South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Sunday it has slapped local construction firm Daebo Engineering & Construction with a 9.3 billion won ($7.84 million) fine for violating subcontracting laws. The Fair Trade Commission said the firm did not pay 247 million won to 196 subcontractors between 2016 and 2018. It was also found to have paid subcontractors promissory notes even though it received the payment in cash from its clients. The FTC said the payments were processed during the

Industry Feb. 9, 2020

Cho Hyun-ah, the eldest daughter of late Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho, released a statement on Friday afternoon to denounce the board decision made by Hanjin KAL in the morning. In a joint statement with local activist fund Korea Corporate Governance Improvement and midsized builder Bando Engineering & Construction, she said the board decisions consisted of “improvised measures to obtain the votes of the shareholders just before the general shareholders’ meeting without s

Industry Feb. 7, 2020

Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Hanjin Group, held a board meeting on Friday, to have the chairman of the board of directors be elected by the board to separate the position of its company president and the board chair. The board also decided to reorganize the hotel and leisure business that former Korean Air Vice President Cho Hyun-ah -- who is engaged in a feud with her brother Cho Won-tae -- had been dedicated to. “The intention is to strengthen the role of the board of director

Industry Feb. 7, 2020

  GS Home Shopping said Thursday it has decided to close its headquarters until Saturday morning as one of its employees was infected with the new coronavirus. “As an employee was confirmed to be infected by the new coronavirus, the company has closed the headquarters building in Seoul in case of emergency,” the company said. During the period, the firm said it would thoroughly disinfect the entire building. All of its home shopping broadcasts will be replaced by rebroadcas

Industry Feb. 6, 2020

The National Pension Service’s growing interference in corporate management as it enforces stricter yardsticks on investments and recent revisions of commercial acts are raising the hackles of South Korean business circles. On Thursday, a forum on “Improving governance structure for national pension independence” was co-hosted by five business associations -- Korea Economic Research Institute, Korea Enterprises Federation, Korea Listed Companies Association, Federation of Mi

Industry Feb. 6, 2020

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog on Wednesday fined retailers Shinsegae and Woori Home Shopping 2.5 million won ($2,100) each for violating e-commerce laws. The Fair Trade Commission said the two firms were fined for their “nonrefundable stickers” that restricted the right of consumers to return a purchase and get a full refund if they open the package. The agency noted that Shinsegae posted a sticker on products -- sold on online shopping platform 11th Avenue from April

Industry Feb. 5, 2020

The National Pension Service has exercised its shareholder rights more actively since it adopted the stewardship code in 2018, said a local corporate tracker. On Wednesday, CEO Score released the results of a survey of 577 companies in which the NPS held shares and exercised its voting rights at shareholders meetings last year. It found that the NPS voted against initiatives proposed by companies 16.48 percent of the time, up from 11.85 percent a year earlier. The rate at which it approved

Industry Feb. 5, 2020

The nation’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor confirmed Tuesday it will suspend all production lines at local plants in phases due to the disruption of parts supplies from China. The decision follows three-hour talks between the labor union and management, and the suspension is expected to last until around Monday. The production shutdown is due mainly to the inventory shortage of wiring harnesses, which are mostly produced in China. Handmade wiring harnesses need to be laid on the fl

Industry Feb. 4, 2020

According to local corporate tracker Korea CXO Institute, Samsung Electronics’ ailing Chairman Lee Kun-hee will soon receive a dividend of 353.8 billion won ($296 million) for 2019. The firm analyzed the dividend status of Lee Kun-hee, his wife Hong Ra-hee and his son Lee Jae-yong for 10 years from 2010. Hong, formerly director of Samsung Museum of Art Leeum, is estimated to receive dividends of 76.7 billion won, and Lee Jae-yong receives about 59.5 billion won. Over the last decad

Industry Feb. 4, 2020

Park Seon-hee, a resident of western Seoul, stayed home over the weekend, canceling her plans to meet friends, as more cases of coronavirus infections were reported. She and her husband chose to order in food, though she is now considering purchasing premade food products online or cooking from scratch. South Korean consumers are increasingly turning to online shopping as the prolonged outbreak of a new coronavirus continues to fuel concerns about going to crowded areas, potentially pulling

Industry Feb. 2, 2020

South Korean companies said Thursday they are lending a helping hand to fight the outbreak of new coronavirus in China, the nation’s top export destination. The nation’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Group was one of the first firms to decide on delivering donations to Wuhan, the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak in Hubei province. The firm said it would deliver medical goods and donations totaling 15 million yuan ($2.2 million) to help Chinese people affected by the ep

Industry Jan. 30, 2020

As the outbreak of China’s new coronavirus rapidly spreads, concerns have been raised about the Korean economy that heavily depends on China, the nation’s top export destination by volume. On Wednesday, China confirmed the number of deaths from the coronavirus epidemic at 132 and the number of confirmed cases at around 6,000. If the coronavirus turns into a prolonged outbreak, “the biggest concern is the impact on the Chinese economy,” said Park Sang-hyun, an analyst

Industry Jan. 29, 2020

The number of South Korean institutions that have embraced shareholder activism by adopting the stewardship code surged last year, raising tensions for companies ahead of their general shareholders meetings in March. The stewardship code sets forth guidelines for institutional investors, allowing them to participate actively in corporate governance by exercising their voting rights in the interests of their beneficiaries.  The code was introduced in December 2016. The National Pension S

Industry Jan. 28, 2020

The road to Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun reigning over the nation’s largest automobile giant is predicted to be less bumpy as activist hedge fund Elliott, which had put the brakes on his succession plans, recently sold all its stakes in Hyundai Motor companies. According to the industry, Elliott sold its stakes of 2.9 percent of Hyundai Motor, 2.1 percent of Kia Motors and 2.6 percent of Hyundai Mobis as of Wednesday. Elliott’s departure is expected to giv

Mobility Jan. 23, 2020

Following a recent change in regulations limiting tenures of outside directors, South Korea companies are scurrying to scout new members ahead of their general shareholders meetings in March.Citing a need to reinforce shareholders’ rights and institutional investors, the Cabinet approved on Tuesday revisions to the enforcement decrees of the Commercial Act, Capital Market Act and National Pension Act.To secure independency of outside board directors, the revised rule limits people who have

Industry Jan. 23, 2020