Korea, US, Japan to prioritize chips, battery supply chain resilience

Top economic policymakers from South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed to deepen their trilateral cooperation on semiconductors and key minerals supply chains in a meeting held in Washington on Wednesday. Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Saito Ken held the inaugural three-way ministerial meeting to discuss measures to promote the development of core and emerging techno

June 27, 2024

Finance minister hints at major inheritance tax cuts in July

The South Korean government is to revise the inheritance tax scheme that imposes up to a 60 percent tax for big companies here as part of the government’s tax code revision slated for late July, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said Thursday. “I personally prioritize the inheritance tax reform, which requires more deliberation," Choi said when asked about the government's priority regarding tax reform at a forum hosted by the Korea News Editors' Association. “The i

June 27, 2024

KRX rallies mid-sized firms to ride on 'value-up' program

Korea Exchange CEO Jeong Eun-bo held a roundtable meeting with mid-sized companies listed on the nation’s main bourse Kospi to encourage their active participation in the government-led corporate “value-up” program. This is the third meeting of its kind following Jeong's previous ones with large corporations and financial firms. Earlier this year, the government announced the value-up program aimed at elevating the undervalued stock prices of Korean firms, a phenomenon w

June 27, 2024

S. Korea, US, Japan voice concerns over 'weaponization' of economic dependencies

Top industry officials of South Korea, the United States and Japan expressed concerns Wednesday over the "weaponization" of economic dependencies on certain supply sources for strategic goods as they held their first trilateral meeting on economic security in Washington. South Korean Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Japanese Industry Minister Ken Saito issued a joint statement following the Commerce and Industry Ministerial Meeting, which undersco

June 27, 2024

S. Korea to allow foreign investors' Korean won overdrafts, ease FX regulations

South Korea will allow offshore investors' overdrafts of the Korean currency over the course of foreign exchange transactions and will ease relevant regulations in an effort to improve their access to bond trading and promote investment, the finance ministry said Wednesday. It is part of the government's planned revision to the Foreign Exchange Transactions Regulations, which come along with the envisioned implementation of omnibus accounts by clearing houses Euroclear and Clearstream

June 26, 2024

Planned start of stricter rules on household loans to be postponed until September

The financial regulator said Tuesday that the planned implementation of stricter rules on household loans will be postponed until the start of September amid various risk factors facing the financial market. The country was originally set to implement a second phase formula for floating rate stress debt service ratio (DSR) at the start of next month. The government "has decided through consultations with related organizations to implement the second phase DSR steps from Sept. 1," the F

June 25, 2024

S. Korea, Netherlands discuss supply chain management at 1st economic security talks

South Korea and the Netherlands have discussed efforts to tackle supply chain disruptions and ways for cooperation in the area as they held their first bilateral economic security talks this week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday. The dialogue took place in The Hague on Friday (local time), led by Kim Jin-dong, director general for bilateral economic affairs at the South Korean foreign ministry, and Yvette van Eechoud, deputy director general for foreign economic relations at the Dutc

June 22, 2024

Short selling ban hinders Korea’s MSCI index upgrade

South Korea retained its emerging market status by Morgan Stanley Capital International, with the ongoing short selling ban cited as a hindrance to the country's efforts for a status upgrade. "The recent short selling ban introduces market accessibility restrictions," MSCI said Thursday when announcing the results of its market classification review for the global standard indexes. In part, the New York-based index provider acknowledged and welcomed the recently proposed measures

June 21, 2024

S. Korea, Japan to hold finance ministers' meeting next week

South Korea's Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will hold talks with his Japanese counterpart, Shunichi Suzuki, next week to discuss ways of strengthening financial and economic cooperation, Seoul's finance ministry said Friday. The ninth Korea-Japan finance ministers' meeting will take place in Seoul on Tuesday, which will mark the first time in eight years that top economic policymakers of the neighboring countries meet in Seoul, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Th

June 21, 2024

Financial firms to provide W5tr in loans for real estate projects

Five banks and five insurance firms in South Korea agreed Thursday to provide up to 5 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in additional funding for real estate development projects. The move comes amid government-led efforts to normalize real estate project financing ㅣloans as prices continue to rise, which include the liquidation of failing projects. Under a memorandum of understanding signed Thursday, the five banks and five insurance firms will first create a 1 trillion-won syndicated loan and gradua

