It's time now on this Friday to take an in-depth look at the markets -- the major issues this week and more.
And for that I'm happy to be joined in the studio by Dr. Kim Seiwan, professor of economics at Ewha Womans University.
Thanks for coming in today, Dr. Kim.
You're welcome.
The U.S. is asking its friends and neighbors to join it in cutting off Huawei, the Chinese tech company. Just yesterday, here in Seoul, Huawei opened a new lab to develop 5G technologies. Where is Korea in this situation, and what should it do if it finds itself under greater pressure?
Looking at currencies in all this, in its currency report for the first half of the year, the U.S. Treasury Department decided to keep Korea on its monitoring list. That was based on three factors it considers, only one of which applies to Korea, which is its trade surplus with the U.S. Does Korea need to try and get off of this list, or what do you see happening in the second half of the year?
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department is looking to put countervailing duties on countries it says keep their currencies artificially low as a subsidy for their exports. China is the main target, but the concern is Korea can't help being affected too.
The Bank of Korea today decided to keep its key interest rate where it is at 1-point-75 percent. What's the thinking there, and do you see that changing down the road?
So, starting yesterday, taxes on stock transactions were cut by 5 one-hundredths of a percentage point. Investors had seen it as unfair that they should be taxed on every transaction, even when they ended up taking big losses. But this was also expected to bring more money into the market. We did not see that happen. If policymakers want to add some fuel to the market what should happen next?
Alright, Dr. Kim. That's where we'll have to leave it for today. We appreciate your insights and we'll see you again soon.
