Business

Financial watchdog inspects troubled Homeplus over potential accounting flaws

Korea's financial watchdog said Friday it will look into whether Homeplus has violated accounting rules as speculation mounts over the retailer's controversial short-term debt sale. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will inspect to verify whether the retailer, wholly owned by private equity firm MBK Partners Ltd., has been properly assessing its assets, debts and others. The watchdog's move came days after it said it will inspect MBK Partners to look into whether there have been any flaws in the process of the retailer's short-term debt sale and its filing for court rehabilitation. On March 4, Homeplus entered court-led rehabilitation proceedings after two rating appraisers lowered the rating of its corporate bonds to A3- from A3, citing the company's lack of efforts to improve its financial health. Homeplus was reportedly notified by a credit rating agency on Feb. 25 that its rating was likely to decline, but the company issued asset-backed short-term bonds (ABSTBs) worth 82 billion won (US$56.3 million) through Shinyoung Securities the same day. The FSS also has been inves

Mar 21, 2025By yonhap

Financial watchdog inspects troubled Homeplus over potential accounting flaws

Companies

Fulfillment of military duty no longer unusual for young chaebol heirs

The military enlistment of heirs from Korea's family-controlled conglomerates, or chaebol, has long attracted public attention. Scrutiny especially intensified in the early 2010s, when it was revealed that chaebol scions born in the 1960s and 1970s had higher military exemption rates than ordinary Korean men. At the time, it was also found that exemptions for the privileged class had increased with younger generations. However, the service records of chaebol owner family members have been less newsworthy in recent years, as more young heirs from major conglomerates choose to fulfill their mandatory military service as able-bodied Korean men. Born in the 1980s, these heirs are now playing significant roles within their respective family-controlled business groups, helping them avoid public criticism of undue privilege. HD Hyundai, for example, has actively promoted the military service of Executive Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun, who served as an officer in the Korean Army Commando Regiment from 2005 to 2007 after joining the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) in the Republic of Korea Ar

Mar 21, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk

Fulfillment of military duty no longer unusual for young chaebol heirs

Companies

Hanwha Aerospace to raise W3.6 tril. for global investments

Korean defense giant Hanwha Aerospace said Thursday it will raise 3.6 trillion won ($2.5 billion) through a record stock sale as part of broader global investment plans in future growth sectors. The company's board of directors approved the plan to issue some 5.95 million common shares at a price of 605,000 won per share. It marks the largest-ever stock sale by a Korean company. Through the stock sale, Hanwha Aerospace said it plans to invest in the defense, maritime and aerospace sectors as it expects more opportunities amid a rearmament push in Europe and U.S. efforts to bolster its shipbuilding industry. The company said it plans to acquire strategic production bases in Europe, the Middle East, Australia and the United States, aiming for sales of 70 trillion won and an operating profit of 10 trillion won in 2035. From the latest stock offering, the company plans to use 1.6 trillion won for investment in overseas production facilities and arms industry cooperation. The manufacturer of the K9 self-propelled howitzer said it also seeks to inject 900 billion won from the stock sale to inve

Mar 20, 2025By yonhap

Hanwha Aerospace to raise W3.6 tril. for global investments

Companies

Eli Lilly beats Novo Nordisk to launch weight-loss drug Mounjaro in India

Eli Lilly launched its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drug Mounjaro in India on Thursday, beating rival Novo Nordisk for a much-awaited entry into the world's most populous country that is grappling with increasing rates of obesity and diabetes. U.S.-based Lilly and Danish Novo Nordisk have seen skyrocketing global demand for their innovative weight-loss drugs, with investor interest also boosting the drugmakers' valuations. Mounjaro, a once-weekly injection approved by India's drug regulator, is priced at 4,375 rupees ($50.67) for a 5 mg vial and 3,500 rupees ($40.54) for a 2.5 mg vial, its lowest dose, the company told Reuters separately. "The dual burden of obesity and type 2 diabetes is rapidly emerging as a major public health challenge in India," said President and General Manager Winselow Tucker at Lilly India. India, a country of more than 1.4 billion people, has seen an increase in obesity rates. A government survey conducted between 2019 and 2021 showed that 24 percent of women and nearly 23 percent of men between the ages of 15 and 49 were either overweight or obese, up

