The Korea Times

Will gov’t push to label e-cigarettes raise tobacco prices?

A possible cigarette price hike is gaining attention as the government seeks to expand taxable income sources and the National Assembly moves to impose a new tax on synthetic nicotine used in e-cigarettes. On Monday, the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee approved a revision to the Tobacco Business Act that expands the legal definition of tobacco to include synthetic nicotine. To take effect, the revision needs to be endorsed in a parliamentary plenary session. A lab-produced chemical, synthetic nicotine is currently not regulated as tobacco because it is not derived from tobacco leaves. As a result, it is exempt from tobacco taxes, which make up about 74 percent of the price of a regular cigarette pack. Under the circumstances, experts said Tuesday that the parliamentary revision is likely aimed at “testing the waters” on public sentiment by first imposing the tax on e-cigarettes before proceeding with a possible cigarette price hike as part of a broader tobacco tax reform. They noted that e-cigarette use is increasing, which helps predict how to approach pricing f

Sep 24, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Will gov’t push to label e-cigarettes raise tobacco prices?

Banking & Finance

Hanwha Life, Naver Financial forge strategic partnership for digital innovation

Hanwha Life Financial Services and Naver Financial have signed a strategic partnership for digital innovation in finance, the two companies said Tuesday. The agreement was signed at internet giant Naver’s headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. It was attended by Hanwha Life Financial Services CEO Choi Seung-young and Naver Financial CEO Park Sang-jin. Under the partnership, Hanwha Life Financial Services, the sales subsidiary of Hanwha Life Insurance, will combine its nationwide network of financial planners with the technical expertise of Naver Pay, the mobile payment arm of Naver Financial. Specifically, Hanwha Life Financial Services will offer customers advice on insurance and other financial policies based on Naver Pay’s data-driven analysis. The two companies will also share their know-how to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted services that recommend and offer consultation on related products. They will go further to integrate Naver Pay’s mobile payment services into various areas of the financial value chain and create business synergy. “This collabo

Sep 23, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Hanwha Life, Naver Financial forge strategic partnership for digital innovation

Others

Public sentiment cold toward bank employees’ planned strike

A nationwide strike planned by the Korea Financial Industry Union — composed largely of bank employees — is facing public backlash, as its demand for shorter working hours is being criticized as excessive. The union says it will stage a walkout Friday if management does not accept its proposal for a 4.5-day workweek. It is also calling for a 5 percent wage increase. The announcement has sparked negative reactions on social media, with many users criticizing the move as self-serving and neglectful of customer service responsibilities, while citing the high salaries and generous benefits enjoyed by its workers. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, employees at commercial, provincial and state-run banks earned an average annual salary of 112 million won ($80,400). Much of this income is driven by interest profits, which have often been labeled as windfall gains, especially at a time when many borrowers are struggling with high interest rates. Under the union’s proposal, banking hours could be reduced from the current 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, further limiting access to i

Sep 22, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Public sentiment cold toward bank employees’ planned strike

Economy

Korean won at bottom of OECD currency performance amid stalled US trade talks

The Korean won remains one of the weakest currencies among OECD member economies, as stalled trade talks with the United States put pressure on Seoul’s foreign reserves and exchange rate, analysts said Monday. According to data from the Bank of Korea’s Economic Statistics System, the won was priced at 1,393.6 per dollar at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, weakening by 0.2 percent from 1,390.9 won a month earlier. The Korean won was one of three OECD member currencies to depreciate over the past 30 days, alongside the Turkish lira, down 1.2 percent, and the New Zealand dollar, down 0.6 percent. The won’s depreciation contrasts with the overall trend of the OECD’s 16 total currencies, which appreciated by 1.1 percent on average against the U.S. dollar over the same period. The won was traded at 1,392.6 at 3:30 p.m. Monday, marking a slight gain of 1 won from Friday’s session. But the won-dollar rate rose to as high as 1,398.5 at one point during intraday trading. The Korean won’s weakening is surprising, especially given the recent sharp decline in the U.S. dollar’s value. In the first hal

Sep 22, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Korean won at bottom of OECD currency performance amid stalled US trade talks

Others

Rising foreign tourist numbers help revive Myeong-dong’s storefront occupancy rates

A surge in foreign tourism is driving renewed demand for retail and office space in Seoul’s iconic shopping district of Myeong-dong, where the vacancy rate has plummeted from 52.5 percent to just 4.9 percent, data showed Sunday. Data released by real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield Korea showed that only 4.9 percent of storefronts in Myeong-dong were vacant in the second quarter of 2025. This marks a significant improvement compared to the second quarter of 2022, when 52.5 percent of stores were vacant due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on overseas tourism. The current vacancy rate is now roughly one-tenth of what it was during the pandemic’s peak. The dramatic change comes as a result of the number of foreign tourists hitting a record 8.83 million in the first half of 2025. This surge in tourism represents a 14.6 percent increase from the same period last year and a 4.6 percent rise over the previous high of 8.44 million, set in the first half of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The welcome revival in storefront occupancy has been driven largely by beauty and li

Sep 22, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Rising foreign tourist numbers help revive Myeong-dong’s storefront occupancy rates

