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Lee Hyo-sik

Korea Times Finance Reporter

Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.

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South Korea

Fabricators of US Army gas coupons caught

A Korean civilian working for the U.S. forces here and six other individuals were charged with having forged coupons for tax-exempt gasoline and evaded paying taxes amounting to over 110 billion won ($98 million) during the past 10 years, the police said Wednesday. The Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency said those apprehended bought gasoline and diesel with 1,300 tax-exempt coupons and resold them back to gas stations at market prices. They raked in a total of 117 billion won in illegal profits between 2001 and 2009. In the process, a 57-year-old civilian worker at the U.S. military is suspected of having forged the oil coupons. Thirteen other individuals, including gas station owners and brokers, who were involved in the illegal tax-free coupon scam, have been put on the wanted list. Under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between Seoul and Washington, American troops stationed here can issue tax-free oil vouchers to contractors. The builders can then buy gasoline and diesel at gas stations at much cheaper than market prices, given that the range of taxes accou

Mar 23, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

No refuge for foreign criminals here

By Lee Hyo-sik Non-Koreans committing crimes on foreign soil will be subject to prosecution here as early as 2013, following sweeping revisions of the country’s criminal codes. The change is seen as Korea’s growing commitment to contribute to the international community’s efforts in combating terrorism and other organized criminal activities against humanity. The Ministry of Justice said Tuesday that Cabinet approved a revised bill on the country’s criminal codes, providing legal grounds for the prosecution of foreign nationals who have committed a range of serious crimes abroad. Among the offenses, those who illegally use explosives, as well as distribute and manufacture counterfeit currencies in foreign countries will be indicted if they are captured here by law enforcement authorities. The current criminal laws only permit law enforcement agencies here to prosecute foreign nationals who either commit crimes against Koreans overseas or engage in illicit activities within the territory. ``The revised criminal codes will enable us to bring non-Koreans involved in seri

Mar 23, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
Society

Student Corner How to choose a boarding school

By Mok Ji-soo When a teenage girl goes out shopping, she scours every store in the mall to find one cute dress, spending the entire weekend without minding the unbearable muscle aches in her legs. She samples tens, if not hundreds, of dresses before she makes her final choice. She spares neither time nor energy. When it comes to deciding on her education, however, she abandons her relentless spirit of search and comparison. Upon scanning a couple of websites, she lists the top 10 boarding schools based on their name value and spreads her applications. Researching or reading reviews of her prospective schools? Not on her agenda. She does not even ask: “Are these schools fit for me in light of my academic ability, personality and interests?” Why doesn’t she? Probably because she does not know that each boarding school has its own unique culture and atmosphere. On the surface, all schools look alike; but an in-depth study of the schools will lead an applicant to realize that there is no boarding school that has the same size, educational philosophy or characteristics with any

Mar 23, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
Society

Prof. Min aims high with creativity

By Han Sang-hee Just when people would think Professor Min Byeong-chul had done enough with the English language, he starts yet another endeavor. Being one of the most famous and popular intercultural educators in Korea, Min has always strived to live up to this reputation, and hundreds if not thousands of students followed his lessons over the years. Now he’s back with a new book called “How to Become a Global Communicator” and hopes to touch readers with not only his perfect English skills and lessons, but also with words of wisdom and experience. On English and more English may likely be the most talked about subject in Korea, with both students and parents searching for the best tutor or cram school. But according to Min, English is “a spoon.” “You have to use a spoon to eat rice and soup. You have to stop trying to eat the spoon,” he said during an interview. In other words, English is a tool to true communication and this is what he has tried to portray in his essay. This is actually a first for Min, who has mostly written English lecture books, and it

Mar 23, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Foreigners dissatisfied with shopping, taxi experiences

By Lee Hyo-sik A tourist from Singapore, surnamed Yeow, came to Korea on a group tour with her family. During her trip, she bought a pack of ginseng products to take back home with her but when Yeow returned to Singapore, she noticed that the goods expiry date was in two months. “We decided to return the products because we would not be able to consume them in two months. It would have been nice if a salesclerk had told us about the expiration date. Then, we would have bought goods that lasted longer,” she said. A Japanese visitor, surnamed Sanape, bought some snacks at a Seoul department store to give to her colleagues back home. But when she opened the box at the office, the contents were covered with mold. “I was so angry that I immediately called the store and asked for a refund,” she said. Another Japanese tourist Hisada took a taxi to a hotel near Coex in southern Seoul from Incheon International Airport and was asked to pay 120,000 won ($100) for the fare. “The driver intentionally covered the meter with a cushion-shaped thing in order to charge me a higher fare. H

