[THE INVESTOR] The National Pension Service, the nation’s largest institutional investor, said on Sept. 23 it has reduced stakes in firms linked to Oxy Reckitt Benckiser’s toxic humidifier disinfectants that have caused more than 100 deaths in South Korea. The five firms include four retailers – E-mart, GS Retail, Lotte Shopping and AK Holdings -- and SK Chemical, the material supplier. Local civic groups boycotting Oxy’s products and their sales through retailers globally have urged the state-r

Sept. 23, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Keen attention is being paid to Samsung Electronics’ planned release of its third-quarter earnings guidance that will be issued on Oct. 7 amid a massive recall of the latest Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. As of Sept. 20, local analysts forecast the company’s operating profit in the July-September period at about 7.7 trillion won (US$7 billion), a plunge from an estimated 8.2 trillion won a month ago before the recall decision. Industry watchers say the figure could decline further to 7

Sept. 23, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] A senior executive at Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business division has been jailed for attempting to transfer classified technology documents to China. The 51-year-old who was in charge of quality control at the company’s logic chip unit was caught in July when he was leaving the company with some copied documents containing technology data on mobile application processors. After months-long investigations, police found the executive was attempting to leak the documents to

Sept. 23, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Oracle, the world’s largest database management software provider, is considering setting up a data center in Korea with aims to secure a firm footing in the nation’s soaring cloud service market. “We will confirm the plan and start related investment within the year,” said Oracle Korea CEO Kim Hyung-rae. Oracle operates 19 data centers globally, including four in Asia. It aims to build an additional three new centers, including one in Korea, next year. “We are looking at other ca

Sept. 23, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] GS Caltex, South Korea’s second-largest oil refiner, said on Sept. 23 that it has recently stopped a carbon-fiber development project for Tesla Motors. Since 2014, the company was working on a stronger but lightweight bumper material using carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic or CLFT to be used in bumpers of Tesla cars. CLFT is a type of carbon fiber composite material that is gaining rapid popularity among carmakers as a substitute for steel. Even compared to the more popular ca

Sept. 23, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s internet giant Kakao is working on self-driving car technology with aims to run a pilot program within one or two years, Chung Joo-hwan, head of online-to-offline business, hinted on Sept. 22. “We have started diverse research projects to seek opportunities on driverless driving,” he said during an international conference on smart mobility in Seoul. “We are working on more effective driving routes for self-driving cars through our services such as KakaoNavi.” Kakao’

Sept. 22, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Swedish furniture giant IKEA is recalling more dressers sold in Korea amid safety concerns about the products after deaths of at least six toddlers abroad in falling accidents. With an additional 15 models recalled, a total of 30 dresser models are expected to be recalled in Korea. About 100,000 units of the affected models are believed to have been sold here. Andre Schmidtgall, the country chief, said on Sept. 22 the company that is operating only one outlet in Korea plans to inc

Sept. 22, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] LG CNS, the IT solutions unit of LG Group, has withdrawn its plan to create a large-scale smart farm complex in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, amid fierce resistance from farmers in the adjoining areas. “We failed to persuade farmer groups opposing to the project,” an LG CNS official was quoted as saying by a local news outlet. “We have decided to withdraw the project completely.” The rendering image of LG CNS’ smart farm complex, called Smart BioparkThe company had planned to

Sept. 22, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean food and entertainment giant CJ Group on Sept. 21 was confirmed to have not participated in the final bidding to acquire McDonald’s Korean unit. Two consortiums, led by Maeil Dairies Industry and NHN Entertainment, respectively, joined the final bidding that closed on Sept. 14 in the US. “We didn’t participate in the final bidding due to deal conditions,” a CJ official was quoted as saying. “We will continue seeking merger and acquisition opportunities across affiliat

Sept. 21, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was spotted carrying a “Gold Platinum” Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on his way to the Seoul headquarters on Sept. 21. This was the first time the heir apparent of the nation’s largest conglomerate was seen in public amid the bigger-screen flagship phone’s global recall. Last week, Samsung’s shareholders nominated him as a registered board member of the company. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong enters the Seoul headquarters b

Sept. 21, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said on Sept. 21 that it has filed a petition against Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho for falsely reporting the owner family’s shareholding in overseas affiliates. The Fair Trade Commission decided to take legal punitive step after a months-long review of the case that dates back to 2012-2015 when the Lotte patriarch served as chairman of the retail giant. Under the current fair trade law, companies with assets exceeding 5 trillion won (US$4.48 bi

Sept. 21, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics has started shipping the first batch of 500,000 refurbished Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to US telecom carriers and retailers as its planned recall of the phone starts there on Sept. 21. The recall comes six days after an order made by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Samsung issued a recall of all 2.5 million Note phones -- including 1.5 inventories -- due to explosive batteries on Sept. 2. In the US alone, about 1 million devices are expected to be rec

Sept. 21, 2016