my timesThe Korea Times
lkm

Lee Kyung-min

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr

Go to EmailGo to URL

Read more

Economy

Gov't considers levying income taxes on cryptocurrency

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Expectation is growing that the government will tax around 20 percent of gains derived from cryptocurrency trading, a move seeking to recognize one-off, windfall occurrences derived from the digital currency, sources said Monday.The move was fueled by a recent switch of tasks undertaken by two divisions governing the taxation schemes under the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The ministry recently had a division in charge of income tax take over the issue regarding taxation on cryptocurrency from a division that governs property tax.The former deals with policies concerning earned, business, retirement and pension income as well as what is legally termed “other income,” mostly derived from activities or incidents that lack regularity, consistency and stability. Included are lottery income, lecture fees from non-employers and cash awards for literary works and other prizes. Up to 60 percent of such income is deductible and usually 20 percent of the remaining 40 percent is taxable. “We are not able to disclose details about ongoing matt

Jan 20, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Gov't considers levying income taxes on cryptocurrency
Economy

INTERVIEW Korean economy expected to bottom out in 1st half

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Jan. 10. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulMinister Hong vows to push for inclusive growth By Lee Kyung-min The Korean economy will show clear signs of rebound in the first half, in what many hopes to be the beginning of a much-awaited recovery after an undoubtedly tough year of 2019, the country's top economic policymaker said Monday. “The economy will see improvements and the growth rate will bounce back in 2020,” Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said in an interview with The Korea Times at the government complex in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Jan. 10. “Major economic indicators will see substantial improvements from a year earlier and the chipmaking industry, accounting for over one-fifth of the country's export, will see a major rebound on the back of the expected supply glut ease. This together with fiscal and monetary policy as well as the government's firm resolve to revitalize the economy has led us to set the growth rate at 2.4 percent in 2020.

Jan 19, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
[INTERVIEW] Korean economy expected to bottom out in 1st half
  • INTERVIEW 'South Korea doesn't push socialist economic policies'
Economy

Prudential Life takeover battle heats up

The headquarters of Prudential Life Insurance Company of Korea in Seoul is seen in this file photo, Friday. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Attention is growing over who will take over Prudential Life Insurance Company of Korea, a battle with raised stakes after local private equity funds threw their hats into the ring at the last minute, industry sources said Friday. Vying for the takeover of the local insurance arm under the U.S. insurance giant Prudential Financial are KB Financial Group, MBK Partners, Hahn & Company, IMM Private Equity and Taiwan's Fubon Life Insurance. They all submitted letters of intent (LOI) to Goldman Sachs, the lead manager for the sale, late Thursday. KB Financial is showing a keen interest in the sales to boost its life insurance business, the long-cited weakness of the former industry leader recently outperformed by Shinhan Financial. KB Financial Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo in his New Year address reiterated his resolve to seek mergers and acquisitions (M&As), in a broader move to diversify its business portfolio and elevate the group as a leading,

Jan 17, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Prudential Life takeover battle heats up
Economy

KRX urged to revise startup listing requirements

By Lee Kyung-min The Korea Exchange (KRX) should revise listing requirements to put more priority on future growth potential, while the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) needs to take measures to enhance risk management amid the continued increase of overseas investment, an academic review paper said Friday.In a 98-page review of the two financial organizations commissioned by the Financial Information Society of Korea (FISK), the researchers said the KRX should seek measures that would essentially lower the entry barrier for the startups. The annual review was submitted to the Financial Services Commission. “The KRX listing requirements should be revised to evaluate firms on their future growth prospects, a major change from the current practice whereby key determining criteria largely concern the firms' financials and previous performance,” the report said. The makeup of the listed firms should be more diverse, the report added, to bolster dynamism of the capital market in line with the ongoing industrial pa

Jan 17, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
KRX urged to revise startup listing requirements
Economy

Salaried foreign workers should file year-end tax settlement

By Lee Kyung-min Salaried foreign workers should file a year-end tax settlement before they receive February's salary, the tax agency said Thursday.The National Tax Service (NTS) said foreigners earning a regular income in Korea should fill out the necessary forms and submit them to their employers between Jan.20 and Feb. 29. The employers will then deliver the collected forms to the NTS by March 10. The year-end process is a requirement whereby the tax authorities will settle whether workers should pay more or be reimbursed for income taxes paid over the past year. This follows a review of annual income statements for the past year including dues paid to the government such as state-run healthcare premiums and national pension premiums. If the final amount settled is greater than the amount paid, workers should pay the difference. If it is the other way around, the government will refund workers the difference. Foreign workers can choose whether to use the same calculation method Koreans do, or apply a flat 19 percent rate. For foreigners recognized as having an engineering specialt

Jan 16, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Salaried foreign workers should file year-end tax settlement
Economy

