US investment fund Lone Star has offered to donate millions of dollars to South Korean charities in an effort to improve its battered image in the country, officials said yesterday.
The offer, contained in a letter to Finance Minister Han Duck-soo, comes amid a probe by prosecutors into allegations of irregularities into Lone Star's business conduct.
"The letter was faxed to the ministry. We are checking whether it is authentic and have sent an e-mail to Lone Star's headquarters and are awaiting a reply," a finance ministry spokeswoman said.
Lone Star is currently selling a 51-percent stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), having picked Kookmin Bank as the potential buyer in what would be the country's largest ever financial deal worth more than US$6 billion.
Lone Star bought its stake in KEB for 1.38 trillion won (US$1.4 billion) in October 2003. The acquisition was arranged by the government as part of efforts to consolidate the banking sector in the aftermath of the 1997 to 1998 Asian financial crisis.
In the letter, Lone Star said it would donate 100 billion won of its proceeds from the sale of KEB.
The fund also offered to deposit with KEB about 725 billion won for an 11 percent tax payment that may be levies on the sale of its stake in KEB.
The letter followed a meeting of Lone Star's senior executives last week at its US headquarters to talk about damage control in South Korea.
Prosecutors raided Lone Star's office on March 30 and then arrested a business consultant and a former KEB executive on graft charges related to their roles in the controversial 2003 sale.
State auditors have questioned former and current government officials about allegations that the government had illegally rushed through the sale of KEB to the US company.
Activists have accused former KEB executives and government officials of exaggerating KEB's poor financial health so they could achieve a quick deal.
Shareholder and nationalist activists are now trying to block the disposal, which could see Lone Star reap a profit of about US$5 billion, claiming it will avoid paying taxes.
Prosecutors also say the fund is being probed for allegedly evading tax payments worth 14.7 billion won on a business transaction last year.
Lone Star earned 280 billion won by selling a building in Seoul, but paid no taxes because the transaction was executed through a unit based in an offshore tax haven, according to tax officials.
Prosecutors are additionally looking into allegations that Lone Star illegally transferred US$8.6 million overseas.
The latest probe came amid increasing concerns that South Korea is becoming unfriendly to foreign capital.
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)