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East Asia
Are they really sick?
Stars suspected of malingering to shun tough military life Are they really sick? Or is it another outrageous case of preferential treatment? People are casting a suspicious eye on K-pop singer Sangchu and actor Kim Moo-yeol, who began their compulsory military service in 2012. They are currently having extraordinarily long…
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Samsung may merge building units
Samsung C&T and Samsung Engineering are likely to be merged in Samsung’s group-wide reorganization, experts said Monday. The group’s two major construction affiliates do not have overlapping functions; and Samsung Engineering suffered losses last year due to rising costs. Samsung Engineering shifted to a net loss of 708.66 billion won…
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Salary gap deepening amid slump
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun took 6.77 billion won ($6.5 million) in salary last year, according to the company. He topped the paycheck rankings among salaried executives of listed companies, excluding the company owners. Kwon’s salary was 228.7 times higher than that of the average Korean employee in 2012,…
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President high popularity may affect local elections
Will President Park Geun-hye’s popularity help the governing Saenuri Party win the upcoming June 4 local elections for representatives of municipal governments and legislatures? A majority of experts agree that it will but they are split over the extent of influence. “Experiences tell us that local elections are always a…
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South refutes N. Korea’s denial of drone incursion
The defense ministry criticized North Korea, Monday, for describing recent drone incursions as a fabrication by South Korea. After recovering three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and examining them over the past three weeks, the ministry’s interim result released Friday identified the drones as coming from the reclusive state, based on…
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Foreign firms’ remittances cause red faces
Branches of some multinationals send more than their net profits in dividend payments to their head offices. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Monday, IBM Korea and Philip Morris Korea’s dividend ratios stood at 115.1 percent and 111.6 percent, respectively. This means IBM paid 133 billion won and Philip…
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PM’s China trip reveals President’s priorities
Prime Minister Chung Hong-won’s visit to China is seen as an indication of closer Korea-China ties. But observers question whether this could come at cost to the Korea-U.S. alliance. Chung finished his five-day visit to China, Sunday, which included a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang. “President Park Geun-hye…
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State agency sues cigarette firms
The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) filed a 54 billion won damages lawsuit against three cigarette makers — KT&G, Philip Morris Korea and BAT Korea — Monday. This is the first suit to be brought by a state-run agency here. In the case filed with the Seoul Central District Court,…
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Spy master exonerated
Two NIS officials indicted in evidence fabrication case A special prosecution team confirmed Monday that a number of spy agency officials fabricated evidence to frame Yu Woo-sung, a former Seoul government official who posed as a North Korean defector, for espionage. National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Nam Jae-joon and two…
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Samsung boss receives biggest dividend payments
Last month’s executive pay disclosure painted a rather incomplete picture of who earns how much in Korea’s business world because it exempts non-board member executives from disclosure. However, dividend payment data helps present a clearer picture. While the income of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee remains unknown, dividend payment data…
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