The government has announced its intention to reduce the ratio of household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) to below 100 percent by the year 2027.On Jan. 4, the government released the “2024 Economic Policy Direction,” outlining its strategy for managing household debt.According to the Bank for
Last year, 540,000 foreign workers received year-end settlements, and the reported tax amount reached a record-breaking 1.2 trillion won (US$915.68 million).The National Tax Service (NTS) announced that the number of foreign workers who filed tax reports was 544,000, and the reported tax amount reac
On Jan. 2, President Yoon Suk-yeol announced, “I will push for the abolition of the Financial Investment Income Tax.” This move is expected to spark controversy as it involves the cancellation of an agreement with the opposition party.On this day, President Yoon attended the “2024 Securities and Der
A plenary session of the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Capital Markets and Financial Investment Business Act, which will require large-scale stock transactions by insiders of listed companies to be disclosed in advance beginning from the second half of 2024.The Financial Services Comm
Korea and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have finalized negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). The Korea-GCC FTA is Korea’s twenty-fifth FTA and the second with the Arab world after the Korea-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). As Korea has gain
The National Tax Service (NTS) announced on Dec. 28 that it has collected 1.35 trillion won (US$1.05 billion) in tax assessments in the area of overseas tax evasion alone through tax investigations conducted this year. The figure exceeds the average annual collection for the three years before the C
The National Tax Service announced on Dec. 27 that it has resolved 125 cases of double taxation through mutual agreement procedures with tax authorities in 16 countries from January to November this year to alleviate unfair double taxation for domestic and foreign taxpayers and create a favorable en
The number of babies born in October this year has dropped by over 8% compared to the previous year, setting a new record low. With this trend, there are concerns that the total fertility rate for the current fourth quarter from October to December may fall to the 0.6 range.According to population t
The Supreme Court’s ruling that it is not illegal to have employees work more than 52 hours in a week, regardless of the number of hours worked per day, is expected to allow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to make their working hours more flexible and cut labor costs.On Dec. 25, the Suprem
For the first time in four years, business leaders from South Korea and China are meeting in Seoul to identify industries for cooperation between the two countries and to discuss future initiatives such as supply chain cooperation and carbon neutrality.The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCC
Following the spread of COVID-19, North Korea’s real gross domestic product (GDP) has experienced three consecutive years of negative growth, leading to a widening income gap of up to 30 times per capita between North and South Korea. Last year, North Korea’s population was approximately half the si
The government will build 10,000 “smart plus” buildings specializing in robots, drones, autonomous vehicles and urban air mobility (UAM) by 2035.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) announced a road map for the promotion of smart plus buildings as an innovation policy in the s
The number of foreign residents in South Korea exceeded 1.4 million for the first time as the number of foreigners with E-9 visas working in non-professional jobs and international students increased due to the COVID-19 endemic. If including naturalized immigrants who have acquired South Korean citi
According to an analysis, up to 96,000 new foreigners will enter Korea every year for the next 50 years. Under these circumstances, if a worst-case low-fertility scenario is realized, one in three people of working ages in Korea will be foreign by 2072.According to the results of the 2022 Population
A luncheon meeting of labor, management and government representatives was held at a Korean restaurant in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, on Dec. 14, according to the Ministry of Labor and Employment and Economic, Social and Labor Affairs Committee, a presidential social dialogue body. This marked the first tim
The number of single-person households living alone in homes across the nation has reached a record high of 7,502,000, accounting for 34.5 percent of all households. This percentage surpasses that of two-person households, three-person households, and households with four or more members, making sin
Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) is exploring ways to increase water-related cooperation and expand exchanges with Saudi Arabia in response to the climate crisis.Abdulaziz Muhareb Al-Shibani, deputy minister of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, participated
President Yoon Suk-yeol is set to make a state visit to the Netherlands from Dec. 11 to 14, spanning four days and three nights.This marks the first state visit to the Netherlands by a Korean president since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1961. During this vis
A Chinese state-run think tank expressed the view that South Korea’s concerns sparked by China’s recent withholding of customs clearance for urea exports from China to South Korea can be resolved through friendly negotiations.“Two years ago, during a urea shortage situation in South Korea, China urg
The new regional head of the Hyundai Motor’s labor union, the largest single union in the country, has pledged to introduce a “4-day workweek” starting next year. This commitment has reignited the debate over reduced working hours, often described as a “hot potato” in the industry.On Dec. 6, Hyundai