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Lee Kyung-min

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Economy

Gov't spending seeks to limit virus-triggered economic fallout

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, second from right, speaks at a press conference at the Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Friday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The government will spend 16 trillion won ($13.1 billion) to keep the economy from crashing as fallout from the fast-spreading new coronavirus is expected to take a greater toll than was initially anticipated on the already flagging economy.The Ministry of Economy and Finance will spend 7 trillion won mostly in the form of tax incentives and support for virus infection victims and affected areas while some 9 trillion won will be injected by state-run financial institutions. This is in addition to the extra 6.2 trillion won budget set to be drawn up at the National Assembly in March.“The government decided that measures are needed to counter the difficulty in the economy caused by the virus infection and spread,” the Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, who doubles as the Deputy Prime Minister, said at a press conference in Seoul, Friday.“The measure seeks to help victims weather the difficulties, thereby preventing fu

Feb 28, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Gov't spending seeks to limit virus-triggered economic fallout
  • KOSPI fails to defend 2,000-mark amid virus crisis
Economy

Tellerless transactions jump amid coronavirus

By Lee Kyung-min Tellerless transactions at banks have jumped over the last two weeks due to the fast-spreading new coronavirus, an industry official said Thursday.Korea's five major banks ― Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Woori, Hana and NongHyup ―saw more than 32.9 million online transactions combined between Feb. 16 and 22, the week of the virus' rapid spread in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province.This is up 6.3 percent, or 1.94 million, from the figure recorded during the same period, last year.The rise was partly driven by some banks' exemptions of certain service fees. KB Kookmin Bank withdrew online service fees for customers living in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, as well as fees for those who deposit or withdraw cash from automated teller machines at branch buildings in the region. “The online transaction volume in the fourth week of this month is notably higher compared to the first or second week of the month,” a KB official said. The highest jump was seen by NongHyup Bank, whose transaction volume w

Feb 27, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Tellerless transactions jump amid coronavirus
Economy

First female director-general seeks to set example at finance ministry

Kim Kyung-heeBy Lee Kyung-min Kim Kyung-hee, newly appointed Administrative and National Defense Budget Bureau Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said she will strive to be identified by her exemplary leadership and performance, not by her gender. “After I was promoted, a lot of media coverage was about me being the first woman to become a senior official at the finance ministry, but I believe there will come a time when a story about someone's promotion will be about work performance, regardless of gender,” she said. With expertise in international finance, the Yonsei University graduate with a master's in public administration from Harvard has spent most of her career at tax policy-related departments at the finance ministry.During a phone interview, Kim compared her situation with that of Michael Jackson, the legendary pop icon whose enormous talent was often overshadowed by the focus on his attempts to change his appearance.“It was a sense of isolation and his attempts to fit in gone to the extreme, or the combination of both, I think,&rdqu

Feb 27, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
First female director-general seeks to set example at finance ministry
Economy

Korea urged to diversify trading partners amid virus scare

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Korea should diversify trading partners to limit its vulnerabilities caused by the China-centered global value chain, according to economic think tank reports, Tuesday.The renewed, collective recommendations adds to the growing concern that Asia's fourth-largest economy ― relying heavily on exports ― is structured to be the hardest hit by external uncertainties amid the fast-spreading new coronavirus, compounded by the drawn-out U.S.-China trade dispute. Korea Institute of Finance (KIF) researcher Kim Chung-han said in a Feb. 22 report that Korea's manufacturing value chain should be reorganized in a way that reduces heavy dependence on China and Japan, a few countries that provide or produce parts and intermediate goods imported by Korea to make final export goods. “The China-originated coronavirus has essentially led to a downright halt of the global economy effectuated by the value chain relying on the world's second-largest economy. This has emerged as a new risk factor for the global economy,” Kim said. This is in line with an earlier

Feb 25, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Korea urged to diversify trading partners amid virus scare
Economy

