my timesThe Korea Times

Economy

PolicyCryptocurrencyOthers
  • Cryptocurrency

    Finance minister nominee backs January crypto tax rollout despite industry, opposition pushback

    The nominee to head the Ministry of Finance and Economy expressed his intention on Sunday to implement the cryptocurrency tax next January as scheduled, despite pushback from both industry players and opposition lawmakers. In written materials submitted to the National Assembly ahead of a confirmation hearing slated for Tuesday, Lee Hyoung-il, who currently serves as first vice finance minister, noted that specific tax rules would be finalized through a National Tax Service public notice by year-end, ensuring taxpayers face no confusion when filing. He also defended classifying crypto asset income as miscellaneous income under the current tax framework, calling it an “appropriate” approach to applying taxpayer-friendly measures, such as a basic deduction and a single tax rate. “Given that stock trades involving major shareholders, foreign equities and unlisted shares, along with transaction taxes, are already subject to taxation, extending tax rules to crypto assets is essential for tax fairness,” he said. The crypto tax regime treats profits from transferring or lending digital

    3 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    Finance minister nominee backs January crypto tax rollout despite industry, opposition pushback
  • Economy

    Korean construction stocks rise on nearing US investment deal

    2 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Korean construction stocks rise on nearing US investment deal
  • Economy

    More young Koreans look to stocks, bonds as retirement nest egg

    3 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    More young Koreans look to stocks, bonds as retirement nest egg
  • Economy

    Foreign investors turn net sellers of Korean bonds in Aug.

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Foreign investors turn net sellers of Korean bonds in Aug.
  • Economy

    KOSPI falls on higher oil prices, global bond yields

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    KOSPI falls on higher oil prices, global bond yields
Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Read more

Others

Foreign investors lock in gains as KOSPI rally continues

Foreign investors are taking in profits by net selling more than 9 trillion won ($6.2 billion) worth of shares as the KOSPI continues to hit record highs this year, in contrast to strong institutional buying, market analysts said Sunday. They said the sharp rise in stock prices appears to have prompted foreign investors to trim positions and lock in gains. According to the Korea Exchange, foreign investors recorded net sales of 9.16 trillion won on the main board from the start of the year through Friday, almost double the 4.66 trillion won in net sales logged for all of last year. The bulk of the selling was concentrated in semiconductor blue chips. Foreign investors were the biggest net sellers of Samsung Electronics, offloading 9.55 trillion won worth of shares. The stock has surged 59 percent this year alone and topped 190,000 won for the first time on Thursday, with the rally seemingly providing an opportunity for profit-taking. Net sales of SK hynix were also high at 5.97 trillion won. Foreign funds also reduced exposure to several major blue-chip stocks. Net selling in Hyundai Motor

Feb 23, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Foreign investors lock in gains as KOSPI rally continues
Cryptocurrency

Bithumb market share falls after fee waivers tied to bitcoin fiasco end

Bithumb’s crypto exchange market share, which had generally hovered near the 30 percent level, fell to the mid-20 percent range in the aftermath of the erroneous bitcoin distribution incident on Feb. 6, industry officials said Sunday. The exchange’s temporary zero fee campaign, introduced as part of its compensation plan, briefly pushed its share back above 30 percent earlier this month. However, the rebound quickly faded once the promotion ended, reinforcing the view that short-term pricing incentives were insufficient to fully restore weakened investor confidence. According to data from market tracker CoinGecko, Bithumb accounted for 24.8 percent of trading among the country’s five won-denominated crypto exchanges as of last Friday. Upbit led with 58.4 percent, followed by Bithumb, Coinone at 13 percent, Korbit at 3.5 percent and Gopax at 0.3 percent. On Feb. 6, Bithumb mistakenly credited users with 2,000 bitcoins each instead of distributing bitcoins worth 2,000 won ($1.38) during a promotional event, resulting in an erroneous payout of 620,000 bitcoins. The amount far exceede

Feb 22, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Bithumb market share falls after fee waivers tied to bitcoin fiasco end
Economy