Mar 22, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

HS Seoul seeks to emerge as Asias top convention center

By Lee Hyo-sik Seoul City has joined a league of cities across the globe that are popular locations for commercial meetings, rising a rung in becoming Asia’s choice meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition (MICE) destination. In a press conference held at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, Monday, the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO), the tourism promotion arm of the Seoul Metropolitan City Government, announced it has signed an agreement with six cities ― Durban, London, Abu Dhabi, San Francisco, Sydney and Toronto ― to set up a joint entity to promote themselves as attractive venues for a range of commercial meetings and conventions. The seven-member ``Future Convention Cities Initiative’’ (FCCI) will pursue joint marketing and research activities to advance each of its members to become the foremost MICE destination on their respective continents, meaning that Seoul will be promoted as Asia’s top convention center. ``Seoul City has been making an all-out effort to build an extensive overseas network in the international convention industry. The establishment of th

Mar 21, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Koreans wary of safety of imported Japanese food

By Lee Hyo-sik Ahn Eun-hye, a 29-year-old housewife from Yeoksam-dong, southern Seoul, goes grocery shopping at a nearby supermarket every two days. She often buys fish including pollack for her husband who prefers it to meat as a main source of protein due to health reasons. But that’s until a mega-earthquake and following tsunami devastated Japan, especially the nuclear complex in Fukushima. “Since I heard the news last week that radioactive material was found in milk and spinach produced near Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plants, I have become uncomfortable purchasing pollack and other imported seafood from Japan,” Ahn said. The housewife said she will stop buying fish and other seafood for the time being, even those caught in domestic waters, due to possible contamination. “I am substituting fish with tofu and other sources of vegetable protein,” she said. Like Ahn, a growing number of Korean consumers have become wary of food items imported from the world’s third-largest economy, following a series of explosions at its Fukushima nuclear power plants. The ne

Mar 21, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Prosecutors raid Samhwa Savings Bank

By Lee Hyo-sik Prosecutors raided the headquarters of Samhwa Mutual Savings Bank and a residence of its chairman, Friday, on suspicion that the bankrupt savings bank had illegally extended loans to construction firms and other borrowers. The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office said investigators searched the bank headquarters in southern Seoul as well as the homes of its chairman and other senior executives and confiscated computer hard disks and financial documents. The raid came three months after the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) suspended the savings bank’s operation for six months and filed a complaint with the prosecution about its alleged illegal lending to builders and other borrowers. A prosecution official said after completing the analysis of seized documents and computer files, investigators will summon the Samhwa chairman and others involved in the bank’s suspected lending irregularities for questioning. They are looking into whether the savings bank followed standard procedure when extending loans, which later went sour. Samhwa’s senior executiv

Mar 18, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

False rumors amplify anxiety over radiation

By Lee Hyo-sik Rampant false rumors concerning the series of explosions at nuclear reactors in the quake-hit Japan have prompted an irrational buying-frenzy for certain items. Shoppers have been purchasing more bottled drinking water, instant noodles and other easy-to-cook food items at discount stores across the country since Thursday when a rumor that started circulating on the Internet said the rain forecast for the weekend could contain radioactive material from Japan. Messages have been posted on Naver and other web portals, claiming that the radiation contains hydrochloric acid, potassium cyanide and other harmful chemicals and they will have a negative impact. “It is too bad for fishermen. But seafood caught in the East Sea for the next 20-30 years should not be consumed,” read a posting on Naver. However, the Korea Meteorological Administration refuted such a claim, saying Korea is not susceptible to the radiation leak in Japan because the west-bound winds will keep radioactive material from spreading to the Korean Peninsula. Shoppers are also going on a bu

Mar 18, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
South Korea

Radiation check on evacuees begins

By Lee Hyo-sik The government began checking radiation levels of people arriving from Japan, Thursday, to ease growing public concern of health risks, following a series of explosions of nuclear reactors there. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said it installed two residual radiation detection gates each at Incheon International Airport and Gimpo International Airport, in cooperation with the state-run Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS). “Whether to undergo the radiation check-up is entirely on a voluntarily basis because there is no legal ground to enforce it upon all the passengers flying in from Japan,” said Roh Jae-ik, manager of the ministry’s nuclear emergency management team. “We think however many individuals would like to know whether they were exposed to radiation while in Japan.” He said the measure is also aimed to calm the public worry that they may be exposed to radiation when coming into contact with those already contaminated by radioactivity. “If individuals are exposed to a large amount of radioactivity, they could pass it on t

Mar 17, 2011By Lee Hyo-sik
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