- Current account deficit in January hit a record high in 11 years with $2.6 bn, according to the data released by Bank of Korea today. An official of the bank warned “if oil prices continue to rise and service account deficit deepens, the current account deficit might grow further.”

- Foreign investors are found to have taken their investment worth $10.68 bn out of the Korean stock market in January, the biggest volume in history, according to the Bank of Korea.

- Kim Sung-ho, former justice minister, is expected to be announced as the NIS head as early as today. President Lee has put this appointment on hold due to consideration for ‘balanced regionalism.’ With this choice, the heads of NIS, Prosecution, Police, and tax agencies are all from the Kyungsang-do region.

- Seoul Police Station raided Hanro Telecom in an allegation that the company leaked customers’ personal information

- National Tax Service held a meeting with 108 tax officials from foreign firms in which it explained them the revised corporate tax laws. From now on, any foreign firms who failed to report corporate taxes or underreport them are subject to the payment of a 40 per cent charge in fine.

- Former Daewoo Chairman Kim Woo-joong is reported to have been offered by Pyongyang to lead a special economic zone of Nampo last October, but politely refused the offer.