[THE INVESTOR] Key suspects in Korea’s biggest stock price manipulation case are living a not-so-secret life in Hong Kong and Australia, while Korean prosecutors have made hardly any efforts to bring them to justice, an investigation by The Korea Herald has found.The suspects are Derek Ong and Phillip Lonergan, two of the three former Deutsche Bank employees facing criminal charges in Korea in relation to a 2010 stock rout. Local authorities have failed to extradite the three -- nationals of the

[THE INVESTOR] The combined market capitalization of the nine Lotte Group firms listed on local markets dropped by more than 1 trillion won ($851.8 million) on Monday.The drop is thought to have been driven by the expanding corruption probe centered on the members of its founding family -- Shin Kyuk-ho and his two sons Shin Dong-joo and Shin Dong-bin. At the end of the market close on Monday, nine listed Lotte Group firms’ shares dropped compared to the closing prices on Friday. (The Korea Heral

[THE INVESTOR] Attention is now focused on who chairman Park Hyeon-joo will name as his successor at Mirae Asset Financial Group. The founder, openly critical of Korea’s large family-owned conglomerate’ father-to-son transfer of throne, has on multiple occasions said he will not pass down the group’s control to his children. 　　Local media paid keen attention, however, when Park Ha-min, Park’s eldest daughter, joined Mirae Asset Global Investments in 2013 to learn the ins and outs of real estate

Hotel Lotte withdraws IPO as embezzlement probe deepens

[THE INVESTOR] Park Hyeon-joo is recognized as the brains behind the launch of Mirae Asset, one of Korea’s first asset managers to launch mutual and real estate trust funds in the country. Park Hyeon-jooAs the founder and chairman of the firm, Park -- a graduate of Korea University in business administration -- worked his way up the corporate ladder in brokerages, and gained keen trading sensibility. But like any great entrepreneur who has changed the world, Park was not alone in his quest for f

[THE INVESTOR] Whether to increase corporate taxes is shaping up as a key issue of contention between major political parties in the new parliament that began its inaugural session Monday.The chief policymaker of the liberal main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea last week reaffirmed the party would soon submit a tax code revision bill to raise the maximum corporate tax rate, which would be applied to companies with annual profits exceeding 50 billion won ($42.6 million), to 25 percent from the c

Mirae Asset chief’s expansionist strategy draws mixed response

Regulators urge firm to stop using Mirae Asset Capital as holding company