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Lee Kyung-min

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Economy

Blame game escalates between NH Investment and KSD over Optimus fiasco

Two key officials from Optimus Asset Management walk past reporters for a hearing held to determine the validity of arrest warrants sought for them at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, Tuesday. They were arrested for fraud and violating the Capital Market Law. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min The scandal-ridden Optimus Asset Management's expected failure to return over 535 billion won ($447 million) to investors was developing into a full-blown war of accusations between the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) and NH Investment and Securities, Thursday.The investment subsidiary of NH Financial Group was the top seller of financial products through which Optimus drew funds from investors. It attracted over 477.8 billion won, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the total. The KSD was the appraiser of assets and investments pooled from Optimus, also functioning as a provider of the accounting system needed for record keeping.The scandal was initially over suspected document forgery by Optimus which had the KSD change the names of underlying assets from accounts receivabl

Jul 9, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Blame game escalates between NH Investment and KSD over Optimus fiasco
Economy

'Punitive tax, removal of tax incentives for landlords, corporate bodies in store'

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon / YonhapDesperate gov't, ruling party flounder over property tax scheme By Lee Kyung-min Little to no desired outcome is expected from the government and ruling party's desperate push for “far stronger” measures to stem property speculation, as they refuse to acknowledge shortcomings of their repeatedly failed measures that ignored market principles and public expectations.Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon said Monday a “punitive tax” on frequent home traders will be in store coupled with removal of tax incentives long granted to landlords and corporate bodies, in what he said will be “the strongest move yet” to uproot speculation in the real estate market. The push is highly likely to be realized given the DPK-majority National Assembly can easily pass the revision in July at the earliest possible date, enacting a slew of pending bills seeking heavier tax on owners of expensive and multiple homes.Yet the “frantic” attempts to control what

Jul 8, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
'Punitive tax, removal of tax incentives for landlords, corporate bodies in store'
Economy

Controversial revision criticized as pro-union

By Lee Kyung-minThe government is drawing criticism for its push to revise a law, Tuesday, a move that's being called pro-labor and anti-business, mostly because it would allow expanded membership of a company union to include dismissed workers as well as those not employed by the firm. Also to be allowed is legal recognition for Korea Teachers' and Education Workers' Union (KTU), a group of left-leaning educators outlawed in 2013 for including nine dismissed teachers in its membership.The government says the revision is needed to ratify key clauses laid out by the International Labor Organization (ILO), a prerequisite to resolving a dispute over the free trade agreement between Korea and European countries. Yet businesses say the move will only hurt their activities, long bogged down by militant unions known for their frequent threats and subsequent execution of strikes. The labor-friendly policy will accelerate corporate deterioration already in significant progress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they say, with foreign businesses here being forced out of Korea, a country long shunn

Jul 7, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Controversial revision criticized as pro-union
Economy

INTERVIEW Green investment vital to 'Korean New Deal'

You Jong-ilTransition to renewable energy, carbon tax inevitableBy Lee Kyung-min The government should forgo salvaging “zombie firms” and divert the state resources to financing state-run projects and companies with green initiatives, in a streamlined, measured approach to advance the “Korean New Deal,” a grand vision to identify the country's new growth engine post the COVID-19 pandemic, a noted economist said Sunday.A prompt investment in renewable energy will be a much-needed crisis-turned-opportunity for the Asia's fourth-largest, export-reliant economy once touted as the top global player for shipbuilding industry, following Denmark which lost the industry to Korea in the 1990s but has since re-utilized the infrastructure and became a leader in the wind power generation, according to Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management (KDI School) Dean You Jong-il.Fierce pushback from “the establishment” ― notably the fossil fuel and auto industry ― is expected against the drive which they consider “costly and uncertain&rd

Jul 5, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
[INTERVIEW] Green investment vital to 'Korean New Deal'
Economy

Will corporate venture capital salvage flagging economy?

'Chaebol will become even larger' vs. 'growth momentum needed' By Lee Kyung-min Corporate venture capital (CVC) will be a double-edged sword that could both galvanize the flagging economy and exacerbate polarization of wealth based on the principle of “economies of scale,” experts said.The issue came to the fore after the government decided to “restrictively allow” holding firms to own CVC, as part of directives for the second half of 2020. The government and both ruling and opposition parties in unison have since sought a swift passage of a revision to facilitate the initiative.Experts say conglomerates with large capital investing in CVC could bring the much-needed vibrancy in the industry, providing a major growth momentum for the economy in dire straits due mostly to the drawn-out U.S.-China feud compounded by the pandemic.Yet allowing only a handful of top industry leaders own the much-coveted “key growth booster” that will inevitably result in far greater power and control of the few.This in their view will undermine fair trade practice

Jul 5, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Will corporate venture capital salvage flagging economy?
Economy

'The stronger the push, the higher the price will jump'

