South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves reached a record high level in December, amid a weakening US dollar trend, the central bank said Friday.The total amount of foreign currency holdings stood at $403.69 billion as of the end of December, up $710 million from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. This renewed an earlier record of $403 billion observed in September. The appreciation of nondollar currencies when converted into the greenback was largely attributable to the la

Economy Jan. 4, 2019

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Wednesday it will level criminal charges against a former official for making public remarks accusing the Moon Jae-in government of forcing bond issuance and interfering in corporate personnel affairs.But the high-profile figures who were directly mentioned in the accusation -- including former Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon -- have continued their silence amid the snowballing controversy.“The ministry will submit a bill of indictment against former

Economy Jan. 2, 2019

South Korea’s consumer prices in December grew at the slowest pace in five months due to government cuts of the fuel tax and gas fees, but prices of agricultural goods and dining out maintained a steady uptrend, data showed Monday.The consumer price index for December rose 1.3 percent from a year earlier, down 0.3 percent from the previous month and marking the lowest on-year rise since the 1.1 percent observed in July, according to the data released by Statistics Korea.The rate of increas

Economy Dec. 31, 2018

Throughout 2018, a number of iconic business figures here have found themselves embroiled in legal disputes, some over personal transgressions such as embezzlement and tax evasion and others for being implicated in the wide-ranging scandal surrounding ousted former President Park Geun-hye.The impact of this headache for the business community has been different for different industries. While accounting firms took a hit as a result of their clients’ noncompliance, large law firms enjoyed moneyma

Industry Dec. 30, 2018

Shinhan Bank CEO Wi Sung-ho, who recently failed to clinch his reappointment, publicly let out disappointment and shock over his replacement decision, indicating at possible leadership strife within the financial holding group.“I feel baffled by the unexpected notice,” Wi told reporters Wednesday.While claiming to have had “no idea” over the sudden personnel decision, Wi said he shall for now refrain from further comments for the sake of organizational stability. Last wee

Market Dec. 26, 2018

The Vietnamese football team’s latest victory in the regional finals under South Korean coach Park Hang-seo has helped South Korean companies.A leading beneficiary was Shinhan Bank, which appointed Park as honorary ambassador earlier this year, seeking to expand its overseas business in the Southeast Asian state.The Vietnamese team defeated Malaysia in the ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup finals on Saturday, scoring its first victory in a decade. Even before the match, Shinhan Bank Vie

Market Dec. 18, 2018

The South Korean government on Monday set the country’s growth rate for next year at 2.6-2.7 percent, lowering its earlier forecast amid a slowing global economy. It also indicated that it may slow down the pace of legal minimum wage hikes and the reduction of working hours in light of backlash from business circles and sluggish employment indexes.“It is important that new economic policies such as the minimum wage hike and workhour cut are implemented under a public consensus based

Economy Dec. 17, 2018

South Korea’s dominant portal web operator Naver and Seoul’s Dongdaemun Special Tourist Zone have been included on the European Union’s “watch list” for acts of piracy and counterfeiting, according to a recent report.The European Commission, with the support of the EU Intellectual Property Office and Europol, published its first-ever watch list last week, naming 52 non-EU websites and marketplaces in more than 20 countries it alleges engage in, facilitate or benefit from piracy. (Credit : Seoul'

Industry Dec. 14, 2018

The South Korean government will ease the criteria for intellectual property-backed lending and drastically increase the related state budget, seeking to promote small-sized tech companies’ access to loans, officials said Tuesday.According to the mid-term plan, small and medium-sized enterprises that own valid patents may save up to 60 billion won ($53 million) in interest cost over the next five years, thanks to low-interest IP-backed loans. Loan accessibility will also be improved as the range

Industry Dec. 11, 2018

Those who intentionally infringe patents and trade secrets of others will be subject to punitive damages starting June next year, South Korea’s intellectual property office said Sunday.The National Assembly on Friday approved bills to revise the Patent Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Prevention Act, which included reinforced penalties for violations, according to the Korean Intellectual Property Office.The median value of damages in patent infringement lawsuits here st

Industry Dec. 9, 2018

South Korea recorded a current account surplus in October for the 80th straight month on the back of solid goods exports, central bank data showed Thursday.The country’s current account surplus stood at $9.19 billion as of end-October, up sharply from $5.72 billion a year earlier, keeping in the black since March 2012, according to preliminary data released by the Bank of Korea.However, the figure decreased slightly from the previous month when it reached a 12-month high at $10.83 billion.

Economy Dec. 6, 2018

The National Pension Service, South Korea’s largest institutional investor, saw the total value of its stock holdings drop drastically this year despite a slight increase in the number of investment targets, data showed Wednesday.The overall downturn was attributable to the stock market trend which has recently been reeling under uncertainties such as trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, as well as the prolonged slow growth of the domestic economy. According to local corpora

Economy Dec. 5, 2018

Rival parties on Tuesday locked horns over the efficacy of the Moon Jae-in administration’s “income-led growth” paradigm at the parliamentary confirmation hearing of deputy prime minister and finance minister nominee Hong Nam-ki.The hearing, however, was largely overshadowed by the ongoing brawl over the delayed passage of the 470.5 trillion won ($424 billion) state budget bill for next year.“Though there have been disputes over the income-led growth initiative, I believe

Economy Dec. 4, 2018

The Ministry of Economy and Finance was off to a rocky start Monday, as it faced mounting pressure with the delayed passage of next year’s state budget while its new minister nominee is set to have his confirmation hearing Tuesday.A concern for the ministry is that Minister nominee Hong Nam-ki could take office without a fixed budget plan, which could weaken the momentum of the government’s economic policies.The budget bill remained pending on Monday afternoon, with opposition partie

Economy Dec. 3, 2018

Contrary to widespread belief, accounting is subjective and involves judgments that are sensitive to the context. And excessive interference by financial regulators could lead to unintended side effects, as can be seen in the case involving Samsung BioLogics’ accounting irregularities, according to accounting experts.Furthermore, to keep a balance between regulatory monitoring and market autonomy, it is crucial that corporate audit committees play an expansive role in the regulator-management-au

Industry Dec. 2, 2018