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    Labor unions seek 16.3% minimum wage hike, employers push for freeze

    Labor and management began a fierce tug-of-war over next year's minimum wage Tuesday, with labor representatives seeking an increase of more than 16 percent and management representatives pushing for a freeze. The stark differences between the two sides are expected to complicate discussions in the coming months. The Minimum Wage Commission held its eighth plenary meeting at Government Complex Sejong, kicking off deliberations on next year's minimum wage, with labor and management representatives presenting their respective proposals. The commission consists of 27 members — nine representatives each from labor, management and the public interest sector. Ahead of formal negotiations, labor representatives submitted an opening proposal calling for the hourly minimum wage to be raised to 12,000 won ($7.8), up 16.3 percent from the current 10,320 won. “The minimum wage plays a critical role in protecting low-income workers and reflects the level of social equity in the country,” the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the nation’s two larges

    2 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    Labor unions seek 16.3% minimum wage hike, employers push for freeze
  • Economy

    Korean won slumps against US dollar on expectations of Fed rate hike

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korean won slumps against US dollar on expectations of Fed rate hike
  • Others

    Foreign sell-off in Samsung Electronics, SK hynix drags KOSPI down 10%

    2 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    Foreign sell-off in Samsung Electronics, SK hynix drags KOSPI down 10%
  • Economy

    Mirae Asset likely to face fines, disciplinary action over SpaceX allocation fallout: experts

    3 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Mirae Asset likely to face fines, disciplinary action over SpaceX allocation fallout: experts
  • Economy

    Bourse operator issues circuit breaker for KOSPI on sharp fall

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Bourse operator issues circuit breaker for KOSPI on sharp fall
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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.

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Economy

Contribution Real assets may be part of the solution

Kerry Craig The outlook for inflation is perhaps the most important determinant of portfolio positioning at this current juncture in the economic recovery. The forces acting on inflation in both the short and medium term have been covered in my previous “On the minds of investors” articles for JPMorgan. But what are the options for investors looking to reduce the impact of inflation on their portfolios?Inflation pressures are building due to improving growth prospects, leading to rising bond yields, as markets are expecting a brighter future and central banks start a tightening policy, first through the balance sheet then by raising rates. Our view is that inflation pressures will start to recede once the base effects from 2020 have passed and supply bottlenecks fade away. However, the unknown nature of a recovery following a global pandemic, and the implications of still huge amounts of fiscal stimulus being deployed at a time when private demand is accelerating, pr

Jun 6, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
[Contribution] Real assets may be part of the solution
Economy

Nuclear energy stocks surge again after Korea-US summit

The company logo of Doosan Group, owner of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, the country's No. 1 nuclear power plant builder / Korea Times fileBy Yi Whan-wooShares of the country's nuclear power plant construction and operation companies are surging again in the wake of a joint commitment made by the leaders of Korea and the United States during their summit, May 21, to cooperate in exporting nuclear power plants. The resurgence, following years of sluggishness due to President Moon Jae-in's nuclear phase-out policy, also comes after an announcement, June 3, that U.S. billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett will build a $1 billion next-generation nuclear reactor in Wyoming.The rally is likely to continue, as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is geared toward forming a consortium with state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to bid for a nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic.According to the Korea Exchange, Sunday, the combined stock values of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, the country's No. 1 nuclear power plant builder, and

Jun 6, 2021By Yi Whan-woo
Nuclear energy stocks surge again after Korea-US summit
Economy

Musk breakup tweets bruise bitcoin

Tesla CEO Elon Musk / AP-YonhapBitcoin fell more than 7 percent on Friday, with tweets by Tesla boss Elon Musk that appeared to lament a breakup with the cryptocurrency again moving markets.Tesla's big position in bitcoin and Musk's large personal following set crypto markets on edge whenever he tweets, and the price fell after he posted "#Bitcoin" https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1400620080090730501, a broken-heart emoji and a picture of a couple discussing a breakup.Musk followed up by posting a breakup comic strip and replying "nice" to an illustration of rival crypto dogecoin posted by crypto exchange Coinbase. It was unclear what, if anything, any of the tweets meant.Musk has previously said Tesla would not sell its bitcoin, but his tweets were enough to unsettle markets still fragile following May's crash."When Elon Musk tweets any crypto-related content, the market ... expects a reaction," said Nick Spanos, co-founder of ZAP Protocol, a crypto project in Switzerland.Bitcoin's fall pushed it below its 20-day moving average to as low as $36,263, and took some of the edge off

Jun 6, 2021
Musk breakup tweets bruise bitcoin
  • El Salvador's president says will send bill to make bitcoin legal tender
Economy

G7 strikes 'historic' agreement over global corporate tax

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reacts during a news conference, after attending the G7 finance ministers meeting, at Winfield House in London, Britain, June 5. Reuters-YonhapFinance ministers from wealthy G7 nations on Saturday endorsed a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent, rallying behind a US-backed plan targeting tech giants and other multinationals accused of not paying enough. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hailed the "unprecedented commitment", saying in a statement that a global minimum tax "would end the race to the bottom in corporate taxation".Facebook even got behind the move despite the social media giant facing the prospect of having to pay more tax ― while non-governmental organizations said it did not go far enough.Following the two-day gathering in London, the G7 said in a final communique that it will "commit to a global minimum tax of at least 15 percent on a country by country basis".The G7 ― comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States ― said it hoped to reach a final tax agreement at the July gath

