Ssangyong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of China's largest carmaker, rose the most in three days in Seoul on an Edaily report that the Korean company may get financial aid from parent SAIC Motor Corp. this week, Bloomberg reported. A high-level official from SAIC will be arriving in Seoul tonight and will receive a briefing on the business tomorrow, Internet media Edaily said, citing an unidentified official at Ssangyong. The Pyeongtaek, South Korea-based automaker temporarily suspended production from Dec. 17 to reduce inventory as the global financial crisis weakened demand.

South Korea tackled one big problem, bank liquidity, after the economic crisis went global in recent months. Now another problem is creating uncertainty: high levels of household debt. South Korea in the past five years has built some of the biggest levels of household debt in the world, The Wall Street Journal reported. Household debt increased to 66% of South Korea's gross domestic product last year from 38% a decade earlier, according to a recent study by the International Monetary Fund. As the economy slows, the high level of household debt could lead to more delinquencies.

South Korea's financial watchdog said Wednesday it would set up a task force to advise troubled companies on corporate restructuring to help them ride out the credit crunch, Agence France-Presse reported today. The team of 43 experts will be formed Friday and work for one year, the Financial Services Commission said. South Korea has announced a series of steps to lessen the effect of the global slowdown, including $16 billion in loans to ease a dollar shortage for firms importing raw materials and exporting goods.

Shinsung Engineering & Construction, a mid-sized building company, Wednesday filed for a court receivership to allow it to reschedule its debts, the Korea Times reported today. It was the first case for the construction industry that has been troubled by diminishing orders and a backlog of unsold housing amid liquidity problems stemming from the global financial crisis. Shinsung's request came after it failed to repay its debts worth 173.9 billion won ($128.5 million) to its 159 subcontractors, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

Seoul shares slipped 2 percent on Tuesday as demand worries following a bankruptcy filing by a major U.S. electronics retailer sent tech exporters such as LG Electronics lower, Reuters reported yesterday. Banks also fell on jitters about funding difficulties and rising bad debt. The United States is South Korea's second-biggest export market. Appliance and mobile phone maker LG Electronics dropped 6.99 percent and LG Display, a maker of flat screens for TVs and computers, declined 6.46 percent. Hynix, which produces chips used in computers and consumer electronics, fell 8.52 percent.