The Korea Herald

Korea seeks global cooperation to investigate tax haven companies

Korean financial and tax regulators are calling for global cooperation to track and clamp down on companies or wealthy individuals suspected of hoarding unreported funds in their accounts via paper companies in tax havens.Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Choi Soo-hyun told reporters that the regulatory body was seeking cooperation with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a unit of the Department of the Treasury, to use its extensive database and share tax-related information

June 7, 2013

Korea seeks global cooperation to investigate tax haven companies

STX Pan Ocean at crossroads for survival

The financially distressed STX Pan Ocean will hold an extraordinary board meeting on Friday to select an alternative to a stake auction to normalize the company’s management.The scheduled board meeting is to convene as the nation’s largest bulk carrier operator ― as a shipping unit of the ailing STX Group ― has reportedly failed to find an acquirer for the past six months.STX Pan Ocean has been in M&A talks with the state-run Korea Development Bank, which holds a 14.99 percent stake in the compa

June 6, 2013

Competition for KB Kookmin Bank presidency heats up

As KB Financial Group picked Lim Young-rok as its new chairman on Wednesday, attention is being paid to who will head the nation’s No. 2 bank under the financial group.KB Kookmin Bank president and CEO Min Byong-deok offered to resign from the post after running unsuccessfully for the chairmanship.Currently, KB Kookmin Card CEO Choi Gi-eui, KB Financial Group vice president Yoon Jong-kyu and KB Kookmin Bank vice president Kim Ok-chan are the strongest candidates for the top post, bank sources sa

June 6, 2013

Ex-vice finance minister tapped as NH Financial chairman

Nonghyup Financial Group said Thursday that the group has named former senior government official Lim Jong-ryong as its chairman.Lim’s chairmanship will go through final verification the following day at the board of directors’ meeting, the group said. Lim, 54, served as the vice minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance in April 2010, before leading the Prime Minister’s Office from September 2011. Despite concerns about the group’s general exclusiveness for outsiders, NongHyup Financial

June 6, 2013

Ex-vice finance minister tapped as NH Financial chairman

BS Financial chief pressured to resign

Financial authorities recently urged Busan-based BS Financial Group chief executive Lee Jang-ho to step down from his post voluntarily before his term expires in March 2014, according to market insiders on Wednesday.The alleged pressure on the provincial financial firm from regulators has come under spotlight after most chairmen of the nation’s major financial groups were replaced over the past few months.The Financial Supervisory Service, in a statement earlier in the day, said that BS Financia

June 6, 2013

Agencies team up to probe offshore investors

The nation’s three investigative agencies on financial transactions and the central bank will collaborate on inquiries into alleged corporate tax evaders via investment in overseas tax havens.Officials at the Financial Supervisory Service said the regulator plans to actively exchange a variety of information on offshore investors with the National Tax Service, the Korea Customs Service and the Bank of Korea.This is the first time in about eight years since 2005 for the agencies to seek joint inv

June 5, 2013

Shares dip 1.52% on policy woes

South Korean stocks sank 1.52 percent Wednesday as lingering uncertainties on monetary policies of major economies made investors jittery, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 30.32 points to close at 1,959.19. Trading volume was moderate at 326.3 million shares worth 3.93 trillion won ($3.49 billion) with decliners far outpacing gainers 644 to 178. “With the U.S. talking about tapering its quantitati

June 5, 2013

KB Financial nominates Lim as next chief

KB Financial Group has nominated its incumbent president Lim Young-rok as chairman of the financial service firm, who will succeed the outgoing chief Euh Yoon-dae.The group said Wednesday that its personnel recommendation committee singled out Lim as the final candidate out of the four contenders. It added the committee members unanimously voted for him. Following approval procedures at meetings of shareholders and board members, the 58-year-old nominee “is expected to take office as the next ch

June 5, 2013

KB Financial nominates Lim as next chief

Seoul shares dip 1.52 pct on policy woes

South Korean stocks sank 1.52 percent Wednesday as lingering uncertainties on monetary policies of major economies made investors jittery, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 30.32 points to close at 1,959.19. Trading volume was moderate at 326.3 million shares worth 3.93 trillion won (US$3.49 billion) with decliners far outpacing gainers 644 to 178. "With the U.S. talking about tapering i

June 5, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.8 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.8 percent lower late Wednesday morning, as large-cap tech firms and brokerage houses widened losses, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 15.98 points to 1,973.53 as of 11:20 a.m. Leading home appliance maker LG Electronics fell 2.5 percent, and No. 2 brokerage firm KDB Daewoo Securities slid 1.8 percent. But top-listed company Samsung Electronics inched up 0.13 percent. The local currency was changing hands at 1,119.7

