Articles by Park Hyung-ki
Park Hyung-ki
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BOK hints at no change in monetary policy
Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo said Tuesday that the effects of monetary easing by developed countries to revitalize their economies were winding down.In a meeting with a group of corporate executives, Kim said that monetary easing of key international currencies such as the U.S. dollar, the euro and the yen boosted market liquidity.However, he questioned whether the money had appropriately flowed into small and medium enterprises, the backbone of the real economy, reiterating the central ban
April 30, 2013
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State-run firms’ debts near W500tr
Salaries and bonuses for executives at state-run enterprises contined to rise last year despite losses and snowballing debt.The debt of 295 state-run institutions and enterprises reached 493.4 trillion won ($447.8 billion) in 2012, up 7.5 percent from a year before, according to a public filing by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance on Tuesday.Their debt ratio surpassed 200 percent on equity capital of 237.8 trillion won.Yet with assets of 731.2 trillion won, this marks the first time in four y
April 30, 2013
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NPS eyeing overseas assets for higher returns
The National Pension Service, the country’s pension fund operator, is gearing up to boost its overseas portfolio by increasing its investments in the global capital markets and alternative assets.Its move to further expand its overseas holdings comes as it seeks higher returns through diversification amid an increasing number of pension earners as Korea’s population rapidly ages.Its investments in stocks and bonds not only in advanced markets but also in emerging markets will be able to help the
April 29, 2013
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KB, Hana post weak Q1 earnings
KB Financial Group reported weak quarterly earnings beset by weak lending amid the economic slowdown.The financial holdings giant posted a net profit of about 413 billion won in the first quarter of this year, down more than 32 percent from 608.4 billion won a year earlier, the company disclosed Friday.It performed below the market consensus of a 30 percent decrease in profit at around 420 billion won.Its sales reached 6.2 trillion won, down about 10 percent from 6.9 trillion won in the same per
April 26, 2013
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Divorce rate for seniors reaches record: data
The number of couples who divorced after living together for more than 20 years surpassed those with less than four years of marriage for the first time last year, Statistics Korea said Tuesday. The number of divorce cases filed by couples married for over 20 years reached 30,200 in 2012, compared with 28,200 of those married less than four years.This is up from 28,300 in 2011 for divorced couples with 20 years of marriage, but down from 30,700 for those married for less than four years.Couples
April 23, 2013
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NTS to expand investigations into offshore tax evaders
National Tax Service Commissioner Kim Duk-joong said Monday that the tax agency will expand its investigations into companies or the wealthy suspected of holding offshore accounts and purposefully not making disclosures for tax payments.Also, the tax agency will target those who have avoided regular filings of their gift and inheritance taxes after transferring their assets or operational ownerships to next of kin or business subsidiaries.The NTS will maximize the use of the financial regulators
April 22, 2013
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G20 approval of weaker yen to impact Korea
The tacit endorsement of Japan’s monetary easing by finance chiefs of the Group of 20 is expected to further make Japan’s exchange rates to the dollar competitively higher, while adversely affecting Korea’s won and exports, analysts said Monday.The G20 finance ministers did not directly criticize Japan’s easy-money policy that has recently boosted the pace of Japan’s yen depreciation through the central bank’s bond-buying scheme, in line with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to revive its econom
April 22, 2013
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Korean executive abuses female flight attendant
An executive of a local conglomerate was refused entry to the U.S. after being accused of hitting a female Korean Air flight attendant for “poor services,” airline industry sources said Sunday.The executive allegedly hit the flight attendant’s face with a magazine as she did not service him with well-cooked instant noodles during his business trip on board a plane to Los Angeles.The flight attendant reported the assault to the U.S. police as soon as the plane landed, and the U.S. authorities tol
Social Affairs April 21, 2013
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Minister urges big companies to help with economic democratization
Korea’s Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said that large Korean companies need to run their businesses in line with the incumbent administration’s economic democratization policy.Hyun, who is also the deputy prime minister, told reporters after the Group of 20 meeting of finance leaders in Washington, D.C., on Saturday that companies that devised their management and operation plans without considering economic democratization are headed in the wrong direction.He added that companies should accept
April 21, 2013
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Official expects 2.7-percent growth on stimulus measures
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that the Korean economy would be able to achieve a trend of 4 percent growth should it swiftly put its stimulus package and fiscal policy into action.It said Korea’s gross domestic product could grow around 2.7 percent for 2013 with an extra budget of nearly 20 trillion won, including 2 trillion won in public funds.“The government’s recent economic measures signify its commitment to overcome the low-growth trap in which Korea has been growing below 1 per
April 18, 2013
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Korea vows no discrimination against foreign firms
Foreign businesses will receive equal opportunity and treatment under the government’s business policies, foreign business leaders heard from government officials on Thursday.Government officials reassured that there would not be any “negative spillovers” to either the foreign business community or the general corporate sector from the incumbent administration’s plans to expose the underground economy, while pursuing fiscal balance and soundness. “We still believe foreign investment is a part of
April 18, 2013
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Short-term investments hit record high on North Korean tensions
A growing number of investors are opting to invest their money in short-term financial instruments or hold onto cash, in part due to North Korea risks.Capital invested in financial instruments ranging from cash and cash equivalents to repurchase agreements and demand deposits amounted to a record 676 trillion won ($604 billion) as of Wednesday, according to data by the Bank of Korea and the Korea Financial Investment Association.This was an increase of about 9.4 trillion won from late last year,
April 17, 2013
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IMF revises down Korea’s growth at 2.8%
The International Monetary Fund revised down Korea’s gross domestic product growth forecast Tuesday to 2.8 percent this year, from the 3.2 percent it estimated earlier this year.But the IMF said it expected Korea’s economy to progress toward the trend of 4 percent next year, when it would grow 3.9 percent on the back of improvements in exports and increased private investment.The IMF’s revised economic outlook came after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok told lawmakers that
April 16, 2013
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Big businesses confused over policy directions
Korea’s private conglomerates, domestically known as chaebol, are caught in the middle of policy confusion as they face tougher yet inconsistent regulations, while being urged to increase investments by the government.The incumbent administration is asking the corporate sector to lead in increasing investments and employment this year amid economic uncertainties.On the other hand, the big businesses are being targeted as part of economic democratization efforts for regulatory measures by agencie
Industry April 16, 2013
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Officials lock horns over lottery sales cap
Commissions of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Prime Minister’s Office have been apparently locked in confrontations over the lottery sales cap imposed by the latter, according to industry sources on Monday.Last month, the Lottery Commission, which is under the wing of the Finance Ministry, asked the National Gaming Control Commission, a gambling regulator of the Prime Minister’s Office, for an elimination of the sales ceiling.The Lottery Commission suggested that lotteries do not p
April 15, 2013
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