S Korean smuggling: the gold runs

Christian Oliver

Christian Oliver joined the FT's Korea bureau in 2008, having previously worked for Reuters in Iran and Venezuela.

S Korean smuggling: the gold runs

March 6, 2012 10:00 am by Christian Oliver

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January’s most eye-watering story involved South Korea’s customs officers detaining eight iron-willed gold smugglers.

According to the Associated Press, the Korea Customs Service said the men allegedly transformed $260,000 in gold bars into small beads and smuggled them in their rectums on two trips to Japan in 2010 to avoid import taxes.

And just in case you still want to know more more about the pros and cons of smuggling gold out of Korea, the customs people have issued a slew of data which beyondbrics analyses below. Continue reading »

Tags: commodities, gold Posted in South Korea | Permalink

S Korea rates: wait and see

February 9, 2012 12:10 pm by Christian Oliver

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No sudden moves from the Bank of Korea on Thursday, which held the base rate at 3.25 per cent for an eighth straight month.

It looks a sensible decision. South Korea’s all-important exports may have suffered an alarming drop in January but it is not yet time to pull the emergency cord. Inflation is still lurking in the wings and Kim Choong-soo, the central bank governor, is still sounding hawkish about combating risks. Continue reading »

Tags: exports, inflation, interest rates Posted in Asia, South Korea | Permalink

S Korea: bun fight with the chaebol

January 27, 2012 8:30 am by Christian Oliver

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South Korea is flustered about sticky buns, croissants and black puddings.

In the run-up to this year’s parliamentary and presidential elections, politicians have turned bakeries and black pudding vendors into a battleground where they are trying to vaunt their populist credentials. Continue reading »

Tags: elections, SMEs Posted in Asia, South Korea | Permalink

South Korean inflation: home-baked

January 13, 2012 8:29 am by Christian Oliver

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South Korea loves blaming outsiders for its inflation headaches. But this week is a classic example of why eye-watering food and agricultural prices are really a homemade problem.

Seoul is sending very confused signals. It is unclear whether the priority is to fight prices or to protect inefficient producers and suppliers who are keeping prices too high. The central bank held rates at 3.25 per cent for a seventh continuous month on Friday, not knowing which way to run. Continue reading »

Tags: food prices, inflation, interest rates Posted in South Korea | Permalink

S Korea: chaebols vs prosecutors

November 8, 2011 9:45 am by Christian Oliver

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South Korea is getting back to business as usual, with prosecutors bursting into the offices of a chaebol (conglomerate) to investigate alleged skullduggery. This time SK, the energy group, had the uninvited visitors.

The investigations hinge on whether Chey Tae-won, the chairman, who has already spent time in jail for corruption, has been improperly tapping company funds for his loss-making investments in futures. SK denies the charge that company money has been misused but says it will co-operate with the prosecutors. Continue reading »

Posted in South Korea | Permalink

S Korea: (gold) ringing the inflation changes

October 21, 2011 8:52 am by Christian Oliver

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Are South Korea’s one-year-olds distorting the country’s inflation data? Financial officials fear so.

The problem lies in their expensive birthday parties, where gold rings have been a traditional gift. The big debate is whether the rings should stay in the consumer price index. Continue reading »

Tags: gold, inflation Posted in South Korea | Permalink

Korean/US trade: no big deal

October 12, 2011 11:15 am by Christian Oliver

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Lee Myung-bak, South Korea’s president, can be expected to be all smiles on his visit to Washington. After a very long haul, his country’s landmark trade agreement with the US looks set to pass through the US Congress on Wednesday.

When he gets back, he needs to get the deal to work on the Korean side. As with so much in Korea, that will boil down to emotion. Continue reading »

Tags: trade Posted in Asia, South Korea | Permalink

South Korean diplomacy under fire

September 26, 2011 12:18 pm by Christian Oliver

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Whenever Lee Myung-bak, South Korea’s president, meets another world leader, you can expect his office to make celebratory statements about promises of co-operation in energy and resources. In the last few weeks, we have had Colombia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan.

