Companies neglect to provide info for stewardship code

A majority of local companies neglected to provide public information on their corporate management and governance three months into the adoption of a mechanism that enables the national pension operator to use the data in better exercising their voting rights as stakeholders, an analysis indicated Monday. CEO Score, which tracks corporate management, canvassed 159 local firms in which the National Pension Service own a stake of 5 percent or more. The results showed that only 36, or 22.6 percent

Oct. 22, 2018

GM Korea's R&D separation plan okayed amid union opposition

Shareholders in GM Korea Co. on Friday approved the company's plan to establish a separate R&D unit amid opposition from the union, which sees the separate unit as a move to scale down local operations over the long term, the company and the union said Friday.      General Motors Co. (GM), the biggest shareholder with a stake of 77-percent stake in GM Korea, approved the plan in a GM-only shareholders meeting. The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), the second-la

Oct. 19, 2018

Over 2,000 Koreans move abroad without paying W400b in combined debt: data

Over 2,000 people have emigrated from South Korea without paying back debt to financial organizations in the past 10 years, leaving some 438 billion won ($387 million) of unsettled debt here, data showed Friday. The total number of such indebted emigrants stood at 2,345 as of end-August this year, according to data submitted by the Korea Asset Management Corporation to Rep. Lee Tae-kyu, a lawmaker of the Bareunmirae Party and member of the parliamentary National Policy Committee. Of the 438

Oct. 19, 2018

S. Korea avoids being labeled currency manipulator, remains on watch list

South Korea has avoided being classified as a currency manipulator by the United States, but will remain on its monitoring list over the next six months, financial officials said Thursday.“The foreign exchange market here will not receive much impact as we were not designated as a currency manipulating country,” said an official of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.“But should China be named a currency manipulator (in April next year), there will then be significant indirect

Oct. 18, 2018

Govt. to focus on boosting jobs, innovation-led growth: finance minister

The government plans to increase spending to create more jobs, boost innovation-led growth, narrow income inequality and expand the social safety net in the face of rising uncertainties, the country's economic policy chief said Thursday.In a policy report to the National Assembly, the ministry said it would implement a set of policies as planned in the future to improve job market conditions and provide support for the underprivileged.The ministry also said it would maintain the expansionary fis

Oct. 18, 2018

More inheritance going directly to grandchildren

The amount of money inherited by grandchildren, skipping a generation, has nearly doubled over the past five years despite higher taxes, records showed Thursday.Some 1.48 trillion won ($1.31 billion) worth of wealth was transferred to grandchildren from grandparents in 8,388 cases last year, according to the tally provided by the National Tax Service for a parliamentary audit.The sum marks a continued increase from 759 billion won in 2013, 819.4 billion won in 2014 and 971 billion won in 2016. C

Oct. 18, 2018

Korea avoids being labeled currency manipulator by US

WASHINGTON -- South Korea on Wednesday avoided being labeled a currency manipulator by the United States but remained on a list of countries to monitor.The US Department of the Treasury wrote in a semiannual report to Congress that it determined six major trading partners warranted attention to their currency practices. None met the criteria for a currency manipulator.The six countries are South Korea, China, Germany, India, Japan and Switzerland."The Treasury Department is working vigorous

Oct. 18, 2018

S. Korea’s competitiveness boosted by macroeconomics, ICT: report

South Korea’s global competitiveness has made some progress this year on the back of its strong macroeconomic fundamentals and ICT, but continues to face challenges concerning market autonomy, corporate hierarchy, diversity and innovation, a global report showed Wednesday.According to the Global Competitiveness Report, released by the World Economic Forum, Asia’s fourth-largest economy ranked 15th out of 140 countries, marking its third-strongest showing ever and its best since 2008,

Oct. 17, 2018

Public corporations troubled with falling profits, rising debts

Korea’s public corporations are set to suffer from shrinking profits and mounting debt, largely due to what critics view as the Moon Jae-in administration’s ill-conceived policies on energy and employment.Since its launch in May last year, the Moon government has pushed to replace cost-effective nuclear power generation with renewable energy and create a massive number of jobs in the public sector. Such moves have placed heavier financial burdens on utility companies in particular.Ac

