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Lee Kyung-min

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Companies

Douzone Bizon shares unlikely to rebound on weak earnings, MSCI delisting risk

Douzone Bizon headquarters in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province Korea Times fileDouzone ICT Group Chairman and Douzone Bizon CEO Kim Yong-wooBy Lee Kyung-min Douzone Bizon, a local ICT solutions provider, will not be able to see its plummeting shares rebound any time soon, bogged down by weaker-than-expected earnings last year, compounded further by its highly probable delisting from the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) equity index scheduled for Thursday, according to market watchers Wednesday. Securities companies say the earnings prospects for the firm's cloud services will dim further, unless it identifies a large growth opportunity to offset the steep loss of its revenue from hefty government contracts that ended in 2020.Company CEO Kim Yong-woo has bought over 10.5 billion won ($8.7 million) worth of firm shares over the past two weeks. But the effort to reinvigorate investor sentiment seems to no avail, as evidenced by the shares hovering at 55,000 won, a figure hardly an improvement from the previous two-year low of 50,300 won, on Jan. 28. Its share prices have been

Feb 9, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Douzone Bizon shares unlikely to rebound on weak earnings, MSCI delisting risk
Companies

Minority, PEF investors to bear brunt of ECOPRO BM management risk

ECOPRO founder and ECOPRO BM Chairman Lee Dong-che By Lee Kyung-min Minority and private equity fund (PEF) investors are expected to bear the full brunt of the plummeting share price of ECOPRO BM, a local cathode material supplier with the second-largest Kosdaq market capitalization of over 7.3 trillion won ($6 billion), according to industry watchers, Tuesday.Overseas investors dumped 119 billion won worth of the firm's shares in the first five trading days of this month, spooked by the prosecution's investigation into five of its executives including its chairman Lee Dong-che on suspicion of insider trading. The massive selloff by overseas investors followed the unusually swift referral to the prosecution by the Financial Services Commission-led probe, part of which reportedly identified evidence destruction attempts.Also joining the selling spree were institutional investors including pension funds and asset management funds, which net-sold a combined 14.6 billi

Feb 8, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Minority, PEF investors to bear brunt of ECOPRO BM management risk
Companies

Shin Poong Pharm shares to tank further on corruption scandal, MSCI delisting risks

Shin Poong Pharmaceutical CEO Yoo Je-manBy Lee Kyung-min Shin Poong Pharmaceutical shares are expected to tank further, crippled by a police investigation into allegations of embezzlement and misappropriation by its management, compounded further by its highly probable delisting from Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) equity index scheduled for Thursday, according to market watchers Tuesday.Few believe the once-skyrocketing share price would recover to a record-high of 214,000 won ($178) as seen in September 2020, when it was lifted by the development of Pyramax. But the COVID-19 treatment drug ended up a failure in its phase 2 trial. Dimming its price recovery prospect further is its delisting from MSCI's equity index, almost considered a given among local brokerages, some of which expect an investment fund outflow of about 40 billion won upon the grim news. Corruption probe The police are expected to widen their investigation into the firm over the suspected embezzlement and misappropriation of about 25 billion won, after a local media outlet reported that the figure will

Feb 8, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Shin Poong Pharm shares to tank further on corruption scandal, MSCI delisting risks
Companies

POSCO shareholders get lower than expected dividends

POSCO Center building in Gangnam, southern Seoul. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min POSCO shareholders are expected to receive lower dividends than they hoped for in 2021 as the company decided to pay them about 17 percent of their net profit, according to analysts Monday.The steelmaker's CEO, Choi Jeong-woo, said in a Jan. 5 letter to shareholders that the payout ratio would be at “a 30 percent level through to 2023.” But the analysts said the plan was hard to achieve from the beginning.Amplifying the collective fury further is POSCO's plummeting share price currently hovering at 267,000 won ($222), down sharply from 316,000 won in mid-January. This is the lowest level seen since last February when it dropped to 242,500 won, and almost half from the high of 413,500 won set last May. Also at play is the limited possibility of a meaningful rebound in share prices in the near term, given POSCO's newly approved corporate restructuring plan which enables it to hold the entire shares of an envisioned spinoff to the exclusion of POSCO's current shareholders. “It seems tha

Feb 7, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
POSCO shareholders get lower than expected dividends
Companies

Capital gains tax on stock investors emerges as key voting issue

The presidential candidates pose before their first joint TV debate at broadcaster KBS' studio on Yeouido, Seoul, Feb. 3. From left are Sim Sang-jung of the minor Justice Party, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party and Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor People's Party. Joint Press CorpsBy Lee Kyung-min The government's plan to impose at least 20 percent tax on gains of at least 50 million won ($41,680) from stock trading starting in 2023 is emerging as a key election issue, in the latest of an economic policy becoming politicized due to public sentiment swinging widely.Whether the plan will undergo a politically motivated revision remains to be seen, as illustrated in the previous failure of a similar taxation effort by the finance ministry to tighten rules over the definition of “large shareholders” to holders of stocks of over 300 million won, down from 1 billion won. Main opposition presidential contender Yoon Suk-yeol said during a nationally televised debate, Feb. 3, that the plan should be aboli

