S. Korea to expand tax incentives for R&D on carbon neutrality technology

South Korea plans to provide tax incentives for research and development (R&D) on green technology designed to help cut carbon emissions in an effort to nurture new industries, the finance ministry said Thursday. Currently, the country has picked 235 technologies in 12 sectors, including next-generation vehicles and bio health, as "new growth and original technologies" and provided tax incentives on R&D expenditures on such spending. For such technology, the country has appli

Jan. 6, 2022

Households, nonprofit agencies' excess funds up in Q3

Excess funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit agencies increased in the third quarter of last year on a rise in income from pandemic-related state support and less spending on houses, central bank data showed Thursday. Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by local households and nonprofit organizations serving households amounted to 35 trillion won ($29.1 billion) in the July-September period, up from 29.8 trillion won a year earl

Jan. 6, 2022

Most exporters don't see improvements in 2022 trade situation: poll

Nearly 9 in 10 South Korean exporting companies expect the global trade situation in 2022 not to improve compared with the previous year due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed Thursday. The survey of 300 exporting firms showed 55 percent of the respondents anticipating this year's world trade conditions to be similar to those in 2021. About 37 percent said the global trade climate would take a turn for the worse this year, with only 14.3 percent forecasting an improvement. The

Jan. 6, 2022

All-in-one banking service launched

South Korea’s financial institutions -- including banks, brokerages and credit card companies -- launched an all-in-one banking service Wednesday for customers to manage their financial data spread across financial firms in one place. Called “MyData,” the service was put on a trial run in December before 33 financial institutions officially started offering it this week to help customers make more informed financial decisions looking at their account balances, loans and insura

Jan. 5, 2022

Regulator looking into market interest rates amid complaints over widening deposit-loan rate spread

South Korea's chief financial regulator said Wednesday that he is looking into loan and interest rates set by financial institutions amid complaints that their spread is widening, deepening the financial burden on many consumers. Jeong Eun-bo, head of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remarks as criticism has grown that banks and other financial firms are quicker to increase their loan rates than raise rates on deposits. The rate hikes are in line with the central bank's push t

Jan. 5, 2022

Imported car sales down 24% in Dec. amid chip shortages

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea plunged 24 percent in December from a year earlier as chip shortages continued to disrupt vehicle production, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 23,904 units last month from 31,419 units a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. "Chip supply issues continued to weigh on vehicle sales last month despite a variety of new models,

Jan. 5, 2022

Housing market continues to stabilize on regulations: minister

South Korea's housing market has been stabilizing with home prices not just in Seoul but also many other local areas on a downward trend on higher taxes and stricter lending rules, the finance minister said Wednesday. The recent downward trend comes after the government adopted dozens of measures to curb skyrocketing home prices in recent years as more people rushed to take out bank loans to buy homes in anticipation of further price hikes. "The pace of stabilization in the recent home tr

Jan. 5, 2022

Wine imports jump 76% in 2021 amid pandemic

South Korea's wine imports soared over 70 percent in 2021 as more people enjoyed drinking at home and alone amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy imported $506.2 million worth of wine in the January-November period of last year, up 76 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. It marks the first time that the country's wine imports have surpassed the $500 million level. South Korea's wine

Jan. 5, 2022

Korea’s FEZs attract $20b since 2003

SEJONG -- Foreign direct investment in the nine free economic zones in South Korea surpassed a cumulative $20 billion mark since the nation started operating the FEZs 18 years ago in 2003. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the nine FEZs attracted FDI worth $1.31 billion in 2021, up 42 percent from a year earlier. This was a bounce-back after recording declines for two consecutive years -- from $1.69 billion in 2018 to $1.02 billion in 2019 and $910 million in 2020. Col

Jan. 4, 2022

ShinhanCard launches ‘first’ NFT service

ShinhanCard said Tuesday it had launched a nonfungible token service for clients to store their pictures using the digital assets -- a first by a local financial company. NFTs are authenticated by blockchain, a record of transactions kept on networked computers that serves as a public ledger for verifying ownership. Each NFT has a unique digital signature and digital objects, like images and videos, are traded as NFTs. “Our clients wouldn’t have to worry about making the actual tra

Jan. 4, 2022

Online shopping hits record high in Nov.

