LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's largest chemicals company, said Tuesday that it has completed the construction of a plant in China for electric vehicle batteries.The plant in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing will churn out over 50,000 battery units annually for dedicated electric vehicles and more than 180,000 units for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, according to LG Chem.The Chinese plant is LG Chem's third battery plant, following one in South Korea and another in the U.S. state of Michigan.

Lotte Group, South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate, claimed Tuesday its governance structure has become more transparent, with over 80 percent of its cobweb-like structure streamlined through a series of deals.Hotel Lotte, its unlisted hotel unit, spent 100.8 billion won ($891.4 million) buying shares of Lotte Shopping, a key retail unit, and two other affiliates, removing their cross-shareholding ties with 209 other companies.  The latest move is a follow-up measure after Lotte chairman Shin

The chief of South Korean retail giant Lotte Group was sacked on Wednesday as an executive member of Japan-based Kojunsha Corp., the group's virtual holding firm, in the latest step taken by his elder brother to gain control over South Korea's No. 5 conglomerate.In a hastily arranged shareholder meeting in Japan, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin lost his seat on the board of Kojunsha, which is at the apex of the group's entire governance structure, with a 28 percent stake in Lotte Holdings, th

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co.'s unionized workers plan to launch a partial strike starting Wednesday after their representatives and the management failed to reach an agreement on a pay raise and other working conditions.The walkout, which will last through Friday, will mark the fourth straight year of labor disputes at the country's No. 1 automaker.The two sides reportedly sparred over the introduction of a so-called wage peak system and the scope of ordinary salaries, which determine ove

Shares of Samsung C&T Corp., the merged entity of two key Samsung units, posted a modest gain on the first trading day under the new name on Tuesday, taking the fourth spot on the Seoul bourse in terms of market value. Shares of Samsung C&T closed at 163,000 won ($137.40), up 2.84 percent from the previous session's close. The benchmark KOSPI gained 0.32 percent. Its market capitalization stood at 30.9 trillion won, coming after Samsung Electronics Co., Hyundai Motor Co. and Korea Electric Power

The merged entity of two key Samsung Group units made its official launch in South Korea on Tuesday, after repelling a slew of legal challenges from a U.S. hedge fund that opposed the merger and garnering shareholder approval.Samsung C&T Corp., the construction arm of the country's top conglomerate, won outright shareholder approval on July 17 to merge with Cheil Industries Inc., the apparel and resort unit, for 8.9 trillion won ($7.52 billion). The company received the go-ahead after two months

Samsung SDI Co., the battery-making arm of South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, said Friday it will buy the cell material division of its chemical affiliate, in a move to bolster competitiveness in the sector. Samsung SDI will take over the cell material unit of Samsung Fine Chemicals Co. for 18.7 billion won ($15.9 million) on Sept. 16, the company said in a regulatory filing. Samsung SDI will acquire the research and development facility, patent rights, staffs and the 58 percent stak

Lotte, the country's fifth-largest conglomerate, is moving to tap into India as it accelerates its overseas expansion drive in an attempt to make up for feeble growth at home.The retail giant said Friday its chairman, Shin Dong-bin, held a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in New Delhi, to propose a plan to build railway shopping complexes in major Indian cities.The two discussed expanding Lotte's Indian investment as well as opening railway shopping complexes in New Delhi, Mumba

Lotte Group launched a task force on governance reform Wednesday following criticism over its murky ownership structure that was laid bare in a bitter family squabble over control of the retail giant.The task force, which comprises 20 executives as well as outside attorneys and accountants, is charged with mapping out plans to list Hotel Lotte, the group's de facto holding firm in South Korea, and enhance corporate transparency, Lotte said in a press release.Lotte, the country's fifth-largest fa

Hana Financial Group Inc., South Korea's third-largest banking group, said Monday that it nominated a retail banking expert as the first president of its new integrated bank unit set to be launched next week.The move came after the financial regulator gave its final nod for the integration of Hana Financial's two bank units, Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank, last week. The integrated bank, named KEB Hana Bank, is scheduled to set sail on Sept. 1.Ham Young-joo, a vice president of Hana Bank, was

South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Daum Kakao Corp. said Monday it has named a new single head, ending its co-CEO system that has been maintained since its launch last year after the merger between the two IT firms.  Rim Ji-hoon, 35, head of investment firm K Cube Ventures, will become the new CEO of Daum Kakao, the merged entity of South Korea's two most-tracked IT firms at the time, Kakao Corp. and Daum Communications Corp.  K Cube Ventures is an investment firm that focuses on startu