Policy

1 in 3 pardoned borrowers default again, raising moral hazard concerns

One in three individuals who were previously delinquent in repayment and had those records cleared from their credit history by the government borrowed again and failed to repay on time, data showed Friday. This cycle of repeated late repayments raises serious moral hazard concerns, as President Lee Jae Myung plans to forgive a record 3.24 million people with past missed or overdue payments by the end of the year. According to data that NICE Information Service and Korea Rating and Data (KODATA) submitted to Rep. Lee Yang-soo of the People Power Party, 955,559 people out of 2.86 million, or 33.3 percent, who received credit pardons last year were delinquent in repayment again. After their delinquency records were removed under the government’s relief program, these individuals borrowed a total of 38.32 trillion won ($27.49 billion) from financial service companies. As of the end of July, 28.51 trillion won remained delinquent, meaning 73.7 percent of the borrowed amount has yet to be repaid. Because erasing delinquency records improves credit scores, many recipients were able to secure

Sep 19, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

1 in 3 pardoned borrowers default again, raising moral hazard concerns

Others

Life insurers turn to asset management for new revenue stream

In response to declining profitability stemming from increased life expectancy and broader demographic shifts, life insurance companies are increasingly expanding into asset management as an alternative revenue stream, industry officials said on Thursday. The officials said the strategic shift toward asset management has been accelerated by stricter financial reporting standards, particularly the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standard 17 (IFRS 17) in 2023. Developed by the London-based IFRS Foundation, IFRS 17 places greater emphasis on the rigorous accounting and transparent reporting of asset management activities in the financial statements of insurance companies. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the net profit of 22 life insurers nationwide amounted to 3.33 trillion won ($2.4 billion) in the first half of 2025. The amount was 311.6 billion won lower than the previous year, mainly due to a decline in underwriting profits — the core business function of assessing risks when providing coverage to policyholders. On the other hand, the life insurers h

Sep 19, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Life insurers turn to asset management for new revenue stream

Policy

Korea, Australia to strengthen joint crackdown on offshore tax evasion

Top tax officials from Korea and Australia have agreed to strengthen cooperation in their efforts to crack down on tax evaders who hide money and assets offshore or falsely report income from abroad, the National Tax Service (NTS) said Thursday. The agreement was reached between NTS Commissioner Lim Kwang-hyun and Rob Heferen, commissioner of the Australian Taxation Office, during Lim’s visit to Brisbane, Australia, for the 54th Study Group on Asia-Pacific Tax Administration and Research (SGATAR) meeting. Korea and Australia are among 19 member states of SGATAR, a consultative body for top tax administrators in the Asia-Pacific region. This year’s annual gathering was held from Tuesday to Thursday. “Commissioners Lim and Heferen held a bilateral meeting and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance administrative efforts on offshore tax evasion,” the NTS said. The agreement allows both countries to request assistance from each other in collecting unpaid taxes from offshore tax evaders. The enforcement actions include seizing or auctioning assets located in the other c

Sep 18, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Korea, Australia to strengthen joint crackdown on offshore tax evasion

Policy

Unexpected jump in birthrate prompts government to tap reserve funds

An unexpected increase in the birthrate is prompting the government to use reserve funds — a portion of the budget set aside for natural disasters and other unforeseen expenses — to help cover a shortfall in its regular child care budget. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Wednesday, its plan to urgently allocate 350 billion won ($253.82 million) from the reserve fund was endorsed during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The entire 350 billion won will be used to cover the 307.9 billion won shortfall in child care-related expenses, including child benefits and parental allowances. The government based this year’s child welfare budget on its 2023 population projections, which forecast that newborns in Korea would fall to 220,000 in 2025. It then decided to tap into reserve funds following a consecutive 12-month increase in the birthrate since July 2024, compared to the previous year. In March 2024, the number of newborns fell 7.3 percent year-on-year to 19,669, marking the 17th consecutive month of decline and the first time that the monthly figure dropped below 20,000. A

Sep 18, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Unexpected jump in birthrate prompts government to tap reserve funds

Policy

Regulators accelerate delisting of underperforming firms to further boost stock market

Financial authorities are accelerating efforts to delist underperforming companies to further boost the stock market, with the benchmark KOSPI having surpassed a record 3,400 points, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX) Tuesday. It said a total of 62 companies have been delisted from KOSPI so far this year. This figure has already surpassed the 60 removals recorded in 2023 and is nearing the 69 reported for the entire year of 2024, indicating an accelerating pace of company exits from the market. The number of listed firms flagged as “at-risk” ahead of potential removal has reached 55 for the year, as financial regulators tighten oversight of businesses with poor management or those failing to meet listing requirements. This sharp rise in delistings is expected to continue as standards for firms on the KOSPI and secondary bourse Kosdaq become more stringent in the coming years. For instance, the minimum market capitalization required to remain listed on the KOSPI will increase from the current 5 billion won ($3.62 million) to 50 billion won by 2028. The sales requirement will also ris

Sep 16, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Yi Whan-woo

Read more

Will gov’t push to label e-cigarettes raise tobacco prices?

Hanwha Life, Naver Financial forge strategic partnership for digital innovation

Public sentiment cold toward bank employees’ planned strike

Korean won at bottom of OECD currency performance amid stalled US trade talks

Rising foreign tourist numbers help revive Myeong-dong’s storefront occupancy rates

1 in 3 pardoned borrowers default again, raising moral hazard concerns

Life insurers turn to asset management for new revenue stream

Korea, Australia to strengthen joint crackdown on offshore tax evasion

Unexpected jump in birthrate prompts government to tap reserve funds

Regulators accelerate delisting of underperforming firms to further boost stock market

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