The Financial Supervisory Service said Sunday that it had launched a special probe into the securities subsidiary of debt-laden Tong Yang Group for an indefinite period.The financial regulator will look into Tong Yang Securities, which is suspected of illicit bond underwriting of its affiliates, and find out whether it has used its customers’ money to invest in those bonds.This is the first time in 15 years the FSS has launched such an “exclusive investigation.”“Given the severity of the matter,

Korea is expected to see its growth projections for 2014 revised by financial organizations as external uncertainty over the global economy is weighing down its prospects.Even though recent data on Korea’s economic activity showed significant improvements, a government shutdown and expected monetary stimulus cuts in the U.S., as well as China’s slower growth forecast, would inevitably undermine Korean exports.The Bank of Korea and the International Monetary Fund are expected to revise down their

Expectations that the Korean economy will recover its traditional growth rate of 4 percent have been buoyed by improvements in several measures of the country’s productivity, boosting local business sentiment.Data compiled by Statistics Korea recently showed that three main areas of economic activity ― investment, consumption and industrial production ― increased, with the manufacturing sector, the country’s prime growth driver, making a comeback.Korea’s industrial production in August reached a

The U.S. political deadlock over the 2014 budget proposal by the Obama administration would adversely affect the Korean economy and its financial markets should the government shutdown last as long as the 20-plus days experienced under the Clinton government.The U.S., one of Korea’s top economic and political partners, this week shut down its nonessential services such as national parks and museums, forcing government staff at agencies, including the Department of Defense, to take unpaid holiday

The National Tax Service said Monday that it imposed penalties and back taxes of more than 743.8 billion won ($692.1 million) against conglomerates and wealthy individuals in the first half of this year.It investigated 377 cases involving those suspected of evading taxes via offshore paper companies and borrowed-named accounts between January and June, the NTS noted via a press statement.In 2012, the NTS looked into 771 cases, down from 869 in 2011.The tax agency’s list of suspects included cong

The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea recently held a conference on information, communication and technology, inviting more than 150 people working in the ICT sector to share their views and experiences in global expansion.Korea Eximbank said that the event was aimed at evaluating the economic potential of ICT exports for both the country and the industry, and at looking at ways to further boost global expansion.ICT has been one of the leading industrial sectors contributing to the country’

National debt has grown three times as fast as the country’s gross domestic product growth since the Asian currency crisis in the late 1990s, raising concerns over its fiscal viability.Korea is expected to see its national debt reach 515.2 trillion won ($478.5 billion) next year, according to data on 2014 fiscal budget proposed by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.It will increase almost nine-fold in 2014 from 1997 when its national debt stood at more than 60 trillion won.The Finance Ministry

The government on Thursday proposed a state budget plan of 357.7 trillion won ($332.7 billion) for next year, up 4.6 percent from 342 trillion won this year.The budget also included next year’s target revenue of 370.7 trillion won, down 0.5 percent from this year due to a tax revenue shortfall and delays in state asset divestiture.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that the majority of its 2014 budget will be spent on welfare and job creation, in line with President Park Geun-hye’s key po

Financial policymakers and regulators are raising their alert level and increasing their monitoring of the markets as the country faces a growing inflow of capital pulled out of emerging markets following the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee’s decision to maintain its monetary stimulus.Korean policymakers are reportedly looking closely at incoming capital to see whether it is being invested in the financial markets for speculative purposes.The sudden capital inflow, as well as outflow, could i

Statistics Korea has slapped fines on four companies that refused to participate in one of its surveys for the first time since its foundation.The country’s statistics bureau said Monday that it imposed combined fines of some 1.9 million won on four unidentified manufacturers late last year as they ignored requests to respond to its survey for statistics on industrial production.The bureau, by law, has the right to levy penalties against any companies that refuse to answer its surveys, which are

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Monday that Korea would discuss with three other economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to allow cross-border marketing and sales of funds.Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok will meet his counterparts from Australia, New Zealand and Singapore to discuss the adoption of the so-called fund passport system in the four countries.They plan to ink a non-binding agreement during the APEC meeting of financial leader

The government will give top priority to boosting welfare and job creation in its spending plans next year, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Monday.In a briefing to the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said that the Park Geun-hye administration would seek to invest more than 100 trillion won ($92.4 billion) in welfare projects next year, by far the biggest investment in the sector by a single Korean government.It

Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo said Thursday that Korea would need to stay alert against a possible market impact from the U.S. tapering of its quantitative easing, despite the country’s sound economic fundamentals.The global financial markets are expected to “overreact” and face “increased volatility” as the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee is set to provide further details of its monetary stimulus exit plan at a meeting next week, the governor said.Korea’s strong fundamentals backed by 18

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said that the government would reallocate some of its public funds gained from state spending cuts for regional businesses to invest in job creation.In a meeting with economic-related ministers on Wednesday, Hyun said that such “belt-tightening” budgets for regional attractions such as hosting international sporting events are inevitable as the country faces a shortfall in tax revenue.Such international events as the World Cup, the Olympics

Korea will provide its biggest financial assistance to Vietnam for the construction of a road connecting the Southeast Asian country’s regional industrial complex with Ho Chi Minh City.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that Korea will help Vietnam build the 17.85 kilometer, four-lane road linking the Nhon Trach industrial complex, where Korean companies such as POSCO and Lock & Lock have operations, with Vietnam’s biggest city.The $430 million project will be financed by the state-run Ex

The Bank of Korea has been ranked toward the bottom among central banks worldwide in terms of independence from government influence.It ranked 65th out of 89 central banks in the category, while placing 21st out of 120 for transparency, according to a research paper by professor Barry Eichengreen of University of California, Berkeley.The Korean central bank scored 8.5 points out of 15 in total in the transparency category.The research paper evaluated central banks’ independence by looking into w

Although G20 economies were divided over Syria, leaders remained united over issues concerning the world economy, showing commitment to a “durable exit” from one of the longest crises in financial history.G20 leaders said that the world economy’s top priorities are job creation, particularly for the young, and economic recovery through the implementation of sound macroeconomic policy, structural reforms and framework.Given that the world has not yet fully recovered from the ongoing financial dow

South Korean stocks are expected to trade in a tight range this week as investors are anticipated to sit on the sidelines on a possible tapering of the U.S. quantitative easing measures and the crisis in Syria, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 1.5 percent as of Friday from a week earlier.Seoul shares lost ground as the rising woes in the Middle East following the prospect of a U.S.-led military attack on Syria dented investors’ sentiment.The U.S. claimed it

S.R. Cho, chairman of Hyosung Group, is coming under increasing pressure over allegations of tax evasion as tax authorities step up their investigation into his financial history.With conglomerate heads known for purchasing airline tickets to get out of tight spots in the past, Cho was banned from traveling abroad, forcing him to cancel plans to go to Vietnam with President Park Geun-hye for her state-visit there.The National Tax Service and the prosecutors’ ramped-up investigations into both pu

Korea’s gross national income rose 2.9 percent in the second quarter of this year compared with the previous quarter, the highest increase in four years, the Bank of Korea said Thursday.The central bank attributed the rise in real GNI per capita to brisk trade and increased income from Koreans working abroad. The country’s GNI growth has been falling since the second quarter of last year when the rate was 1.5 percent, then slid to 0.7 percent in the third quarter of 2012 and 0.3 percent in the f