SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The government plans to require cryptocurrency exchanges to share users’ transaction data with banks, in a potential move to impose taxes on the transactions, an official at financial authorities said Sunday. Currently, financial authorities ban banks from offering virtual accounts, which are needed to sell or buy cryptocurrencies, to [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The government’s review on the necessity of restricting the operating hours of large-scale specialty stores is expected to gain speed as the country’s first minister for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) took office, industry watchers said Sunday. On Tuesday, Hong Jong-haak was appointed to head the Ministry of SMEs [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – The Cabinet approved a law revision Tuesday to toughen the punishment for taxi drivers who rip off passengers. Under the revision, a taxi driver who is caught three times for overcharging a customer will face the maximum punishment of having his business license nullified. Previously, a taxi driver who [...]
SEJONG, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) - South Korea’s finance minister nominee said Friday that he has no plan to tighten a set of eased mortgage regulations amid rising public demand to tackle mounting household debt. The government eased the loan-to-value (LTV) and the debt-to-income (DTI) rules in August 2014, shortly after the inauguration of Finance Minister [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – The nation’s top court on Thursday ruled in favor of municipalities restricting operating hours of giant retailers. The Supreme Court returned to a lower court for reconsideration of a ruling that was in favor of the six plaintiffs, including E-Mart, Homeplus and Lotte Mart, seeking nullification of district offices’ [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean banks will likely impose tougher rules for screening mortgages in non-capital areas starting next year, joining government-led efforts to rein in the country’s runaway household debt, industry sources said Thursday. The financial authorities have asked local banks to use the debt-to-income (DTI) ratio when they screen mortgage [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The head of South Korea’s top financial regulator pledged Friday to lower entry barriers for foreign banks seeking to tap into the local market. “To encourage financial companies to tap into other countries, each country must work to increase the conformity of their local rules with international norms,” Financial [...]
SEJONG, May 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will further remove unnecessary and excessive regulations concerning foreign direct investment (FDI) as part of efforts to boost foreign investment and the local economy, the government said Wednesday. Under its latest measures, approved at a Seoul meeting of economy-related ministers, the government will work to remove or [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean government will ban the car-sharing service of Uber on the grounds of passenger safety. To this, Uber countered that it is providing a legitimate service. It remains to be seen how the controversy would unfold. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation on August 29 sent an official [...]
SEOUL, Korea, Mar 9, 2014 (Korea Bizwire) – The government-appointed National Commission for Corporate Partnership designated in November 2011 a total of 82 business areas for small business protection, meaning that entrance of large corporations into these sectors would be subject to regulation. When the commission decided on these matters, it included tofu making as [...]