Seoul bourse bailout urged

Seoul bourse bailout urged

SEOUL (AFP): South Korea's ruling party yesterday urged the government to intervene with a comprehensive package to rescue the ailing stock market, officials said.

The bailout steps recommended by the New Korea Party (NKP) include allowing 14 public and pension funds to raise their stock investment in a bid to strengthen the demand base.

Authorities should also hike interest payments on investors' deposits with brokerages from the current three percent to five percent, as well as provide incentives such as lower taxes on dividend yields, the NKP said.

The NKP also asked the government to delay corporate public offerings and scale down the planned disposal of stocks of state- run companies to correct the current imbalance in stock supply and demand.