The Korea Herald

Bank of Korea scores low on independence

The Bank of Korea has been ranked toward the bottom among central banks worldwide in terms of independence from government influence.It ranked 65th out of 89 central banks in the category, while placing 21st out of 120 for transparency, according to a research paper by professor Barry Eichengreen of University of California, Berkeley.The Korean central bank scored 8.5 points out of 15 in total in the transparency category.The research paper evaluated central banks’ independence by looking into w

Sept. 9, 2013

Bank of Korea scores low on independence

G20 to ‘calibrate’ monetary easing exit

Although G20 economies were divided over Syria, leaders remained united over issues concerning the world economy, showing commitment to a “durable exit” from one of the longest crises in financial history.G20 leaders said that the world economy’s top priorities are job creation, particularly for the young, and economic recovery through the implementation of sound macroeconomic policy, structural reforms and framework.Given that the world has not yet fully recovered from the ongoing financial dow

Sept. 8, 2013

Seoul shares to trade flat on U.S., Syrian woes

South Korean stocks are expected to trade in a tight range this week as investors are anticipated to sit on the sidelines on a possible tapering of the U.S. quantitative easing measures and the crisis in Syria, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 1.5 percent as of Friday from a week earlier.Seoul shares lost ground as the rising woes in the Middle East following the prospect of a U.S.-led military attack on Syria dented investors’ sentiment.The U.S. claimed it

Sept. 8, 2013

[Newsmaker] Hyosung head in trouble for tax dodge claims

S.R. Cho, chairman of Hyosung Group, is coming under increasing pressure over allegations of tax evasion as tax authorities step up their investigation into his financial history.With conglomerate heads known for purchasing airline tickets to get out of tight spots in the past, Cho was banned from traveling abroad, forcing him to cancel plans to go to Vietnam with President Park Geun-hye for her state-visit there.The National Tax Service and the prosecutors’ ramped-up investigations into both pu

Sept. 5, 2013

[Newsmaker] Hyosung head in trouble for tax dodge claims

Real GNI growth fastest in four years

Korea’s gross national income rose 2.9 percent in the second quarter of this year compared with the previous quarter, the highest increase in four years, the Bank of Korea said Thursday.The central bank attributed the rise in real GNI per capita to brisk trade and increased income from Koreans working abroad. The country’s GNI growth has been falling since the second quarter of last year when the rate was 1.5 percent, then slid to 0.7 percent in the third quarter of 2012 and 0.3 percent in the f

Sept. 5, 2013

Korean economy loses competitiveness

Korea is rapidly losing its luster as a competitive and innovative economy in the world as the country continues to slide in international growth rankings.The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook showed that Korea’s ranking in terms of gross domestic product growth fell 60 levels over the last two years, dropping to 117th place out of 189 countries last year.Korea grew 2 percent in 2012, and is expected to face a ranking standstill this year as it is projected to have a similar grow

Sept. 4, 2013

Pernod Ricard aims to seize rival Diageo’s ‘whiskey throne’

Pernod Ricard Korea is looking to overtake its main competitor Diageo Korea in Korea’s whiskey market with an all-new look for the French distilled beverage giant’s flagship “Imperial” brand.The Korean unit’s CEO Jean-Manuel Spriet said Wednesday that it has renewed Imperial’s design in a diamond-like shape with anti-forgery features embedded in its bottle caps with the aim of “closing the gap” with its rival in Korea. The key strategy to grab a bigger slice of the market, despite the whiskey do

Industry Sept. 4, 2013

Pernod Ricard aims to seize rival Diageo’s ‘whiskey throne’

NTS probing 28 individuals with paper companies

The National Tax Service said Tuesday that it launched an additional probe into 10 people who allegedly evaded taxes by setting up paper companies abroad.This brings the total to 28 people currently under scrutiny by the tax auditor that is tracking down tax evasion via ghost companies.The NTS has so far levied additional taxes worth 71.4 billion won ($65.2 million) against 11 people who were found to have not reported their tax-haven deposits to the authority since the beginning of the second h

Sept. 3, 2013

‘Clonentrepreneurship’ key to creating ecosystem

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles scrutinizing key aspects and sectors related to the creative economy the Park Geun-hye government is promoting as a national agenda. The series will feature interviews with top government officials and IT gurus, and strategies to embody the policy. The special articles were made in cooperation with the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. This is the fourth part of the creative economy ser

Sept. 2, 2013

‘Clonentrepreneurship’ key to creating ecosystem

Finance, labor ministries to guide public sector on job creation

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Employment and Labor are in the process of reviewing and redrafting their public sector employment road map to come up with new ways to assess the job market, government officials said.This comes as the government seeks greater accuracy in projections for job creation at public agencies, institutions and companies as it sets out to achieve an employment rate of 70 percent over the next four years.Job creation, along with the development of

Sept. 2, 2013

Korea’s fiscal deficit worsens in first half

Korea’s fiscal deficit widened to a record high in the first half of this year due to frontloaded spending and decreased tax revenue amid the economic slowdown, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Friday.The central government’s fiscal account, excluding social security funds such as pension and employment insurance, posted a deficit of 46.2 trillion won ($41.7 billion) in the first half of 2013, the worst on record.It had a deficit of about 30 trillion won a year ago, and 19.2 trillion wo

Aug. 30, 2013

Ministry to expand public housing supply

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Wednesday that it plans to increase the supply of public housing to tame the rising prices of jeonse apartments, and expand tax deductions on monthly rent payments.The government also plans to further cut taxes and provide equity financing for apartment purchases as a means to revitalize the sluggish housing market.Public real estate assets owned by the state-run Korea Land & Housing Corp. will be further expanded to build and offer jeonse apartments, wh

Aug. 28, 2013

Mirae Asset set to stand out with ‘wrap’ account

Korea’s securities industry has been sliding downhill with most domestic brokerage houses seeing their commission income declining as customers turned risk-averse amid the global financial turbulence.While a number of securities companies have been inevitably shutting down some of their retail operations and downsizing staff to stave off further downturns, Mirae Asset Securities, one of Korea’s leading brokers, aims to stand out and win customers with its latest investment products.Mirae Asset s

Aug. 28, 2013

Mirae Asset set to stand out with ‘wrap’ account

Korea to push logistics sector as growth engine

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said Tuesday that Korea must further develop and advance its logistics sector to coincide with its global economic level.The government needs to create next-generation logistics companies that can provide comprehensive services using the latest advanced information technology, Hyun said in a meeting with economic-related ministers.He urged the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to impleme

Aug. 27, 2013

Korea seen decoupled from emerging markets

Financial markets in emerging economies with current account deficits such as India and Indonesia have been facing increased capital outflows driven by the U.S. plan to soon end monetary stimulus.These countries’ stocks, bonds and currencies have weakened, and their sovereign risks, measured by credit default swap premiums, increased over the past two weeks.However, such negative effects have not spilled over to Korea, further justifying market analysts’ claims that Asia’s fourth-largest economy

Aug. 26, 2013

Articles by Park Hyung-ki