U.S. banknotes are seen at the headquarters of Hana Bank in Seoul on Feb. 2, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea plans to raise the amount of foreign currency that can be transferred overseas without declaration of the source as early as June, the finance ministry said Friday.
Under the plan, the country will allow people to transfer up to US$100,000 without documents, doubling the current limit of $50,000, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The ministry said the adjustment came as the South Korean economy has grown significantly since 1999 when the policy was first made.
“While the size of the economy has expanded with the amount of foreign-currency transaction soaring, the excessive regulation in the market has caused inefficiency across the economy,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Considering the strong capabilities to cope with a crisis, there has been a growing need to break away from a policy centered on regulating the outflow of foreign capital,” it added.
According to the ministry, South Korea’s foreign currency reserves came to $423.2 billion in December 2022, hovering above the 409.2 billion won tallied in February 2020, at the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The country will also only ask people to make a prior report on capital transactions valued at $100,000 or higher, instead of the current regulation of $50,000, in line with the change.
To further ease regulations, South Korea will require local firms to notify the finance ministry and the Bank of Korea when they borrow foreign currency of $50 million or higher annually as well. Currently, the bar is set at $30 million.
(Yonhap)