Korea is Asia’s fourth-biggest economy but has almost no oil, gas or minerals. Seoul says its whirlwind diplomacy is securing Seoul’s “energy security”. Despite the deep pockets of the Chinese and the technical prowess of the multinationals, Korea can still compete, the story goes. Trouble is, it’s all nonsense, according to members of the parliamentary energy commission. Continue reading »

Tags: energy, mining, oil & gas Posted in Asia, South Korea | Permalink

S Korea: meddling with business

September 14, 2011 5:24 pm by Christian Oliver

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Moody’s, the US credit rating agency, has added its voice to the chorus arguing that South Korea is taking the wrong path in its attempts to protect ailing small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Specifically, Moody’s grumbled in a research note on Wednesday that Seoul risked eroding profits at department stores such as Lotte and Shinsegae by demanding they reduce the rents they charge their SME tenants by between 3 and 7 per cent.
Continue reading »

Tags: economic growth, employment, retail, SMEs Posted in Asia, South Korea | Permalink

S Korea luxury: beyond the obvious

September 13, 2011 6:37 am by Christian Oliver

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Louis Vuitton’s handbags have gone from a phenomenon in Korea to a bit of a joke. They are called the “three-second bags” or “five-second bags” because that’s how often you see one in the hands of fashion-conscious women (and their boyfriends who have to carry the handbag on a date).

McKinsey’s latest report on luxury goods concludes that there’s now an important shift in the fashion-savvy Korean market, which was worth $4.5bn last year. Continue reading »

Tags: luxury, retail Posted in South Korea | Permalink

Samsung invokes Kubrick in latest Apple tiff

August 29, 2011 9:45 am by Christian Oliver

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Who would have guessed that a courtroom showdown between two technology companies would ultimately be reduced to an argument about 1960s and 1970s sci-fi?

But that’s just what has happened after Samsung resorted to an entertaining defence in a worsening legal battle to prove its tablets are not copied from Apple.

Its lawyers in California have included images of iPad like objects from Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” and a 1970s British television series called “The Tomorrow People” in its latest court filing. Continue reading »

Tags: IPR, Patents, Samsung, technology Posted in South Korea | Permalink

South Korea: time to chill out

July 29, 2011 6:00 am by Christian Oliver

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Lee Myung-bak, South Korea’s president, has called on his people to boost the domestic economy by taking their holidays at home rather than jetting off to traditional favourites like Cebu, Guam and Hawaii. His tourism chief has gone a step further and wants workaholic Koreans to take a full (and hitherto unthinkable) two weeks off.

The president’s exhortation comes rather late but reflects his growing concern that South Korea’s domestic economy is doing pretty poorly compared with mighty groups such as Hyundai and Samsung, who seem to be getting rich in their own cocooned, export-driven world. Continue reading »

Tags: beyondbrics on the beach, tourism Posted in Asia, South Korea | Permalink

S Korean companies: driven by politics

July 27, 2011 9:21 am by Christian Oliver

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South Korea’s latest battle with Japan carries an important lesson about Korean companies.

It all started last month when Korean Air took a sparkling new A380 on a test flight over a disputed island called Dokdo, which Japan calls Takeshima. Since then, Tokyo has responded angrily and banned diplomats from flying on Korea’s national carrier. Political temperatures have risen further and now Korea is blocking a visit by some Japanese lawmakers. Continue reading »

Tags: politics Posted in South Korea | Permalink

S Korea Olympic boom? Perhaps not

July 21, 2011 7:20 am by Christian Oliver

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South Koreans rightfully celebrated winning the vote to host the 2018 winter Olympics. It’s simply a great thing for an often neglected country that wants to show it’s a friendly place with excellent skaters, pretty mountains and tasty après-ski barbecues.

As a former head of Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Lee Myung-bak, president, also celebrated because he thinks in terms of bricks and mortar. Continue reading »

Tags: construction Posted in South Korea | Permalink

S Korea-EU trade deal: good for consumers? Perhaps

July 1, 2011 5:53 am by Christian Oliver

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The EU is on Friday trumpeting the implementation of a tariff-slicing trade deal with South Korea. The struggling union, racked by the Greek crisis, hopes trade with Korea will soar. Upbeat eurocrats also predict the landmark accord will pave the way for a series of similar deals with India and south-east Asian nations.

They might be right, as this is one of the world’s biggest trade deals. But don’t expect a revolution. Expect slow-burning change. South Korea’s tough business environment is not going to soften just because of some paperwork. Continue reading »

Tags: trade Posted in Asia, South Korea | Permalink

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