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Lee Kyung-min

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

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Economy

Bithumb protests 'undue' income tax

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Korea's leading cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb will file a lawsuit against the National Tax Service (NTS) over what it considers a “groundless” tax the agency imposed on its customers, sources said Sunday.The firm will likely claim that the cryptocurrency is not a legally recognized currency and therefore lacks grounds for the authorities to impose a tax of any kind. This followed a Dec. 27 disclosure on the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) website about a report that the NTS imposed 80.3 billion won ($69.1 million) in withholding tax to Bithumb in 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. Most applied to employment income, the tax is withheld or deducted from the income in most jurisdictions. Bithumb headquarters in SeoulThis means Bithumb will have to pay the imposed amount to the NTS first before paying the remaining income to its customers. “We are preparing for arguments after being notified of the tax,” a

Dec 29, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Bithumb protests 'undue' income tax
Economy

Companies scale down year-end parties amid downturn

By Lee Kyung-minCompanies used to organize lavish year-end parties for employees to recognize their accomplishments for the year and motivate them to work harder in the coming year. But this is becoming a thing of the past this year as more businesses scale down year-end gatherings or scrap them altogether amid the prolonged economic downturn and growing demand for work-life balance.Companies are encouraging workers to take days off for unpaid leave, a recommendation that can not only save labor costs but also altogether avoid what would have been a costly event, with expenses for catering and other “non-productive” services. Samsung, LG and Hyundai have decided to hold only either a year-end or early-year ceremony, held in December or the first week of January, respectively, to reflect the past 12 months and better prepare for the coming year. Even their subsidiaries concluded the 2019 business year in the third week without ceremonies that used to be mandatory for all employees. “We did not hold a large event this year,” an office worker at one of Korea's to

Dec 29, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Companies scale down year-end parties amid downturn
Banking & Finance

Kyobo Life to foster promising athletes

Kyobo Life Chief Operating Officer Yun Your-hyun, front row right, raise his fist with recipients of the firm's scholarship at the Korea Press Foundation, Dec. 26. Courtesy of Kyobo LifeBy Lee Kyung-min Fourteen student athletes were chosen as recipients of a sports scholarship offered by Kyobo Life, Korea's third-largest life insurer said Thursday. The scholarship, organized by the firm and the KYOBO Foundation for Education, seeks to help talented young people with moral, physical and intellectual development in an education initiative designed to nurture sports leaders in the country.Two sixth graders from seven sports ― sprint, speed skating, swimming, gymnastics, judo, tennis and table tennis ― will be eligible to receive 12 million won ($10,300) each for the next six years. Additional grants will be given to them if they win international sports competitions representing Korea over the next six years. “The students chosen were recognized for excellence not only in their respective field of sports but also in overall moral character, scholastic achievement and growth poten

Dec 26, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Kyobo Life to foster promising athletes
Economy

Glass ceiling still thick in securities industry

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min The glass ceiling remains thick for women in the securities industry, known for its tough, male-dominated culture, data showed Monday.According to data from Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), of 759 listed executives at Korea's top 20 brokerages, only 21, or 3 percent, were female as of September 2019.Mirae Asset Daewoo had the highest number of female executives, four. Samsung, KB, Meritz, Kiwoom, Daishin and SK each had two female executives. NH, Shinhan, Hana, Yuanta, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) each had one while the remaining eight had none. The financial services industry is defined by tough, high-pressure and result-based evaluation, a mixture of qualities that tend to favor men over women, a senior industry figure said. “Their profit is derived mostly from brokerage income, meaning workers are evaluated by their sales capabilities and customer relations,” the official said on condition of anonymity. “Stock investors by nature are more aggressive and hard to deal with, so to speak, especially when stock prices fall. Mainta

Dec 25, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Glass ceiling still thick in securities industry
Banking & Finance

Boosting morale

NongHyup Bank CEO Lee Dae-hoon, seventh from left, poses with officials from the bank and the military at the 1st Infantry Division in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Dec. 24. Lee visited them to boost morale. Courtesy of NongHyup Bank

Dec 25, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Boosting morale
Banking & Finance

Banks bolster benefits for single workers

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Banks are introducing various employment benefits for single workers, a growing number of whom are demanding equal treatment as their married peers, industry sources said Wednesday.Citibank Korea is considering changing its health benefit policy under which workers and only their spouses are eligible to take a yearly physical paid by the firm. Workers there demand that they choose one person that is not their spouse, claiming it could be one of their parents for whom the regular physical would be a substantial out-of-pocket payment without the firm's coverage ― around 600,000 won ($515). The workers' demand was forwarded to the management after an increasing number of workers said the current employment benefits are designed to discriminate against single workers. “Many workers are single and they may not have plans to get married any time soon, so they may find the current system discriminatory given most of the benefits are designed to support married workers,” a Citibank Korea official said. The demand from Citibank has already been acce

