The Korea Herald

Lone Star retrial delayed

The Seoul High Court delayed the trial in the case of alleged stock manipulation of the Korean unit of Lone Star Funds, the biggest shareholder of Korea Exchange Bank, to July 21.While the court held the trial on Thursday, it accepted the proposal for a delay from lawyers for Paul Yoo, former CEO of the now-defunct Lone Star Korea.In March, the Supreme Court hinted that former Lone Star Korea CEO

June 16, 2011

Sale of Woori Financial faces bumpy road again

The financial authorities have been in trouble again in realizing the project to recoup taxpayers’ money by selling the state-controlled Woori Financial Group.Though the Financial Services Commission had said it would accept letters of intent from potential bidders for Woori Financial by June 29, sales terms seem to be unattractive to local investors.Research analysts issue the possibility that th

June 16, 2011

Hana Financial may be banned from M&A

FSC’s move comes as group’s brokerage and banking units sanctionedThe financial authorities have begun to review laws as to whether Hana Financial Group is an eligible investor to buy a company such as Korea Exchange Bank.Their move comes as the financial group’s brokerage and banking units were sanctioned last month and 2009, respectively, sources said Wednesday.If a financial company receives a

June 15, 2011

KDB Financial forced to give up Woori

Regulator grants equal opportunities for local and foreign biddersThe financial authorities have decided to allow foreign investors to participate in the coming bidding for Woori Financial Group, reversing their earlier stance to hand over the state-run group to a Korean investor.With the decision, former Finance Minister Kang Man-soo, who is serving as chairman of KDB Financial Group, has failed

June 14, 2011

Foreign carmakers’ market share rises to 6.5%

Foreign carmakers saw their combined market share in Korea climb by 1 percentage point over the past year.They captured 6.5 percent of the local market with sales of 42,700 vehicles between January and May, up from 5.5 percent with 34,318 units during the corresponding period of last year.In May, the foreign carmakers posted 6.8 percent market share by selling 8,777 units, according to the automot

Mobility June 13, 2011

FSC faces hurdle over Woori sale

Opposition party against revising law on financial holding firmsThe sale of state-run Woori Financial Group faces a significant showdown this week as to whether financial authorities can gain the momentum needed to push for the revision of laws on financial holding companies.The Financial Services Commission is considering proposing a revision to a bill allowing a financial group to own another fi

June 13, 2011

Blue House dragging feet on BOK vacancy

Seat on rate-setting committee has been empty for over a yearThe presidential office has failed to address filling a vacant seat at the central bank’s interest rate-setting panel for 14 months despite the growing need to fight mounting inflationary pressure.In tandem, Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong-soo has been criticized for allegedly glossing over laws on the BOK concerning the bank’s Monetar

June 12, 2011

Hyundai Mobis wins Mitsubishi, Subaru order

Mobility June 12, 2011

Small cars to take up half of import market

Small vehicles with low engine displacement are expected to account for 50 percent of the total sales of import vehicles in South Korea as early as the third quarter.The ratio of cars with an engine capacity of less than 2.0 liters to the total number of cars sold came to 45.2 percent in May.They sold 3,969 small-sized cars ― at low and medium priced ― out of the total 8,777 units last month, acco

Mobility June 12, 2011

Small cars to take up half of import market

Hyundai Motor halts Asan plant operation following suicide

Hyundai Motor Co. was forced to halt output at one of its plants in South Korea Thursday after unionized workers talked off their job after one of their colleagues committed suicide, the company and union said.Assembly workers laid down tools at Hyundai's plant in Asan, about 100 kilometers southwest of Seoul, from 2:30 p.m., claiming that one of their leaders committed suicide earlier in the day

Mobility June 9, 2011

Korean auto parts makers target Brazil

Korea’s auto parts manufacturers are aggressively seeking inroads into Brazil, the world’s fourth-largest automobile market.Brazil has emerged as the world’s sixth-largest automobile producer and sold about 3.6 million vehicles last year, grabbing the world’s fourth place.The active advancement of local companies has been fueled by the recently growing demand for made-in-Korea components in the So

Mobility June 9, 2011

FSC seeks to ban lawsuits for small-amount financial disputes

The Financial Services Commission is to propose a bill banning financial companies from filing suits against customers if the disputes are over a “small” amount of transactions.The bill is expected to define small-amount dispute cases as those whose transactions do not exceed 5 million won ($4,600).While the FSC said the bill will be designed in coordination with relevant ministries, the regulator

June 9, 2011

Kang clashes with GNP over mega-bank

KDB Financial Group chairman Kang Man-soo has clashed with lawmakers of the governing Grand National Party over the issue of launching a mega-bank here.Kang, a close confidant of President Lee Myung-bak, is pushing ahead with a merger between KDB Financial and public fund-injected Woori Financial Group. KDB Financial Group chairman Kang Man-sooBut, aside from opposition lawmakers, a group of GNP l

June 8, 2011

FSC moves to roll over bad loans

Regulator instructs savings banks to secure sufficient cashThe financial authorities are moving to extend the maturity of bad loans the government purchased from savings banks in a bid to ensure a soft landing for the distressed industry.Between 2008 and 2010, the state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. acquired bad loans of savings banks. The latter are supposed to repurchase the loans in three ye

June 8, 2011

Credit card firms face weekly monitoring

Regulators mull business suspension, warning CEOs on violatorsCredit card companies which will fail to meet new regulatory standards will face tougher sanctions such as business suspension, financial regulators said Tuesday.In addition, regulators are expected to turn up the heat on card company CEOs as they are poised to issue a censure-level warning against rule-violators.As credit card issuers

June 7, 2011

Articles by 김연세