President Moon Jae-in, left, walks past Land Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee in this file photo taken at Cheong Wa Dae, Feb.27. Korea Times fileBackfiring real estate policy fuels public uproar By Lee Kyung-min The government's headstrong push to continue its failed real estate policies will only disorient the market, drawing backlash from the public whose prospects of affordable housing are deteriorating, market watchers and economists said Friday.Haphazard policies demonizing speculation lack consideration for the housing conditions of most people, and will only lead to an even more rapid jump of already high prices, leaving prospective buyers further demoralized.The top priority should be instilling confidence in the availability of affordable housing in the market, which in turn will prevent anxiety-driven panic buying, thereby stabilizing prices, they added. Misplaced anger at land ministerLand, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee was called in, Thursday, by President Moon Jae-in whose approval rating has fallen below 50 percent, partly due to d

Jul 3, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
'The stronger the push, the higher the price will jump'
Economy

'Gov't tax scheme may cause fund outflow'

A dealer looks at an electronic board on a dealing floor at KB Kookmin Bank, June 9. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min The government's plan to impose a hefty capital gains tax on wealthy stock investors in 2023 will drive local investors with substantial funds out of the country, slowing down the already underperforming financial market of Asia's fourth-largest economy, market analysts said Wednesday.The capital flight will be most pronounced in the KOSDAQ where small- and mid-cap shares are largely held by retail investors alongside the benchmark KOSPI, which is heavily influenced by foreign and institutional investors.“The concern is lingering,” Standard Chartered Bank Korea investment strategist Hong Dong-hee said.Starting 2023 those who earn over 20 million won ($16,000) in capital gains following transactions of listed shares will face a 20-percent tax on anything earned over 20 million won ― the maximum deductible amount ― the country's finance ministry said earlier. The rate will be 25 percent if profits from stocks are over 300 million won.“Many investors th

Jul 1, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
'Gov't tax scheme may cause fund outflow'
Economy

Debate continues over capital gains tax on stocks

A dealer stands in front of an electronic trading board on the trading floor of KB Kookmin Bank in Yeouido, Seoul, June 15. Korea Times fileAbolishing transaction, raising minimum amount deductible bone of contention By Lee Kyung-min A heated debate is expected between lawmakers and the government over the latter's proposed plan to impose capital gains tax to a broader scope of retail investors in a set of tax code revisions to financial investment instruments, notably stocks.The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday June 26 that starting 2023 those who earn over 20 million won ($16,000) in capital gains following transactions of listed shares will face a 20 percent tax on anything earned over 20 million won, the maximum deductible amount. The rate will be 25 percent if the earnings are over 300 million won. It also said stock transaction tax will be lowered in stages to 0.15 percent from the current 0.25 percent between 2022 and 2023.The key bone of contention will be whether to abolish stock transaction tax, the imposition of which will raise the issue of “double taxati

Jun 29, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Debate continues over capital gains tax on stocks
Economy

Minimum wage discussion to strain businesses

Members of Minimum Wage Commission attend a meeting at Sejong Government Complex, June 25. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-minThe demand by unions for a minimum wage hike for 2021 is putting greater pressure on businesses, which are already reeling from the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.Businesses say the state-set hourly wage should remain unchanged, otherwise layoffs will become inevitable. The unions, on the other hand, claim that as much as a 25.4 percent increase is needed to help workers address key outstanding issues sparked by the coronavirus outbreak. The increased wage bill, they argue, will lead to greater purchasing power to bolster consumption needed to keep the economy from crashing further. The current minimum wage is 8,590 won ($7.17).Nine members representing unions, business and the public participated in the Minimum Wage Commission, a 27-member trilateral negotiating body, at a meeting at the Ministry of Employment and Labor at the Sejong Government Complex, Monday. This was the first meeting held in 2020 after two previous ones which had been scheduled for June 1

Jun 29, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Minimum wage discussion to strain businesses
Economy

Smart Policies for Smart Factories

Kim Min-hoBy Kim Min-ho How can you tell someone is smart? Just the fact that they are carrying a good laptop doesn't mean they are smart. I tell if a person is smart when the person knows their goal and knows how to use their skills and information effectively to achieve the goal.Now I ask the same question of a factory instead of a human. “Smart factories” have become a buzz phrase and by now we should know what it means to be a smart factory. A factory is smart when it uses information effectively from the factory floor up to management level to meet its goal such as creating high-quality products or minimizing operational inefficiencies. Implementation of information technology (IT) such as artificial intelligence (AI) and industrial internet of things (IIoT) across factory operations transforms the physical factory into a digital factory and creates a constant flow of information. A factory does not become a smart factory by adopting a single technology but it can get smarter progressively to make better decisions by creating digital links between not only the worker

Jun 28, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Smart Policies for Smart Factories
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