The Korean government said Monday it would crack down on stores selling tobacco in bulk this month in the lead up to the Jan. 1 price hike. Proprietors caught selling large volumes of cigarettes will face up to two years in prison or a 50 million won ($45,000) fine. The announcement came after the ruling and opposition parties agreed last Friday to raise tobacco prices by 2,000 won. This was the first hike since the government raised the price by 500 won in 2004. A memo on a store window in Cheo

Tumbling oil prices, caused by Thursday’s decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain oil production levels, is expected to improve consumption and investment in oil-dependent companies, industry sources said. However, there are lingering worries that oil’s continued slump may push consumer prices low enough to cause deflation, damaging economic growth. “The drop in the cost of oil imports may be a good sign for the Korean economy as a whole except some industri

Kim Yoo-jin, a high school teacher, has been eagerly waiting for America’s Thanksgiving holiday, definitely not to eat turkey but to shop online on Black Friday, the day following America’s biggest national holiday. Most major American retailers offer big discounts to kick off the holiday shopping season on that day. Kim has been expecting to buy some electronic devices as high-end gadgets are 50 percent cheaper than those in the local market on the big sales day. Sam’s Club, a retail company ow

캡션 에릭 가세티 LA 시장에릭 가세티 로스앤젤레스(LA) 시장에 의하면 삼성 측이 미국 태양광 사업 프로젝트 (Solar Farm)등 수주를 위해 LA시와 협력 확대를 위한 MOU를 체결하고 매달 실무진 회의도 갖기로 했다. 23일부터 사흘간 우리나라를 방문한 가세티 시장은 방한 기간 중 김신 삼성물산 상사부문 사장을 만나 “삼성이 LA에서 진행되는 태양광 사업에 관심이 많지만 미국 내 건설 경험이 부족해 협조를 요청했다”고 24일 코리아헤럴드와의 인터뷰에서 전했다. 그는 “삼성이 LA에서 진행하는 지하철 확장공사와 노후화된 공항 현대화 사업 수주에도 참여할 예정이다“라고 전하며, 이미 지난해 9월 최치훈 삼성물산 건설부문 사장이 LA를 방문해 지하철과 공항 수주 건으로 협조를 요청했다고 밝혔다.에너지사업과 더불어 삼성물산 측은 LA에서 진행하는 지하철 확장공사와 노후화된 공항 현대화 사업 수주에도 참여할 예정이다. 캘리포니아 주는 현재 2020년까지 전기의 33%를 신재생에너지로

A slew of top Korean companies including Samsung are looking at investment opportunities in Los Angeles, according to the city mayor, who is in Seoul this week. “We talked with some Korean firms about plans to invest in infrastructure in Los Angeles in the airport, public transportation and hotel areas,” said LA Mayor Eric Garcetti in an interview with The Korea Herald on Monday. Samsung C&T, for instance, is looking into opportunities to invest in solar power projects, and railway and airport c

An economist from the Asia Development Bank urged Korea to consider levying more taxes on the rich to create a more balanced wealth distribution. “Korea, which was considered a success story in generating growth with equity in the 1970s and 1980s, has seen rising income inequality in recent years,” said Juzhong Zhuang, a deputy chief economist at the Asian Development Bank, in an interview with The Korea Herald. The latest OECD data showed Korea’s Gini coefficient ― a scale with zero being perfe

The nation’s top financial regulatory body this week estimated a cost of at least $500 billion to cover the financing the development of North Korea if the two Koreas are reunited.“It would take at least $500 billion to develop North Korea (after reunification), which includes economic development and costs for educating North Koreans,” said Shin Je-yoon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, at a conference on inter-Korean unification and finance held in Seoul on Wednesday. Some $17 bi

An anxious North Korea will see Tuesday how the boldest effort yet to bring its leaders to account for alleged crimes against humanity will move forward, as the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee votes on a resolution that demands the country's referral to the International Criminal Court.The vote follows a groundbreaking U.N. commission of inquiry report on North Korea early this year that declared the country's human rights situation ``exceeds all others in duration, intensity and

The state-run Korea Development Institute on Tuesday called for a decrease in the financial support for insolvent companies as it could delay their restructuring and hamper their economic dynamism. The KDI said in its report that increasing support for so-called “zombie companies” ― insolvent companies relying on external financial support ― would have a negative impact on the economy as a whole. The existence of the companies would keep labor costs and interest rates high, thus having a negativ

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's special envoy later Tuesday, an official from Putin's office said.Choe Ryong-hae, the Workers' Party of Korea secretary, "is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Putin at 5 p.m. today," the Kremlin official told Yonhap News Agency.The public affairs office of the Kremlin later confirmed the planned meeting.Putin plans to have a closed-door meeting with Choe and there will be no press availability, it said.

The Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect scheme ― touted as a milestone in the liberalization of China’s capital markets ― launched Monday, with very little impact on the Korean bourse. Korea’s stock market dipped only slightly as investors appeared to be taking a wait-and-see attitude. The government too said it would watch for further developments before taking any actions.“As we do not expect the trading scheme to lead to an immediate surge in capital outflows from Korea’s stock market in the sho

The South Korean government is strongly committed to attracting foreign investment to make Foodpolis, Asia’s first food cluster, a success, officials said Friday. “The government will step up its efforts to strengthen the global competitiveness of the nation’s food industry and to encourage foreign investment in Foodpolis,” Lee Ju-myeung, head of the Agriculture Ministry’s Food Industry Policy Bureau, told international media and embassies at a briefing. The nation plans to invest 553 billion wo

The value of mergers and acquisitions in South Korea amounted to 11.2 trillion won ($10.5 billion) in the first six months of this year on the back of mega deals like Daum Kakao Corp., the financial watchdog said Thursday.There were 82 mergers, spinoffs and business sales in the January-June period, compared with 133 cases worth 11.11 trillion won in the second half of 2013, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Over the cited period, M&As in the global market soared 72.8 percent on-yea

In a widely expected move, South Korea’s central bank stood pat on its 2 percent base rate Thursday as it gauges the policy impact of two rate cuts earlier this year.The rate freeze came after the Bank of Korea lowered the policy rate by a quarter percentage point in August and October as part of efforts to bolster growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.Slowing growth momentum has been a major headache for policymakers as domestic demand has lagged and property transactions have failed to reviv

South Korea’s recent free trade deal with China was not all good news, experts said, warning that the nation’s reliance on the Chinese economy would rise to excessive levels.Earlier this year, Korea and China agreed to allow direct trading between the won and yuan starting in December to encourage Korean businesses to trade in the Chinese currency.And now, the two sides have signed a historic free trade agreement that will eliminate tariffs on key bilateral export items.A stronger relationship w

The Industrial Bank of Korea said Tuesday that it hosted a two-day internal workshop called “IBK tour for technology financing,” aimed at discussing technology’s impact on the finance sector and finding business opportunities in the field.On Monday, the bank met with its corporate clients, including ATKO Planning, an eco-material company, and Meta Boimed, a surgical materials producer, to both of which the bank offered technology financing.  Industrial Bank of Korea CEO Kwon Seon-joo (right) pro

The South Korean government voiced concerns about the economy Tuesday, saying that growth was losing momentum due to mounting uncertainties in the domestic and global markets.“Despite the rise in employment, low prices continue and the economic recovery has failed to gather momentum due to factors such as strikes in the auto industry,” the Finance Ministry said in its economic trend report. “Amid the uncertainties rising from the quantitative easing in the U.S. and the weak yen, Korea’s economic

The South Korean government plans to contribute 305.9 billion won ($281 million) to multinational lending organizations next year, a slight increase from this year’s 300.4 billion won, according to the Finance Ministry. A large portion of the nation’s contributions to international society will be given to the World Bank and its lending arms.The country plans to offer $35 million to the World Bank next year. This will increase the nation’s voting share in the financial institution to 1.63 percen

Korea’s central bank is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate at 2 percent this month amid growing concerns over household debt and foreign capital outflows. The Bank of Korea cut its key rate twice this year ― in August and October ― to a record low of 2 percent. Industry watchers are concerned that another cut may increase the level of Korea’s household debt. South Korea’s household debt has reached 1 quadrillion won ($940 billion) last year, which is threatening the economic health of

The launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect scheme will be a disaster for South Korea’s stock market, according to a local professor specializing in Chinese finance and business.“In the short term, there will be massive capital outflows from local investors who have not been able to make a profit here on account of the low interest rates and weak stock market,” said Jeon Byeong-seo, a professor at Kyung Hee University, in an interview with The Korea Herald. The Shanghai-Hong Kong stock co