Bithumb dispute taken to Tax Tribunal

Bithumb headquarters in SeoulBy Lee Kyung-min Korea's leading cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb filed a complaint with the Tax Tribunal against the National Tax Service (NTS) over what it considers a “groundless” tax the agency imposed on its customers, the company said Friday. The firm claims that the cryptocurrency is not a legally recognized currency and therefore lacks the authorities lack the grounds to impose a tax of any kind. The Tax Tribunal will have 90 days to determine whether to grant or dismiss Bithumb's motion seeking to nullify the 80.3 billion won ($69.1 million) in withholding tax the NTS imposed last November. A withholding tax, also known as a retention tax, is an income tax paid to the government by the payer of the income rather than by its recipient.Mostly applied to employment income, the tax is withheld or deducted from the income in most jurisdictions. This means Bithumb has to pay the imposed amount to the NTS first before paying the remaining income to its customers. “We paid the full amount and have since been preparing for arguments. We b

Jan 16, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Bithumb dispute taken to Tax Tribunal
Politics

People in 40s isolated from job market recovery

By Lee Kyung-min The employment situation for middle-aged breadwinners is deteriorating as people in their 40s kept losing their jobs in December 2019, despite a “recovery” in the overall job market, data showed Wednesday.Statistics Korea reported that the country added 516,000 jobs in December, the highest number since August 2014 when the economy added 670,000.The number of jobs in all other age groups increased in December but those in their 40s, mostly family breadwinners, saw 128,000 jobs disappear.The loss was offset by the 479,000 jobs added for those in their 60s and older, followed by 94,000 for 50-somethings, and 69,000 for young people aged between 15 and 29, but a mere 2,000 for the 30-somethings.The Ministry of Economy and Finance said the job market is showing gradual yet firm signs of recovery, but experts refuted such optimism saying that only part-time or poor quality jobs are being created for those aged over 60. Sung Tae-yoon, an economist at Yonsei University, said the job market is hardly on a recovery track.“What the government is eager to call

Jan 16, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
People in 40s isolated from job market recovery
Economy

Financial firms urged to move beyond 'green capitalism'

United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Korea Representative Lim Dae-woongBy Lee Kyung-minFinancial firms will be increasingly required to do business with robust fiscal soundness measured by their degree of compliance with the Paris Agreement, which will help them “internalize” the new environmentally sustainable and therefore desirable norm, according to an environmental finance expert, Monday.United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Korea Representative Lim Dae-woong said once the central bank and financial authorities set the directive from the top, the financial sector will follow, a possible beginning of a healthy, sustainable business cycle. “The green initiative will be among their top priorities, not because they feel environmentally conscious or morally obliged, but because they are able to make money that way. This is capitalism at its best,” he said. The long-term temperature goal agreed upon under the Paris Agreement is to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 d

Jan 13, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Financial firms urged to move beyond 'green capitalism'
Economy

KOMSCO enjoys record sales of W524.6 bil.

KOMSCO CEO Cho Yong-manCEO Cho places top priority on innovationBy Lee Kyung-min The state-run Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp. (KOMSCO) reported a record-high performance in 2019, a notable feat backed by a diversified business portfolio amid digitization whereby printing banknotes can no longer be its primary source of profit.The organization said Monday that it recorded sales of 524.6 billion won ($452.1 million) in 2019, up 40 billion won or 9.1 percent from a year earlier.Its operating profit also topped 10 billion won for the first time in history, up 9.5 billion won in 2018 and 8.8 billion won in 2017. Its revenue from overseas business came to a record high of 65 billion won. The outstanding performance illustrated by figures that broke records seven years in a row followed corporate initiative to identify new sources of growth engine, a task undertaken by the firm's CEO Cho Yong-man. “The record performance in 2019 was attributed to our efforts to innovate management. We will continue to ramp up efforts to create social value as a public c

Jan 13, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
KOMSCO enjoys record sales of W524.6 bil.
Economy

Gold prices become volatile amid US-Iran feud

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min The price of gold, both here and abroad has become volatile due to lingering uncertainty stemming from the U.S.-Iran dispute. According to the Korea International Finance Center, the price of gold for delivery in February stopped a 10-day winning streak, Wednesday (local time), retreating 0.9 percent or $14.10 to end at $1,560.20.The setback came a day after the price hit a fresh high due to traders flocking to the safe asset following an escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Iran.The surge followed news reports that Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops in what the U.S. Pentagon believed was retaliation for the American airstrike that killed a top Iranian general in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad Jan. 3 (local time). However, the price turned downward after U.S. President Donald Trump made no mention of taking military action against Iran and called for peace, dispelling concerns of an impending war.The price of gold also retreated in Korea, losing more than 1,500 won per gram. On Wednesday, the price hit

Jan 9, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Gold prices become volatile amid US-Iran feud
previous page
253254255256257
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.