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Tue, September 26, 2017 | 21:56

Economy >

Mercedes-Benz Korea and dealers fined for collusion

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) levied a 1.79 billion won ($1.58 million) fine on Mercedes-Benz Korea and eight dealers of the German car here for colluding to raise repair and maintenance fees. According to the FTC, the eight dealers including Han Sung Motor, The Class Hyosung, JoongAng Motor and Star Motor, had meetings at the Han Sung Motor office and the Mercedes-Benz Korea office in the first half of 2009. They colluded to raise hourly labor fees for repairs and maintenance to enhance their revenue of after-sales service.

Policies | 2017-09-26 17:45

Labor-friendly steps weigh on companies

The liberal Moon Jae-in government is apparently making labor-friendly policies to resuscitate the household economy and pull up economic growth. But concern is increasing that these policies may end up hurting businesses and worsening the job market. President Moon met with irregular workers at Incheon International Airport right after his inauguration, promising they will be switched to regular employees. The move by the former labor and human rights lawyer got applause from workers who were marginalized during the previous two business-friendly administrations.

Policies | 2017-09-26 16:57

Legislation chief vows to root out discrimination

Minister of Government Legislation Kim Oe-sook has vowed to amend the nation’s legislation to root out discrimination in society. In a recent interview, Kim said she would make establishing a fair society her top priority. “I have always paid close attention to discrimination problems and our government is endeavoring to realize a fair society,” Kim said.

Policies | 2017-09-25 18:46

Korea shares 'legislative system'

Korea shares 'legislative system'

South Korea has stepped up its efforts to globalize its legal system by strengthening its cooperation with Mongolia. From Sept. 13 to 15, Kim Oe-sook, minister of Government Legislation, visited the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs of Mongolia and the School of Law of the National University of Mongolia to discuss strengthening legislative exchanges and cooperation. “The ...

Policies | 2017-09-25 19:25

Legislation chief vows to root out discrimination

Gov't scraps guidelines on easier layoffs

The Ministry of Labor has scrapped controversial guidelines adopted during the previous administration, which allowed companies to fire workers more easily. “The two guidelines lacked sufficient consultation with labor and management, and there was no social consensus, either,” Labor Minister Kim Young-joo said at a meeting with the heads of employment and labor centers aroun...

Policies | 2017-09-25 17:10

'Central banks can't print babies'

Governments around the world use monetary and fiscal policies to maintain economic growth, but they become ineffective when their countries faces the problem of an aging population. Korea should thus focus on structural change, promoting female participation in the labor market and adopting performance-based payment, according to Naoyuki Yoshino, dean of the Asian Development...

Policies | 2017-09-24 20:39

ASEM pledges to tackle trade protectionism

Economic ministers of Asian and European countries agreed to protect the multilateral trade system, jointly tackling the growing trade protectionism. “ASEM partners prepared a joint declaration supporting the multilateral trade system. We also agreed to jointly discuss priorities and directions for trade and investment cooperation within ASEM,” Korea’s Minister of Trade, Indu...

Policies | 2017-09-22 20:49

Deaths from dementia surging

The number of deaths rose to a record high last year due to aging of the population. And as the number of senior citizens increases, deaths from dementia are surging. Statistics Korea released an analysis of the causes of death Friday. There were 280,827 deaths last year, the highest since 1983 when Statistics Korea started compiling the data. People aged 80 or older accounted for 42.5 percent of deaths, up 11.8 percentage points from a decade ago.

Policies | 2017-09-22 16:49

Hopes dashed over Korea-China trade dispute resolution at ASEM

Hopes for a possible breakthrough in resolving the trade dispute between Korea and China have been dashed at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Economic Ministers’ Meeting here. This is because China did not send its top trade delegate to the two-day conference, which kicked off at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Thursday. China’s Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen attended the event, instead of Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Paik Un-gyu’s counterpart Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng.

Policies | 2017-09-21 17:03

Internal trade makes up 12.2 percent of conglomerate transactions

Transactions among affiliates made up 12.2 percent of total trading by large business groups. The ratio was especially high when children of the group chairmen had large stakes in their businesses, reflecting the fact that conglomerate owner families use internal trading as a means of transferring wealth to the next generation. According to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Thursday, inter-affiliate trading amounted 152.5 trillion won last year, taking 12.2 percent of total trading and up 0.5 of a percentage of a point from the previous year. The large business groups here refer to those with ...

Policies | 2017-09-21 16:35

Chaebol on edge over Assembly audit

Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK and other conglomerates are on alert as lawmakers are moving to summon their leaders as witnesses during the National Assembly audit of government agencies next month. Business groups are scrambling to find ways of getting their chairmen or CEOs off the list of those to be summoned; but the Assembly is poised to call in a record number of businesspeople for questioning over a wide range of controversial issues. The Assembly audit was initially intended to inspect whether ministries and other government bodies performed their duties properly. But over the past few y...

Policies | 2017-09-21 16:35

Suicide notes of Prudential agent

Notes and letters left by a former sales manager of Prudential Life Insurance Korea who died in an apparent suicide are throwing doubts on the insurer’s personnel management. Yang Man-seung, 58, a former agency manager of the insurance firm, jumped from 21st floor of the company’s head office in Gangnam, Seoul, on Sept. 3 after failing to meet the company’s CEO Kurtis Jang to complain about the termination of his contract with the firm. Yang had been claiming his termination the previous month was unfair and aimed at dismissing old employees like himself. According to Yang’s July 26 letter s...

Finance | 2017-09-21 15:25

Gimje Horizon Festival