SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean small and medium-sized businesses are expected to take a hit this year from the double whammy of a minimum wage hike and reduced working hours. The highest minimum wage hike in 17 years takes effect this month with a jump to 7,530 won per hour. However, not [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s central bank chief said Tuesday that he will make a prudent decision on a further rate hike by taking into account all economic data. “The Bank of Korea raises the rate based on data, economic indices and other conditions,” BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol told reporters. “The board [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s chief economic policymaker said Tuesday that the government will redouble efforts to successfully implement a series of measures aimed at smoothing out a rise in minimum wage that takes effect this year. In July last year, the country decided to increase its minimum wage by 16 percent [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — A planned protest against the government’s cryptocurrency regulations failed to live up to the hype, with no one turning up at Gwanghwamun Plaza over the weekend. Despite an online post last week urging bitcoin investors to join a protest against the current administration’s anti-cryptocurrency stance, no sign of protest [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government has been developing a system that is likely to start banning the use of anonymous accounts in cryptocurrency transactions from around Jan. 20, financial industry sources said Tuesday. The system is a part of follow-up measures after the government announced last week a set of [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — People who invested in stocks last year received the highest returns compared with those who betted on real estate, funds, gold and other assets, financial data showed Tuesday. The benchmark KOSPI ended 2017 up 21.76 percent from a year ago. The increase is 15.5 times the 1.4 percent annual [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) – For better or worse, cryptocurrency has become a subject of intense interest this year, as skyrocketing valuations – of Bitcoin in particular – had amateur and experienced investors alike salivating, while the government grew increasingly uneasy over the effect the bull market was having on society at large. Most [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — A country with high household debt that raises key interest rates can be affected by a drop in total demand and consumption, a report said Friday. “We’ve found that key interest rate hikes have a great impact on the economic adjustment in a country which has a high degree [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 28 (Korea Bizwire) – Loan guarantees among affiliates of South Korea’s large business groups sank in 2017 from a year earlier, the country’s corporate watchdog said Thursday. The total corporate debt payment guarantees made among units of 31 conglomerates reached 257 billion won (US$239 million) as of May 1, down 20 percent, or [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean companies are pessimistic about their business conditions in 2018 due to unfavorable factors at home and abroad, a poll showed Thursday. The business survey index (BSI) of the nation’s top 600 firms by sales came to 96.5 for January, unchanged from the previous month, according to the [...]