DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court on Monday acquitted Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong of financial crimes involving a contentious merger between Samsung affiliates in 2015 that tightened his grip over South Korea’s biggest company. The court said the prosecution failed to sufficiently prove the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries was unlawfully conducted with an aim to strengthen Lee’s control over Samsung Electronics. Lee had denied wrongdoing in the current case, describing the 2015 merger as “normal business activity.”Lee, 56, did not answer questions from reporters as left the court. Lee Jae-yong served 18 months in prison after being convicted in 2017 over separate bribery charges related to the 2015 deal. Some shareholders had opposed the 2015 merger, saying that it unfairly benefited the Lee family while hurting minority shareholders.

Persons: Lee Jae, Lee, ” Lee, Jin Kim, Lee Kun, Park, Yoon Suk, tycoons, Kim Tong, hyung Organizations: Samsung, Korea’s, Seoul Central, Cheil Industries, Samsung Electronics, Prosecutors, South, National Pension Service Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Seoul, Ukraine

☆ Kakao faces growing regulatory risks as political scrutiny rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Kakao messaging application and the Kakao T taxi booking application are seen on a mobile phone in this illustration photo March 13, 2018. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told a public meeting on Wednesday that the market behaviour of Kakao Mobility's taxi-hailing service was monopolistic and required a review. Its regulatory troubles escalated last month when one of its executives was arrested for suspected stock market manipulation during its acquisition of K-Pop agency SM Entertainment (041510.KQ). Last week, regulator Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will refer Kakao, its affiliate Kakao Entertainment and executives involved in the SM Entertainment acquisition to public prosecutors for suspected violation of the Capital Markets Act. "It is necessary to pay attention to legal risks, as problems may arise in the status of KakaoBank depending on the probes' results."

Persons: Thomas White, Yoon Suk Yeol, Kakao, Oh Dong, hwan, Joyce Lee, Miyoung Kim, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Kakao Corp, Naver Corp, Reuters, Mobility, SM Entertainment, Financial Supervisory Service, Kakao Entertainment, Pension Service, NPS, Samsung Securities, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Korean, Kakao

HONG KONG, Aug 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - South Korea’s dealmaking skeletons are back to haunt. Paul Singer's Elliott opposed a $9 billion union eight years ago of Samsung C&T (028260.KS) and Chiel Industries. South Korea’s successful prosecution of Lee, Park and a former minister that oversaw NPS, provided cause for Elliott to demand payback. Elliott sued in 2018 and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in June awarded the U.S. fund over $100 million. Far from being the end of it though, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government is contesting that award in a British arbitration court.

Persons: Samsung's Lee, Paul Singer's Elliott, Elliott, Jay Y, Lee, Park Geun, Yoon Suk, Hague, Yoon, Taiwan's TSMC, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Korea Inc, Samsung, Chiel Industries, National Pension Service, NPS, U.S ., Korea, Trade, Global, Samsung Electronics, Apple, Tokyo, Korea's Ministry, Justice, Elliott Investment, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, U.S, Hague, Seoul, Korea, China, Beijing, Washington, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, United States

☆ South Korea challenges arbitration ruling that found for Elliott in Samsung merger case
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, July 18 (Reuters) - South Korea said on Tuesday it would challenge an arbitration ruling that ordered it to pay U.S. hedge fund Elliott Investment Management $108.5 million in a case involving the merger of two Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) affiliates. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague last month found in favour of Elliott, though the compensation ordered was much less than the $770 million the hedge fund had sought. South Korea will argue that the Hague-based tribunal did not have jurisdiction to make the ruling under a free trade agreement it has with the United States, and will challenge the ruling at a UK arbitration body, the Justice Ministry said in a statement. It did not name the UK arbitration body. ($1 = 1,260.1300 won)Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Ed Davies and Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Elliott, 1,260.1300, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Elliott Investment, Samsung Electronics, South, Pension Service, Samsung, Hague, Ministry, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, U.S, Hague, United States

☆ South Korea ordered to pay Elliott about $109 mln total over 2015 Samsung merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, June 20 (Reuters) - The South Korean government has been ordered to pay hedge fund Elliott about $108.5 million, Elliott and the Ministry of Justice said on Tuesday, in an dispute settlement case stemming from the 2015 merger of two Samsung (005930.KS) affiliates. Elliott was a minority stakeholder in Samsung C&T and opposed the deal, deeming the terms of the merger unduly unfavourable to the company. The NPS, which approved the merger, held a larger stake in Samsung C&T and was viewed as a casting vote. The arbitration tribunal ordered the South Korean government to pay Elliott about $53.6 million in damages, plus delayed interest, as well as $28.9 million in legal fees, the justice ministry said, without elaborating. Elliott welcomed the decision in a statement, and urged South Korea to "pay the ultimate award rather than pursue baseless legal proceedings to challenge the Tribunal's decision".

Persons: Elliott, Moon Hyung, Park, hye, Joyce Lee, Sandra Maler Organizations: South, Ministry of Justice, Samsung, Elliott Investment, South Korean, Cheil Industries, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, The Hague, U.S, South, South Korea

[1/2] Kim Tae-hyun, Chairman & CEO of South Korea's National Pension Service, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Seoul, South Korea, March 3, 2023. National Pension Service/Handout via REUTERSSEOUL, March 6 (Reuters) - South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS), manager of the world's third-largest public pension fund, will collaborate with foreign exchange authorities when needed to help stabilise the market, its chairman told Reuters. "Based on last year's experience, we have prepared measures aimed at easing dollar demand and volatility in the foreign exchange market," Kim said. "A predictable and stable foreign exchange rate is also advantageous to us," he said, adding that cooperation with foreign exchange authorities would be based on achieving good investment returns. With the fund expected to be depleted by 2055, his top priority is to provide support for the government's plan to reform the national pension system, he said.

☆ K-pop stocks soar after agency behind BTS announced it would become its rival’s top shareholder
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

South Korean girl group aespa at the 2022 KBS Song Festival at Jamsil Arena on Dec. 16, 2022, in Seoul, South Korea. The K-pop agency behind BTS is set to become the largest shareholder of SM Entertainment — the legacy company known to have kickstarted the wave of popularity around Korean pop culture. That would make Hybe a top shareholder in SM Entertainment. Shares of SM Entertainment soared on Friday, rising more than 16% at the open in Seoul. Hybe rose 6% and JYP Entertainment rose 2.5%, while YG Entertainment gained 3.8%.

☆ South Korea pension fund will deplete faster than expected, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Jan 27 (Reuters) - South Korea's huge national pension fund is set to see its pool of money depleted by 2055, earlier than expected, because of a shrinking population amid low economic growth, an official estimate showed on Friday. A government panel commissioned for the estimate, made every five years, said in a report that the National Pension Service (NPS) would see its fund depleted two years earlier than 2018 estimate predicted. The fund will grow until at least 2040 as the relatively young pension system, launched in 1988, still has more contributions than payments. President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May 2022, has promised sweeping reforms of the national pension system with the aim of making it more sustainable, and the panel's findings will be the basis for the reform plans. South Korea's population has started shrinking since reaching its peak in 2020 at 51.84 million, and the speed of decline will likely quicken because of low birth rates, official data and estimates show.

☆ S.Korean won falls through key level after Fed hike
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Choonsik Yoo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A South Korea won note is seen in this illustration photo May 31, 2017. The won fell as much as 0.9% to 1,406.8 per dollar in early onshore trading, marking the first time it crossed the 1,400-won mark since late March 2009. Both the finance ministry and the central bank separately issued warnings that they would act against excessive movements in the foreign exchange market. "The authorities will introduce various measures aimed at easing a supply-demand imbalance for foreign currencies from the pension fund and foreign trading companies," Minister Choo Kyung-ho said at a meeting of senior officials. Both the Bank of Korea and the National Pension Service declined to comment on the reports.

Search resuls for: "National Pension Service"

9 mentions found