The consumption gap is further widening between the rich and poor as income inequality and consumer prices rise.Statistics Korea said Tuesday that the bottom 10 percent of households by income concentrate their spending on daily necessities such as food and settling monthly utility bills.Meanwhile, the top 10 percent spend their wealth on education for their children, travel, entertainment and other cultural activities.Groceries and nonalcoholic drinks accounted for more than 23 percent of total

Top executives at state-owned financial institutions, organizations and companies are expected to be replaced soon as Shin Je-yoon, the Financial Services Commission chairman-nominee, heralded sweeping changes of top financial posts. At a confirmation hearing on Monday, the nominee for Korea’s financial regulatory body said that he would suggest and recommend the replacement of incumbent executives to President Park Geun-hye, despite their terms. He added that he would replace them, if necessary

One in 3 outside auditors at major conglomerates and their subsidiaries are former government officials, thought to be used mainly as lobbyists for those companies rather than being independent monitors of management.Data by the Korea Exchange and the Financial Supervisory Service showed that more than 30 percent of 81 outside auditors selected or expected to be appointed as auditors this year at 66 listed subsidiaries and affiliates of Korea’s top 10 conglomerates were former high-ranking gover

Deputy Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Choi Soo-hyun is expected to succeed Kwon Hyouk-se, the current chief, who offered to step down from his post on Friday, the watchdog said, amid a personnel shake-up of government agencies by the presidential office.Kwon’s resignation came after President Park named Vice Finance Minister Shin Je-yoon as the nominee for Financial Services Commission chairman early this month.The FSS is the executive body of the policy-making FSC, and the head of the FSS i

Hana Financial Group is on track to take compete control of Korea Exchange Bank as the majority of its shareholders approved a plan to swap Hana shares with remaining KEB shares owned by minority stakeholders at Hana’s extraordinary general meeting on Friday.The share swap scheme was also approved at KEB’s meeting, but is expected to face growing opposition from KEB minority shareholders and union workers.The plan, not only to gain 100 percent ownership in Korea’s leading foreign exchange bank b

Korea’s weekly working hours fell to a record low in 2012 as companies reduced operations and production to shed costs amid the economic slowdown.Companies with more than five workers had their employees work an average 41.4 hours a week last year, with average monthly working hours also falling below 180 hours for the first time since 1999 when Statistics Korea began compiling data, the statistics bureau and the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday.Korea’s monthly working hours avera

A free trade agreement with the U.S. has pushed down Korea’s tariff revenue on U.S. imports for the first time in seven years, despite an increase in trade with the world’s largest economy.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Tuesday that tariff revenue on U.S. imports sank to 9.8 trillion won ($8.9 billion) last year, down 10.7 percent from 10.9 trillion won a year ago.This is the first time Korea saw its customs revenue decline since 2005, the ministry noted, adding that its revenue fell

Board directors have been a crucial part of the corporate management system, monitoring companies and executives to ensure they are operating fairly and transparently.Outside independent directors have been especially relied upon and placed alongside inside directors to help and guide the decision-making process in the interest of shareholders to avert stock price losses or any other value depreciation.Korea implemented the outside director system in the aftermath of the 1997-98 Asian financial

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Monday that it was considering reducing tax-exemptions and benefits “comprehensively” and across the board, in line with President Park Geun-hye’s pledge to boost welfare spending for the middle class.The downsize of tax benefits could apply to foreign investors, but an official at the Finance Ministry said that nothing had been decided yet regarding tax revision for foreigners.A local newspaper reported that the Finance Ministry had begun looking into w

The proportion of people currently working or seeking work in Korea’s labor market is expected to fall below the 60 percent threshold for the first time in 24 years.Korea’s economic activity rate is predicted to sink to 59.3 percent this year, according to data by Statistics Korea and the National Assembly Budget Office. Korea has generally kept its economic activity rate above 60 percent since 1990. The economically active population also is expected to fall 2.3 percent to 25.4 million. This wo

