Filings for court’s bankruptcy protection rise sharply after law revision in 2006The number of companies filing for court receivership has increased 10-fold in the last five years, raising questions over whether CEOs did it to save their own necks while incurring losses for creditors, investors and customers.Seven-hundred-and-twelve companies filed for court receivership last year, up from 76 in 2006 when the bankruptcy law was revised to guarantee major shareholders’ management rights and great

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. retained the top spot in the global mobile phone market in August on the back of steady sales of its products worldwide, industry data showed Friday.According to the data released by Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Technology Market Research, Samsung topped the world's handset market last month with a market share of 29 percent.The research firm attribu

The financial woes gripping Woongjin Group are expected to send ripples through Korea as yet another seemingly sturdy enterprise appears to be teetering on the cusp of bankruptcy. “It was a shock, a pure shock. I could not believe it because from all I’ve seen in ads, commercials and the news, Woongjin seemed to me as invincible. The company was literally a legend or at least one of the most fantastic success stories I know because it was built by a man who started out an ordinary salaried worke

South Korean stocks rose 0.42 percent Thursday as institutional investors shook off market jitters and scooped up local shares, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.26 points to close at 1,988.70. Trading volume was moderate at 686.6 million shares worth 4.65 trillion won ($4.15 billion) with gainers outstripping decliners 419 to 384. “Institutions led by pension funds seem to have been providing a shie

Hyundai Heavy Industries has joined in the bidding competition to take over Korea Aerospace Industries, the nation’s sole aircraft manufacturer.While it had been widely expected that Korean Air would be the sole bidder, Hyundai Heavy, one of the nation’s 10 largest conglomerates, entered its bid to the state-run Korea Finance Corp. on Thursday.The Korea Finance Corp. holds a 26.41 percent stake in KAI as the largest shareholder. The state-run financier and three other major shareholders are movi

Korea South-East Power Co. (KOSEP), a South Korean state-run power firm, said Thursday it has completed a wind farm in the United States, becoming the first South Korean firm to operate a large-scale wind farm in the world's largest economy.KOSEP will operate the Novus wind farm with an annual capacity of 287,000 MWh in Oklahoma for 20 years. KOSEP is a unit of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp.Forty wind power turbines were installed at the wind farm and started operation early this month

GS Engineering & Construction Corp., South Korea’s fourth-largest builder, said Thursday that it has won a $14 million order to build a power line and a substation in Tanzania.Under the deal with Tanzania Electric Supply Company, GS E&C will build a 70 kilometer-long power line that links Kilimanjaro to Arusha, the two regions in northern Tanzania.The South Korean company will also set up a 132 kV substation in Kyungi as part of the contract designed to provide a stable supply of power to the el

LG Display on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics, claiming that its rival infringed on its patents involving the organic light-emitting diode technology of its latest gadgets such as the Galaxy S3.LG Display held an urgent press conference and said it filed the suit at the Seoul Central District Court which said Samsung infringed seven of its patented technologies.The gadgets in dispute are Samsung’s Galaxy S2, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note and the Galaxy Tab 7.7.“We decided to go ahe

Family owners of some business groups are still short of responsible management despite their influential status, according to data held by the antitrust regulator.“As a large portion families and relatives of conglomerate founders are not registered as board members, it is difficult for authorities to take legal actions against them for irregular practices,” the Fair Trade Commission said in a statement on Thursday.Further, the average proportion of top owners registered as board of directors t