South Korea’s housing prices were 2.64 times that of the gross domestic product in 2019, as the property market spiked, central bank data showed Sunday. Last year, the aggregate market price of houses here came to 5.67 quadrillion won ($4.62 trillion), up 7.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. The corresponding figure exceeded the 1 quadrillion won mark for the first time in 2000 and doubled up during the next six years to surpass 2 quadrillion won in 2006. Du

Delayed tax payments during the first half of this year surged by 28 times from a year earlier, reflecting the cash-strapped reality of local taxpayers amid the COVID-19 pandemic fallout, government data showed Sunday. The number of people who have applied for their due tax payments to be put off came to 5.79 million as of end-June, which was 28.1 times higher than 206,054 cases observed a year earlier, according to data submitted by the National Tax Service to the parliamentary finance comm

South Korea saw its economy shrink dramatically in the second quarter, marking its worst growth in more than two decades, feeling the impact from COVID-19 fallout, central bank data showed Thursday. The chief fiscal policymaker, however, claimed that the country’s economic graph will rebound in the third quarter on the back of expansionary fiscal spending and new growth engines. The country’s real gross domestic product for April-June fell 2.9 percent from a year earlier, accordi

South Korea on Wednesday unveiled a set of revised taxation rules aimed at better dealing with the widening economic gap and altered tax realities under the COVID-19 context. Its measures will focus on alleviating the tax burden for struggling small businesses, enhancing income tax-paying duties of the affluent group and supporting retail investors. “Adding to its previous measures to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, (the government) has come up with tax law revision bills to fundamenta

The number of people subject to pay tax for residential property ownership increased by more than 110,000 last year, while the corresponding tax revenue neared 1 trillion won ($834 million) due to a price hike, government data showed Tuesday. As the given progressive tax rate is imposed on those who own high-priced residences, such expanded tax yields were seen to reflect the fast increasing housing price hike here. The number of individuals and companies subject to the comprehensive real

The Korean government on Tuesday reiterated vows to remove bottleneck problems faced by individual stock investors, according to the regulatory Financial Services Commission. “The active participation of individual stock investors shored up the (domestic) stock market in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak,” said FSC Vice Chairman Sohn Byung-doo, in a financial risk management policy meeting held at the Korea Federation of Banks headquarters in central Seoul. “(The governme

Taking impact from the COVID-19 fallout, South Korea’s household debt compared to its economic size has become one of the world’s highest, while its debt grew at one of the fastest paces during the first quarter this year, a report showed Monday. As of the end of March this year, Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its household debt stand at 97.9 percent of its gross domestic product, which was the highest among the 39 countries reviewed by the US-based Institute of Internatio

Since confirming its first domestic case of COVID-19 infection on Jan. 20, South Korea’s economy has been on a roller-coaster ride -- hitting its low point in April-June -- but appears to be bouncing back now. Concerns are now mounting that the persisting or widening gap between its financial indexes and the actual economic sentiment in the market may be signaling a watershed moment for Asia’s fourth-largest economy in the post-coronavirus era. During the past six months, the K

Reeling under the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 fallout, South Korea shed over 350,000 jobs in June, marking the fourth consecutive monthly fall in employment for the first time since the global financial crisis, government data showed Wednesday. The number of people unemployed and the unemployment rate hit record highs, weighed down by the massive contraction in service sectors. According to the monthly employment trend compiled by Statistics Korea, the number of employed people across

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday unveiled the road map of a “Korean New Deal” stimulus package that seeks to invest over 160 trillion won ($132.67 billion) and create 1.9 million jobs over the next five years. Asia’s fourth-largest economy came up with the extensive midterm fiscal package to recover from the persisting COVID-19 fallout, as well as prolonged slow growth across the globe. “The Korean New Deal is our new centennial blueprint, as well as a paradigm shift to

The Asian Development Bank’s 53rd annual meeting, which was slated to be hosted in Incheon’s Songdo in September, has been canceled due to the persisting COVID-19 situation, Seoul’s government said Friday. South Korea will seek to take its hosting turn in 2023, instead. The event, originally set for May, had already been delayed once in March amid hopes that the epidemic situation may improve. The Ministry of Economy and Finance made an official request to the ADB headqu

Reflecting the Moon Jae-in administration’s stubborn efforts to steady the bubble-prone real estate market, the 22nd set of policy actions were rolled out last week to curb prices. The “July 10 measures” focused on increasing the tax burden for multiple-home owners, but was also seen as part of its series of flustered responses to underperforming measures. Despite a series of restraint measures, housing prices in Seoul and major cities across the country have been on a ste

Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, South Korea’s top accounting firm, said Monday it has appointed a new co-representative to take charge of marketing. Partner and deals leader Bae Hwa-joo will serve as chief executive officer for marketing, while Yoon Hoon-soo will head the organization’s overall management. Assurance leader Yoon was named as CEO in April, as competitor Bae offered his resignation in the eleventh hour amid a neck-and-neck rivalry over the top post. The company may app

South Korea will impose a new income tax on all gains made from financial investments, while reducing the securities transaction tax rate, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday. The move came in line with the government’s efforts to alleviate the widening socioeconomic gap here and to revitalize the stalled market amid the COVID-19 fallout. “(The government) will establish a new taxation category for financial investment gains, starting 2022,&rdqu

South Korea will provide 5 trillion won ($4.12 billion) to subcontractors in key industrial sectors, in an extended move to shore up the economy amid the fallout of COVID-19, the nation’s top fiscal policymaker said Friday. “Starting July, (the government) will supply operating fund loans to subcontractors in basic industries,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki in an economy-related ministerial meeting held at Seoul Government Complex. Responding t

Perplexed by the market backlash against new reinforced housing loan regulations, South Korea’s government hurriedly added that it would soon introduce exception clauses for people buying homes to live in rather than for investment purposes. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Financial Services Commission on Thursday issued a statement pushing back at local reports that accused the government of discriminating against non-homeowning citizens. “(The governmen

North Korea’s recent demolition of the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong will have a limited impact on the domestic financial market, South Korea’s fiscal and monetary authorities said Wednesday. The Bank of Korea held a meeting Wednesday morning under the chairmanship of Deputy Gov. Yoon Myun-shik to review the global financial market’s response to the North Korean action and the impact on the domestic market. At around 2:50 p.m. on the previous day, North Korea dem

South Korea is about to unveil additional regulations to curb housing prices, mainly by deterring the rampant practice of speculative buying made possible by the country’s unique jeonse lease system, officials said Tuesday. The government will hold a ministerial meeting Wednesday under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, where the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is to report a new set of real estate policies. After the suggested pol

The Ministry of Economy and Finance on Monday vowed maximum efforts to help domestic businesses win overseas orders, seeking economic revitalization amid the prolonged COVID-19 fallout. South Korea’s preemptive policy move reflected its expectations that key economies will soon expand infrastructure businesses in order to recover from the epidemic crisis. “The government has selected 30 key projects totaling $100 billion, focusing on those that are likely to be successfully com

The now seldomly frequented Hwanghak-dong, near the tourist spot of Dongdaemun Design Plaza, was once an up-and-rising, sophisticated neighborhood in Seoul in the 1980s. After Seoul hosted its first Asian Games in 1986 and the Olympic Games in 1988, the country was suddenly flooded with Western culture. With the move came the surge in demand for eating out and diverse kitchenware and tableware. The Hwanghak-dong street, where sellers of kitchen appliances and furniture flocked for business,