The Export-Import Bank of Korea could assist Incheon International Airport Corp to finance Myanmar’s new airport project as the state-run airport operator is currently looking into ways to fund the potential deal worth up to $600 million, said sources familiar with the situation.IIAC could seek Korea Eximbank, which has a non-binding agreement with IIAC to support the export of its airport operation know-how, to back its consortium through the policy bank’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund

POSCO, Korea’s largest steelmaker, said Thursday that it has appointed Liang Ho-young as its first female executive, to head the company’s overseas subsidiary Qingdao Pohang Stainless Steel in China.Liang, who was in charge of sales of hot-rolled stainless steel in Korea, was promoted to the job of overseeing POSCO’s Qingdao unit due to her fluency in Chinese and long-standing experience in overseas marketing of stainless steel.The Korean steel giant also promoted another female executive Choi E

Conglomerates such as Shinsegae and CJ that provide goods and services directly to retail consumers flunked their evaluations on corporate social responsibility performances.Korea’s Corporate Governance Service said Wednesday that CJ and its subsidiaries earned the lowest score of 5.6 points out of 100 among the top 20 conglomerates and units in running a fair and reliable operation for consumers.Shinsegae, contrary to its close home rival Lotte, which received 53.68 points, earned around 20 poi

An increasing number of domestic asset management and investment advisory service companies are faced with capital erosion and inevitable restructuring due to weakening profitability, according to the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Financial Investment Association.Securities companies have been downsizing their units and staff levels as the global slowdown has weighed down their brokerage and investment banking businesses.Financial regulators are expected to clean up and shut down t

Following is the fifth and last in a series of stories featuring economic issues facing the Park Geun-hye government that was inaugurated on Feb. 25. ― Ed.When executives of Korean exporters shared their concern with President Park Geun-hye over the volatility of the Korean won during the transition period, the nation’s 18th chief executive said then that her government will aim to maintain foreign exchange stability through “preemptive measures.”The president said she was well aware that Korea

The U.S. Federal Reserve may be vastly influential with decisions it makes on key interest rates that can cause ripple effects across the global financial markets.However, this power surprisingly does not reflect the current annual salary of chairman Ben Bernanke, who receives $199,700 ― much lower than that of Bank of Korea governor Kim Choong-soo, according to the Bank of Korea, the Ministry of Labor and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.The central bank in Seoul said that it was inappropria

Kyobo Life Insurance and Dongbu Insurance were found to be least charitable firms in the insurance industry, despite reaping high profits in the recent fiscal quarter, according to regulatory filings and media reports.Kyobo Life, which is among the top three domestic life insurers, donated or engaged in social contribution worth 3.8 billion won ($3.5 million), or 0.86 percent of its third-quarter net profit of 438 billion won last year.Dongbu, which posted a net profit of some 330 billion won in

The Fair Trade Commission, the country’s antitrust watchdog, is expected to expand its probe into outdoor apparel companies for possible price fixing and related malpractices, industry sources said.The commission is said to have investigated leading outdoor brands such as The North Face, Kolon Sport and K2. It will also look into 10 other companies including Black Yak, Millet and Lafuma.Its probe will include examining the industry’s distribution channels as well as its relationship with supplie

Men have a greater chance of dying single than women, with one in five men born in 2010 estimated to be single at the end of their lives.About 79 percent of men born in 2010 are likely to succeed in marriage in their lifetime, compared with 85 percent for women. These are predictions based on current trends, according to a survey of marriage, divorce and birth data between 2000 and 2010 by Statistics Korea.More than 20 percent of men will pass away single, compared to 15 percent of women, accord

Credit card transactions by Koreans traveling abroad hit a record high of nearly $10 billion in 2012.The Bank of Korea said Thursday that more than 20 million Koreans settled their bills overseas via credit card last year, up about 17 percent from 17.4 million the year before.Credit card payments overseas amounted to $9.4 billion, up about 9 percent from $8.6 billion in the same period.Although credit transactions reached an all-time high, payments per person stood at just $464 on average, down