June 5, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on bearish airlines, builders

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, dented by losses in shares of air carriers and construction firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.38 points, or 0.22 percent, to 1,985.13 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Korean Air Lines, the country's leading air carrier, sank 1.3 percent, with No. 1 builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction sliding nearly 1 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,124.45 won against the U.S. dollar, down 2.25 wo

June 5, 2013

Chun’s son holds offshore account

The eldest son of former President Chun Doo-hwan was found to have held an offshore account through a paper company set up in the British Virgin Islands in July 2004, a local journalist group said Monday.The former president’s son, Chun Jae-kook, was listed as the director and shareholder of a ghost company called “Blue Adonis” in the tax haven, and allegedly used it to open an account at Arab Bank’s Singaporean branch, the Korea Center for Investigative Journalism said.Various paper trails poin

June 4, 2013

Financial leaders say external risks growing

The nation’s finance minister and central bank chief agreed on Tuesday that uncertainties were increasing due to a weaker yen and advanced economies’ possible early exit from quantitative easing. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok and Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo also shared the need for the government to closely monitor capital flows prone to increasing risks of volatility.The nation’s two finance leaders met over a casual breakfast to review and discuss the latest iss

June 4, 2013

Citibank Korea warned for irregular lending

The Financial Supervisory Service said Tuesday that it has fined Citibank Korea 169 million won ($153,600) for engaging in irregular deals with its affiliates.The state regulator also issued an institutional “warning” against the bank for breaching the law on the intra-group credit offering and glossing over employees’ unauthorized access to customers’ personal information.In addition, 44 employees were subject to disciplinary measures including suspension of duties.The U.S. Citigroup’s Korean u

June 4, 2013

KEB launches foreign language website

Korea Exchange Bank on Tuesday opened a website for foreign residents offering financial and nonfinancial information in four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese.The website, dubbed “EasyOne for foreigners,” provides non-nationals with a variety of “information on Korean society” as well as Internet banking services, said the commercial bank.KEB said it expected that more consumers would also easily access financial benefits of the EasyOne service via the Internet, whereas befor

June 4, 2013

Shippers take up 85% of Korean firms in tax havens

Nearly 85 percent of local firms established in tax havens are linked to the shipping industry, data showed Tuesday, raising concerns of excessive public distress over offshore local companies.According to the data compiled by CEO Score, a corporate researcher, the country’s 16 business groups have established 281 companies in seven major tax havens, with 238 of them linked to the shipping industry.It is widely accepted for a shipper to establish offshore special purpose companies, especially wh

June 4, 2013

Hyundai delivers 15 hydrogen fuel cell cars to Denmark

Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday that it has delivered 15 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to Denmark in the top South Korean automaker’s first such sale after it began assembly-line production of zero-emission cars in February.Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark, plans to use hydrogen fuel cell versions of Hyundai’s popular Tucson ix sport utility vehicle as official vehicles, Hyundai said.Copenhagen City officials were not immediately reached for comment on late Monday.The move comes three months

June 4, 2013

Seoul shares almost flat amid eased currency woes

South Korean stocks closed almost unchanged Tuesday, as increased bets by foreign investors in local equities were offset by selling by retail and institutional investors amid eased currency woes, analysts said. The localcurrency rose against the U.S. dollar. After bobbing in and out of negative terrain, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 0.06 point, holding almost steady at 1,989.51. Trading volume was moderate at 329.1 million shares worth 3.91 trillion won (US$2.

June 4, 2013

Seoul shares turn lower after strong start

South Korean stocks turned lower late Tuesday morning after starting higher, as blue-chip tech and financial firms shifted to negative territory, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slid 7.42 points, or 0.37 percent, to 1,982.15 as of 11:20 a.m. Tech giant Samsung Electronics fell 0.4 percent, with No. 4 banking group Shinhan Financial declining more than 1 percent. In contrast, steelmakers and heavy industries were bullish. Hyundai Steel, a major steelma

June 4, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on yen's rise

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, as a rising Japanese currency lifted investor sentiment here, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 9.40 points, or 0.47 percent, to 1,998.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most shares gathered ground across the board, with large-cap exporters leading the gain. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics inched up 0.2 percent, and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor advanced 0.7 percent. The yen rebounded to 99

June 4, 2013