Christine Kim News

Cash from top shareholder, executives should cover offload costs. South Korea's government said cash held by Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd and funds pledged by its parent group should meet the costs of unloading some $14 billion in cargo stranded on vessels operated by the troubled container line. The collapse of South Korea's biggest shipping operator late last month has plunged the shipping industry into chaos ahead of the crucial year-end holiday shopping season as dozens of vessels and their crews wait for money needed to pay for port and handling fees. The government said a 60 billion won ($54 million) loan pledged by Korean Air Lines Co…

The South Korean government, long a bastion of support for the country's big conglomerates, is sticking to its hard-line stance on Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd , whose collapse is roiling global supply chains. Since the world's seventh-largest container carrier filed for court receivership in late August, the government has sought to limit the impact on the export-dependent economy and Hanjin customers but is otherwise leaving the company to fend for itself. "It now is entirely up to the court," a government official closely linked to the matter told Reuters, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. South Korea has said no government or central bank money will be directly injected into firms undergoing restructuring in the ailing shipping and shipbuilding industries.

South Korea's government and central bank will create an 11 trillion won ($9.50 billion) fund to support two state-run banks most exposed to the country's struggling shipping and shipbuilding firms. "Our key industries like shipping and shipbuilding are being aggressively caught up by countries like China and management conditions have worsened due to weak global trade," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a speech announcing the corporate restructuring plans on Wednesday. South…

They are South Korea's "too-big-to-fail" firms - the world's largest shipbuilders that are both a massive economic force and an important national symbol - and the government wants the central bank to fund an unconventional rescue of the sector. The three biggest shipbuilders - Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd and Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd - sustained record losses last year, dragged down by the global commodities plunge and falling trade volumes. The government wants the central bank to print money to buy bonds in two state banks propping up shipyards as well as shippers - a measure some officials call quantitative easing. Publicly, the Bank of Korea (BOK) says it is willing to cooperate.

South Korean exports in February tumbled in their 14th consecutive month of declines, with the longest slump in the country's modern history underscoring how a slowdown in China is putting trade-reliant economies on the skids. The bleak overseas sales from the world's sixth-largest exporter, home to globe-trotting manufacturers of mobile phones to cars to ships, suggest policy makers will have their work cut as they seek to spark growth in the face of faltering demand. Lower oil prices also hurt South Korean exports in February…

South Korea said on Friday it would spend more of this year's fiscal budget during the first half and use the central bank's lending facility for smaller firms to support businesses affected by the ferry disaster. The Ministry of Finance and Strategy said in a statement it would allocate 57 percent of this year's planned budget spending to the first half of the year, up from 55 percent originally planned. The ministry said domestic tourism, some retail and lodging businesses have been hit especially hard by reduced spending after the April 16 capsizing of the Sewol ferry, in which nearly 300 passengers were killed. The ministry said…