SEJONG, Sept. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will likely see its gross domestic product (GDP) per capita touch the landmark US$30,000 level in 2018, a parliamentary report predicted Tuesday. If the $30,000 plateau is attained in two years, it will have taken 12 years since South Korea reached the $20,000 level in 2006. Other [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – The size of South Korea’s underground economy is equivalent to 10 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, while tax evasion amounts to 3.7 percent, much higher than they are in other advanced countries, a research paper said Monday. Professor Kim Jong-hee of Chonbuk National University, drawing his conclusions [...]
BUSAN, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korean economy is already hurting as Hanjin Shipping, the world’s seventh largest container carrier, undergoes court receivership. With more than half of Hanjin’s fleet stranded at sea (as of September 8), blocked from entering ports in multiple countries, four of its vessels seized by local creditors, and no [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – Starting October 5, Korea will launch its first debit card cashback service at convenience stores. Although a popular practice in a number of western countries, the service has not yet been introduced to Korean consumers. In a nutshell, the service is offered to customers who wish to add a certain [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea plans to roll out commercial services for personal authentication for online and mobile payments utilizing the short-range wireless technology used in credit cards, officials said Tuesday. According to the Office of Government Policy Coordination, the government is set to approve the new service, which grants users personal [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will pour more than 65 trillion won (US$58.1 billion) into the local economy next year to revitalize the economy, which has been plagued by faltering exports and rising uncertainties in the global market, the trade ministry said Friday. Out of the 400.7 trillion won budget for 2017, [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – The head of South Korea’s financial watchdog on Friday called for local financial services firms to beef up security-related measures for their fast-developing fintech operations. “Responsible innovation is needed in the financial industry,” Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Zhin Woong-seob said in a forum hosted by the Korea Institute [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the second quarter from three months earlier on increased local demand and exports, central bank data showed Friday. In the April-June period, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 0.8 percent from the previous quarter, accelerating from a 0.5 percent [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – The government plans to allow financial service companies here to share the personal information of their customers for big data collection purposes while keeping their names and other details undisclosed, the top financial regulator said Thursday. The measure would pave the way for banks, insurers, securities firms, fintech operators [...]
SEJONG, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government aims for a 3.7 percent increase in its spending next year to push the annual budget above the 400 trillion won (US$358 billion) mark for the first time, with steep rises planned for youth job creation, expansion of custom-made welfare benefits and stabilization of public [...]