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Lee Kyung-min

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

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Economy

NTS distributes W5 tril. in Earned Income Tax Credit

National Tax Service (NTS) Vice Commissioner Kim Dae-ji / Courtesy of NTS By Kim Dae-ji The government runs subsidy programs that distributed 5.03 trillion won ($4.2 billion) to 4.73 million households in 2019.On average, this is 1.22 million won per household. These subsidy programs are the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) that are run by the National Tax Service (NTS). The world's first EITC was introduced in 1975 by the U.S. government to provide financial support and act as an incentive for low-income recipients to continue working. Since then, the U.K., Canada and other advanced countries have begun similar programs. The Korean government enacted its EITC program in 2006 and has provided subsidies since 2009.In 2015, the CTC was additionally introduced to help low-income families afford childcare. Such subsidy programs help low-income groups in society back into employment.Under the management of the NTS, these programs play an importan

Nov 29, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
NTS distributes W5 tril. in Earned Income Tax Credit
Economy

Soaring home prices force people to leave Seoul

By Lee Kyung-min The number of people living in Seoul continued to drop over the past few months, an indication that more people have moved out of the capital due to soaring housing prices, government data showed Wednesday. According to Statistics Korea, Seoul suffered a net outflow of 5,060 people in October, as 133,127 left while 128,067 moved into the capital. This followed a decrease of 7,100 in July, 7,400 in August and 5,500 in September.This is in contrast to Gyeonggi Province which saw a net inflow of 9,319 after 164,544 moved in and 155,225 left. “This could indicate that most people who left Seoul settled in Gyeonggi Province, the area surrounding the capital, due to soaring housing prices,” a Statistics Korea official said.Gyeonggi is host to several satellite cities of Seoul that have been built to distribute housing demand out of the capital.Except for February 2019, Seoul has seen a net outflow in its population for the past few years. Other than Gyeonggi Province, Sejong administrative city logged a net population increase of 2,403, followed by Gangwon and

Nov 27, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Soaring home prices force people to leave Seoul
Banking & Finance

Korean banks seeking expansion in Myanmar

Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) CEO Kim Do-jin, right, poses with Myanmar's Ministry of Industry Deputy Minister Min Ye Paing Hein after signing a memorandum of understanding to boost cooperation in supporting SMEs at Lotte Hotel Busan, Nov. 25. Courtesy of IBKIBK signs MOU with Myanmar's SME authoritiesBy Lee Kyung-min Korean lenders are seeking business expansion in Myanmar, a member state of ASEAN emerging as a key growth area under the Moon Jae-in administration's New Southern Policy, Tuesday. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organization of 10 countries in Southeast Asia. The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) said Tuesday that it formed a business alliance Monday with the Myanmar Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development Working Committee. Under the agreement, the two sides will boost personnel and policy exchanges to foster SMEs. The accord will help Korean and Myanmar firms find business opportunities in each other's countries. The state-run lender will share experiences and knowhow to help talented individuals in Myanmar de

Nov 26, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Korean banks seeking expansion in Myanmar
Economy

Political unrest in Hong Kong

First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Kim Yong-beom, left, speaks during a meeting with ranking government officials at the Seoul Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, Nov. 25. Kim said the ongoing unrest in Hong Kong would have a limited impact on the Korean financial market. Yonhap

Nov 25, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Political unrest in Hong Kong
Economy

Koreans become more skeptical about upward social mobility

By Lee Kyung-min Positive views about upward social mobility in Korea are decreasing, amid widening income and consumption disparities in the face of social polarization, data showed Monday. In Statistics Korea's biennial study of 34,147 men and women aged 19 and older, only 28.9 percent of respondents said their children's generation would have a high chance of social mobility. The figure has been on a continued decline since 2009 when it hit 48.3 percent. It stood at 41.4 percent in 2011, 39.6 percent in 2013, 30 percent in 2015 and 29.5 percent in 2017.The survey was conducted between May 15 and 30 on whether they feel they have a high chance of reaching a higher socio-economic status in their lifetime if they work hard enough. The respondents held a more pessimistic view when asked whether their generation has high social mobility, with only 22.7 percent agreeing. While the figure remained the same for the third consecutive study, it had been on a decline from 37.6 percent in 2009. The figure was 32.2 in 2011 and 31.2 in 2013. More people feel that inequality could widen in the c

Nov 25, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Koreans become more skeptical about upward social mobility
  • No money, no hope: South Korea's 'Dirt Spoons' turn against Moon
Banking & Finance