Mar 20, 2025By reuters

Eli Lilly beats Novo Nordisk to launch weight-loss drug Mounjaro in India

Banking & Finance

National pension subscribers to pay more, receive more under first reform in 18 years

National pension subscribers will pay 13 percent of their monthly incomes, and receive 43 percent of their average monthly earnings after they retire, under a sweeping reform bill approved by the National Assembly, Thursday. The bill aims to achieve a goal of “pay more, receive more,” which came after years of debate concerning the country’s universal pension scheme that policymakers and other stakeholders hesitated to address due to its political sensitivity. Currently, each working individual contributes 9 percent of their monthly income as premium. Such contribution rate will be hiked to 13 percent. Rate hikes will be made for eight years beginning 2026, with an annual increase of half a percentage point. The income replacement rate, which determines the amount of pension a subscriber will take in proportion to their pre-retirement income on monthly average, will be raised from the current 40 percent to 43 percent in 2026. The pension reform is the first in 18 years, and marks the third major overhaul since the pension was formed in 1988. The pension scheme had faced growing call

Mar 20, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

National pension subscribers to pay more, receive more under first reform in 18 years

Tech & Science

Samsung Display wins OLED patent suit over BOE

Samsung Display secured a favorable ruling in its legal battle against Chinese display giant BOE, with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) confirming that BOE has infringed on Samsung Display’s patents related to OLED technologies. According to industry officials, the USITC, Wednesday (local time), upheld its initial determination from November that BOE had infringed on three of Samsung Display's patents, and U.S. wholesalers had infringed on four. However, the commission did not impose an import or sales ban in the U.S. against BOE, citing that the infringement had no significant impact on U.S. industries. The patent dispute dates back to December 2022, when Samsung Display filed complaints against 17 component wholesalers in the United States. In the complaints, Samsung Display argued that OLEDs it imported from China and used for smartphone repairs infringed on five of its patents including Diamond Pixel. The investigation initially focused on the wholesalers, but when it was found that the products in question included panels made by BOE, the Chinese firm voluntarily s

Mar 20, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo

Samsung Display wins OLED patent suit over BOE

Banking & Finance

Korea must boost investments in IP, culture for export growth: BOK

Private entities should expand investments in intellectual property (IP), telecommunications, culture and entertainment, in a swift collective move to identify new growth drivers, a central bank report said Thursday. This together with government deregulation will elevate the country’s long-undervalued services industries as a new source of export growth, it added. Korea has long relied on manufacturing, construction and facility investments for growth. According to the Bank of Korea (BOK) report on the status quo of Korea’s service exports and future growth outlook, knowledge services constituted 26.5 percent of service exports last year, up from 7.6 percent in 2010. Knowledge services are part of overall service industries and include IP rights and royalties, information and communication services, cultural and leisure services and other professional and business services. According to the report, service exports are emerging as new growth drivers after global goods trade slowed down by about 5 percentage points in the aftermath of the global financial crisis in the late 2000s. Serv

Mar 20, 2025By Lee Kyung-min

Korea must boost investments in IP, culture for export growth: BOK

Companies

Korean regulator approves merger of Synopsys, Ansys on divestment conditions

Korea's antitrust regulator on Thursday approved the proposed merger of U.S. chip design software giant Synopsys and engineering software firm Ansys on the condition the companies divest their assets in overlapping business areas, officials said. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) made the decision about 10 months after Synopsys filed a request for approval of its $35 billion deal to buy Ansys, according to the officials. The FTC, however, demanded the two companies sell their overlapping business units, such as register transfer-level power consumption analysis software, as well as optics and photonics software, within six months after their integration is completed. The FTC said it gave such conditions-based approval as the acquisition is expected to leave the integrated company with a 60 to 80 percent share in the global register market, 90 to 100 percent share in the optics market and 55 to 75 percent share in the photonics market, undermining competition in those markets. Prior to the FTC's decision, the European Union, Britain and Japan have given similar conditional approvals for the

Mar 20, 2025By yonhap

Korean regulator approves merger of Synopsys, Ansys on divestment conditions

Companies

Gov't launches rare metals industry development council

The industry ministry on Thursday launched a rare metals industry development council to better respond to the intensification of protectionism and discuss the supply chain strategies of the domestic industry, according to officials.

Mar 20, 2025By yonhap