A North Korean vessel thought to be a military patrol ship violated the western inter-Korean sea border and retreated back to its waters Tuesday night after a South Korean warship fired warning shots, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday.　“At 9:38 p.m. Tuesday, an unidentified North Korean ship invaded our waters and continued to 700 meters south of the Northern Limit Line (sea border). Our pa

Sohn Hak-kyu, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, scored a victory in the ruling party's stronghold of Bundang, just south of Seoul, which isconsidered the biggest match of Wednesday's by-elections, accordingto an exit poll by a local TV station.   If the forecast is correct, Sohn's triumph will boost his bidto become South Korea's next president, while dealing a blow to theLee Myu

The nation’s top financial watchdog is under fire after several charges of corruption and power abuse were revealed this week.Three former and current officials from the Financial Supervisory Service were booked on Monday on charges of extorting money out of debt-ridden companies trying to get an approval for capital increases. Another two auditors were also arrested on charges of receiving bribes

Income inequality widened over the past decade, with the gains among the top 20 percent rising by more than half while those of the poorest 20 percent more than halved, the tax agency said Monday.Taxable income reported by the wealthiest 20 percent stood at an average of 90 million won ($83,210) in 2009, up 55 percent from 1999 when the figure was 58 million won, the National Tax Services said. Ga

Earnings-driven buying sprees in IT shares, in a market waiting for a second round of capital inflows, are pushing Seoul shares to record high levels, analysts said Thursday.“Investors, including foreigners, are holding their long positions as they’re waiting for more capital inflows to push up the KOSPI. Because there is less selling, the index keeps breaking all-time highs with even small purcha

The central bank and the financial regulator decided to jointly examine banks’ foreign currency trade activities to keep them in check against speculative investments. The inspection comes as the won this week advanced to its strongest level in 31 months with capital inflows into local assets. The market’s understanding of the latest move is that the Finance Ministry is masterminding regulators to

Brokerages seek to capture rich investors on expectations of financial deregulationBrokerages are struggling to capture wealthy investors with high-yielding private equity products as deregulation in homegrown hedge funds looms large.Money poured into hedge fund-style products as soon as top brokerages such as Samsung, Woori Investment and Korea Investment rolled them out in the past month, sparki

The number of marriages increased 5.3 percent in 2010 in line with the market rebound from the economic crisis between 2008 and 2009, Statistics Korea said Tuesday.The report by the state agency said 326,000 couples married last year, putting the total up 5.3 percent from the year before. The figure is a reverse of declines during 2008-9 which saw marriages dropping by 4.6 percent and 5.5 percent

The government is mulling a research institution to provide the groundwork to help local companies advance into emerging markets, Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun said Monday.“In order to attain sustainable growth, it is important to consolidate ties with emerging countries by establishing cooperative channels and expanding free trade agreements,” Yoon said at a policy meeting. He said there is a

The benchmark KOSPI was expected to experience an extended rally for the next few months on a new round of capital inflows forthcoming in May, analysts said Monday amid forecasts that local stock markets would hold up well despite unfavorable external conditions. “Foreigners are expected to continue their buying spree with renewed interest in the region. May is also the time when doubts about oil

Kwon Hyuk, a reclusive shipping tycoon, shows how to get around paying taxes in and out of more than five trading borders while keeping over 10 trillion won ($9 billion) in assets.Register your business at a tax haven, stash all your profits there, and pretend you live abroad. Minimize paperwork. Even better if you can avoid the press.Kwon has been the main target of the Korean government’s latest

Overdue payments of less than 100,000 won no longer reflected in credit ratingsThe government on Sunday announced a set of measures to provide the poor with better access to financial sources as mounting household debts loom large over economic recovery. The package proposed by the Financial Services Commission centers on the overhaul of credit rating guidelines, market interest rates and individu

Construction companies fear ‘chain reaction’ of bankruptciesMore mid-sized construction firms are facing business failure as their financing environment deteriorates due to soured project finance loans.Their financing opportunities, such as issuing commercial papers or corporate bonds, are increasingly becoming difficult after industry leaders such as Chinhung International and LIG Engineering & C

NICE Investors Service on Tuesday announced its sovereign ratings of six governments for the first time as a local ratings agency.NICE gave sovereign ratings for Korea as well as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Brazil. The company said its evaluation would provide diversity in a ratings market dominated by Fitch, Moody and Standard & Poor’s, whose incorrect and belated evaluations h

The Finance Ministry launched a new task force to help developing nations improve infrastructure and policymaking under the Knowledge Sharing Program. Helping underdeveloped nations with long term goals is a G20 agenda initiated by President Lee Myung-bak as the host of the G20 Seoul Summit last year.Seoul has finished its policy consultations with four African nations including Ghana and Algeria.

Credit Suisse regional chief says inflationary pressure won’t continueInflationary pressure from soaring food prices is not likely to continue in Asia but a new round of capital inflows from May could destabilize regional economies, said Osama Abbasi, CEO of Credit Suisse Asia-Pacific.“It is in our view that food price is pretty much capped out. Further acceleration of food price is unlikely,” Abb

Koreans’ overseas spending exceeded a record high 20 trillion won ($18.4 billion) in 2010, as more travelers and students abroad took advantage of the strong won, the Bank of Korea said Monday.The country’s nominal overseas spending reached 20.3 trillion won last year, up 15.4 percent from 2009. It is the highest level of annual spending from overseas since 1970 when officials began collecting dat

The International Monetary Fund is hosting a recruitment drive in Seoul next week for positions in its Technology and General Services Department, it said Monday.The all-day event slated for April 19 is part of the lender’s regional job fair to recruit East Asian candidates. The event will take place at Grand Interncontinental Hotel and may include on-cite interviews. Positions are open for facili

CJ Cheiljedang Corp. will spend three trillion won ($2.78 billion) by 2015 on building facilities and an R&D center to make bio products, the food maker said Friday. “We’re making investment into our Asia and North American market where we will invest about three trillion won,” it said. The investment may include building new factories or establishing strategic alliance with food companies abroad,

Measure seeks price transparency; P.M. says will consider cutting taxThe government on Wednesday said it will launch an online market for oil products and boost competition among suppliers in a package of measures to lower fuel prices. The proposal submitted by a pan-governmental task force also said that the government will consider cutting fuel taxes in the long-term if price hikes continue to w