Dec 25, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Banks bolster benefits for single workers
Banking & Finance

Banks compete for overseas remittance biz

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min Banks are leading an intensive marketing campaign to take the upper hand in the overseas remittance business, the market share of which is increasingly encroached upon by new competitors such as card and insurance firms, industry officials said Wednesday. The move comes amid an increase in overseas remittance volume over the past few years. It jumped to $13.4 billion (15 trillion won) in 2018, up 54 percent from $8.7 billion in 2015.State lender Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) began an event whereby Chinese customers will be given red envelopes or a red packet, customarily given to loved ones during holidays or on special occasions in China.The event will be held at over 100 branches nationwide in areas with high Chinese presence such as Ansan, Sihwa and Seoul's Itaewon.Another ongoing event that runs until December 2020 saves foreign workers 2,000 won in remittance service fees for amounts over $500 wired to overseas accounts. The fee will be reduced for up to five transactions for customers who send money via ATMs or online and cellphone banking platf

Dec 25, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Banks compete for overseas remittance biz
Economy

Koreans spend more time alone at home

At-home service industries booming By Lee Kyung-min A woman in her mid-30s surnamed Lee loves to look at the new series of coffee capsules produced by Nespresso, a Switzerland-based operating unit of the Nestle Group.The self-proclaimed early adopter of the capsule coffee machine said having the espresso machine at home makes her happy because it turns her room into a coffee house of her own. “The rich, deep espresso scent from the small machine instantly gives me comfort. I feel I am in a place so cozy, uninterrupted by anyone. Nothing helps me forget the stress from work better than music in the background and a capsule coffee that I pick that day,” she said. She is among many that appreciate the taste only espresso machines can offer.According to a report published in July 2019 by Hyundai Research Institute (HRI), Korea's import of coffee-related equipment increased about five-fold over the past eight years.In 2011, according to Korea Customs Service data cited by the institute, Korea imported $62.8 million (73 billion won) in the equipment, but the figure soared to $3

Dec 25, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Koreans spend more time alone at home
Economy

Gov't to allocate 71.4% budget in 1st half to spur economy

By Lee Kyung-min The Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to allocate 305 trillion won ($262 billion) in budget within the first half of 2020, in a move to spur the economy via prompt execution of public spending, it said Tuesday.The amount is 71.4 percent of 427.1 trillion won available out of 512.3 trillion won total national budget in 2020. The remaining 85.1 trillion won is reserved for special purposes, with the use exempt from parliamentary oversight. Budgets will be allocated in the January-June period by sector; 82.2 percent of the job creation budget (5.9 trillion won), 74.3 percent of the social overhead capital (SOC) budget (32.4 trillion won) and 79.3 percent of the research and development (R&D) budget (17.8 trillion won).“The plan reflects the government's strong determination to revitalize the economy as soon as possible, in line with the previous announcement last week,” the ministry's budget coordination division director Kim Myeong-joong said. Korea Development Institute Macroeconomic Analysis and Forecasting Director Kim Seong-tae“Areas most

Dec 24, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Gov't to allocate 71.4% budget in 1st half to spur economy
Economy

Foreigners contribute to Seoul's rising real estate prices

gettyimagesbankChinese emerge as Seoul's home investors By Lee Kyung-min The number of homes in Seoul bought by foreigners has jumped over the past four years, contributing to a continued rise in prices of residential buildings in the capital, data showed Monday. According to the Korea Appraisal Board (KAB), foreigners purchased 10,341 homes in Seoul from January 2015 to August 2019. Of the total, Chinese bought 4,773, accounting for nearly half, or 46.2 percent.Americans bought over a quarter, or 25.9 percent (2,674), while Japanese purchased 185, or 1.8 percent.Since 2017, Chinese have accounted for over half of foreign home buyers, a rapid increase from 2015 when they bought 722, less than a third of the total. In 2015, Americans bought 631, accounting for 28.3 percent. Already in the first nine months of 2019, Chinese purchased 619 homes, more than three times those bought by Americans (190). Chinese favored four districts ― Geumcheon-gu, Guro-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu and Jung-gu, all known for a heavy presence of Chinese nationals.Of 154 homes bought by foreigners in the January-Augu

Dec 23, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Foreigners contribute to Seoul's rising real estate prices
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