The Seoul High Court delayed the trial in the case of alleged stock manipulation of the Korean unit of Lone Star Funds, the biggest shareholder of Korea Exchange Bank, to July 21.While the court held the trial on Thursday, it accepted the proposal for a delay from lawyers for Paul Yoo, former CEO of the now-defunct Lone Star Korea.In March, the Supreme Court hinted that former Lone Star Korea CEO

The financial authorities have been in trouble again in realizing the project to recoup taxpayers’ money by selling the state-controlled Woori Financial Group.Though the Financial Services Commission had said it would accept letters of intent from potential bidders for Woori Financial by June 29, sales terms seem to be unattractive to local investors.Research analysts issue the possibility that th

Foreign carmakers saw their combined market share in Korea climb by 1 percentage point over the past year.They captured 6.5 percent of the local market with sales of 42,700 vehicles between January and May, up from 5.5 percent with 34,318 units during the corresponding period of last year.In May, the foreign carmakers posted 6.8 percent market share by selling 8,777 units, according to the automot

Opposition party against revising law on financial holding firmsThe sale of state-run Woori Financial Group faces a significant showdown this week as to whether financial authorities can gain the momentum needed to push for the revision of laws on financial holding companies.The Financial Services Commission is considering proposing a revision to a bill allowing a financial group to own another fi

Seat on rate-setting committee has been empty for over a yearThe presidential office has failed to address filling a vacant seat at the central bank’s interest rate-setting panel for 14 months despite the growing need to fight mounting inflationary pressure.In tandem, Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong-soo has been criticized for allegedly glossing over laws on the BOK concerning the bank’s Monetar

 

Hyundai Motor Co. was forced to halt output at one of its plants in South Korea Thursday after unionized workers talked off their job after one of their colleagues committed suicide, the company and union said.Assembly workers laid down tools at Hyundai's plant in Asan, about 100 kilometers southwest of Seoul, from 2:30 p.m., claiming that one of their leaders committed suicide earlier in the day

Korea’s auto parts manufacturers are aggressively seeking inroads into Brazil, the world’s fourth-largest automobile market.Brazil has emerged as the world’s sixth-largest automobile producer and sold about 3.6 million vehicles last year, grabbing the world’s fourth place.The active advancement of local companies has been fueled by the recently growing demand for made-in-Korea components in the So

The Financial Services Commission is to propose a bill banning financial companies from filing suits against customers if the disputes are over a “small” amount of transactions.The bill is expected to define small-amount dispute cases as those whose transactions do not exceed 5 million won ($4,600).While the FSC said the bill will be designed in coordination with relevant ministries, the regulator

Regulator instructs savings banks to secure sufficient cashThe financial authorities are moving to extend the maturity of bad loans the government purchased from savings banks in a bid to ensure a soft landing for the distressed industry.Between 2008 and 2010, the state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. acquired bad loans of savings banks. The latter are supposed to repurchase the loans in three ye

Regulators mull business suspension, warning CEOs on violatorsCredit card companies which will fail to meet new regulatory standards will face tougher sanctions such as business suspension, financial regulators said Tuesday.In addition, regulators are expected to turn up the heat on card company CEOs as they are poised to issue a censure-level warning against rule-violators.As credit card issuers