British activist investor Palliser Capital founder said Samsung C&T’s five-year treasury stock retirement plan won’t be helpful to shore up its stock price, urging swift action to resolve investors’ concerns over its governance structure. “Cancellation of treasury shares has been mischaracterized as a shareholder return by the company,” Palliser Capital founder and Chief Investment Officer James Smith told The Korea Herald in an email interview. “Managemen

Market Dec. 28, 2023

The attempt by homegrown private equity firm MBK Partners to acquire a stake in Hankook & Co. -- the holding company behind South Korean tire giant Hankook Tire & Technology -- has failed, but it has served as a wake-up call for Korean conglomerates with poor corporate governance. MBK’s move in the last few weeks for a hostile takeover of Korea's No. 1 tire company and its demand for the improvement of Hankook’s governance structure raised some eyebrows, especially at

Industry Dec. 26, 2023

Empowering women in economic activities is needed to help South Korea increase its national income and birth rate while making workplaces more equitable for women will result in higher growth and financial stability for businesses, the International Monetary Fund chief said during a forum held in Seoul on Thursday. “Korea has recently made significant progress in increasing women’s economic participation, but it still has among the highest gender gaps for rich countries,” IMF

Economy Dec. 15, 2023

The government said Monday it would establish a commission to coordinate and oversee the country’s policies on critical industrial supply chains by June next year. Together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Korea Customs Service and the Public Procurement Service, authorities will work to identify risks to supply chains that are highly dependent on specific countries. Each related ministry will operate a supply chain early warning system for materials essential to economic activi

Industry Dec. 11, 2023

Mirae Asset Securities, Korea’s largest investment bank and securities firm, said Wednesday that it has appointed Vice Chairman Heo Sun-ho as CEO. He will lead the company’s sprawling business together with Vice Chairman Kim Mi-seob, whose appointment was confirmed earlier in October. With Heo’s appointment, which was approved at a board of directors meeting earlier on the day, the company has completed a generational shift in its long-held dual leadership system. Heo will co

Market Dec. 6, 2023

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The combination of Korea’s top battery manufacturing technology and Indonesia’s abundant minerals makes them ideal partners in the burgeoning electric vehicle market. “If Indonesia, the world's largest nickel producer, cooperates with the Korean battery industry, the synergy they could create would be tremendous,” Korea Battery Industry Association Executive Vice President Park Tae-sung said during a collaborative session on EVs and e-waste ma

Industry Dec. 3, 2023

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The partnership between South Korea and Indonesia has grown stronger over the decades through collaborative endeavors, common interests and trust, according to speakers at the Korea-Indonesia Economic Cooperation Forum. Korea, a global powerhouse in science and technology, and Indonesia, one of the fastest-growing economies with large mineral reserves, mark half a century of diplomatic relations this year. Key figures at the forum said the two nations' distinctive comp

Industry Dec. 3, 2023

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- People-to-people diplomacy between South Korea and Indonesia is playing a pivotal role in enhancing bilateral relations and will continue to do so in the coming years, according to experts. Deepening the relationship between the two nations further is no longer a matter of choice, South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Lee Sang-deok said during a seminar commemorating the 50th anniversary of Korea-Indonesia diplomatic ties, held at the Hotel Mulia Senayan in Jakarta on Thursd

Foreign Affairs Dec. 3, 2023

KB Financial Group has solidified its status as a leading banking conglomerate by diversifying its revenue streams and strengthening its business portfolio beyond traditional lending activities. For two consecutive years, the group achieved net profits exceeding 4 trillion won ($3.1 billion) since 2021. It regained its title as the country's leading financial group in 2017, when its net profit surpassed 3 trillion won for the first time in its history. Its stellar performance stemmed from

Market Nov. 30, 2023

Concerns are looming large over the loss of principles in equity-linked securities products underlying Hong Kong’s slumping benchmark index with over 8 trillion won ($6.1 billion) in ELS products sold by Korean banks set to mature in the first half of next year. The size of ELS products tracking the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index maturing next year and sold by Korea’s five major banks exceeds 13 trillion won. Of them, some 8.4 trillion won worth of ELS products are facing matu

Market Nov. 27, 2023

Hyundai Group has kicked off its training program for nurturing aspiring female leaders who will guide the future of the conglomerate. The in-house leadership program will run for the next three years with 20 women leaders above the manager level selected by the group, it said on Monday. It will provide education programs to strengthen the capabilities of next-generation leaders such as an online course of master of business administration and design thinking, focusing on diversity, equity and

Industry Nov. 20, 2023

South Korea's major business lobby groups on Monday requested that President Yoon Suk Yeol exert his veto power against a pro-labor union revision bill unilaterally passed by the main opposition party last week. The so-called Yellow Envelope bill, a revision to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Act, aims to limit companies from filing damage suits and provisional seizures against workers on strike, as well as to guarantee the bargaining rights of subcontracted workers. Six business grou

Economy Nov. 13, 2023

Deeply understanding a country and translating it into a business strategy is the biggest challenge and core mission for any company trying to make inroads into a new market. For Mirae Asset Securities to hold the largest share in the Indonesian capital market, the brokerage firm took a unique approach to investors -- publishing a cartoon-based market research paper and hosting a mock stock trading contest for millennials. “Analyzing the Indonesian market from a cultural perspective and us

Market Nov. 12, 2023

The Korea-Indonesia Cooperation Forum, under the theme "K-Wave & I-Wave, Together for the Future," will take place on Nov. 30 in Jakarta to commemorate the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties. Organized by Herald Corp., the publisher of The Korea Herald and Herald Business, jointly with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Embassy of Indonesia in Korea, the Embassy of Korea in Indonesia, and the Indonesian Employers’ Association, this forum aims to

Economy Nov. 8, 2023

Sohn Kyung-shik (left), the CJ Group chairman who doubles as chairman of the Korea Enterprises Federation, poses with China Center for International Economic Exchanges Executive Vice Chairman Bi Jinquan at the headquarters of the Chinese think tank in Beijing, Tuesday. During his three-day visit to China that started Monday, Sohn held a series of meetings with high-level officials of major business groups and research centers in Beijing to discuss ways to bolster economic cooperation between t

Industry Nov. 7, 2023