Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi tabled an amendment to the Local Tax Act on Nov. 8 in order to block speculative real estate transactions by foreigners. According to the amendment, house purchase by a non-resident foreigner is subject to a tax rate of 30 percent plus the current real
The Bank of Korea announced on Nov. 5 that South Korea’s current account surplus totaled US$10.21 billion in September this year to exceed US$10 billion for the first time since September 2018.South Korea posted a current account deficit of US$3.33 billion in April in the wake of COVID-19. However,
The Ministry of Justice announced on Nov. 2 that a total of 70,254 persons applied for refugee status recognition by South Korea from 1994 to August this year. In relation to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the number of such requests was approximately 1,000 in each of the first four months of this ye
The Russian embassy in Pyongyang said on Oct. 29 that North Korea issued a currency exchange order to foreigners, telling them to use the North Korean currency instead of the U.S. dollar and stopping receiving the U.S. dollar at the Taedonggang Diplomatic Club and foreigner-only stores in Pyongyang.
The foreign currency deposits of residents, which continued to increase based on overseas stock investments and economic uncertainties triggered by COVID-19, decreased for the first time in seven months.The Bank of Korea announced on Oct. 22 that the deposits added up to US$85.45 billion at the end
People Power Party lawmaker Kang Gi-yun remarked on Oct. 20 that Chinese account for more than 70 percent of foreigners who benefited from the national health insurance of South Korea from 2015 to June this year and a total of 3,442.2 billion won of national health insurance benefits went to foreign
The Bank of Korea announced on Oct. 8 that South Korea’s current account surplus was US$6.57 billion in August this year, up US$1.71 billion from a year ago. It remained in the black for the fourth consecutive month, its goods account surplus hit a nine-month high of US$7.01 billion, and its service
Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) Authority said on Oct. 7 that it will hold a forum to improve the living environment of international residents in the IFEZ at Songdo Convensia in Songdo International City on Oct. 13.The authority has been trying to improve the residential environment of foreign re
The South Korean and Japanese governments agreed to implement special entry for entrepreneurs starting from Oct. 8.The Japanese government suspended the visa-free entry of South Koreans and nullified already issued visas on March 9 in order to block the spread of COVID-19. The South Korean governmen
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at sw.kang@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Asset market volatility heightened last week in response to concerns over a pause in policy momentum amid the US presidential election. Given that it is difficult for additional policies to emerge o
The Financial Services Commission announced on Sep. 24 that the five credit card companies of Shinhan, Hana, Woori, Kookmin and Lotte would launch overseas remittance services for non-residents and foreigners in March 2021 or later.The commission held a regular meeting the previous day and decided t
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced on Sept. 24 that a total of 65 foreigners have been tested positive for COVID-19 after their negative test result submission this month. Concerns are mounting over false test results and the reliability of foreign COVID-19 testing institution
The Bank of Korea announced on Sept. 17 that residents’ U.S. dollar deposits increased by US$370 million to US$76.59 billion last month, which is the highest since records began in June 2012.The deposits, which can be defined as those owned by local individuals and companies, foreigners staying for
Foreign investors took out $890 million in stock funds from the Seoul stock market last month, a Bank of Korea report showed on Sept. 11. Stock market watchers attributed the net outflow to profit-taking.The BOK said fresh foreign funds worth U$670 million flowed into Korea for investment in Korean
JP Morgan has marked down Celltrion’s target share price to 60 percent of the current level.Celltrion closed at 298,000 won on Sept. 9, down 6.13 percent from the previous day. Foreign investors and institutional investors net-sold Celltrion shares worth 44.7 billion won and 56 billion won, respecti
The South Korean government is preparing this year’s fourth supplementary budget after drawing up a record budget plan for next year and this is significantly affecting the bond market.On Sept. 7, the three-year government bond yield jumped 0.044 percentage point to 0.973 percent. It is 0.178 percen
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at jwsung79@shinhan.com and hanny.lee@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. Upbeat on increase in downtown duty-free sales and drop in airport rent1) Increase in downtown duty-free sales: Duty-free sales to foreigners came in highe
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) is planning to resume flights to and from South Korea in about five months on Sept. 15. The number of weekly flights is estimated at four. CAAV director Dinh Viet Thang recently said that the South Korean and Vietnamese governments already finished thei
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mi announced on Aug. 25 that the ministry may implement regulations in order to block foreigners’ speculative real estate transactions.That day, United Future Party lawmaker Kim Sang-hoon pointed out at the plenary meeting of the Land, Infrastruct
With economic uncertainties increasing in the wake of COVID-19, foreign currency deposits hit an all-time high yet again based on an increasing demand for the U.S. dollar. In addition, securities companies’ U.S. dollar demand increased along with overseas stock investment.The Bank of Korea announced