K bank upbeat about turnaround

By Lee Kyung-min Expectations are growing for K bank, which has been grappling with losses over the past year, to turn around in the near future as the internet-only bank may receive much-needed capital from KT, Korea's second-largest mobile carrier, according to company officials Friday.The upbeat mood follows the passage of a revised law under which those suspected or convicted of violating the Fair Trade Act will be able to qualify as the largest shareholders of internet-only banks. This clears way for the suspected antitrust law violator KT to become the largest shareholder of Korea's first internet-only bank, meaning a capital injection of around 50 billion won ($42 million) could soon be in order. Upon passage of the revision at the National Assembly plenary session following approval from legislation and judiciary committee, KT plans to file an eligibility request with the Financial Services Commission (FSC), seeking to become the largest shareholder of K bank with a 34 percent stake. “Our view is positive,” a K bank official said.“We halted the lending busin

Nov 22, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
K bank upbeat about turnaround
Economy

'Banks, brokerages, insurers care little about consumers'

By Lee Kyung-min Customers have little confidence in financial services providers about their sales practices, consumer protections and risk management, a survey from a nonprofit investor rights advocacy organization showed Friday. This came amid heightened consumer distrust of banks, brokerages and insurers following a recent fiasco involving derivative-linked funds (DLF) sold by KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank. Many people lost their entire investments. In a survey conducted by Korea Financial Investors' Protection Foundation of 1,000 investors aged between 25 and 69 from Oct 21 to 31, 10 out of 12 questions received an average score of less than 50. The foundation based the questionnaire on Good Practices for Financial Consumer Protection designed by the World Bank. The respondents were asked to evaluate how much they agreed with each given statement on a scale of one to five, with one meaning they do not agree at all and five they absolutely agree. The final score was converted to a scale of one to 100. The statement that drew the lowest score of an average of 38.8 was about whether

Nov 22, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
'Banks, brokerages, insurers care little about consumers'
Economy

Income for self-employed plunges amid downturn

Gov't welfare spending narrows income inequality in Q3 By Lee Kyung-min The business income for the self-employed dropped sharply in the third quarter as a growing number of small business owners decided to shut down amid the economic downturn.According to data released by Statistics Korea on Thursday, the monthly average business income for households stood at 879,800 won ($747) in the third quarter, down 4.9 percent from a year ago, the steepest fall since 2003 when the agency began compiling related data.“The latest data indicates that the self-employed are essentially perishing,” Yonsei University economist Sung Tae-yoon said.“Many self-employed people in the top-income bracket continue to take a hit amid the economic slowdown. With a series of minimum wage hikes, their bottom lines are deteriorating fast.”The critical comment is in line with data that showed the number of households with a self-employed family member in the top 40 percent income bracket fell, and the number of those in the bottom 40 percent increased. “Households with self-employed

Nov 21, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Income for self-employed plunges amid downturn
Banking & Finance

Helping startups

KEB Hana Bank CEO Ji Sung-kyoo, front row fourth from left, poses with officials from Korea Growth Investment Corp. (K-Growth), and heads of startups at the bank headquarters in Seoul, Nov. 20, after participating in an opening ceremony for the ninth 1Q Agile Lab, a bank-organized global innovative business model development program launched in June 2015. Courtesy of KEB Hana Bank

Nov 21, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Helping startups
Economy

Foreigners dump Korean shares amid trade feud

By Lee Kyung-min The Korean stock market tumbled as foreigners continued to offload their holdings for the 11th consecutive session, as the drawn-out U.S.-China trade feud shows no signs of abating, analysts said Thursday.According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), foreigners were the net sellers of Korean stocks from Nov. 7 to Thursday, a notable turn from the previous buying spree that continued for six days from Oct. 30 to Nov. 6.The KOSPI closed at 2,096.60, Thursday, down 28.72 points or 1.35 percent from the previous session. Around a combined 1.8 trillion won ($1.5 billion) has been offloaded within the 11 sessions, with the leading KOSPI having lost over 1.1 trillion won in trading volume in the period.They sold a net 570 billion won, Thursday, the largest daily selloff in 2019, following 334 billion won, a day earlier. Park Chong-hoon, head of economic research at Standard Chartered Bank Korea, said that the volatile sentiment could continue. “The market sentiment reacts way too quickly following a sudden turn of events, especially if bad news makes the headlines. The same

Nov 21, 2019By Lee Kyung-min
Foreigners dump Korean shares amid trade feud
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