An argument was coming out at a local seminar that Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 may be applied to the semiconductor as well as automotive industry of South Korea.The United States may apply the Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to Korea’s semiconductor as well as autom

Ha Jae-joo, head of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), has offered to resign with one year and four months left before the end of his term. He has reportedly been under pressure from the government to implement its nuclear phase-out policy. Ha’s resignation is predicted to affect th

A plan to finalize negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) within this year has foundered. Instead, the countries adopted a joint communique calling for the final resolution of the deal next year. The RCEP is a large-scale free trade agreement (FTA) involving 16 countr

The Nov. 14 conclusion of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) that Samsung BioLogics intentionally committed accounting fraud is expected to have significant consequences on Samsung Group and Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong.Critics argue that the legitimacy of the earlier merg

Korean exporters are groaning under mounting U.S. trade protectionism. According to industry sources, President Donald Trump is likely to put pressure on the Korean semiconductor industry, as well as the automobile industry, by imposing excessive tariffs based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion A

South Korean conglomerate owners have strenthened their managerial control by shifting the governance structure of their groups to a holding company system through such measures as spinoffs and in-kind investment.The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) recently looked into 19 business groups’ 22 hold

Korea’s reliance on LNG-fueled power plants has sharply increased under the Moon Jae-in government as it pursues a rapid transition from nuclear power to renewable energy, such as solar power and wind power. But one problem with this transition is that the profitability of private LNG power plants h

South Korea needs to be prepared for the possibility of the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China evolving into an all-out war, warned a top official of the Financial Services Commission (FSC).Kim Yong-beom, vice chairman of the FSC, said the Korean economy has already suffered a

The number of South Korean companies leaving their home country is increasing to a worrisome extent. Specifically, the net outflow of direct investment amounted to US$88.2 billion for the most recent five years. Both large corporations and smaller companies are refraining from investing in South Kor

The Supreme Court of South Korea has ruled that the sum of a holiday allowance and a wage should be the yardstick in determining a violation of the Minimum Wage Act. The holiday allowance can be defined as an allowance given on a weekly paid holiday to a person who works at least 15 hours a week.On

New security vulnerabilities have been discovered for China’s DJI drones on which backdoors are highly likely to be mounted. With backdoor fears of Chinese products spreading around the world, South Korea’s major public agencies are taking the lead in purchasing Chinese drones. According to Israeli

President Moon Jae-in has sacked Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Kim Dong-yeon and Presidential Chief of Staff for Policy Jang Ha-sung.The two top economic policymakers led the nation’s economy for one year and six months since the inauguration of the incumbent govern

The South Korean government is going to discard its Clean Diesel policy in order to reduce the number of diesel vehicles, which are regarded as the main culprit of high-concentration particulate matter. At the same time, the government is going to expand the implementation of emergency particulate m

Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corp. (LX) is a state-run corporation that offers cadastral survey services and various cadastral spatial data. The corporation, which was selected as an excellent company for shared growth by the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last week, a

The working group for the establishment of the Third National Energy Plan submitted its recommendations to the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy on Nov. 7, proposing to raise Korea’s renewable energy-based power generation ratio from 7.6% in 2017 to 25%-40% by 2040.“We proposed 40% at first, but

South Korea's current account surplus in September topped US$10 billion (11.25 trillion won) on the back of brisk exports amid an expansion in the global trade volume.The transport account balance, which fell with the slowdown in the global shipping industry, turned into a surplus for the first

Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Choi Jong-ku hinted at abolishing the securities transaction tax on the South Korean equity market. As investors have to pay the tax even when they suffer a loss from equity investment, there has been criticism that it goes against the principle of taxati

Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Park Yong-man said on Nov. 5 that there are still too many regulations for South Korea to embrace Industry 4.0.He cited the Personal Information Protection Act as one of the biggest obstacles to Industry 4.0. “Big data accumulation and research

The South Korean government has acknowledged that the ratio of state-run enterprises’ debts to the nation’s GDP is relatively high. This is the first time that the Moon Jae-in administration admitted the seriousness of public enterprises’ debt problems.According to the Economy & Finance Ministry’s r

The U.S. government has reportedly requested certain South Korean business groups to report their business plans related to North Korea. The heads of these business groups visited North Korea in September this year for the third inter-Korean summit.According to industry sources, the Embassy of the U