boiling point pressure mounts on south koreas chaebols
Sunday 2 February 2025
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

under mounting pressure to reform

Boiling point: pressure mounts on South Korea's chaebols

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Boiling point: pressure mounts on South Korea's chaebols

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-Yong (C) has been indicted on multiple charges of bribery and embezzlement
Seoul - ArabToday

Once a driver of growth and a source of national pride, South Korea's family-led conglomerates are becoming instead objects of public scorn as a massive corruption scandal puts them under mounting pressure to reform.

Tuesday's indictment of the heir to the Samsung empire, Lee Jae-Yong, and four of his colleagues on charges of bribery and embezzlement was the latest setback for the world's biggest smartphone maker.

South Koreans were glued to their television screens as Lee, handcuffed and bound in ropes over his well-tailored suits, repeatedly appeared before prosecutors for questioning last week.

But the wide-ranging scandal that has seen President Park Geun-Hye impeached has also called into question the future of the chaebols, as the family-oriented groups that dominate Asia's fourth-largest economy are known.

In December, millions watched in astonishment as the heads of the country's eight largest chaebols were publicly chastised at a parliamentary hearing over millions of dollars of "donations" their companies made to dubious foundations controlled by Park's secret confidante Choi Soon-Sil.

Lee and the other tycoons, including the leaders of Hyundai, SK, LG and Lotte, all denied providing funds in return for favours -- but suggested they regularly came under pressure to do so from high-level political circles.

Many in the crowds at weekly protests against Park in Seoul target their ire at the companies as well as the politicians, as economic and social frustrations mount.

"This is becoming like a chaebols' republic. They are becoming too greedy and too powerful," Kim Jong-Rae, a 49-year-old life insurance company employee, told AFP.

In the past, chaebols contributed to the country's fast economic growth, he said, but as the founders' sons and grandsons took over, they expanded into every corner of business, suffocating smaller companies and hampering innovation.

"The other tycoons must be arrested as well if they did anything wrong," added Chang Hye-Eun, a 26-year-old accountant. In parliament, she said, "They were not repentant at all although they were uttering well-rehearsed expressions of remorse and contrition".

'WAY TO GENEROUS'

Many chaebol families retain only a small ownership stake in their companies, but maintain control through complex webs of cross-shareholdings between subsidiaries, and rapid promotions for family members - some of whose antics have battered the firms' images.

source: AFP

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

boiling point pressure mounts on south koreas chaebols boiling point pressure mounts on south koreas chaebols

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

boiling point pressure mounts on south koreas chaebols boiling point pressure mounts on south koreas chaebols

 



GMT 05:17 2024 Wednesday ,07 February

Amazon to open first cashierless shop

GMT 06:15 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Volkswagen clinches record sales

GMT 09:54 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

'Friendly and kind' N. Korean skaters

GMT 06:28 2017 Sunday ,05 November

Trump lands in Japan at start of Asia tour

GMT 20:18 2017 Tuesday ,19 September

Belgium shatter Aussie dream, meet France

GMT 11:46 2018 Sunday ,14 January

'No hope of survivors' in Iranian tanker fire

GMT 03:13 2017 Saturday ,07 October

Cilic pummels Uchiyama to reach Tokyo quarters

GMT 05:13 2017 Wednesday ,05 July

Tesla's budget car is finally on the way

GMT 07:41 2017 Monday ,03 July

Mohammed bin Rashid issues decision

GMT 14:43 2016 Monday ,14 November

Toyota agrees to $3.4bn rust dispute settlement

GMT 11:10 2017 Friday ,23 June

UAE-based humanitarian workers trained

GMT 22:46 2017 Wednesday ,06 September

Carreno Busta storms into US Open semifinals

GMT 07:14 2017 Monday ,11 September

Artillery shells mercenaries in Dhalee

GMT 07:08 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

Lactalis feels heat as families rebuff

GMT 07:36 2017 Sunday ,05 November

Police intervene as demonstrators square off

GMT 17:31 2017 Monday ,13 November

Purists alarmed over moves to make French less macho

GMT 19:16 2017 Monday ,13 February

China's Logistics Activity Stable in January

GMT 10:43 2016 Sunday ,18 September

Several Killed in Central African Republic Violence

GMT 11:34 2017 Saturday ,04 March

Australia bowl out India for 189 in second Test

GMT 01:46 2016 Sunday ,04 December

PM discusses regulations of importing poultry

GMT 12:19 2016 Wednesday ,31 August

Ventura set for Italy debut with France

GMT 20:57 2017 Friday ,17 March

Israeli Drone Crashes in Northern Gaza
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice