SEOUL, Apr. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Kim Sang-jo, the director of the Fair Trade Commission, in response to American activist fund Elliott Management Corp.’s call to restructure Hyundai Motor Group, stated that “following such demands would be going against antitrust laws.” Kim also said that Elliott’s demands were “unfair” during the Asia Future Enterprise Forum [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 28 (Korea Bizwire) – Loan guarantees among affiliates of South Korea’s large business groups sank in 2017 from a year earlier, the country’s corporate watchdog said Thursday. The total corporate debt payment guarantees made among units of 31 conglomerates reached 257 billion won (US$239 million) as of May 1, down 20 percent, or [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – Home shopping TV channels charged the biggest commissions on sales this year compared with department stores, online malls and discount outlets, South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Wednesday. Home shopping channels received an average 28.4 percent commission, the Fair Trade Commission said, citing its survey of 19 home shopping channels, department stores, online malls and large discount outlets. The comparable figures were 22 percent for department stores, [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — A Samsung Group affiliate will be required to sell an additional stake in the de facto holding company of South Korea’s No. 1 conglomerate as a merger that took place in 2015 has effectively strengthened cross-shareholding ties within the business group, the country’s corporate watchdog said Thursday. In 2015, [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s corporate watchdog is looking into whether Mirae Asset Group, a major financial service provider, is violating regulations over inside transactions among its affiliates, industry sources said Friday. The current law forbids inter-affiliate trading within a business group where the controlling family holds more than 30 percent of [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – The head of the Fair Trade Commission, Kim Sang-jo, announced plans to investigate the management of private foundations owned by major companies, as part of efforts to reform conglomerates and improve transparency, during a policy meeting today. The FTC made the announcement at today’s policy gathering in Seoul with [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korea Fair Trade Commission announced on Thursday it will take legal action against AirBnB after the online accommodations giant ignored its demand to comply with a correction order regarding its strict refund policy for South Korean clients. According to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), AirBnB has failed to fully [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Tuesday that it has slapped a combined 1.78 billion-won (US$1.57 million) fine on Mercedes-Benz Korea and its dealerships for fixing labor costs for auto repairs. Mercedes-Benz Korea, the local unit and importer of German carmaker Daimler AG, allegedly suggested to eight dealerships fixing [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by South Korean firms more than tripled in the first half of this year as a global economic recovery encouraged companies to expand their business spheres, the antitrust watchdog said Monday. The value of reported M&As reached 41.5 trillion won (US$36.6 billion) in the [...]
SEJONG, Aug. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Thursday that it has imposed a combined 796 million won (US$699,000) in fines on two local electronics part suppliers for rigging bids for public railway construction projects. The two companies — Yookyung Control Co. and Hyukshin Engineering Co. — allegedly colluded to participate in [...]