South Korea

Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee left the South Korean special prosecutor's office early on Friday, more than 22 hours after arriving for questioning on bribery suspicions in an influence-peddling scandal that could topple President Park Geun-hye. Lee left the special prosecution office without answering reporters' questions and headed to a waiting car.

The third-generation heir of South Korea’s Samsung conglomerate is being questioned Thursday in relation to suspected bribery, prosecutors said, drawing the country’s biggest and most powerful business group deeper into an unfolding political scandal that has led to the impeachment of the president, The Wall Street Journal reported. Lee Jae-yong, the 48-year-old heir-apparent to the Samsung empire, arrived at the office of the special prosecutor on Thursday morning. The special prosecutors’ office also called on lawmakers to report Mr.

South Korea's Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd said on Tuesday it decided to sell part of its container ship business to Korea Line Corp for 37 billion Korean won ($31.38 million). Korea Line will buy Hanjin's Pacific routes shipping business, relevant client management information, units in seven countries including the United States, China and Vietnam, as well as assets and manpower related to logistics systems, Hanjin said in a regulatory filing. Hanjin said the sale, which will be completed on Jan. 5, 2017, is to secure funds to pay off creditors.

Shipping operator Korea Line Corp. won a contest for some assets of bankrupt Hanjin Shipping Co., whose collapse in late August stranded billions of dollars in cargo at sea, disrupting supply chains world-wide, The Wall Street Journal reported. In a surprise decision, a Seoul court on Monday awarded Korea Line, a midsize bulk-shipping operator, the first right to purchase the assets of Hanjin’s Asia-U.S. route, as well as its stake in a California terminal.

South Korean shipbuilder STX Offshore and Shipbuilding has had its debt restructuring plan approved by its creditors, allowing it to continue operating, IHS Jane’s reported. The company, which owns a major commercial and naval shipyard in Saint-Nazaire in France, is currently being offered for sale by a bankruptcy court overseeing the claims of organisations, which had provided the company with an increasing amount of credit.

South Korea said on Tuesday that 94 out of 97 Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd's container ships have completed unloading as of Nov. 7, Reuters reported. Of the remaining 3 ships, two ships will be unloaded as soon as possible while relevant authorities are in talks with Shanghai port authorities to unload one seized ship in Shanghai, the country's finance ministry and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said in a joint statement. Hanjin filed for court receivership on Aug. 31 after its creditors cut off financial support for the firm.

Four parties have expressed interest in buying one or both of South Korea's STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co Ltd and a controlling stake in STX France SA, a spokesman for the Seoul court overseeing STX Offshore's receivership said on Friday. The Seoul Central District Court spokesman declined to comment on the names of the parties. The South Korean court in October decided to allow the two units of the collapsed STX shipbuilding group to be sold either separately or together.

Germany's HSH Nordbank has arranged a deal which will see six container ships from collapsed South Korean line Hanjin chartered out to Denmark's AP Moller Maersk, the state-backed lender said on Thursday, Reuters reported. This is one of the first examples of Hanjin's lenders looking to resolve the fallout from the shipping firm's collapse in August, which has left an estimated $14 billion in cargo stranded on its ships. HSH, which was among a consortium of banks that had financed Hanjin ships, said in a statement that Maersk's container unit, the world's No.

The cost to restructure debt laden shipping and shipbuilding industries here will be as much as 31 trillion won ($27 billion), according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), The Korea Times reported. In a report, "Benefits and Costs of Corporate Debt Restructuring: An Estimation for Korea," the IMF said it will take about 10 years to recoup the costs, with the restructured industries contributing to economic growth by restarting investment and hiring new employees.

Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd chose an advisor to seek a potential sale of its stake in Long Beach Terminal, a spokeswoman said on Friday. Hanjin Shipping chose the advisor with the approval of the Seoul court overseeing the shipper's receivership, the spokeswoman said, declining to name the advisor. The collapsed shipper owns a majority stake in Total Terminals International LLC, which operates Long Beach Terminal. Read more.