Korea's financial regulator said Thursday it will step up moves to revamp the procedures for the corporate restructuring system in a bid to prevent moral hazard often incurred by company owners, The Korea Times reported. Under the envisioned plan, the regulator will strengthen creditors' rights by giving them more power to engage in the process of court receivership and debt workouts, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

Alarming data at a number of savings banks suggest that the country has yet to entirely deal with its secondary banking crisis. But after suspending the businesses of 20 savings banks in the past two years over concerns of financial implosion, regulators appear to be backtracking from their commitment to purge the sector as Koreans prepare to elect a new president in December, The Korea Times reported.

The construction affiliate of the Woongjin Group, a mid-tier conglomerate, was declared bankrupt Wednesday and filed an application to undergo a court-managed workout program, The Korea Times reported. The move is expected to strike a severe blow to the group, which is already suffering from a liquidity shortage. Woongjin Holdings also filed for court receivership with the Seoul Central District Court the same day, saying it was the only option to save the entire group.

The financial authorities said Thursday that they have decided to strengthen the qualification of major shareholders and executives at savings banks to the level similar to those applied to commercial banks, The Korea Times reported. The move came as part of efforts to help ensure transparency in their management after the savings bank fiasco in which more than 20 savings banks had their business operations suspended due to poor financial health in the past two years.

South Korea's government announced a $5.9 trillion won (about $5.23 billion) stimulus package for the economy Monday to combat stagnant growth. The program, formulated to inject 4.6 trillion won during the remaining months of this year and 1.3 trillion won next year, is designed around tax breaks on personal income and purchases of homes, automobiles and large electronics products such as televisions and refrigerators, The Korea Times reported.

More than four out of every 10 construction firms here were found to have failed to make money in the first six months of the year, weighed down by the prolonged real estate market slump, The Korea Times reported. Most builders are expected to face an even bleaker outlook for the remainder of the year and beyond, with those focusing on the construction of apartments and other residential structures here facing growing risks of bankruptcy.

Hanwha Group’s bid to buy the insolvent German manufacturer Q-Cells SE drew a competing approach from a Spanish power-plant builder that also wants to own what was once the biggest solar-cell maker, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Isofoton SA was approved to bid for Q-Cells after Chief Executive Officer Angel Luis Serrano met with the German company’s insolvency administrator Henning Schorisch today, according to an e-mailed statement from Isofoton. Serrano will present the bid, to be made with a U.S. investor it didn’t identify, to Q-Cells’ creditors at an Aug. 29 meeting, it said.

South Korea's Hanwha Corp intends to buy solar Group Q-Cells, the insolvent German group said in a statement on Sunday, Reuters reported. Hanwha and Q-Cells' insolvency administrator Henning Schorisch had signed a contract, which needs to be approved by a creditors' meeting to be held on Aug. 29. Q-Cells, once the world's largest maker of solar cells, said Hanwha would take on liabilities, which amount to "the low hundreds of millions." In addition it would pay a "medium double-digit million-euro range" in cash," Q-cells said in the statement.

The government will likely suffer from a tax revenue shortfall this year as many businesses struggle to make profits due to plunging exports and sluggish domestic demand as a result of the global economic downturn, The Korea Times reported. Many salaried workers and self-employed people have seen their income shrink in the wake of the tight job market and other unfavorable economic conditions, making it difficult for state collectors to levy as much tax as they did last year.

The Korean corporate sector has gone into restructuring mode to cope with the worsening global economic downturn, selling assets to secure much-needed cash, and slimming down organizations to reduce operating costs, The Korea Times reported. But if things go from bad to worse, businesses are widely expected to implement a full-scale overhaul, that would send tens of thousands of workers onto the street as seen in the wake of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.