Jun 6, 2021
G7 strikes 'historic' agreement over global corporate tax
Economy

Household debt woes deepen with looming interest rate hike

gettyimagesbankOECD cites household debt as major downside riskBy Yoon Ja-youngWith the central bank signaling an earlier-than-expected key interest rate hike, the country's record-high household debt is emerging as a major downside risk to an economic recovery, prompting economists to call for a cautious approach in policymaking to ensure a soft landing. The country's key rate has been maintained at 0.5 percent for a year, but Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol recently hinted at a shift in monetary policy toward credit tightening in the months to come. He did not rule out the possibility of moving ahead of the U.S. Fed, which is expected to come out with a rise in the latter half of next year at the earliest.Some foreign investment banks expect a key rate hike could come within this year based on Lee's signals, and there have already been signs in the market that interest rates are on an upward spiral. The yield on 10-year Korean treasury bonds rose for four consecutive days to 2.202 percent June 2, surpassing the 2.2 percent mark for the first time since November 2018. According t

Jun 5, 2021By Yoon Ja-young
Household debt woes deepen with looming interest rate hike
Economy

IT firms, banks rush to join Bank of Korea's CBDC initiative

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min A growing number of IT firms are hoping to collaborate with Bank of Korea on a project to test-run Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), a central bank-issued digital currency that will represent the country's official currency in digital form.The central bank plans to assess the viability of issuing a digital currency amid a rapid decrease in the use of cash. Prospective digital partners will be required to have exceptional data storage, management and utilization capabilities that will best advance the central bank's drive for the CBDC to be more than a simple settlement service toward a closer integration of digital payment services whereby using the currency is as simple as using cash. Guaranteeing circulation without any technical glitches will be a top priority for the stable operation of the virtual currency that could eventually replace paper money.Samsung SDS and a coalition led by LG CNS are seeking to participate, as are latecomers Naver and Kakao that have formed an alliance to join the project.There is speculation that the Samsung affiliat

Jun 4, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
IT firms, banks rush to join Bank of Korea's CBDC initiative
Economy

Samsung Life may lose annuity dispute

The headquarters of Kyobo Life in Seoul. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min A recent verdict against Kyobo Life is unnerving Samsung Life ― amid a similar civil suit with far higher stakes ― given two similar previous court decisions that found life insurers Mirae Asset and Tongyang should compensate subscribers for their underpayment of annuity plans.This is the latest development in about a dozen suits filed by subscribers in regards to the once-in-demand insurance “product,” the underpaid aggregate total of which amounted to 1 trillion won ($895 million) as of 2018.The suit against Samsung, one of the top three industry players alongside Hanwha and Kyobo, concerns 55,000 subscribers seeking 430 billion won, more than six times the 70 billion Kyobo was ordered to pay.The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of a group of four subscribers to a Kyobo product, Thursday, recognizing that the terms and conditions of the products failed to indicate that the amount paid out could be lower than that guaranteed.Kyobo is expected to appeal, a step taken by Mirae Asset and To

Jun 4, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Samsung Life may lose annuity dispute
Economy

Reporter's Notebook Housing market will remain 'uneasy' without hefty tax cut

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki speaks during a meeting with investment bank experts at the Government Complex Seoul, Friday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe Ministry of Economy and Finance should raise its voice against the hefty level of the real estate transfer tax, as easing this burden on multiple-home owners will be the most effective measure in stabilizing Korea's housing market.It is true the ministry cannot make such a decision on its own, but the authority should be reminded that this is apparently the only way to temporarily put a brake on the years-long sharp increases in apartment prices in Seoul and other metropolitan cities nationwide.The basic stance of the government toward real estate policy remains unwavering: levying heavy taxes on the owners of multiple homes. To some extent, the finance ministry should map out policies in line with the stance of the incumbent administration, but it is high time that it listened to the voice from the market, rather than sticking to unilateral, ineffective and what are widely considered failed housing policies.Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki

Jun 4, 2021By Lee Min-hyung
[Reporter's Notebook] Housing market will remain 'uneasy' without hefty tax cut
Economy

AMC stock on rollercoaster, movie chain completes another share sale

An AMC theater is pictured in Times Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., June 2. Reuters-YonhapShares of retail favorite AMC Entertainment went on a rollercoaster ride on Thursday before ending lower after the company said it completed another share offering, raising $587.4 million in additional equity capital.AMC has been taking advantage of a blistering run in its stock price to complete two share issues in three days. In announcing the latest issue, it said it did not know how long the run would last and warned investors of the risks involved."These prices are not going to last forever, so why not use this opportunity to shore up your balance sheet and raise some cash," said Dennis Dick, a trader at Bright Trading LLC in Las Vegas.Shares of the movie theater chain, which counts more than 80 percent of its shareholder base as retail, or 3.2 million individual investors, were down 18 percent at $51.34 at the close. The share price nearly doubled on Wednesday to a record close of $62.55 thanks partly to a wave of retail investor buying.The wild ride is re

Jun 4, 2021
AMC stock on rollercoaster, movie chain completes another share sale
Economy

Korea considers another extra budget without debt sale: finance minister

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki / YonhapSouth Korea's chief economic policymaker said Friday the government is reviewing another extra budget with larger tax revenue in a bid to help support vulnerable people hit hard by the pandemic.Minister Hong Nam-ki said the country will not sell more government bonds to finance the extra budget as it is expected to collect more tax revenue this year amid an economic recovery."The government will focus its policy efforts on helping restore the job market and achieve an inclusive growth," Hong said at a meeting with experts from economic institutions and investment banks.He said the supplementary budget, if created, will be used to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, support vulnerable groups and assist the government's plan to bolster domestic demand and job recovery.Talk of another extra budget initially emerged from the ruling party after President Moon Jae-in said last week the country needs to leave the door open for additional fiscal support.This year's tax revenue is estimated at more than 300 trillion won (US$269 billion), up around 17

Jun 4, 2021
Korea considers another extra budget without debt sale: finance minister
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