The tax revenue collected by company audits has been on the rise for the past three years, the National Tax Agency said in a report on Wednesday. Last year, the NTS collected an extra 7 trillion won (6.3 billion) through tax crackdowns, which takes up about 3.6 percent of the country’s total tax revenue, according to the report to ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker Kim Tae-ho. The report revealed that the majority 70.4 percent of this extra tax, or 4.9 trillion won, came from auditing companies. The

Sept. 25, 2013

Financial authorities said Tuesday that the government would have to pay about 20.3 trillion won ($18.9 billion) in debt interest this year. Financial analysts said the government’s high interest payments may elevate concerns about the nation’s fiscal soundness.The interest payment for the government debt this year rose to 20.3 trillion won ($18.9 billion), or about 7.7 percent of this year’s total state revenue, the Financial Services Commission said in a report to ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker

Sept. 24, 2013

Korea and China are likely to suffer from problems of a typical aging society, since their working-age population is projected to shrink over the next 10 years, an economist at a major U.S. investment bank predicted.A research report of Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Hak Bin Chua was quoted by broadcaster CNBC as saying that “the next decade will be very different from previous decades when most of Asia was still experiencing demographic divides, including China and Korea.”Chua asserted

Sept. 23, 2013

Kyobo Life is eager to buy Woori Bank to improve its competitiveness against conglomerate-backed insurance firms, the head of the nation’s public fund committee said on Friday. “Being solely an insurance company is limiting in terms of market share, especially because they have to compete with life insurance firms affiliated with conglomerates,” said Sohn Byung-doo, secretary general of the Secretariat to the Public Fund Oversight Committee. The committee is the public fund unit of the Financial

Sept. 13, 2013

The local unit of Goldman Sachs gave an optimistic view on Korea’s exports in the second half of this year, lowering its previous warning against weak yen’s negative effects on the Korean economy. “We said in an earlier report (in April) that the weak yen was seen as major problem that was manageable as long as the cross rate stays around 105,” said Kwon Goo-hoon, co-head of research of Goldman Sachs Asia Seoul branch, in a press conference in Seoul on Thursday. “Now we are seeing an inverse cas

Sept. 12, 2013

The number of savings banks has decreased by half in 14 years due to the government’s restructuring and the nation’s protracted economic slump, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service.The number dropped from 186 in 1999 to 91 in March 2013, the report said. The country had 249 savings banks three decades ago.Past irregularities of some savings banks are also held responsible for the decrease as the cases led them to close, an FSS official said.The regulator plans to further stre

Sept. 10, 2013

Strong logistics is the key advantage that differentiates Korea from neighboring emerging economies, chief executives of foreign-invested companies operating here said on Wednesday. The three classical incentives offered by host countries are tax reductions, site support and cash grants. Currently the Korean government charges no tax for the first 3-5 years, plus a 50 percent tax reduction for the following two years. It also provides land free of charge for 50 years and rent discounts, besides

Sept. 4, 2013

About 19 million credit card users saw their card benefits reduced because of policy changes by card firms, according to a report from the Financial Supervisory Service.The report, which was submitted to ruling party lawmaker Park Dae-dong, said the actual number of card users who underwent benefit cuts may be smaller, considering that one customer possesses four cards on average.Big name card companies involved in the benefit schemes include Shinhan Card, KB Kookmin Card, Samsung Card, Hana SK

Sept. 2, 2013

Korea’s total credit card spending overseas hit a record high in the second quarter of this year despite the nation’s economic slowdown, the central bank said Friday.The Bank of Korea reported that about 51 percent of total payments made between April and June were put on plastic including debit cards. Koreans spent about $2.5 billion with cards during that period. The amount increased about 1.6 percent from the first quarter. The high rate of credit card spending resulted from a change in Korea

Aug. 30, 2013

The nation’s financial regulator on Thursday reprimanded Korean operations of three foreign banks for engaging in a cartel practice over prices of a currency swap.The Financial Supervisory Service said the Seoul branches of French-based BNP Paribas S.A., Singapore-based DBS Bank Ltd., and Australia/New Zealand-based Australia New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. colluded.To lower rates for a Korean company’s $10 million currency swap of foreign currency bonds.All three ended up with 4.18 percent swap

Aug. 29, 2013