The Korean bond market continues to see an outflow of funds for a third month as investors flee to capture rising yields elsewhere and tab on bullish equities. The investor exodus is led by foreigners who were fast to exit the market to avoid a revived tax of as much as 14 percent on interest income which Seoul imposed in January to limit capital inflows. Analysts attributed the continued price de

Feb. 8, 2011

The National Tax Service will launch a forensic investigation center Tuesday to fight increasingly sophisticated tax evasion.The Forensic & Anti Tax Evasion Center will be headquartered in Seoul with regional teams working in the agency’s Daejeon, Gwangju, Daegu and Busan offices. Each team will have about 30 officials. “There are limits to the probe with our traditional enforcement tools as tax o

Feb. 7, 2011

The antitrust regulator is investigating Korean Air and Mongolian Airlines for possible price fixing for their services between Incheon and Ulaanbaatar, sources said Wednesday.Since October, the Fair Trade Commission has been looking into their ticket prices which are about 30 percent higher than those on routes of a similar distance, they said.Only the two airliners have been running the service

Jan. 31, 2011

About 20 large businesses will face hefty fines for mistreating their suppliers over the next six months, Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Dong-soo said.The antitrust regulator has been conducting an extensive inquiry into 40 large companies since last year. In a media interview, he said about half of them were found to have been involved in wrongdoings including unfair pricing and arbitrary can

Jan. 31, 2011

Consumer price hikes are showing no signs of let-up, two weeks after the government embarked on a sweeping campaign to fight inflation. Crop damage from extreme weather conditions combined with the country’s worst animal disease outbreak sent food prices to record high levels, hurting low-and middle-income households preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week.Pork prices jumped more than 2

Jan. 30, 2011

40 large firms and suppliers face investigation over price collusion, unfair trade, abuse of market powerThe Fair Trade Commission is conducting an extensive investigation into about 40 large firms and its suppliers to root out business malpractices including price collusion and abuse of market power, officials said Monday. The antitrust regulator launched the largest-ever probe into their pricing

Jan. 24, 2011

The International Monetary Fund approved a two-year contingent credit line to the Republic of Macedonia in the first use of newly launched insurance program guided by the Group of 20 last year. The former Yugoslavian republic became the IMF’s first recipient of the Precautionary Credit Line, securing 476 million euros ($642 million) for this year and next.The measure is part of the international l

Jan. 21, 2011

Move prompted by Lee’s comments on oil pricesThe antitrust regulator is investigating four major oil refiners for possible price rigging and cartel activities, sources said Thursday.The probe comes amid growing government pressure on them over surging fuel prices. The Fair Trade Commission this week conducted on-site investigations of GS Caltex, S-Oil, Hyundai Oil Bank and SK Energy to see if ther

Industry Jan. 20, 2011

Financial groups may avoid taking on bad assets of savings banksThe government-led restructuring of savings banks may end up injecting a sizable amount of taxpayers’ money into troubled secondary financial institutions, industry watchers said. The Financial Supervisory Commission is in talks with potential investors including Woori Financial Group to arrange a sweeping rescue scheme for distressed

Jan. 20, 2011

NTS to focus on paper companies being used to evade tax, hide moneyThe National Tax Service on Monday vowed to toughen its crackdown on offshore tax evasion by wealthy persons and large businesses as one of its priorities this year.The tax authority said it will step up curbs on borrowed-name financial transactions often used by companies to manipulate their incomes. It will also enhance the inqui

Jan. 17, 2011

The government is placing the Presidential Committee for the G20 Summit into the Finance ministry as a task force during February to coordinate follow-ups of agendas with France, the G20 chair for this year.“The G20 preparation body was created to organize the G20 Seoul summit last year and we are readying to move them to the Finance Ministry,” the government said.The committee will be comprised o

Jan. 17, 2011