate Korea

Corporate Korea is becoming polarized between the largest, most profitable corporations and a growing number of marginal companies unable to service their debts with their operating profits. (123rf)According to market analysts here, South Korean companies listed on the country’s main bourse are estimated to have reaped more than 100 trillion won ($85.9 billion) and 143 trillion won in combined net and operating profits, respectively, last year. It is the first time annual aggregate corporate net

Jan. 18, 2017

Face value of damaged banknotes and coins down 8.2% in 2016

South Korea's central bank said Wednesday that the face value of damaged banknotes and coins that were destroyed fell 8.2 percent in 2016 from a year earlier. This photo, provided by the Bank of Korea on Jan. 18, 2017, shows 50,000 won bills -- the highest denomination -- and 10,000 bills damaged by fire. (Yonhap).The face value of the damaged banknotes and coins exchanged at local banks, including the Bank of Korea, came to 3.11 trillion won ($2.6 billion), compared with 3.39 trillion won in 20

Jan. 18, 2017

Korea's tax agency adopts mobile tax payment system

South Korea's tax agency said Wednesday it will allow people to pay taxes through smartphones starting this month in a bid to increase convenience for taxpayers.The National Tax Service  said the payment of value added taxes declared in January will be available through the agency's mobile tax payment service, which was opened in November last year. The headquarters of the National Tax Service in Sejong (Yonhap file photo)It will work on expanding the mobile service to Kakao Pay, the mobile paym

Jan. 18, 2017

Labor minister urges big biz to employ more youth

Labor Minister Lee Ki-kweon urged big businesses on Wednesday to employ more youth in the first half of the year as the sluggish economy is expected to further worsen youth unemployment.Lee made the call during a meeting with leaders of the country's top 30 conglomerates after the jobless rate for youth climbed to a record 9.8 percent last year. Labor Minister Lee Ki-kweon (R) speaks during a meeting with leaders of the country's top 30 conglomerates at the Korea Press Center in Seoul on Jan. 18

Jan. 18, 2017

Public housing going to wrong beneficiaries from lax inspection

Public housing that is intended to help low-income families is partly benefiting the wrong people because of loose state inspections, a report said Wednesday.The report, authored by researcher Choi Sung-eun of the Korea Institute of Public Finance, analyzed residence data from 2014 and compared them with tenants' income. The findings showed that 1 out of 5 public housing units were occupied by middle-class income tenants, and in some cases by people whose yearly earnings are in the top bracket.S

Jan. 18, 2017

Govt. mulls easing anti-graft law's impact on economy

South Korea is considering easing an anti-corruption law by raising the cap on the values of free meals, sources said Wednesday, amid criticism that it adversely impacts consumer spending.The law currently bans those working in government, media and schools from receiving free meals priced higher than 30,000 won ($25), gifts exceeding 50,000 won, and congratulatory and condolence money over 100,000 won.  An image of gift boxes of fishery goods sold at a local department store (Yonhap)The governm

Jan. 18, 2017

Egg prices starting to stabilize after imports arrive

Egg prices that have been jumping for over a month from the avian influenza epidemic in the country are showing signs of calming down after imports started arriving, officials said Wednesday.The price for a set of 30 eggs fell for the first time in 37 days Friday, and again Tuesday. Discount supermarket chains, including E-mart, Homeplus and Lotte Mart, have not raised their prices for days. The last price increase at E-mart was Jan. 6. At Homeplus, the last increase was on Jan. 7. Lotte last ma

Jan. 18, 2017

Regulator says sturdy financial 'breakwater' needed

South Korea's top financial regulator on Wednesday stressed the need for all-out efforts to secure financial stability this year, citing a host of risk factors including rises in the US interest rate."It's the time when solidifying the stability of the financial market is more important than any other year," Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said at a government-civilian meeting on financial policy. It marked the first plenary session in 2017 of the Committee for Sout

