A North Korean vessel thought to be a military patrol ship violated the western inter-Korean sea border and retreated back to its waters Tuesday night after a South Korean warship fired warning shots, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday.　“At 9:38 p.m. Tuesday, an unidentified North Korean ship invaded our waters and continued to 700 meters south of the Northern Limit Line (sea border). Our pa

Defense April 27, 2011

Sohn Hak-kyu, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, scored a victory in the ruling party's stronghold of Bundang, just south of Seoul, which isconsidered the biggest match of Wednesday's by-elections, accordingto an exit poll by a local TV station.   If the forecast is correct, Sohn's triumph will boost his bidto become South Korea's next president, while dealing a blow to theLee Myu

Politics April 27, 2011

Income inequality widened over the past decade, with the gains among the top 20 percent rising by more than half while those of the poorest 20 percent more than halved, the tax agency said Monday.Taxable income reported by the wealthiest 20 percent stood at an average of 90 million won ($83,210) in 2009, up 55 percent from 1999 when the figure was 58 million won, the National Tax Services said. Ga

April 25, 2011

Brokerages seek to capture rich investors on expectations of financial deregulationBrokerages are struggling to capture wealthy investors with high-yielding private equity products as deregulation in homegrown hedge funds looms large.Money poured into hedge fund-style products as soon as top brokerages such as Samsung, Woori Investment and Korea Investment rolled them out in the past month, sparki

April 20, 2011

The government is mulling a research institution to provide the groundwork to help local companies advance into emerging markets, Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun said Monday.“In order to attain sustainable growth, it is important to consolidate ties with emerging countries by establishing cooperative channels and expanding free trade agreements,” Yoon said at a policy meeting. He said there is a

April 19, 2011

Kwon Hyuk, a reclusive shipping tycoon, shows how to get around paying taxes in and out of more than five trading borders while keeping over 10 trillion won ($9 billion) in assets.Register your business at a tax haven, stash all your profits there, and pretend you live abroad. Minimize paperwork. Even better if you can avoid the press.Kwon has been the main target of the Korean government’s latest

April 17, 2011

Overdue payments of less than 100,000 won no longer reflected in credit ratingsThe government on Sunday announced a set of measures to provide the poor with better access to financial sources as mounting household debts loom large over economic recovery. The package proposed by the Financial Services Commission centers on the overhaul of credit rating guidelines, market interest rates and individu

April 17, 2011

NICE Investors Service on Tuesday announced its sovereign ratings of six governments for the first time as a local ratings agency.NICE gave sovereign ratings for Korea as well as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Brazil. The company said its evaluation would provide diversity in a ratings market dominated by Fitch, Moody and Standard & Poor’s, whose incorrect and belated evaluations h

April 13, 2011

The Finance Ministry launched a new task force to help developing nations improve infrastructure and policymaking under the Knowledge Sharing Program. Helping underdeveloped nations with long term goals is a G20 agenda initiated by President Lee Myung-bak as the host of the G20 Seoul Summit last year.Seoul has finished its policy consultations with four African nations including Ghana and Algeria.

April 12, 2011