The majority of pet foods ordered from overseas by Korean online shoppers last year were seized and trashed at the quarantine service for phytosanitary reasons, the Food Ministry said Sunday.The National Plant Quarantine Service confiscated 2,231 packages, or 93.3 percent of the total pet foods and animal feeds that entered the country via airmail in 2014, the ministry said.According to the ministry data, pet foods take up about 82.4 percent of all airmailed packages that failed the quarantine i

March 1, 2015

Financial authorities said Thursday that local lenders would launch a massive program to cut the cost of loans for borrowers next month as a way to curb rising household debts.Under the new loan-transfer program, the money will go to help households seeking to refinance their mortgage lending at cheaper rates.The Financial Services Commission said the debt-refinancing program will start on March 24 and run until the sales reaches 20 trillion won.The measure came amid reports that the nation’s ho

Feb. 26, 2015

Korean companies paid a record-high $10 billion in dividends to foreign shareholders last year, the central bank said Monday. The Bank of Korea said a total of $10.28 billion was paid to nonresident investors in 2014, exceeding the previous record of $7 billion in 2006. This is the highest figure since 1980, when the nation’s financial authorities began keeping track of foreign dividend payouts, a move to monitor the outflow of national wealth. “The Korean companies’ (earnings to) foreign divide

Feb. 23, 2015

Fixed indemnity health plans, or reimbursement-backed medical insurance, was the first type of health coverage in the U.S. Under South Korean regulations on indemnity health plans, patients are eligible for reimbursement of 90 percent of medical costs not covered by state medical insurance. These plans typically require enrollment fees and monthly premiums, which are raised every three to five years. “I signed up for an IHP because I needed periodic treatment for my atopic dermatitis,” said Song

Feb. 17, 2015

South Korean quarantine authorities are examining Canadian beef imports, following a recent notification from the Canadian government of an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Sunday that Canadian beef imports here could be categorically banned if found to pose a substantial threat to public health.“We were notified by the Canadian Embassy to Korea on Feb. 11, Canada time, that a full-grown cow at a ranch in Al

Feb. 15, 2015

Korea’s emissions rights exchange has remained dormant since its launch last month, as companies refrained from trading, data showed on Wednesday. Since its opening on Jan. 12, total trading volume stood at just 11.5 million won ($10,500), or 1,380 tons of carbon credits, Korea Exchange reported.Actual trading occurred on only four days, the main bourse operator said. The trading volume was the largest on the first day at 9.74 million won, or 1,190 tons. For the next two days, however, the volum

Feb. 11, 2015

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to invest 84 billion won ($76.6 million) in a “MAFRA Fund of Funds” this year to foster the nation’s food and farm industries, officials said Monday.The ministry said that it would use 50 billion won from state funds and collect the remainder from the private sector. It plans to invest the money in investors’ cooperatives or private equity funds. Ministry officials said the corpus would be invested in six funds, yet to be created within t

Feb. 9, 2015

Banks saw their net profit soar 60.4 percent in 2014 from a year ago, largely resulting from the reduced provision of bad loans, the financial authorities said Friday. The combined net income of 18 banks operating here stood at 6.2 trillion won ($5.7 billion) in 2014, up 3.9 trillion won from a year earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service reported. The financial watchdog said the lenders’ provision of bad loans dropped to 8.9 trillion won last year, down 24.9 percent on-year from 11.9 trillio

Feb. 6, 2015