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Lee Kyung-min

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Economy

Will cryptocurrency investments become another LH fiasco?

Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo, right, speaks during a National Assembly National Policy Committee meeting, April 22. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo has ordered FSC officials handling cryptocurrency policies, Monday, to file a report on the volume of their virtual currency investments by May 7, drawing attention to whether another slew of employee misconduct allegations might be unearthed, concerning public servants abusing insider information for illicit personal gains.This rushed move by the country's top financial regulator seeks to prevent a scenario like the real estate speculation fiasco sparked by state-run Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH). LH is an organization supervised by the land ministry, in which many of its employees are suspected of having abused government-managed data.Those subject to the May 7 report include FSC employees whose work involves drafting and applying virtual currency policies or laws; those investigating and monitoring the virtual currency; and those responsible for

Apr 26, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Will cryptocurrency investments become another LH fiasco?
Economy

Analysis Debate heats up over setting up real estate monitoring body

Apartment buildings in Seoul / Korea Times file Role, functions and limits to be clearly identified to prevent excessive government controlBy Lee Kyung-min The recent public fury over employees at the state-run Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) engaging in real estate speculation using insider information has prompted the need to set up a real estate monitoring body, a discussion stalled for months after President Moon Jae-in proposed the idea in August last year.The delay was due to concerns of possible abuse of private data by the government and subsequent infringement of people's property rights under the guise of rule of law.Also raising a major red flag is a clear lack of specifics to resolve the apparent conflicts of interest resulting from the make-up and management of the body to be supervised by the land ministry, since little accountability is expected from an investigation not overseen by a disinterested third party that remains free from identifying and

Mar 22, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
[Analysis] Debate heats up over setting up real estate monitoring body
Economy

Recovery without job growth raises concerns

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-minRecent signs of a rebound in exports and consumption should not be blindly welcomed, since a much-awaited economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic will be rendered moot without measures to resolve the year-long devastation of the job market, economists said Sunday. The concerns follow the number of people looking for work in Korea reaching 853,000 in February, the highest February figure since 2003. Nine out of 10 people seeking work were aged between 20 and 39, demonstrating that young and low-paid people have been hit hardest by virus-inflicted job market woes.Experts say the latest key indicators strengthen the view that the economy has bottomed out. But as long as jobs remain scarce, the pace of a recovery will largely be limited, because people who are still out of work will find their financial conditions continue to worsen.More troubling is that economic data in the coming months could deteriorate at any turn due to uncertainties brought on by a possible increase in the number of untraceable coronavirus infections. Data from the tra

Mar 21, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Recovery without job growth raises concerns
Economy

Dovish Fed to stabilize stock market

Stock traders work in front of an electronic sign board in a dealing room at a branch of Hana Bank in Seoul, Thursday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The local stock market is expected to see a stable but bullish sentiment alongside a steady appreciation of Korea's currency, after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced Wednesday (local time) that it would keep its policy interest rate at near zero for possibly years to come despite recent signs of economic improvement.The benchmark KOSPI rose 0.61 percent to 3,066.01, Thursday, from the previous session after hitting an intraday high of 3,090.19. The won strengthened to 1,123.70 against the dollar, up 5.8 won, or 0.51 percent, from the previous session on a steady uptick since March 10 when it hit a low of 1,142 won.Thursday's close in the country's equity market followed subdued concerns about a possible hawkish turn by the Fed amid increasingly strengthening prospects of economic growth coupled with an over 2 percent inflation rate in the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell / REUTERSThe U.S. central bank now sees the economy growing 6.

Mar 18, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Dovish Fed to stabilize stock market
  • Federal Reserve expects to keep its key rate near zero through 2023
Economy

Skepticism high over finance minister's pledge to root out real estate speculation

Land Minister Byeon Chang-heum adjusts his glasses while apologizing at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee at the National Assembly, March 9. Korea Times file By Lee Kyung-min Skepticism is running high over the finance minister's pledge to eradicate real estate speculation, an understandable public sentiment and an indication that the public has largely lost faith in the government, due to dozens of botched real estate policies resulting in a spike in housing prices over the past few years. All the while, public servants were using insider information for personal gain.The shameless lack of moral and ethical standards found at the state-run Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) laid bare the complete failure of the government which sought to control housing prices through heavier taxation and tightening of lending rules, a fundamentally flawed approach that ignores the market principle that pricing should be determined by supply and demand.More embarrassi

Mar 17, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Skepticism high over finance minister's pledge to root out real estate speculation
Economy

