South Korea's top economics official said yesterday that creditor banks are close to agreeing to bail out LG Card, which faces imminent default on maturing debt.
"LG Card has been a source of concern but creditors are now close to producing an agreement," Finance and Economy Minister Kim Jin-pyo told a local radio program.
The comment, however, failed to stop a slide in the value of LG Card, the country's largest card issuer, which has to repay 400 billion won (US$333 million) in debt maturing yesterday.
Financial officials called for an early agreement saying LG Card's insolvency may mean more than 26 trillion won in losses for South Korea's financial sector.
"Creditors are known to have reached an agreement on LG Card and they are now in the last minutes of negotiations," said Lee Jung-jae, chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission.
Lee said the government will take steps for other credit card firms after normalizing LG Card.
Woori Bank and state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) want creditors to put the ailing card unit of South Korea's second largest conglomerate, LG Group, under joint receivership overseen by 16 financial institutions.
However, Kookmin Bank, the country's largest lender, and several other commercial banks are still reluctant to accept a new rescue package, which includes a debt-for-equity swap worth 4 trillion won.
KDB agreed last week to lead a consortium comprising Kookmin, Woori and the National Agricultural Cooperatives Federation to put LG Card under joint management, with KDB holding a 19 percent stake in the company.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source