Jan. 18, 2017

Finance minister vows to put more focus on job creation

South Korea's finance minister said Wednesday that he will put more policy priority on creating more jobs in the new year to reinvigorate the economy."The government will accelerate its drive to focus on job creation," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a minister-level meeting held in Seoul. "The public sector will hire 30,000 in the first half." South Korea's Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (2nd from L) speaks at a minister-level meeting in Seoul on Jan. 18, 2017. (Yonhap)He said more than one-thir

Jan. 18, 2017

Swedish central bank chief says cashless society is major trend

The head of the Swedish central bank has said changing to a cashless society is a major trend as a growing number of people are rapidly reducing the use of notes and coins in favor of electronic payments.Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves said notes and coins are not going to disappear, though they will be used less and less. Riksbank Gov. Stefan Ingves (L) and Susanne Eberstein, the chairperson of the General Council at the Swedish central bank, hold an interview with Yonhap News Agency at a Seoul

Jan. 18, 2017

Korea to not ask Japan to resume negotiations for currency swap deal

South Korea has no plan to ask Japan to resume negotiations for a currency swap which Tokyo suspended for diplomatic reasons, a senior finance ministry official said Tuesday."There has been no contact with Japan since it announced a halt to ongoing negotiations," Song In-chang, deputy finance minister for international affairs, said in a media briefing in Sejong, the country's administrative city. "Japan has to return to the table first. We will not ask Japan for the resumption of a currency swa

Jan. 17, 2017

Political crisis has made business in Korea more difficult: ECCK

European businesses in South Korea are increasingly voicing negative feedback regarding the business environment here, a survey by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea showed Tuesday.　Of the 131 European executives polled, 60 percent said business in Korea has become more difficult, compared to 52 percent in 2014 and 2015. Eleven percent responded that business has become easier.　The ECCK is a nonprofit, non-political organization of European companies operating in or related to Korea. Its

Jan. 17, 2017

Retailers' business sentiment hits 4-yr low in Q1

South Korean retailers' business sentiment plunged to the lowest in four years in the first quarter of the year, affected by a protracted slump in domestic demand and the implementation of an anti-graft law, data showed Tuesday.The retailers' business sentiment index stood at 89 in the January-March period, the lowest since a reading of 81 was posted in the first quarter of 2013, according to the data compiled by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry .The data were based on a survey of 1,00

Jan. 17, 2017

Banknotes in circulation reach nearly W100tn won last year

The amount of banknotes currently in circulation in South Korea has reached nearly 100 trillion won ($84.4 billion), the central bank said Tuesday, due to the bank's easing stance to bolster growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy.Outstanding banknotes came to 97.4 trillion won as of end-December, compared with 86.8 trillion won as of the end of 2015, according to the Bank of Korea .Outstanding banknotes refer to actual bills in circulation and are different from cash in circulation, which partl

Jan. 17, 2017

Statistics show working elderly still in poverty

The poverty rate for working low-income elderly people reached close to 62 percent in 2015, according to government statistics on Tuesday, showing that some of the aged population cannot sustain themselves even when they have jobs.Records collected from Statistics Korea, Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service showed that 61.7 percent of people aged 65 or over were in poverty, up 1.5 percentage point from the previous year. The number started at 60.7 percent in 2011, the first year w

Jan. 17, 2017

Financial minister vows to stabilize food prices before holiday

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said Tuesday that the government will double the supply of fresh vegetables and promote discounts of agricultural produce to ease household burdens ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.During a meeting with the ruling Saenuri Party, Yoo pledged to make efforts to stabilize consumer prices especially for the low-income bracket ahead of the nation's largest holiday season that falls on Jan. 27-30. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (Yonhap)"The price of eggs is expected to be som

Jan. 17, 2017

Gift preferred over real estate inheritance for tax purposes

Real estate inheritance in the form of a gift is being used as a means of saving on taxes among family members, especially for non-residential properties, a market analysis indicated Tuesday.A detailed look at real estate transactions registered with the land ministry and the Korea Appraisal Board showed 269,472 cases of properties handed over last year as gifts to family members. The number, a 7.2-percent rise from the previous year, is the largest since the state began to keep records in 2006

Jan. 17, 2017