June 20, 2024

Korea declares full-fledged war to combat low birth rate

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a "national emergency on population" Wednesday, rolling out measures to expand cash support for newborn babies and reverse the declining birth rate trend. "The population crisis caused by extremely low birth rates is the foremost and critical issue for South Korea," Yoon said, adding that the rapid population decline has now become a matter "prompting concerns about the very survival of South Korea." Yoon made the announcement during

June 19, 2024

FSS chief calls for change in culture of banks to prevent financial incidents

The chief of the financial regulator on Wednesday stressed the need to change the very mindset of bank officials to prevent financial incidents such as incomplete sales. Lee Bok-hyun, head of the Financial Supervisory Service, made the remark in a meeting with the heads of 20 banks in South Korea. "To prevent financial accidents, including incomplete sales, a change in the mind and conduct of bank officials is most important," Lee told the meeting. "I ask the bank management to ac

June 19, 2024

[Business Diplomacy] Korean firms evolve to stay on top of compliance: Kim & Chang lawyers

This article is the first installment in a series of interviews and analyses on how South Korean corporations can sharpen their diplomatic capabilities to brighten their prospects for overseas growth in this mega election year around the world. -- Ed. South Korean companies used to respond belatedly to regulatory changes in overseas markets, but now they predict and monitor potential legislative shifts in advance, showing the economy’s improved capability to do business in overseas mar

June 17, 2024

Korea to pilot visa for K-pop trainees

South Korea is to introduce a separate visa track for foreign nationals who aspire to become K-pop stars in a move to attract more tourists from overseas, the Finance Ministry announced Monday. The ministry released a set of measures to help bring more foreign visitors to the country such as streamlining the entry process and offering incentives for using public transportation during a meeting of economic affairs ministers. The measures were based on the concern that the country’s tourism

June 17, 2024

S. Korea to ease regulations on REITs to help normalize PF market

The finance ministry said Monday it will ease regulations on real estate investment trusts as part of efforts to help normalize the real estate project financing sector. The government will create "project REITs" after drastically lifting regulations so as to allow a greater number of small investors to join the projects and will expand REIT investment targets to health care, data centers and other promising fields, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. REITs are a type of

June 17, 2024

ICT exports jump over 30% for 2nd consecutive month in May

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology products soared more than 30 percent for the second consecutive month in May on robust global demand, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $19.05 billion last month, up 31.8 percent from $14.45 billion a year earlier, logging the seventh straight month of increase, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The country's ICT imports increased 2.4 percent on-year to $11.48 bil

June 16, 2024

Household loans from 5 major banks expand over W2.1tr as of mid-June

Household loans extended by five major lenders in South Korea have risen more than 2.1 trillion won ($1.5 billion) so far this month, industry data showed Sunday. Outstanding household loans extended by the five top lenders reached 705.4 trillion won as of June 13, compared with 703.2 trillion won at the end of last month, according to the data compiled by Yonhap News Agency. The monthly tally is expected to grow for the third consecutive month in June, following an on-month increase of 5.2 tril

June 16, 2024

Mirae Asset chairman named executive of the year by AIB

Mirae Asset Financial Group said Friday that its founder and Chairman Park Hyeon-joo will be honored with the International Executive of the Year Award at the annual conference of the Academy of International Business slated for next month. AIB, an eminent association of international business scholars and professionals established in 1959, boasts a membership of over 3,400 individuals from approximately 90 countries. Park, who has been integral in transforming Mirae Asset Financial Group into a

June 14, 2024

Mirae Asset Global Investments surpasses W170tr in ETF net assets

Mirae Asset Global Investments, Korea’s leading asset management firm, has significantly expanded its global footprint, now managing over 580 exchange-traded funds with net assets totaling 170 trillion won ($133 billion). Since launching its first exchange-traded fund, Tiger ETF in 2006, Mirae Asset has grown into a formidable player in the global market, overcoming initial industrial skepticism toward a domestic financial firm. In 2011, it became the first Korean asset manager to list on

June 14, 2024

BOK's rate-cutting cycle coming, but timing depends on inflation

The Bank of Korea looks increasingly likely to push back the start of its interest rate-cutting cycle as late as October as the country enters the last mile in its inflation fight while the US dials back its rate cut forecasts, experts said Thursday. The country’s recent data showing signs of weakening inflation, coupled with a rebound in exports, has increased anticipation for rate cuts by the Bank of Korea. The borrowing rates were kept at 3.5 percent for the 11th consecutive session i

June 13, 2024