Four high-ranking officials from SK Chemicals attended an arrest warrant hearing Thursday as part of a reopened investigation into toxic humidifier disinfectants that in 2011 were linked to hundreds of deaths.Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office suspects the company, now known as SK Discovery, concealed the toxicity reports on CMIT and MIT, two chemical ingredients used in the humidifier disinfectants.SK Chemicals manufactured and supplied humidifier disinfectant ingredients to several com

Anticipation is building up over who will become the new owner of Lotte Card, a credit card business owned by Korean-Japanese retail conglomerate Lotte Group that has been put up for sale.　Lotte Group has set out to sell three of its financial units -- Lotte Card, Lotte Non-Life Insurance and Lotte Capital – as part of steps toward adopting a holding company structure. Under South Korean law mandating a separation of financial and industrial capital, a holding corporation cannot possess fi

South Korean university students still show a marked preference for Samsung Electronics as a future employer, according to a poll released Wednesday.The survey, conducted by job search portal JobKorea, showed that 14 percent of respondents chose the tech giant out of 100 companies as the place they would most like to work. A total of 1,190 students attending four-year universities nationwide participated in the survey. Among them, 424 were men and 766 were women. Some 14 percent of college stude

Lotte Group is poised to sell its financing unit Lotte Capital and discuss the matter in the respective board of directors meetings of its shareholding Lotte subsidiaries this week, according to a news report Monday. Lotte Capital is a privately held finance service provider dedicated to installment financing and facility leasing. Nearly 90 percent of shares are owned by Lotte subsidiaries and affiliates. Hotel Lotte owns 39.37 percent of stocks, Lotte Corporation has 25.64 percent, Lotte Engine

Shin Dong-joo, a former vice chairman of Lotte Holdings who was defeated in a management right feud with currently imprisoned younger brother Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin is attempting to seize his control over the group once again.   According to Lotte Holdings, a Japanese firm which owns major stakes in many Lotte units and thus binds the whole conglomerate, it will hold a general a shareholders meeting on June 29 in Tokyo, upon Dong-joo’s request.  Former Vice Chairman of Lotte Holdings

With an unprecedented boom in construction of skyscrapers in South Korea, today’s tallest building in the country can never sit comfortably as candidates queue up to replace it. The 305-meter, 68-story Posco Tower-Songdo was opened in 2011 in Songdo International City, as the world’ most expensive private real estate project. Located in the Incheon Free Economic Zone, the skyscraper was the nation’s tallest building, flaunting its imposing height. With an investment of 516 billion won ($413 mill

Kakao Bank, South Korea’s second internet-only bank, has emerged as a cost-effective, convenient and user-friendly banking service for the smartphone-savvy population.Led by Korea’s mobile messaging giant Kakao, Kakao Bank has secured more than 4.35 million accounts as of the end of October, three months after it opened to the public. Of them, around 73 percent have registered for debit cards linked to the accounts.Among 1,500 Kakao Bank users aged 20 to 59 that were surveyed, 76.5 p

Duty-free operators enjoyed a healthy third quarter this year despite falling sales from heavy-spending Chinese shoppers, but industry sources say uncertainty still looms over the once highly lucrative sector.On Wednesday, HDC Shilla announced its operating profit reached nearly 2.42 billion won ($2.18 million) in the third quarter this year, continuing three consecutive quarters in the black. A day earlier, Lotte Duty Free released third-quarter earnings with operating profit of 27.6 billion wo

South Korean stocks closed at a fresh all-time high Monday, helped by gains in techs such as Samsung Electronics, analysts said. The Korean won gained against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 5.3 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,501.93. Trade volume was moderate at 338 million shares worth 6.9 trillion won ($6.15 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers at 419 to 373.It marked the first time the main bourse has closed above the 2,500-point mark.Analysts said t

Sales at South Korean duty-free stores fell during the extended holiday season compared to a year ago mainly due to a sharp drop in incoming Chinese travelers, industry officials said Monday. Local duty-free shops have prepared a wide range of promotional events to woo shoppers at home and abroad as China's Oct. 1-8 National Day holidays overlaps with the this year's 10-day long Chuseok holiday in South Korea that kicked off on Sept. 30.Despite the rise in outbound travelers, this year's holiday

Retail giant Lotte officially launched its new holding company Sunday, changing its governance system to strengthen Chairman Shin Dong-bin‘s control of the group and simplify its web of complex cross-holdings. The plan to create Lotte Corporation, the holding company, was announced in April by the group and approved by shareholders in late August. Touted as a part of Chairman Shin’s moves to increase management transparency at the group, the holding company merged the investment entities of four

South Korean companies spent 15 percent less on entertainment in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, a study on the impact of the anti-graft law showed Wednesday.Marking the first year of the “Kim Young-ran law,” which came into effect on Sept. 28 last year, CEOScore, a local corporate tracker, studied 139 companies among the top 500 firms here that filed entertainment expenses in their regulatory filings. The companies spent an average 97 billion won ($85.1 millio

Korea’s largest duty-free store operator officially requested that the country’s gateway airport lower its rents, as the tax-free industry continues to struggle, sparking speculation as to whether the move will lead to a downward trend in airport duty-free rents across the board.According to Lotte Duty Free on Wednesday, the company sent an official letter to Incheon International Airport Corp. asking that the airport adjust its rent prices to be proportional to its sales.“Right now, we are payi

South Korean companies struggling with restraints on their businesses in China are likely to come under more pressure with the deployment of additional launchers of a US anti-missile battery here set to begin as early as this week.Beijing seems unlikely to ease its stance on the issue in the wake of North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test Sunday.China began to take retaliatory measures in July last year when Seoul agreed to deploy the US missile shield known as the Terminal High

Lotte Duty Free, South Korea's top duty-free operator, is considering withdrawing from Incheon International Airport, a company source said Monday, as the local duty-free industry is struggling to cope with the impact of a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of a US missile defense system here.Lotte's possible decision to pull out of the main gateway to South Korea, west of Seoul, is feared to spark a domino effect as other operators demand the airport operator cut rent