Lotte founder and son banned from leaving Korea

 [THE INVESTOR] Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho and his son Shin Dong-bin who is the group chairman have been banned from leaving South Korea, according to court sources on July 8.The ban comes less than a month since the prosecution initiated an all-out probe into South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate on June 10 on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust.   Shin Kyuk-ho (left) and Shin Dong-bin (right)Industry watchers said the move indicates that the authorities have gathered enough ev

July 8, 2016

CJ Group chairman recovering from surgery for lung cancer

[THE INVESTOR] CJ Group chief Sohn Kyung-shik is recovering from surgery to treat lung cancer, according to company sources. Sohn, who was diagnosed with the cancer this May, is said to be in a stable condition.The CJ chairman is uncle to Lee Jay-hyun, the CJ group heir. CJ Group chairman Sohn Kyung-shikSohn has been heading Korea’s largest food and entertainment company since 1995 when CJ split from Samsung. After spending some time outside the company in early 2000s, he made a comeback at CJ w

July 7, 2016

Celltrion chairman pushes to build theme park in Incheon

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean pharmaceutical firm Celltrion ’s chairman Suh Jeong-jin has kicked off plans to build a large-scale theme park in Incheon’s Yeongjong-do, according to an exclusive news report here. The park would be a personal project, with a handful of investors taking part, according to Incheon Free Economic Zone authorities and the Incheon Development & Tourism Corp. “A group of investors including Suh has already invested around 1 billion won (US$86,930) to initiate the plan. The

July 6, 2016

Lotte Group women rise to the surface due to scandal

[THE INVESTOR] Now that an arrest warrant has been issued for Lotte Foundation chief Shin Young-ja -- the first Lotte founding family member to face imprisonment in the firm’s latest embezzlement scandal -- all eyes are on the women of Lotte Group who have so far stayed behind the scenes. In addition to Young-ja, there are her daughters including Jang Sun-yoon, senior vice president of Hotel Lotte, and also Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho’s third wife Seo Mi-kyung and her daughter Shin Yu-mi who are

July 5, 2016

Lotte’s Shin Young-ja faces criticism for funneling company funds to her children

[THE INVESTOR] Embattled Lotte Foundation chief Shin Young-ja and her children are expected to face public scrutiny over some 4 billion won (US$3.47 million) worth of corporate funds they are suspected to have embezzled.  Shin is elder sister of Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin.And the bigger issue is that Shin funneled most of the money to her kids to be used as their personal allowances. Lotte Foundation chief Shin Young-ja /The Investor(Park Hyon-koo)Through a small company formed by Young-

July 5, 2016

South Korean tycoons’ stock value falls

[THE INVESTOR] The majority of South Korean business tycoons saw a fall in the value of their stock assets this year, an analysis by a think tank showed on July 1. According to the think tank specializing in Korea’s largest companies, the value of stocks held by 13 of 19 leaders of major businesses fell during the first half of this year. The data showed that the value of 46 of 61 listed companies held by the 19 individuals fell between Jan. 4 and June 30. Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee J

July 1, 2016

Sejung heiress promoted to COO

[THE INVESTOR] Sejung Group chairman Park Soon-ho’s daughter Park I-ra, 38, has been promoted to chief operating officer and executive vice president at her father’s fashion empire.According to the group on July 1, the junior Park will also serve as head of the group’s apparel distributor Sejung & Future.Established in 1974, Sejung has a stronghold in women’s apparel and is one of the leading second-tier clothing firms in the country.Sejung Group COO Park I-raPark, the chairman’s third daughter,

July 1, 2016

Lotte’s key finance man questioned in growing probe

Lotte Insurance chief executive Kim Hyun-soo.[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Insurance chief executive Kim Hyun-soo has been summoned for questioning in the prosecution’s probe into Lotte Group. He has been summoned as a witness. Kim served in accounting rolls in Lotte Department Store from 1987 to 2014. From 2007, he was in charge of the company’s finances.   In serving as the company’s finance chief, Kim is said to have managed personal funds of Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, and current chairman Shin

June 23, 2016

Richest under 40: Koo Gwang-mo

[BORN TO BE RICH] Among South Korea's richest aged 40 years or younger, LG chairman’s the adopted son Koo Gwang-mo, 38, of LG Group is the wealthiest. His net worth is estimated at 751.8 billion won (US$650.5 million).LG Corp. vice president Koo Gwang-mo.Koo is the great grandson of LG’s founder, the late Koo In-hoe. He was born to Heesung Group chairman Koo Bong-neung, but was adopted by his uncle Koo Bon-moo, chairman of LG. Gwang-mo is currently a vice president of LG Corp. He was promoted to

