There does not look like there's much hope for Islamic finance breaking through in South Korea anytime soon, according to Min Kyung Kim senior manager of the Korean Deposit Insurance Corporation. (source)
Kim, who is writing a book on Islamic finance in Korea with Azerbaijani Islamic finance specialist Mahir Humbatov, spoke to The Islamic Globe and claimed that there was little hope of legislation to equalize the tax treatment of Islamic finance - introduced last September and reintroduced this February - passing through parliament at this time of asking. Kim suggested that the bill would be filibustered out of time by June 30 when this year's parliamentary session closes in Korea. Islamic finance has been something of a hot potato in Korea, with the influential evangelical Christian movement threatening to torpedo President Lee Myung-bak re-election prospects in the coming elections if he and his party support the bill. Kim said: "The main regulatory hurdles, which prevent the facilitation of Islamic financial products in Korea, are taxation issues relating to double stamp duty, VAT and capital gains."
However, she believes that legislators and critics are being blinded by the 'Islam' in Islamic finance, she said: "We should see Islamic finance as an alternative financial offering from conventional banking rather than a religious phenomenon at first."
Source : http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20110626063109/Islamic_finance_to_be_filibustered_out_of_Korea - June 26, 2011
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