Online shopping in South Korea hit a fresh record high in November, data showed Tuesday, in the latest sign that a growing number of people are using computers and mobile devices to buy things, ranging from clothes to electronic goods amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 17.5 trillion won ($14.7 billion) in November, up 16.5 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The November data marked the highest level

Jan. 4, 2022

BOK chief voices concerns over growing credit risk among households, self-employed

South Korea's central bank chief Tuesday urged local financial institutions to brace for the possibility of growing credit risk from heavily indebted households and self-employed as the country will continue to tighten loose financial and monetary policy put in place to prop up the pandemic-hit economy. Lee Ju-yeol, governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK), made the remarks in his written New Year's greetings for the financial community, adding that such credit risk could get worse amid rising exter

Jan. 4, 2022

Construction contracts gain 12.2% in Q3

The value of construction contracts in South Korea climbed more than 12 percent in the third quarter of 2021 thanks mainly to increased private projects, government data showed Tuesday. Civilian and public works contracts in Asia's fourth-largest economy were valued at 65.2 trillion won ($54.6 billion) in the July-September period, up 12.2 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Private deals swelled 12.9 percent on-year to 55 tri

Jan. 4, 2022

Home transactions plunge 42.5% in Nov. on lending curbs

Home transactions in South Korea tumbled nearly 43 percent on-year in November amid lending curbs and rising interest rates, government data showed Tuesday. The number of homes changing hands nationwide stood at 67,159 in November, down 42.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Compared with the previous month, the November tally was down 10.8 percent. The number of home transactions in the greater Seoul area, which includ

Jan. 4, 2022

Finance minister sees urgent need to stabilize inflation, housing market

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Monday the government needs to mobilize all available policy means to tame inflationary pressure and stabilize the housing market in the new year. Hong also said the country will prioritize supporting small merchants hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and vulnerable people and strengthen social safety nets. "The government faces an urgent need to stabilize inflation and the housing market at an early date by mobilizing all available means," Hong said.

Jan. 3, 2022

Regulator warns of stern actions against online platforms' unfair biz activities

South Korea's antitrust regulator plans to take stern actions against unfair business activities by online platform operators in a bid to protect small merchants and consumers, its chief said Monday. Concerns have mounted that powerful online platform operators, such as Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp., have abused their dominant market status and engaged in unfair business practices against contractors, posing a threat to the survival of small merchants. "The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will

Jan. 3, 2022

Indonesia's coal exports ban to have limited impact on S. Korea: industry ministry

Indonesia's recent ban on coal exports is expected to have a limited impact on South Korea, the industry ministry said Monday, but the Seoul government set up a task force to closely manage the situation as a precaution. Last week, Indonesia announced it has banned exports of coal in January, citing concerns over widespread blackouts due to low supplies at its domestic power plants. Jakarta is one of the world's major exporters of thermal coal, and around 20 percent of South Korea's coal impor

Jan. 3, 2022

Value of derivatives-tied securities hits near 8-yr low in Q3

The outstanding value of derivatives-tied securities issued in South Korea touched a near eight-year low in the third quarter amid a fall in Hong Kong share prices, data showed Monday. The amount of outstanding equity-linked securities (ELS) and derivatives-linked securities (DLS) came to 79.9 trillion won ($67.1 billion) as of end-September, down 300 billion won from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The September tally was the lowest value si

Jan. 3, 2022

Tech firms’ rush into finance puts pressure on banks, regulators

Naver and Kakao -- Korea’s two largest online service providers -- are prompting financial companies to better meet fintech needs and regulators to write rules that are fair to both of them. Naver Financial, a key Naver fintech subsidiary, started offering loans last year to small businesses with Woori Bank. The Naver Financial CEO said last month that he was considering seeking a permit to oversee more banking services to issue insurance and credit cards. Meanwhile, Kakao Pay, a mo

Jan. 2, 2022

S. Korea's IPO market to have bumper year in 2022 with mega deals: analysts

South Korea's initial public offering (IPO) market is expected to have another bumper year in 2022 as a slew of companies, including battery maker LG Energy Solution, are planning for stock market debuts, analysts said Sunday. The amount of money raised via IPOs on the main and tech-heavy stock markets reached a record high of 20.8 trillion won ($17.5 billion) last year, according to industry data. As more firms are preparing to go public with an aim of attracting more than 1 trillion won via

Jan. 2, 2022