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Deputy PMs from S. Korea, Uzbekistan hold meeting in Seoul

Deputy prime ministers of South Korea and Uzbekistan held a meeting in Seoul on Monday and discussed bilateral economic partnerships, the finance ministry said. The meeting, which marks the sixth of its kind and the first to take place since the start of the Lee Jae Myung administration, came ahead of the South Korea-Central Asia summit slated for next year, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a press release. Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Koo Yun-cheol said the two countries have been expanding partnerships beyond infrastructure to future industries, including science, health care and climate change. In response, Uzbekistan's Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev agreed to strengthen existing partnerships and work with South Korea on future infrastructure projects. The two economy leaders also agreed to support Uzbekistan's accession to the World Trade Organization, the ministry added.

Dec 8, 2025By Yonhap
Deputy PMs from S. Korea, Uzbekistan hold meeting in Seoul

Lee set to receive policy briefing on balanced regional development

President Lee Jae Myung is set to receive a policy briefing Monday from a presidential committee on balanced regional development and discuss plans on how to promote regional economies and ease economic imbalances, Lee's office said. The Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development will present a customized regional development strategy aimed at easing excessive concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area and fostering new growth drivers across the nation, the office said. The strategy envisions five regional hubs — the Seoul metropolitan, southeast, northeast, central and western regions — as well as three special self-governing provinces: Jeju, Gangwon and North Jeolla. During a town hall meeting last week, Lee reaffirmed his commitment to alleviating the excessive concentration in the capital area and advancing balanced national development. Monday's session comes ahead of a series of policy briefings Lee is scheduled to receive from ministries and public institutions, beginning with the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday.

Dec 8, 2025By Yonhap
Lee set to receive policy briefing on balanced regional development

Finance minister urges gov’t ministries to prepare for 2026 budget execution, economic growth drive

Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol on Monday urged government ministries to thoroughly prepare for the swift execution of their budgets for next year to drive economic growth and support people's livelihoods, his office said. "On Tuesday, the National Assembly passed the budget for 2026 within the legal deadline for the first time in five years," Koo said during a fiscal execution review meeting, attended by officials from the science, defense, culture, agriculture and other ministries. "As the budget has been swiftly finalized, we will thoroughly prepare in advance for its execution so that we can actively support the realization of an innovation-driven economy and the stabilization of people's livelihoods," he added, urging the ministries to complete devising their project plans by the end of this month. Last week, the Assembly endorsed a government budget bill of 727.9 trillion won ($493.5 billion) for next year that calls for more spending to prop up the economy and on national defense. Koo also called on the ministries to continue efforts to fully execute the 2025 budget and two extra b

Dec 8, 2025By Yonhap
Finance minister urges gov’t ministries to prepare for 2026 budget execution, economic growth drive

Gov't to collect more taxes as e-cigarettes are legally classified as tobacco

A revised law to include e-cigarettes in tobacco taxation is fueling optimism that the government can collect more taxes as it struggles to finance expansionary fiscal policies, officials said Wednesday. On Tuesday, the National Assembly approved a revision to the Tobacco Business Act that expands the legal definition of tobacco to include synthetic nicotine, following a bill submitted in September. Previously, the law defined tobacco products as those derived from tobacco leaves, excluding synthetic nicotine — a lab-produced chemical commonly used in e-cigarettes. Under the revision, the government can now levy tobacco taxes on e-cigarettes, which officials estimate could generate about 1 trillion won ($680.9 million) per year, considering the tobacco tax accounts for roughly 74 percent of the price of a regular cigarette pack. “The definition has now been expanded to include all parts of the tobacco plant — leaves, stems, and roots — as well as nicotine, both natural and synthetic,” the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a press release. “Accordingly, synthetic nicotin

Dec 3, 2025By Yi Whan-woo
Gov't to collect more taxes as e-cigarettes are legally classified as tobacco

Coupang may be penalized by US SEC over inadequate disclosure

Coupang, Korea’s largest e-commerce retailer, may face sanctions from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for failing to properly inform investors about its recent massive data breach, market observers said Wednesday. Although its sales mostly come from Korea, Coupang is classified as a U.S. company because it is wholly owned by Coupang Inc., which is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Coupang Inc. is also listed on Nasdaq. The speculation follows recent revelations that the information of 33.7 million customers has been leaked, allegedly by a former employee, from June through November. The SEC’s mandate includes enforcing the disclosure of business information that could influence a company’s share price. “Under these circumstances, the SEC has sufficient grounds to penalize Coupang for failing to comply with the commission’s cybersecurity disclosure rules concerning the massive data leak,” Jung Eui-jung, head of the Korean Stockholders’ Alliance, said. “Such noncompliance may be met with strict regulatory action, as it could adversely impact the intere

Dec 3, 2025By Yi Whan-woo
Coupang may be penalized by US SEC over inadequate disclosure

