loca paper headlines_August 29

1. Chosun Ilbo

- Korea’s economy measured by GDP stands at 12th in the world, overtaken by Brazil, one notch down from a year earlier.

- According to Military Reform 2020, which includes the regaining of wartime command control from the US, the aggregate cost per capita for ‘independent’ military defense by 2020 amounts to W12.5 bn.

- The National Assembly is to revise law to reduce property transaction tax in order to lessen tax burden.

- The prosecution swooped the house of former Cheong Wa Dae official Kwon Ki-jae whose mother is accused of holding a 0.49 per cent stake in one of the gift certificate issuers.

- Some lawmakers are confirmed to have received political donations from gift certificate issuers from 2004-5.

-Samsung Card, the country’s third largest card company, is set to push ahead with flotation the end of next year. The company is holing a controlling stake in Everland, Samsung Group’s holding company. A Samsung official said “the specific date and methods have yet to be decided, but we see the end of next year,” and “the listing is for management improvement.”

2. Maeil Business Daily

- According to a survey on 77 CEOs, CEOs consider rising Chinese companies and bad relations between company and labor union as the biggest threat to competitiveness. CEOs underline that local companies should brace themselves for the time when China, armed with strong capital power, aggressively pursues hostile M&As.

- Park & OPC, a local internet solution development company, has filed a lawsuit against Google for patent infringement.

- Business deregulation efforts by the government for reinvigorating the economy and creating jobs are in a deadlock due to lack of cooperation between government agencies and self-interest prevailing in the officials involved.

- LG Group reaffirmed that the name, LG Card, will not be allowed to be used by Shinhan Financial Group after the company finalizes the takeover process.