[Contribution] Tax agency to help find unclaimed income tax refunds

Kim Young-chul, a food delivery rider in Seong-dong, Seoul, recently received a text message from the National Tax Service sent to inform him about unclaimed income tax refunds for the last five years. The message was suspicious, Kim said, but soon he recalled a colleague telling him about how convenient the tax refund system was set on the “Hometax” website, and how he received a swift income tax refund this May. Kim then immediately logged on to the Hometax website and soon learned

Nov. 6, 2022

'Like the iPhone did, robots will open a new market'

The first iPhone, introduced in 2007, wowed markets around the world because it had everything that people wanted. The very first smartphone combined everyday features in one single palm-sized device, opening a new era for humanity to pursue technology-driven lives. The next revolutionary technology will be led by robots, according to the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement (KIRIA) President Shon Woong-hee, if they provide breakthrough services that cater to "human desires"

Nov. 6, 2022

Chiefs of Hana Financial Group and MSCI discuss climate change response

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo met Friday with Henry Fernandez, chairman of the US financial firm Morgan Stanley Capital International, at Hana Financial Group's headquarters in central Seoul to discuss climate change response as well as environment, social and governance management. At the meeting, Ham introduced Hana Financial Group's ESG management efforts and its future plans to deal with the growing climate change risks. “Hana Financial Group is recognizing clim

Nov. 6, 2022

Korea to expand funding for venture capitals to invest in startups

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Friday that it will expand its funding for venture capitals’ investment in startups to a total of 8 trillion won ($5.6 billion) by 2026 to spur startups’ growth. “Battered by inflation, high interest rates and a strong US dollar, investments into Korean startups are slowing down,” said SMEs and Startups Minister Lee Young. “The country needs a more dynamic ecosystem to boost the startup industry led by the private sector and su

Nov. 4, 2022

Millie’s Library pushes ahead with IPO despite lukewarm market

Millie’s Library, one of South Korea’s largest e-book subscription platforms, said Friday it will make its stock debut on the tech-heavy secondary bourse Kosdaq later this month, despite the unfavorable market sentiment. “This is the time to invest in growth. We aim to grow into a multicontent platform based on reading,” Seo Young-taek, CEO of Millie’s Library, said during a press conference held the same day. "The company no longer requires marketing tactics t

Nov. 4, 2022

Finance minister vows tax breaks for venture capitalists

SEJONG -- The nation’s top economic policymaker on Friday unveiled plans to help facilitate investments in cash-strapped startups, suggesting hefty tax benefits for both corporate and individual investors. At a ministerial meeting in Seoul, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho pointed to the situation whereby the private sector’s investments in startups have contracted in the wake of externally and domestically unfavorable factors in the economy. “Venture

Nov. 4, 2022

KT&G to buy back shares worth W350b to boost shareholder returns

South Korean tobacco company KT&G said Friday it plans to buy back 350 billion won ($245.1 million) of its own shares in a bid to boost shareholder returns. The firm is also considering increasing dividends per share by more than 200 won compared to last year. It is the second share buyback since last year when the company bought back 350 billion won of its shares and paid dividends of some 576 billion won to shareholders. In November 2021, the company announced it would carry out a shareh

Nov. 4, 2022

Finance minister vows to support shipping firms, startups amid recession woes

South Korea plans to provide a wide array of support to local shippers and venture companies to add vitality to the weak investment sentiment amid the looming global recession, the finance minister said Friday. "Recently, external and internal uncertainties have been rising due to the growing concerns over a global slump and expanding volatility in the financial market," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during an emergency meeting with economy-related ministers. "The South Kore

Nov. 4, 2022

[Graphic News] Deadly crowd crush spurs people's interest in CPR

　The recent deadly crowd crush in Seoul sparked widespread interest among South Koreans in cardiopulmonary resuscitation that can help save lives during cardiac emergencies. 　Videos from Saturday's accident during Halloween festivities in Itaewon, which left 156 dead, showed not only rescue workers but also ordinary civilians desperately giving CPR to victims on the streets. 　Posts by people who performed CPR went viral on the internet, bringing home to people the importance of the emergency

Nov. 4, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘One arm gets influenza, other arm gets COVID’

The novel coronavirus is likely to evolve into a flu-like respiratory virus by the end of 2023, or in 2024, once the COVID-19 pandemic reaches its endemic phase, eventually requiring people to get vaccinated year after year, a senior leader at Moderna said. “During the endemic period, the (COVID-19) vaccine will become available just like the influenza vaccine. You will be able to go online to a health center, do your pre-booking and pay for the vaccine exactly as you would for a flu vacci