Feb 7, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Capital gains tax on stock investors emerges as key voting issue
Companies

Korea's nuclear phase-out policy losing further ground

A nuclear plant in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Korea should take into account a recent move by the European Commission (EC) to recognize nuclear and natural gas as green energy sources, a private state think tank said Sunday, highlighting the need to renounce the nuclear phase-out policy spearheaded by the Moon Jae-in administration.The Korea Economic Research Institute's (KERI) recommendation fans criticisms that Korea has been railroading the anti-nuclear policy for years, with the issue increasingly being reduced to a tool for political attacks at the expense of energy security. Chief among the factors anchoring the critical voices is soaring energy costs, tied closely to living expenses surging due to rising inflation brought on by pandemic-induced liquidity. Few say the carbon-neutrality initiative will be feasible without nuclear power, an affordable, stable source of energy, as evidenced by the leaders of the EC seeking to embrace the much-demonized power source for the time being. The move gained rapid traction due to the energy crisis t

Feb 6, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Korea's nuclear phase-out policy losing further ground
Companies

Korea faces soaring demand for at-home COVID-19 test kits

An employee at a convenience store in Seoul organizes at-home COVID-19 test kits on the shelf, Jan. 9. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Korea's three at-home COVID-19 test kit makers are rushing to increase production capacity to meet soaring market demand amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, according to industry officials, Thursday. The three government-certified makers are SD Biosensor, Humasis and Rapigen. The explosive demand is being amplified further by the surge in confirmed infection cases in the wake of the Lunar New Year holiday long weekend that ended Wednesday, as a large number of people traveled across the county to visit their families in remote areas.Some had feared initially that the acute demand would translate into a nationwide shortage of test kits, as implied by the per-kit price quadrupling in the last week of January. But the concern has largely dissipated, thanks to the makers' around-the-clock operation and increases in production capacity.“We have been and will continue increasing manufacturing capacity to meet soaring demand,” said an

Feb 4, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Korea faces soaring demand for at-home COVID-19 test kits
Companies

Small companies struggle to find CEOs due to toughened penalty on accidents

By Lee Kyung-min An increasing number of small and medium-sized builders are struggling to find CEOs due to a strengthened law on industrial accidents that has scared off potential managerial candidates, according to analysts Thursday.Under the new industrial accident law which went into effect Jan. 27, the heads of companies could face a minimum of one year in prison for fatal industrial accidents involving a death at a workplace found to have failed to take necessary safety measures.Few people are willing to risk a prison term following intense public scrutiny of the construction, manufacturing and shipbuilding industries, since they feel the law lacks clarity in defining preventive measures, while clearly outlining only penalties. Analysts point out that there is little causal relationship between harsh punishment and accident prevention, causing more firms to have a tough time finding top decision-makers, while corporate management activities are undermined in the process.Amplifying the collective reluctance are the deaths of three construction workers in a landslide at a quarry

Feb 3, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Small companies struggle to find CEOs due to toughened penalty on accidents
Companies

Will NPS file lawsuits against HDC, Kakao, Emart?

Former HDC Hyundai Development Company CEO Chung Mong-gyuBy Lee Kyung-min A coalition of labor and civic groups are calling on the National Pension Service (NPS) to file a shareholder derivative lawsuit against three major scandal-tainted companies on behalf of minority shareholders. The labor and civic groups view the lawsuits as due course for seeking greater accountability for CEOs to keep corporate misbehavior in check.A shareholder derivative lawsuit is filed by a group of individual shareholders against firm heads and the board of directors for wrongful acts or doing harm to the interests of minority shareholders. Kakao founder Kim Beom-suThe coalition says the role of the state-run pension fund should be expanded for greater and fair representation of small investors with little to no way of seeking legal remedy in the case of a sudden dive in share prices brought on by management taking risks. Top managerial figures including CEOs almost always emerge from scandals unscathed, unlike small shareholders who often incur substantial losses, it added.Also propelling the collective

Feb 2, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Will NPS file lawsuits against HDC, Kakao, Emart?
Banking & Finance

Kyobo Life seeks US sanctions against Deloitte Anjin

Kyobo Life Chairman Shin Chang-jae. By Lee Kyung-min Kyobo Life Insurance said Friday that it has filed a petition with a U.S. non-profit audit organization, seeking sanctions against Deloitte Anjin over the accounting firm's suspected irregularities in the calculation of the life insurer's total share value in 2018.This is the latest development in a protracted dispute between Kyobo and a consortium of its financial investors led by Affinity Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, over a 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) put option. Among the investors are IMM Private Equity, Baring Private Equity and GIC, the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund.The Life insurer says Deloitte Anjin accountants are under suspicion of accounting law and ethics violations in 2018, in the midst of a put option being exercised by the investors on Kyobo Life Chairman Shin Chang-jae. Shin signed a contract with the consortium in 2012, which included a put option. The contract st

Jan 28, 2022By Lee Kyung-min
Kyobo Life seeks US sanctions against Deloitte Anjin
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