Park Sam-koo out to rebuild Kumho Asiana Group

[THE INVESTOR] Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo is seeking to buy back Kumho Buslines that was sold to a private equity fund in 2015 in a move to rebuild the company. Park is also said to be pushing to buy back Kumho Tire, another Kumho affiliate that is crucial for him to reclaim control of the group. He is expected to create a 1 trillion won consortium when the creditors put the company’s 42 percent stake up for sale in September. Kumho Industrial, Kumho Tire and Asiana Airlines repres

July 25, 2016

Chaebols contribute less on job growth: report

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s top five conglomerates have grown even bigger in terms of assets they hold and revenue they produce in the past three years, but their contribution to creating new jobs is lagging, a report showed Sunday.According to conglomerate tracking research firm Chaebul.com, the combined assets of the top five largest companies -- Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, LG and Lotte -- recorded about 930 trillion won ($817 billion) last year, a 15.5 percent rise from 2012. This accounted

July 24, 2016

Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee mired in sex scandal

[THE INVESTOR] Korean news outlet NewsTapa reported on July 21 that Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee has been paying for sex for years.NewsTapa aired video clips showing a group of women enter a house in southern Seoul where the chairman is waiting. The dialogue between Lee and the women indicates that illegal sexual services were provided. The women are also shown accepting envelopes from Lee that allegedly contained 5 million won (US$4,400) each. Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee (center).F

July 22, 2016

Nexon, NCSOFT, Netmarble: Korea’s 1st-generation venture legends

[THE INVESTOR] The first generation of gaming venture CEOs -- the people behind Korea’s dot-com rage -- changed the local gaming landscape forever. Among them, the most famous threesome are Kim Jung-ju, the embattled founder of Nexon, NCSOFT Corp. CEO Kim Taek-jin and Bang Joon-hyuk, chairman of Netmarble Games. The biggest contribution they made to the local gaming industry is that they brought games into the limelight and helped change public perception. On a personal level, the three legendar

July 21, 2016

Samsung heir, mother donate W4b to help underprivileged women

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong and his mother Hong Ra-hee, wife of the ailing Samsung patriarch Lee Kun-hee, recently donated a combined 4 billion won (US$3.50 million) to a local charity. According to the Ministry of Justice on July 20, the two donated 2 billion won each to the Korea Juvenile Protection Association to build a new vocational school for underprivileged young women. The Youth Education Service Center had planned to build a new center for young women

July 21, 2016

SK vice chairman to get parole

[THE INVESTOR] SK Group vice chairman Chey Jae-won is among those listed for parole on July 29, local media reported on July 21. According to reports citing unnamed government sources, the Ministry of Justice’s parole board ruled that Chey is eligible for parole. Although the issue needs the justice minister’s approval, the board’s decisions are rarely overturned. Chey Jae-wonChey, younger brother of SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in February 2014 on charges of embe

July 21, 2016

Hyosung CEO Cho Hyun-joon out to seal No.1 spot in Chinese textile market

[THE INVESTOR] Hyosung Group president Cho Hyun-joon appears to be upping the ante to further expand into the Chinese textile market where his firm already has a growing presence. Cho -- one of Hyosung chairman Cho Seok-rae’s sons -- is mainly in charge of the conglomerate’s textile and IT sectors.Hyosung is currently No. 1 in terms of market share in China’s spandex industry.   Hyosung Group President Cho Hyun-joon (second from right) / Hyosung GroupTo seal this position, Cho has recently been

July 21, 2016