Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter
Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr
National Tax Service (NTS) Commissioner Kim Hyun-jun, front row third from right, pledges allegiance to the national flag with heads of regional tax offices at NTS headquarters in Sejong, Aug. 12. As part of its efforts to improve the tax administration, the tax agency has launched a new unit to crack down on overseas corporate tax evasion. Courtesy of NTS
Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Asia-Pacific chief economist at Natixis Global Market ResearchThis is the second in a series of interviews with global economists to see how the ongoing trade disputes will unfold and to analyze their implications for the Korean economy ― ED.By Lee Kyung-min Korea will see its economic growth “decelerate” sharply this year in the aftermath of ongoing trade disputes ― the trade war between the U.S. and China and the trade feud between Korea and Japan ― a Hong Kong-based global economist forecast, Monday.She called for the Korean government to implement supplementary budgets as soon as possible and expand investment for the development of local materials to minimize the potential impact of the trade disputes.“Cyclically, the deceleration of China, already lengthened semiconductor replacement cycle and Korea-Japan trade feud are all posing headwinds to its economic growth,” Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Asia-Pacific chief economist at Natixis Global Market Research, told The Korea Times.“Korea is expected to see the trade sector remaining un
Officials from NongHyup Bank and operator of Sam-dong Boy's Town, a private foster care facility, pose for a photo in front of the center in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Aug. 9, before delivering food to children from underprivileged backgrounds. Courtesy of NongHyup Bank
By Lee Kyung-min The sales of gold and silver bars have been on a continued increase over the past few months as investors favor safe assets amid escalating uncertainties fueled by the U.S.-China trade dispute and Japan's export restriction measures.According to Korea Exchange (KRX), one gram of gold was sold for 59,550 won ($49.13) Aug. 9, the highest since March 2014 when the gold bar trading market opened in Korea. This is about a 28 percent jump from 46,240 won in Jan. 2. The recent spike, which has been setting a new record every day since Aug. 2, is in line with the steady price increase over the past few months. Data from KB Kookmin, Woori, KEB Hana and NongHyup Banks showed they sold a combined 17.1 billion won of gold bars, a near five-fold increase from two months earlier in March when the figure was 3.4 billion won. They sold 8.9 billion won in June and 7.3 billion won in July, a slight decrease from the peak, but they are still much higher compared to the figure in March. Also attracting investors' attention is silver, whose price jumped over 17 percent over the past mont
Financial Supervisory Service First Senior Deputy Governor Yoo Kwang-yeolBy Lee Kyung-min There is a great deal of attention being paid to who will succeed outgoing Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) CEO Eun Sung-soo since he was nominated Friday to replace the sitting Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Choi Jong-ku. On July 18, Choi offered to step down.According to financial industry officials Sunday, The three most viable candidates are Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) First Senior Deputy Governor Yoo Kwang-yeol, Korea Investment Corp. (KIC) CEO Choi Hee-nam and former FSC Vice Chairman Kim Yong-beom. The head of Eximbank, which is supervised by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, is appointed by the President at the recommendation of the ministry.Of the three, either Yoo or Choi is likely to head Eximbank as Kim is a candidate to lead Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), another state-run bank whose current CEO Kim Do-jin's term will end in December 2019. Korea Investment Corp. CEO Choi Hee-namMany former IBK CEOs are former FSC officials because the post is appointe
Antonio Fatas, an economics professor at INSEADThis is the first in a series of interviews with global economists to see how ongoing trade disputes will unfold and to analyze their implications for the Korean economy ― ED.By Lee Kyung-min Korea should brace for a global recession triggered by the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China, a Singapore-based global economist said Friday.He called on the Korean government to introduce expansionary fiscal policies preemptively to minimize the impact of the recession, which he expects will arrive by the end of this year.“The global economy ― the U.S. economy in particular ― has been doing well so far,” Antonio Fatas, an economics professor at INSEAD, said. “I do not expect a sudden decrease in growth rates but a slowdown that potentially turns into something more negative by the end of 2019 or next year; potentially a recession.” Given the current global environment, Fatas said a synchronized slowdown and very likely a global recession are the most likely scenarios.The gloomy judgment comes after the draw
Gov't advised to take prudent approach in handling Japan feudBy Lee Kyung-min A U.S.-China trade war and a trade dispute between Korea and Japan will seriously undermine the manufacturing value chain in Northeast Asia, global economists said, Friday.They warned that if ongoing trade disputes escalate further and more countries copy the U.S. and China's retaliatory trade tactics, it will end up destroying the international trade system dealing a fatal blow to the global economy.“The three countries ― Korea, Japan, and China ―- have created a synergy thus far, but the close relationship will likely break,” Park Chong-hoon, chief economist at SC First Bank, told The Korea Times. “Close ties have been to their mutual benefits thus far in the global market. But their relationship now will be defined more by their competitive rather than cooperative nature.”Troy Stangarone, a senior director and fellow at the Korea Economic Institute (KEI), said it is still early to say the value chain will be substantially undermined, but the newly triggered uncertainty in and of i
Children from multiracial families pose at Korea Job World in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 7, after attending KB Financial Group's Rainbow Love Camp, a corporate social responsibility program launched in 2007 to support multicultural families. Over 50 children participated in the event. Courtesy of KB Financial Group
By Lee Kyung-min The Korean won is expected to continue to lose value against the U.S. dollar for the time being amid a mixture of fresh and existing negative developments triggered by global trade disputes, market analysts said Tuesday. The U.S. designated China as a currency manipulator on Monday (local time), a decision that followed what the United States considers to be deliberate inaction that led to China's currency dropping to below 7 yuan per dollar. The designation came on the heels of an announcement from China's Ministry of Commerce that the country's companies have stopped buying U.S. agricultural products, its latest move at essentially dismissing U.S. President Donald Trump's “threat” that his country will impose new tariffs on around $300 billion of Chinese goods, because Beijing had not fulfilled a promise to buy large volumes of U.S. agricultural products. The fast development of the now-drawn-out U.S.-China dispute is straining Asia's fourth-largest economy, further compounded by what is se
By Lee Kyung-min Korea's current account surplus in the first six months of 2019 hit a seven-year low due to weak exports amid prolonged U.S.-China trade dispute, central bank data showed Tuesday. According to Bank of Korea (BOK), current account surplus recorded $21.7 billion won (26 trillion won) in the January-June period in 2019, down $7.1 billion, or 24.7 percent from a year earlier.It was the smallest since the first half of 2012 when the figure was $9.6 billion amid the Eurozone crisis. “The narrowed surplus resulted from the trade dispute and falling Korean export volume to China as well as a drop in the price of semiconductors,” a BOK official said at a press briefing. “The surplus has narrowed, but the account has remained in the black throughout the first half of the year except for April, when large dividends were paid out, what we consider a seasonal factor. The figure is above our estimate of $21.5 billion.”The current account surplus was $6.38 billion in June alone, a 14.5 percent drop from a