Foreign investors offload $6.2 bil. on main bourse this year

Foreign investors have posted a net sale of around 9 trillion won ($6.2 billion) on the main bourse this year through last week, data showed Sunday. Overseas investors have sold a net 9.1 trillion won worth of shares on the main bourse in 2026 as of Friday, compared with a net sale of 4.6 trillion won for all of 2025, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX). In detail, foreigners sold a net 9.5 trillion won worth of shares in Samsung Electronics, with the stock soaring 59 percent this year alone and surpassing the 190,000-won mark for the first time on Thursday. Analysts said foreigners appeared to have sold Seoul shares to cash in recent gains rather than due to a pessimistic view of the Korean stock market. "Foreigners were net sellers on the main bourse this year, but it is hard to say they are betting on a downward trend," Lee Kyoung-min, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said. "Considering that their selling was centered on chipmakers, it appears to be a short-term rebalancing process aimed at reducing the portion of shares that have gained sharply," Lee added. The benchmark Korea Com

Feb 22, 2026By Yonhap
Foreign investors offload $6.2 bil. on main bourse this year
Policy

Regulator may curb loan extension for owners of multiple homes

Financial authorities are reviewing measures to curb loan extensions for owners of multiple homes in regulated areas of the greater Seoul region in line with the government's push to cool the overheated real estate market, sources said Sunday. According to the sources, the Financial Services Commission plans to hold a meeting Tuesday with the country's five major banks and financial cooperatives to discuss ways to revamp loan extension practices for owners of multiple homes. The move came as the government has clarified that an exemption of heavy capital gains tax for owners of multiple homes will expire in May. While the government currently imposes strict limits on mortgage lending for home purchases in the greater Seoul area, some owners of multiple homes have been able to extend existing loans through refinancing, raising questions over the fairness of the system. "If there are no particular issues, including tenant protection, loan maturity extensions for owners of multiple homes will, in principle, be disallowed," a senior financial official said.

Feb 22, 2026By Yonhap
Regulator may curb loan extension for owners of multiple homes
Others

Banks ramp up customer support as 'dementia money' increases

Commercial banks are ramping up support to safeguard assets belonging to customers diagnosed with dementia, with the disease being found more frequently as the country's population ages rapidly, according to industry officials, Friday. Dubbed “dementia money,” these assets, ranging from cash and bank deposits to real estate, are at risk of lying dormant and unused or being misused when affected customers are diagnosed and can no longer manage their finances independently. Wealth and assets held by people with dementia was projected to reach 172 trillion won ($118.69 billion) in 2025 — equivalent to 6.9 percent of gross domestic product — and is expected to climb to 200 trillion won in 2030 and 488 trillion won by 2050. The growth mirrors the sharp rise in dementia patients aged 65 or older, with the number expected to increase from 970,000 in 2025 to 1.21 million in 2030 and 2.26 million by 2050. In response, banks are setting up dedicated task forces, introducing specialized and simplified trust products and enhancing monitoring systems to prevent financial abuse by third partie

Feb 21, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Banks ramp up customer support as 'dementia money' increases
Others

Korea Eximbank head visits tech, AI SMEs in Ulsan, North Gyeongsang Province

The head of the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) visited key materials, parts and equipment companies in Ulsan and North Gyeongsang Province to support regional firms driving Korea’s artificial intelligence (AI) transformation, the state-run lender said Friday. Korea Eximbank CEO Hwang Ki-yeon toured semiconductor and energy storage system (ESS) component makers in the southeastern part of the country as part of efforts to expand tailored export financing under its newly launched “AX Special Program.” AX is short for “AI transformation,” and the drive has pledged more than 22 trillion won ($15 billion) in financial support over five years across the AI value chain. The visit was Hwang’s first non-Seoul region trip since the program’s launch, highlighting the bank’s commitment to strengthening AI ecosystems beyond the Seoul metropolitan area. In Ulsan, Hwang visited Duksan Hi-Metal, a semiconductor packaging materials manufacturer and supplier to Korea’s semiconductor powerhouses Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Duksan Hi-Metal CEO stressed that financial sup

