Asiana Airlines signed up to the Korea International Cooperation Agency’s public-private partnership program on Monday. Companies taking part in the program collaborate with KOICA to carry out development aid projects in developing countries. The partner from the private sector is signed on for one year. The carrier said the KOICA selected the company for partnership in recognition of its corpo...

The following was contributed by National Tax Service Deputy Commissioner Kim Moon-soo. ― Ed. The size of foreign direct investment in 2010 was $13.1 billion, the largest amount since 2000. Although difficult to quantify, foreign investment certainly helped Korea overcome the 1997 economic crisis and achieve economic growth of 6.1 percent last year. However, amid growing uncertainties in the gl...

Costs incurred due to embezzlement, fraud by employees triple over 4 years The cost of embezzlement and fraud by employees at South Korean financial firms has more than tripled in four years, according to the country’s top financial regulator. The Financial Supervisory Service said malpractice by employees at banks and other financial firms reached 274 billion won ($240 million) in 2010, sharpl...

The number of credit cards issued increased this year, despite government efforts to reduce credit card use in a bid to control household debt. According to data released by the Credit Finance Association on Monday, the total number of credit cards issued was 122.3 million during the first half of this year. A total of 116.6 million credit cards were issued last year. This year’s record number ...

Mobile payment services can be an answer to the current controversy over high commission fees for credit card payment, KT chairman Lee Suk-chae said Monday. KT Corp., which became the largest shareholder of BC Card in February, announced in the day the company’s new vision to expand business into mobile payment services. “We would not try to compete with other credit card or communications comp...

Mayor Nam says many Japanese companies looking to relocate to Korean city For Gumi, Korea’s Silicon Valley, making sure that foreign direct investment keeps flowing into the city is a daily endeavor. To highlight the city’s appeal as a high-tech powerhouse, Herald Media organized a trip for commercial attaches so that they could get a firsthand account of a city that is a model for overcoming t...

Festival underscores government’s 5-year project to renovate river basins The government hosted an event last weekend to celebrate the revitalization of the country’s four major rivers as its multi-billion-dollar project nears its end. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs opened on Saturday four out of 16 reservoirs to the public along the four rivers ― Han, Geum, Yeongsan and N...