Nov. 3, 2022

Samsung Biologics underscores commitment to sustainability

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Samsung Biologics’ top official on Wednesday stressed the importance of contract development and manufacturing organization companies’ efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and how the South Korean CDMO giant is working toward achieving environmental friendliness. “CDMOs play a huge part because we provide the manufacturing and logistics for a lot of (biopharmaceutical) companies and we have to continue to innovate together,” said James Choi, ex

Nov. 3, 2022

[From the Scene] Korean firms' presence at CPhI triples this year

FRANKFURT, Germany -- The Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients (CPhI) Worldwide connected thousands within its community from Tuesday to Thursday in Frankfurt, Germany. Included on this global stage were 62 South Korean pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, tripling the country’s presence from the event last year. Based on the number of exhibitors by country, Korea ranked ninth of the 72 countries. Korea was also the only country that had two pavilions for exhibiting each nat

Nov. 3, 2022

Seoul to inject W2tr fund to incubate 1,000 tech-focused startups by 2027

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Thursday it plans to inject more than 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion) of investment comprised of state and private fund to incubate around 1,000 advanced technology-based startups for the next five years. Categorized as the “deep-tech” sector, the ministry selected 10 industries of growth including system semiconductors, biologics and health care, future mobility, next generation nuclear power plants and quantum technology. It is the largest su

Nov. 3, 2022

[Photo News] FX Reserves falling

A Hana Bank Counterfeit Notes Response Center official examines a $100 bill on Thursday at the center located in Jung-gu, central Seoul. As the Korean won weakens against the US doller, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves shrank for the third consecutive month in October to $414.01 billion, down by $2.76 billion since September.

Nov. 3, 2022

S. Korea braces for impact as US delivers fourth big rate hike

South Korea’s financial authorities said Thursday they would closely monitor for any signs of increasing volatility in the financial markets following a big US rate hike -- the fourth consecutive 75-point increase since June amid persistent inflation. “Uncertainties are certainly growing and we’ll be extra vigilant in our response to what may come in our way,” Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said at a meeting he called to discuss Wednesday’s rate increase with the co

Nov. 3, 2022

Chinese EV battery makers gobbling up market share from Korean rivals

Chinese electric vehicle battery makers are quickly gobbling up market share from their South Korean rivals, largely buoyed by a surging demand at home, data showed Thursday. According to Seoul-based market tracker SNE Research, China’s CATL retained its top spot in global sales in the January-September period as it supplied 119.9 gigawatt-hours of batteries, more than doubling from a year ago. Its market share increased from 30.7 percent to 35.1 percent, widening the gap with Korea’

Nov. 3, 2022

Samsung appoints trade, energy specialists as new outside directors

Samsung Electronics on Thursday held an extraordinary shareholders meeting – the first in six years – to appoint two outside directors – Yoo Myung-hee, a former trade minister, and Heo Eun-nyeong, an economics professor. Yoo served as the nation’s top negotiator for free trade talks during the Moon Jae-in administration. She was also one of the final candidates to run for the director-general of the World Trade Organization in 2020. Yoo, a trade specialist, is expected to

Nov. 3, 2022

Economic sentiment in news hits worst since onset of pandemic

The economic sentiment among South Koreans shown in news reports has hit its worst since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, amid growing market concern over US-led interest rate hikes and the Korean won’s descent against the greenback. The Bank of Korea said on Thursday that the News Sentiment Index has fallen 7.72 points from a month ago to 81.25 in October, the lowest since 79.16 in April 2020. The NSI is a machine learning-based indicator of econominc sentiment expressed in news re

Nov. 3, 2022

Congestion levels of rush hour subways similar to that of Itaewon tragedy: data

Commuter data published Thursday by South Korean telecommunications provider SKT showed that during the peak of rush hour, Seoul’s subways have similar levels of congestion as the Itaewon alley during Saturday’s crowd surge tragedy, raising safety concerns. According to data collected between Aug. 1 and Monday, Seoul Metro’s Line No. 1 operates at 252 percent of its passenger capacity at 6:40 p.m. as it passes by Guro Station towards Guil Station, carrying commuters home. Train

Nov. 3, 2022

Proxy battle looms at Samsung as Lee Jae-yong tightens grip

Lee Jae-yong’s formal ascension to the top seat at Samsung Electronics, the crown jewel of the nation’s largest conglomerate, is fueling speculation about potential changes in the founding family’s governance structure across Samsung companies. His promotion to chairman has long been considered a crucial step for Lee to wield more power at Samsung. With the new title, Lee’s vision for a “New Samsung” will take a clearer shape, while stalled talks on mega deals

Nov. 2, 2022