Feb 20, 2026
Korea Eximbank head visits tech, AI SMEs in Ulsan, North Gyeongsang Province
Others

Regional banks see profit decline despite holding firms’ record earnings

Regional financial groups posted record earnings last year, but worsening asset quality at their core banking units is a key risk undermining their profits and financial stability, market watchers said Friday. The holding companies’ figures came on the back of strong nonbank subsidiaries such as securities and capital firms, and the easing of real estate project financing provisions. However, their regional bank subsidiaries’ heavy exposure to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are leading to rising delinquencies. According to financial market data, BNK Financial, JB Financial and iM Financial saw their combined net profit surpass 1.96 trillion won ($1.3 billion) last year, up 21.5 percent from a year earlier. Their subsidiaries logged mixed and comparatively weak results. Of BNK Financial’s bank subsidiaries, Busan Bank posted 439.3 billion won in net profit, up 7 percent from a year earlier, but Kyongnam Bank saw their figure fall 5.6 percent to 292.8 billion won. Of JB Financial’s bank affiliates, Jeonbuk Bank recorded a net profit of 228.7 billion won, a 4.6 percent incr

Feb 20, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Regional banks see profit decline despite holding firms’ record earnings
Policy

Can Korea and China tackle aging together?

HONG KONG — Korea and China have had a turbulent relationship in recent years as they compete across a range of high-tech industries. But the two countries now appear to be bonding over a shared challenge: their rapidly aging societies. The issue has featured on the agenda at meetings between Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping dating back to last year, with the leaders pledging to work together to deal with the economic changes being brought by their nations’ low birthrates. In November, following a bilateral summit held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the two nations signed a cooperation agreement on the “silver economy,” with Xi highlighting the need for mutually beneficial outcomes. During his state visit to China in January, Lee also named the silver economy — existing and emerging sectors catering to the elderly population — as an area with “limitless collaboration opportunities,” despite the two countries’ competitive status in other areas of the global market. Analysts broadly agreed with that assessm

Feb 20, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo
Can Korea and China tackle aging together?
Others

Young professionals squeezed as AI reshapes white-collar job market

Employment among young professionals in South Korea is falling sharply as artificial intelligence (AI) spreads into professional fields, data shows. The contraction, appearing particularly pronounced among graduates in the humanities and social sciences, suggests that entry-level roles may be bearing the brunt of technological change. According to an analysis of microdata from the Ministry of Employment and Labor's Economically Active Population Survey, employment in the professional, scientific and technical services sector stood at 1.389 million last month, down 98,000 from a year earlier — the largest January decline since records began in 2013. The sector includes research and development as well as professional services such as law and accounting. The losses were heavily concentrated among workers in their 20s and early 30s. Employment among those aged 25 to 29 fell by 38,000 from a year earlier, while the number of workers aged 30 to 34 declined by 41,000. Workers aged 20 to 24 saw employment drop by 10,000, meaning younger cohorts accounted for nearly 90 percent of the overall

Feb 19, 2026By Hankookilbo
Young professionals squeezed as AI reshapes white-collar job market
Others

Salaried workers frustrated by higher income tax as tax bracket revision stalls

Park Min-soo, 40, an office worker, said his salary increased last year but somehow felt like he was left with less. “I did the calculating myself,” he said. “After income tax, monthly premiums for national pension, state-run health insurance and other deductions, the extra raise meant essentially nothing.” What bothers him more is that some people working part-time or in temporary jobs aren’t paying the income tax at all. “I heard on the news that about a third of the workers are not paying earned income tax at all. I understand that they are low income. They may say life is hard, but it is for everybody else, too. Not paying any? It’s just not right. I can’t shake the feeling that the system is punishing full-time workers while letting others off easy. It’s demoralizing.” Similarly, Choi Eun-jung, 45, said the tax brackets haven’t changed much over the past two decades. “Inflation eats up my wages, yet many salaried workers automatically are moved into higher tax brackets. It’s frustrating to think about what should be rightfully mine is taken from me only beca

Feb 19, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Salaried workers frustrated by higher income tax as tax bracket revision stalls
previous page
124125126127128
next page

Most Read in Economy