protesting activists

Corporate strategy KT&G eyes overseas M&A after rejecting activist fund's offer

KT&G Corp., South Korea’s dominant tobacco and ginseng producer, is seeking to acquire a Japanese ginseng company after dismissing a 1.9-t...

Shareholder activism Activist fund Oasis boosts Korea team amid investor-friendly policy shift

Hong Kong-based activist fund Oasis Management is ramping up hiring for its Korea team as Seoul’s push to boost corporate value and strengthen...

Shareholder activism STIC Investments draws activist interest, including Align Partners

STIC Investments Inc., South Korea’s only listed private equity firm, has become the latest target of shareholder activism as Seoul-based Alig...

Shareholder activism Korean activist investors to routinize campaigns throughout year

South Korea’s activist investors are set to routinize campaigns all year long rather than launch fresh moves only before annual general meetin...

Shareholder value SK Square to buy back $72 mn shares amid Palliser's value-up push

SK Square Co., the investment arm of South Korea’s No. 2 conglomerate SK Group, announced shareholder-friendly measures on Thursday, in respon...

Shareholder activism Align Partners calls on Doosan Bobcat to boost shareholder value

Align Partners Capital Management Inc., a South Korean activist fund, has called on Doosan Bobcat Inc., a global construction machinery maker owned ...

Shareholder activism Activist fund Palliser demands SK Square draw up value-boosting measures

UK-based activist fund Palliser Capital Ltd. is calling on SK Square Co., the investment arm of South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate SK G...

Markets Activist Palliser Pushes for Change at AI Chip Investor SK Square

Activist investor Palliser Capital has built a stake in the holding company of highflying artificial-intelligence chip maker SK Hynix Inc. and is pu...

Leadership & Management Corporate management disputes spring up in S.Korea

An unprecedentedly high number of South Korean corporations have become targets of unwanted hostile takeover attempts or have been embroiled in mana...

Mergers & Acquisitions KCGI buys control of Hanyang Securities for $166 mn

KCGI, a South Korean private equity firm, has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Hanyang Securities Co. for 220.3 billion won ($166 million), slig...

Banking & Finance Activist fund KCGI to buy Hanyang Securities for $180 mn

South Korean private equity firm KCGI Co. is expected to acquire local brokerage house Hanyang Securities Co. for 244.9 billion won ($179.8 million)...

Mergers & Acquisitions Hanyang Securities up for sale; in talks with KCGI, Woori

Hanyang Securities Co., a small South Korean brokerage firm, has been put on the market as its parent Hanyang University Foundation scrambles to kee...

North Korea Kim Jong Un’s Balloon Barrage: Bags of Excrement Fly Into the South

SEOUL—An unusual sight drifted into South Korean skies on Wednesday: Large white balloons carrying plastic bags of North Korean trash. Some co...

Airlines Jin Air to resume Incheon-Hong Kong route in July

South Korea's low-cost carrier Jin Air announced on Friday that it will resume flights on the Incheon to Hong Kong route on July 18.This marks the r...

Shareholder activism Shareholder activism in Korea swells 9 times since 2019

The number of South Korean firms targeted by activist funds has risen by nearly nine times over the past five years, the largest increase among majo...

Corporate governance NPS to vote in favor of KT&G CEO candidate Bang

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, is slated to vote in favor of the KT&G Corp. b...

Shareholder activism Samsung C&T defeats activist funds in proxy battle

Activist funds arm in arm to demand higher dividends from Samsung C&T Corp. got defeated in a proxy fight against the de facto holding firm of S...

Shareholder activism ISS backs Kumho Petrochem in family feud-triggered proxy war

Proxy advisory firm International Shareholder Services (ISS) has expressed its support for all of Kumho Petrochemical Co.'s proposals up for vote ...

Shareholder activism Palliser Capital backs proxy fight with Samsung C&T

Palliser Capital, a London-based hedge fund, said on Sunday it will vote in favor of other activist shareholders’ proposals for Samsung C&...

The KED View Shareholder activism at the cost of facility investments

South Korea’s large business groups are in emergency mode to brace for proxy fights with activist funds at annual general meetings (AGMs) next...

Leadership & Management Family feud at Kumho Petrochem set to reignite

Park Chul-whan, the nephew of Kumho Petrochemical Co.'s former Chairman Park Chan-koo, has launched a proxy fight jointly with an activist fund, fue...

Shareholder activism Activist funds to wage proxy battle with Samsung C&T

Five activist funds have joined hands to wage a proxy battle with Samsung C&T Corp., demanding additional share buybacks and dividend increases....

Corporate governance Kakao to replace K-pop pioneer SM execs over poor governance

Kakao Corp. is set to replace executives of SM Entertainment Co., who ousted its founder Lee Soo-man when the South Korean mobile giant acquired the...

Shareholder activism Flashlight Capital urges KT&G to sue its directors for negligence

Singapore-based investment management firm Flashlight Capital Partners Pte. (FCP) has urged South Korean tobacco maker KT&G Corp. to sue its inc...

Shareholder activism Rise of Korean activist investors at home

As the annual general shareholders’ meeting season is approaching fast, publicly traded companies in South Korea are readying for a swath of p...

Regulations South Korea Ban Takes Dog Meat Off the Menu

SEOUL—Dog meat will no longer be allowed in South Korea, capping a decadeslong campaign against a controversial practice that many locals have...

Shareholder activism Palliser Capital urges Samsung C&T reform for $25 bn value-up

London-based hedge fund Palliser Capital said on Wednesday that Samsung C&T Corp. is 63% intrinsically undervalued and could increase its value ...

Electric vehicles Kia to build 2nd purpose-built vehicle plant in Korea

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, plans to build another purpose-built vehicle (PBV) factory in the country, despite the risk...

Shareholder activism KT&G faces another legal battle with Korean activist fund

Singapore-based private equity firm Flashlight Capital Partners Pte. said Monday that it has filed court injunctions against KT&G Corp., beginni...

The KED View Align Partners' shareholder activism? Think twice

The three-month saga over the control of the K-pop pioneer SM Entertainment Co. early this year was a painful lesson about activist funds: Don&rsquo...