Financial watchdog chief warns Korean firms underinvest in cybersecurity amid hacks

The level of investment in cybersecurity by Korean companies is far below that of other major countries, the head of the country's financial watchdog warned Monday, amid a string of recent hacking incidents at major firms, including SK Telecom, Lotte Card, Coupang and Upbit. Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Gov. Lee Chan-jin noted that the recent security breaches are not simply due to technical errors but reflect a lack of proper risk awareness. “Looking at these recent incidents, there’s no comparison with the U.S., and even compared to the international average, the level of security investment by Korean companies is extremely low,” Lee said during his first press conference since taking office in August. “Companies do not fully recognize the risk that a breach of such systems could potentially bankrupt them.” According to data from the Financial Security Institute, Korean companies allocate only 6.4 percent of their IT budgets to cybersecurity. Within the financial and insurance industries, the figure rises to 9.6 percent on average, yet this remains far below the 13 pe

Dec 1, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Financial watchdog chief warns Korean firms underinvest in cybersecurity amid hacks

Public procurement chief committed to sweeping reform for transparency, local autonomy, AI-driven innovation

The Public Procurement Service (PPS) will undergo a sweeping reform to implement President Lee Jae Myung’s principle of transparent, sustainable and growth-driven state management, PPS Administrator Baek Seung-bo said, Thursday. The PPS chief explained that the reform will allow local governments to purchase frequently demanded goods independently, marking a significant shift toward openness and decentralization. Such goods have been purchased mandatorily through PPS, which operates under the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The reform is also expected to attract more capable suppliers to support the government’s artificial intelligence (AI) and other future growth initiatives. “PPS is committed to keeping in step with the government’s core value of transparency for people-centered economic growth and sustainable development,” Baek said. The commitment comes as PPS is tasked with procuring goods and services for all public organizations more responsibly, managing a market worth 225 trillion won ($153.38 billion) that includes 620,000 suppliers and 75,000 end-user institutions. Ba

Nov 27, 2025By Yi Whan-woo
Public procurement chief committed to sweeping reform for transparency, local autonomy, AI-driven innovation

Watchdog chief vows to root out illegal private money lenders

The chief of the country's financial watchdog said Thursday his agency will team up with other government agencies to root out illegal acts by private money lenders. In a forum, Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), said illegal money lenders continue to impose hefty interest rates on borrowers, undermining their daily lives. "We will work with the government to eradicate illegal money lenders. It is not just a problem facing individuals, but one that should be resolved by the whole society," Lee said. His remarks came as the number of complaints against loan sharks spiked, jumping to 14,316 in the first 10 months of the year, from 11,875 a year earlier, according to the FSS. Earlier, the Financial Services Commission said it will seek to revise related laws under which those that violate the 20 percent annual interest rate limit on their loans may face a maximum prison term of five years from the current three years or a maximum fine of 200 million won ($142,000) from the current 30 million won.

Nov 27, 2025By Yonhap
Watchdog chief vows to root out illegal private money lenders

Stablecoin turf battle intensifies between FSC and BOK

Korea’s plan to introduce a regulatory framework for stablecoins by the end of the year is facing growing uncertainty, as disagreements emerge between the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country’s top financial regulator, and the Bank of Korea (BOK) over key provisions, National Assembly officials and financial authorities said Wednesday. Stablecoins are digital currencies designed to maintain a stable value by being tied to central bank-issued currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, or to physical assets like gold. Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), both pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar, are among the most widely used stablecoins. The Assembly’s National Policy Committee had previously indicated its plan to bring stablecoins under the regulatory framework through the second stage of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which came into effect in July 2024. At Monday’s subcommittee meeting, however, the proposed bills outlining stablecoin oversight were removed from the agenda. With several unresolved issues still dividing the relevant institutions, prospects for the

Nov 26, 2025By Jun Ji-hye
Stablecoin turf battle intensifies between FSC and BOK

Finance chief pledges 'decisive action' in case of excessive FX market volatility

Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said Wednesday that the government will take "decisive action" if excessive volatility occurs in the foreign exchange (FX) market, as the Korean won continues to weaken against the U.S. dollar. "The won tends to react more sensitively compared with other currencies," the minister told reporters. "We will take decisive action if volatility expands excessively," he added, stressing that FX authorities are also closely monitoring speculative trading and one-sided market movements. The fast pace of the won's recent decline has prompted the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Bank of Korea, the National Pension Service (NPS) and the Ministry of Health and Welfare overseeing the pension fund to form a joint consultation body. The four-way group held its inaugural meeting on Monday to explore ways to balance the NPS' investment returns with stability in the FX market, creating what the minister calls a "new framework." "Discussions on the new framework are not intended as a temporary measure to mobilize the NPS to counteract the won's depreciation," the minister s

Nov 26, 2025By Yonhap
Finance chief pledges 'decisive action' in case of excessive FX market volatility
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