Feb. crucial month for cryptocurrency industry

By Lee Kyung-min Market watchers are showing growing interest in whether a pending bill governing the regulation of cryptocurrency will pass the National Assembly in February, which would lay the groundwork for the government to establish legal grounds to tax what has long remained a lucrative, tax-free transaction.The much-awaited passage anticipated at the parliamentary plenary session Feb. 27 will also be the first step towards joining the global wave of setting up guidelines on the digital currency in line with previous recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global standard-setting body.Once passed, the government will be able to outline grounds to tax the digital currency, a move consistent with previous attempts to revise ordinances of a related law scheduled to be discussed as early as July.This will be facilitated as the passage of the bill would require cryptocurrency exchanges to identify users and their transaction history, a basis for the government to tax them.Debates will follow over whether to impose capital gains tax, or withholding tax, a meas

Feb 24, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Feb. crucial month for cryptocurrency industry
Banking & Finance

Fight against COVID-19

National Agricultural Cooperative Federation Vice President Heo sik, single desk center, holds an emergency meeting on preventing the further spread of COVID-19 (2019nCoV), at NongHyup headquarters in Seodaemun, Feb. 21. Courtesy of NongHyup

Feb 23, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Fight against COVID-19
Economy

Lime conflict deepens among brokerages

Headquarters of Lime Asset Management are seen in this captured image from the company's official website, Sunday. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Conflict is escalating among Korea's four brokerages over their varying interests and roles played in the ongoing Lime fiasco, a mismanaged hedge fund that incurred for many people a substantial ― or entire in worst cases ― loss of their initial investment, industry sources said Sunday.A coalition of three securities firms that engaged in a combined 670 billion won ($553 million) a total return swap (TRS) agreement with Lime Asset Management ― Shinhan Investment, KB Securities and Korea Investment & Securities ― said it decided not to respond to an earlier request by Daishin Securities, citing a lack of merit. This came less than two weeks after Daishin, the seller of 107.6 billion won in Lime-managed funds, asked the three Feb.12 not to pull money from the pooled investment before its customers. “It is understandable that Daishin is under enormous pressure from customers whose redemption requests were not processed, but we have

Feb 23, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Lime conflict deepens among brokerages
Economy

Tax cooperation

National Tax Service (NTS) Commissioner Kim Hyun-jun, left, and his Malaysian counterpart Sabin Samitah shake hands at the Inland Revenue Board building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday (local time). The two agreed to foster human and technology exchanges to help the Southeast Asian country enhance its e-tax administration process. Courtesy of NTS

Feb 16, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Economy

INTERVIEW Korean needs more predictable tax rules

Deloitte Anjin M&A, Inbound Tax Service leader and partner Scott Oleson speaks during a recent interview with The Korea Times at the firm's headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulInternational expert calls for Korea to avoid 'arbitrary' tax raidsBy Lee Kyung-min Korea should improve predictability and consistency in tax law enforcement to help more foreign businesses operate here, according to a senior international tax expert. Making proper business decisions is all but impossible without the two most important elements factored in, especially in the field of international taxation where the uncertainty translates directly into unwanted rise in costs ― mostly tax expenses. If all other conditions are equal, he added, foreign businesses would not choose the Asia's fourth-largest economy as an ideal destination for business expansion over Singapore, for example. “I have been in meetings where people said we need to expand somewhere in Asia. They say let's put it ― yes the cost of living may be a little bit higher ― in Singapore, but at least we

Feb 16, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
[INTERVIEW] Korean needs more predictable tax rules
Economy

Korea divided over deferring retirement age

Gov't urged to reform wage system, labor market simultaneouslyBy Lee Kyung-min Employment extension has emerged as a political hot potato after President Moon Jae-in triggered a debate Feb. 11 over whether the country should allow older people to work beyond their retirement age to cope with demographic challenges. Critics say that extending employment is only a pretext for extending the retirement age, a thorny issue that sparks generational conflict and heated protests from businesses amid the prolonged economic slowdown.The issue was brought to the fore after President Moon said it was high time for the country to seriously discuss the issue at a recent meeting with labor ministry officials.“The only way for the country to deal with the rapid fall in the economically active workforce is to maximize the economic participation of women and the elderly,” Moon said.The issue warrants a debate amid the growing need for effective workforce utilization as Asia's fourth-largest economy is one of the fastest-aging societies. Yet little progress will be made without prior discus

Feb 16, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Korea divided over deferring retirement age
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