Banks South Korea

Riot police broke up a sit-in by thousands of striking bank workers here Wednesday, but union leaders vowed to ignore government threats and push ahead with the work stoppage, which has shut down two major banks. Columns of South Korean police armed with clubs and shields marched into a bank training center, where the workers had been holding their protest since Friday. Officers scuffled with a few protesters, but the raid was mostly peaceful. "Don't go back to work! Continue the fight!"

Riot police broke up a sit-in by thousands of striking bank workers here Wednesday, but union leaders vowed to ignore government threats and push ahead with the work stoppage, which has shut down two major banks. Columns of South Korean police armed with clubs and shields marched into a bank training center, where the workers had been holding their protest since Friday. Officers scuffled with a few protesters, but the raid was mostly peaceful. "Don't go back to work! Continue the fight!"

The Federal Reserve Board on Monday approved the acquisition of Marine National Bank by a major South Korean bank. The board voted 7 to 0 in favor of Marine's acquisition by Shinhan Bank of Seoul for $13 million in cash. Marine shareholders had approved the transaction in February. Mark E.

South Korean bank workers will vote today whether to go on strike to protest government-orchestrated mergers and other financial restructuring that could result in widespread job losses. Members of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, the nation's biggest umbrella union group, would walk out July 11 if the vote succeeds. The decision affects 73,000 bank workers.

South Korea and its international creditors agreed late Wednesday to restructure $24 billion of South Korean bank debt, a big step toward restoring stability to the nation's financial system. The bank debt will be exchanged for South Korean government-backed loans due in one to three years. "Today's agreement is a key step toward Korea's goal of returning shortly to the international capital markets," said William Rhodes, vice chairman at Citicorp, one of the banks that led the negotiations.

South Korean bank workers will vote today whether to go on strike to protest government-orchestrated mergers and other financial restructuring that could result in widespread job losses. Members of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, the nation's biggest umbrella union group, would walk out July 11 if the vote succeeds. The decision affects 73,000 bank workers.

The South Korean government ordered the closure of five insolvent banks as part of its effort to restore foreign investor confidence in the nation's beleaguered economy. The action was in keeping with Seoul's promise to restructure its inefficient financial sector in exchange for a $58-billion bailout by the International Monetary Fund. The banks were identified as Kyungki, Chung Chong, Daedong, Donghwa and Dongnam.

A number of U.S. commercial banks on Friday thrashed out a menu of choices for international creditors in a continuing effort to solve the South Korean debt crisis, banking and investment sources said. "They are trying to mobilize some strong backup plans," a banking source told Reuters, adding that the options would be designed to appeal to Asian and European banks that hold the bulk of South Korean private-sector debt. Non-U.S.

BEIJING - U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry arrived in Beijing on Saturday in hopes of turning the Chinese government's obvious frustration with North Korea's nuclear program into decisive action. Kerry's debut trip to East Asia as secretary has been shadowed by ominous threats from North Korea of nuclear attacks against the U.S. mainland and Washington's allies in the region. The Chinese have been unusually vocal in their condemnation of their old communist ally, with many prominent scholars saying it is time to cut the ties forged by Mao Tse-tung back in the Cold War era. Touching down in Seoul on Friday afternoon, Kerry met with South Korea's new president, Park Geun-hye, and Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.

South Korea's new finance minister maneuvered desperately Thursday to avoid a humiliating bailout by the International Monetary Fund, proposing instead a cooperative deal among foreign central banks--especially Japan's--to moderate his country's fiscal crisis. But even as he spoke, top IMF and U.S. Treasury officials descended on Seoul for discussions that observers said could lead to an IMF-centered rescue package as early as next week.

The South Korean government ordered the closure of five insolvent banks as part of its effort to restore foreign investor confidence in the nation's beleaguered economy. The action was in keeping with Seoul's promise to restructure its inefficient financial sector in exchange for a $58-billion bailout by the International Monetary Fund. The banks were identified as Kyungki, Chung Chong, Daedong, Donghwa and Dongnam.

South Korea and its international creditors agreed late Wednesday to restructure $24 billion of South Korean bank debt, a big step toward restoring stability to the nation's financial system. The bank debt will be exchanged for South Korean government-backed loans due in one to three years. "Today's agreement is a key step toward Korea's goal of returning shortly to the international capital markets," said William Rhodes, vice chairman at Citicorp, one of the banks that led the negotiations.

The Federal Reserve Board on Monday approved the acquisition of Marine National Bank by a major South Korean bank. The board voted 7 to 0 in favor of Marine's acquisition by Shinhan Bank of Seoul for $13 million in cash. Marine shareholders had approved the transaction in February. Mark E.

Major South Korean conglomerates hit by indictments of their chairmen, who are suspected of bribing former President Roh Tae Woo, quickly vowed Tuesday to change their domestic business practices. But prosecutors made it clear they will do nothing to impede the rapid expansion of South Korea's industrial empires overseas, where their growth has become increasingly important to the domestic economy.

Boeing Co. on Monday said Asian airlines may delay taking delivery of as many as 60 jetliners over the next three years because the region's economic problems are slowing growth in air travel. Boeing's statement came as the United Nations issued a report saying the crisis battering Asian economies may well harm growth prospects next year in the United States and Europe. The report forecasts moderate economic growth of 2.6% in Western Europe this year and 3.