June 22, 2016

Samsung to invest $1.2 billion in U.S. IoT business

Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's No. 1 tech firm, announced Tuesday that it will pour $1.2 billion by 2020 into the Internet of Things business in the United States, as part of its global initiative to create a new IoT ecosystem, a hot issue in the ICT world.Samsung also launched an advisory group in partnership with Intel Corp. to affect U.S. policy on IoT."I am excited to show how we are moving IoT to the center of our strategy and am delighted to announce that Samsung is planning to spe

June 22, 2016

Samsung supports Korean War veterans' offspring

The Samsung Group, South Korea's largest conglomerate, has gone global not only with its smartphones and other products but also with steady financial support for those in need abroad.Major beneficiaries include Korean War veterans and their offspring.Samsung has provided them with a total of around US$8.5 million in various aid programs since the early 1990s, according to group officials on Monday.The campaign is based on the belief that the sacrifice of the war veterans is the reason for the r

June 20, 2016

Conglomerates selling stakes in money-making affiliates to raise funds

[THE INVESTOR] Owners of the nation’s top conglomerates are increasingly selling their stakes in various money-making affiliates to raise funds needed for participating in capital increases of other key affiliates.On June 8, Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho sold a 6.87 percent stake in one of Hanjin’s real estate brokering affiliates for 25.1 billion won (US$21.3 million), according to a regulatory filing on June 16. The brokering affiliate had posted 41.3 billion won in sales and 14 billion wo

June 17, 2016

Kakao to split its business into two arms

[THE INVESTOR] Mobile messenger operator Kakao is reportedly planning to split its services business into two divisions -- social network and portal.The social network division will be in charge of running its flagship social networking services including KakaoTalk and KakaoStory while the portal business will be operating news platform Daum News and content platform KakaoTalk Channel among others.KakaoTalk ChannelLim Sung-young, director of the firm’s media content team, will head the portal bu

June 17, 2016

Divorce battle reveals unknown aspects of Samsung family

[THE INVESTOR] Packed with twists and turns, a divorce suit between former Samsung Electro-Mechanics executive Lim Woo-jae and his wife and Hotel Shilla president Lee Boo-jin unveiled unknown stories behind the family owners of Samsung Group, the largest conglomerate in Korea.Lim, first son-in-law of Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, said in an interview with Korean news publication Hankyoreh on June 16 that he had twice attempted suicide during the 17 years of his marriage due to pressure fro

June 17, 2016

Samsung buys U.S. cloud services firm

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it has acquired U.S. cloud service company Joyent Inc. to cope with rising demand for cloud platform services.Joyent, a San Francisco-based cloud provider, has come under Samsung's wing as of Wednesday (U.S. time), the South Korean tech firm said in a statement. Samsung's acquisition of the U.S. startup firm signals its interest in cloud computing that has become fundamental in providing users with reliable services on their mobile an

June 16, 2016

Kuraray to add PVB film production facility to Ulsan plant

Japanese chemical company Kuraray held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday to build a production facility for polyvinyl butyral film at a plant of its South Korean unit in the southeastern city of Ulsan.PVB is a glass interlayer used in creating safety glass in the automotive and architectural industries. The company plans to complete the construction of the PVB production facility by the end of next year with an investment of $50 million.Kuraray's expansion of the local plant is part of its e

June 16, 2016

Top 10 chaebol owners rake in hefty dividends

[THE INVESTOR] The nation’s top 10 chaebol owners raked in hefty dividends from affiliates over the past five years, Chaebul.com, a local website that tracks chaebol, revealed on June 15. The total amounts of dividends reached almost 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) between 2011 and 2015.Chaebul.com said their actual dividends could be a lot more considering the figures are based on their listed companies only. #1 Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee with 681.1 billion won in dividends The Sa

June 15, 2016

Cheil Worldwide to jack up investment, hiring: sources

Cheil Worldwide Inc., the advertising unit of the Samsung Group, plans to raise its investment and hiring this year after its negotiations to sell a controlling stake to a French advertising giant fell apart, industry sources said Wednesday.The company, part of South Korea's largest family-controlled conglomerate, plans to push forward with aggressive mergers and acquisitions and set a goal to expand its sales by more than 10 percent in 2016, they said.The country's No. 1 advertising company log

June 15, 2016

U.S. biz community to help Korean startups go global

Major U.S. firms operating here on Tuesday joined the South Korean government's efforts to help local startups globalize.Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea held a ceremony in Seoul to launch the "Global Leading Companies Mentoring Startups" campaign in partnership with the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.Nineteen American companies participated in the event, including Facebook, IBM, Microsoft and Boeing.They agreed to provide 14 selected South Korean startups with

June 14, 2016

Kumho Asiana chief meets with daughter of former Chinese premier

Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo met with a high-profile Chinese woman in charge of promoting friendship with foreign countries and they discussed ways to boost exchanges between the two sides, a Kumho Asiana official said Thursday.The meeting between Park and Li Xiaolin, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, took place in eastern Seoul, the official said, without elaborating. (Kumho Asiana Group)Li, the daughter of former Chinese Premier Li

June 9, 2016