Local paper headlines_September 7

1. Chosun Ilbo

- Employment Projection Index released by Korea Chamber of Commerce paints a very bleak picture for the fourth quarter of this year as companies are reluctant to invest amid market uncertainty. Employment plans of ten conglomerates in the second half point to a reduced hire with 11,690, down 1.3 per cent a year ago.

- Twenty-three lawmakers are going to file a lawsuit today at the Constitutional Court against the government for failing to get approval from the National Assembly before it unilaterally pushed ahead with the on-going FTA negotiations with the US. They also complained about lack of information revealed by the government on the negotiation process.

- The prosecution raided on KEB’s headquarters yesterday to secure concrete evidence of the bank’s secret fund. It suspects that around 2003 when Lone Star bought out the bank, KEB’s IT team bloated prices of computer stuff supplied by LG-CNS and later secretly raised slush fund with the balance.

2. Maeil Business Daily

- The number of cases of personal bankruptcy filed in a court has been skyrocketing since April with monthly filing passing 10,000. When people file for personal bankruptcy, they can be almost exempted from debt payment. But in some cases, reporting financial failure can lead to tarnished credit reputation which, in turn, can cause a job loss or bring hard time in getting new jobs.

- Ordinary people are having a hard time to find a leased house and even if they find, prices have increased a lot. According to a statistics, leased house prices have risen 4.3 per cent this year while the average house prices have actually dropped.

- Korea’s listed companies are expected to see their sales profits going up in the third quarter after disappointing sales figures in the second quarter. The overall economic index is not very rosy but export environment is improving, which is believed to help companies gain more profits. KT, Posco, Hynix, SK Telecom are expected to post profits while Hyundai Motors and LG Philips will continue their losing streak.

- From the first day of the third round of FTA talks, Korea and the US showed their differences in various issues from rules of origin, antitrust regulations, to Kaesung products. As for products made in Kaesung, the US reaffirmed its opposition, saying the free trade deal is between the two countries and does not involve a “third party.”

- A research by International Finance Corporation revealed that Korea stands at 116th among 175 countries in terms of friendly environment for a start-up. In Korea, establishing a business needs 12 steps, which normally takes 22 days.