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.