Overseas crypto exchange users face tighter scrutiny on tax

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Overseas cryptocurrency exchange users who fail to report overseas account balances over 500 million won ($441,000) will be fined up to 20 percent of the unreported amount, according to the national Tax Service (NTS), Tuesday. Under the new rule, those who have over 500 million won worth of digital coins in accounts overseas at the end of any month throughout the year, will be obliged to report details to the tax agency by June of the following year.Any underreporting will be met with the 20 percent fine; and if the unreported amount exceeds 5 billion won, accountholders can be referred to the prosecution and have their identity disclosed.The measures announced by the NTS seek to better identify cryptocurrencies that are no longer untaxable following a revision to a related law that recognizes digital currencies as a financial asset. Previously, cryptocurrencies were not recognized as an asset and thus it was harder for government ministries to undertake seizure measures as they are allowed to do with other assets involved in criminal cases.A reward of

Mar 16, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Overseas crypto exchange users face tighter scrutiny on tax
Economy

Kyobo, Affinity consortium lock horns at ICC arbitration over put option

Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman Shin Chang-jae / Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min A five-day hearing in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration between Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman Shin Chang-jae and the company's financial investors ― represented by a consortium led by Affinity Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm ― was concluded, but it will still be at least six months before a decision is made, according to market sources, Sunday.The five-day hearing from March 15 through 19 ― the second since the first one held last October ― was part of the arbitration process to determine whether the consortium can exercise a put option at nearly double the price Shin is willing to pay, concluding the outcome of a years-long dispute that dates back to 2012. A put option is a contract giving the owner the right to sell ― or sell short ― a specified amount of an underlying security at a pre-determined price within a specified time frame.In 2012, the consortium bought 24 percent of Kyobo's shares from Daewoo International, on condition that it could exercise a put

Mar 16, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Kyobo, Affinity consortium lock horns at ICC arbitration over put option
Economy

NTS seizes W36.6bil. in cryptocurrency from 2,416 tax dodgers

Jung Chul-woo, assistant commissioner for the collection, legal affairs and PR bureau at the National Tax Service (NTS), gives a briefing at the agency's headquarters in Sejong, Monday. Courtesy of NTSBy Lee Kyung-min The National Tax Service (NTS) said Monday that it has seized about 36.6 billion won ($32.2 million) in cash and accounts receivables from 2,416 tax dodgers who held cryptocurrency assets, the first time for any law enforcement authority to forcibly claim a virtual currency.The amount was taken from individual accounts managed by crypto exchanges, after a district court granted a provisional attachment order for the NTS, enabled by the clarified status of virtual currencies as assets following a Supreme Court ruling and revision of a related law governing digital currency transactions. Previously, cryptocurrency was not recognized as an asset and thus made it harder for government authorities to take necessary measures to seize it as is done with other assets.The agency said the 2,416 people deliberately evaded taxes on business income and capital gains made following r

Mar 15, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
NTS seizes W36.6bil. in cryptocurrency from 2,416 tax dodgers
Economy

Credit loans surge more than 3.5 trillion won in just 2 days

SK bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong By Lee Kyung-minCredit loans surged by over 3.5 trillion won ($3 billion) in a span of only two days this week, driven by increased borrowing by retail investors for subscriptions of SK bioscience shares, data showed Friday. The sharp jump was also explained in part by financial authorities' moves to tighten lending rules to be measured by debt service ratio (DSR), as part of efforts to curb snowballing household debt. The ratio is calculated based on outstanding mortgage balance plus interest on non-mortgage borrowing to be paid, divided by the borrower's annual salary. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) plans to maintain the ratio under 40 percent, a drastic reduction from the current 70 percent. SK bioscience CI Data from the country's top five commercial lenders ― KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup

Mar 12, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Credit loans surge more than 3.5 trillion won in just 2 days
Economy

Hyundai MOVEX lists on Kosdaq market

Hyundai MOVEX CEO Hyun Ki-bong, front row fifth from left, applauds with the company's employees and officials from the Korea Exchange and NongHyup Investment and Securities celebrating the listing of the firm on the Kosdaq market at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Hyundai MOVEXBy Lee Kyung-min Hyundai MOVEX, an IT and logistics affiliate of Hyundai Group, was listed on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market, Friday.The firm held a ceremony at the Korea Exchange (KRX) in Yeouido, Seoul, attended by CEO Hyun Ki-bong, as well as the head of Kosdaq's market division and the chief of NH Investment & Securities' investment banking (IB) division.Hyundai MOVEX operates a logistics automation system, platform safety door (PSD) and IT services. It was launched in 2017 after merging with Hyundai U&I, which provided IT services as an automated logistics business before being spun off from Hyundai Elevator.“Hyundai MOVEX has been transformed into a logistics automation company that provides smart logistics total solutions by adding advanced IT technology to its logi

Mar 12, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Hyundai MOVEX lists on Kosdaq market
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