Oct. 17, 2018

Korea ranks 15th in global competitiveness: WEF report

South Korea's ranking in global competitiveness rose by two notches this year thanks to improvement in the country's macroeconomic environment and a high-level of information technology, a report showed Wednesday.In 2018, Asia's fourth-largest economy ranked 15th out of 140 countries surveyed in the World Economic Forum competitiveness index, up from 17th the previous year. WEF said this year's gains were tempered by challenges in the country's labor sector and certain structural problems. The W

Oct. 17, 2018

[KH Biz Forum] Politicians, business officials find ASEAN Forum ‘timely’

Around 200 attendees from political, business and academic circles on Tuesday shared views on the significance of economic cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at The Korea Herald Biz Forum, applauding the forum’s discussion as “timely” in line with the increasing value of the Southeast Asian market not only for the Korean Peninsula, but also for the world. Kim Hyun-chul, chairman of the Presidential Committee on New Southern Policy, highlighted the forum

Oct. 16, 2018

External uncertainties increase downside risks to economy

Growing uncertainties in the external economic environment are posing greater downside risks to the Korean economy, which has already been held back by declining corporate investment and sluggish consumer spending.The country’s export-heavy economy remains particularly vulnerable to the prolonged trade row between the US and China, widespread financial instability among emerging markets and soaring crude prices, experts say. Net exports made a 1.3 percentage point contribution to Korea&rsq

Oct. 16, 2018

Korea inks $600m investment deals with European firms: trade ministry

South Korea has clinched new investment deals totaling $600 million with firms in European Union countries, achieving the annual target for foreign direct investment, Seoul’s trade ministry said Monday.  The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it secured the new deals with four EU-based companies at the investment roundtable it held in Paris. It came on the sidelines of South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s four-day state visit to France that ends Tuesday. Moon is cu

Oct. 15, 2018

Seoul shares down 0.29% late Monday morning

South Korean stocks traded lower on Monday as investor sentiment remained subdued over the lingering trade tensions between the United States and China and rising US nterest rates.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 6.34 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,155.51 as of 11:20 a.m. Market heavyweights were seeing bearish trade across the board as foreigners and institutions remained net sellers of foreign stocks, following a deep loss last week. Tech shares traded in negative terrain

Oct. 15, 2018

Korea eyes development of port in Russian Far East

South Korea's oceans ministry said Monday it will look into the feasibility of developing a port in Russia's Far East to help local companies take advantage of its strategic location.The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it will carry out the feasibility study until September 2019 on the Port of Slavyanka, which borders North Korea and China. The ministry said the project is aimed at providing essential investment information to Korean companies, which have shown interest in development of t

Oct. 15, 2018

Percentage of household savings falls to lowest level since 1975 in H1: BOK

The percentage of household savings held by local lenders fell to the lowest level since 1975 in the first half of the year, as low interest rates caused people to invest their money in real estate and stocks, central bank data showed Sunday.According to the Bank of Korea, household savings made up 45.4 percent of all deposits in the January-June period. This represents a 1.2 percentage-point dip from a year earlier. At the same time, deposits by businesses have been on the rise.In the six-month

Oct. 14, 2018

Finance minister urges global ratings agencies to reflect

South Korea‘s top economic policymaker called on global ratings agencies to reflect the latest developments in inter-Korean relations when evaluating Seoul’s credit standing, the finance ministry here said Sunday.　It said Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon, who is in Bali, Indonesia, to take part in the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings, met with representatives from Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor‘s (S&P) on Friday and Saturday. 　At the ta

Oct. 14, 2018

Seoul to announce measures to achieve job goal this year

South Korea will announce a set of measures later this month to help generate new jobs as it views the country's employment as being "at a critical situation" based on data, its finance minister said Sunday.  For job creation, the government will focus on encouraging businesses to make investments by easing regulations, supporting innovative growth in businesses, and providing customized jobs to local provinces and industries, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a meeting with

Oct. 14, 2018

S. Korea's Q3 jobless numbers top 1 mil mark for first time

South Korea's jobless numbers in the third quarter surpassed the 1 million mark for the first time since the country struggled with the fallout of the Asian financial crisis, government data showed Sunday.   Numbers released by Statistics Korea showed the average monthly unemployment stood slightly over 1.06 million in the July-September period, up a sharp 102,000 from a year earlier.   This is the highest reading for the third quarter after the 1.33 million tallied in 1999,

Oct. 14, 2018