When the novel coronavirus made its appearance across the world earlier this year, optimistic market observers anticipated that “revenge spending” would eventually rebound to counter the damaging effect of the initial outbreak. South Korea, which had successfully retained its domestic virus spread in the first half of the year, had hopes for a while of seeing its domestic market get back on track within the year. But with a third wave of infections here and the stronger social dist

Samsung C&T proposed Wednesday a construction plan in which all its affiliates participate to create a “landmark” apartment complex in Banpo, Seoul, as part of an all-out effort as it seeks to win the contract in the area designated for redevelopment. Reconstruction bids are currently being accepted for the new Banpo 15-apartment unit in Gangnam, and Samsung C&T, Daelim Industrial and Hoban Construction are competing. The result is due to be announced Thursday. Sansumg C

University students in South Korea still view tech giant Samsung Electronics as the most desirable future employer, a local survey showed Thursday. According to the survey of 473 male students and 586 female students conducted by online job portal JobKorea, 10.6 percent chose Samsung Electronics as the company where they would most like to work. The next most popular answer was Korean Air (7.6 percent), followed by food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang (6.7 percent) and the Korea Electric P

A Seoul court on Monday handed jail terms of up to two years to Samsung Electronics Co. executives for destroying evidence in relation to an alleged accounting fraud at Samsung BioLogics Co.A Samsung Electronics vice president overseeing the company's funds was sentenced to two years in prison, while two presidents in a Samsung Electronics taskforce were each sentenced to one year and six months in prison, according to the ruling handed down by the Seoul Central District Court. Prosecutors had e

Prosecutors on Monday demanded jail terms of up to four years for Samsung Electronics and Samsung BioLogics executives on suspicion of destroying evidence in relation to allegations of accounting fraud at the country's biggest conglomerate."It is the biggest crime of evidence destruction in the history of South Korea given the number of people, the duration (of the crime) and the number of destroyed documents," prosecutors said in a hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in s

South Korean Trade Minister Sung Yun-mo is slated to leave for the United Arab Emirates on Saturday to discuss further partnerships with his counterparts in the energy sector as a follow-up to the summit in March of last year. The minister is also slated to express the government’s strong willingness to support the maintenance of the Barakah nuclear power plant should a Korean bidder win, ministry officials said Wednesday.During his stay, the minister, accompanied by CEOs of the Korea Hydro & Nu

Samsung SDS’ small shareholders have voiced their anger at the nation’s antitrust watchdog head, claiming his remarks Thursday drove the firm’s shares to plunge. On Thursday, the Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Sang-jo had urged the owner families of conglomerates to sell off stocks of non-key affiliates, referring to the businesses of system integration, real estate, logistics and advertising. “Following Kim’s remark, shares of Samsung SDS -- whose main business is system integration -- plun

“How can a control tower not have control?” An official at Samsung Electronics threw the question back to The Korea Herald when asked what Samsung executives and employees think of the latest comments by Kim Sang-jo, chairman of the Fair Trade Commission. Kim said in interviews with local media last week that Samsung needed a new control tower to coordinate all affiliates. He publicly urged Samsung heir apparent Lee Jae-yong to take action to overhaul the corporation’s governance structure acros

Monday’s announcement of an additional trade union at Samsung Welstory, a meal service provider separated from former Samsung Everland, has prompted a number of questions, including exactly how influential are the labor unions at the conglomerate which is known to be intolerant towards such activities.The latest trade union internally formed on Sept. 8 also appeared to reflect the ongoing rivalry among the country’s two largest umbrella labor unions, according to industry watchers.The new union

The value of merger and acquisition deals in South Korea in 2016 almost halved from the previous year due to the lack of mega deals amid the influence-peddling scandal, according to M&A information provider Mergermarket on Monday. The country recorded 352 M&A deals worth $46.8 billion during 2016. While the number of M&A deals saw a slight decline from 36, the total value plunged 44.8 percent from $84.9 billion in the previous year.  The steep decline in value was mainly due

The arrest of Lee Jae-yong, the heir apparent of Samsung Group, would give special prosecutors extra ammunition as they target the central figure of the extensive influence-peddling scandal -- President Park Geun-hye.The key issue an arrest could help address is proving whether the renowned businessman offered 43 billion won ($36.8 million) in bribes the president’s confidante Choi Soon-sil, in exchange for the president’s assistance in his corporate succession.Lee arrived at the Seoul Central D

Samsung Electronics has rarely cut its semiannual incentives for its longtime cash cow smartphone division, which continues to struggle to recover from the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, according to news reports Friday. Every June and December, the tech giant provides incentives of up to 50 percent of an employee’s monthly salary for its main business divisions -- Information technology & Mobile communications, Device Solution and Consumer Electronics. Additionally, it provides incentives of up to 50 pe

The special investigation team has imposed travel bans on conglomerate chiefs as it prepares to dissect the political scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil, according to news reports on Sunday. Samsung Electronics’ Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group’s Chairman Chey Tae-won and Lotte Group’s head Shin Dong-bin have been banned from travelling abroad. The ban came as the independent counsel team is set to begin a 70-day investigation into the scandal from Mon

Korean conglomerates embroiled in bribery allegations are on alert after the embattled President Park Geun-hye was impeached in a parliamentary vote Friday.Seven business moguls were included in the impeachment motion proposed by three opposition parties, on claims they donated money to the Mir Foundation run by Park’s close friend, Choi Soon-sil, after meeting with the president.　The motion also mentions Samsung C&T Corporation and its controversial merger with Cheil Industries, as well as SK a

South Korean prosecutors on Friday continued their ongoing investigation into companies that raised money for nonprofit foundations linked to President Park Geun-hye and her confidante, seeking to prove that the money involved amounted to bribes for the president’s inner circle.Earlier in the day, the special investigative team summoned an official from SK Group for questioning on allegation that the corporation illegally lobbied the Park administration to win back its duty-free shop licenses it