Samsung Group

The giant Samsung Group of Korea may become Hollywood's next foreign buyer. The $35-billion-a-year conglomerate, which has interests in consumer electronics and other areas, has quietly made inquiries about purchasing Orion Pictures Corp., according to several individuals familiar with the approach.

When corporate ethics activist Kim Gun-ho heard that convicted tax evader Lee Kun-hee had returned as chairman of Samsung Electronics, he winced and thought: "Here we go again." And who could blame him? In recent years, executives at some of South Korea's top companies have been convicted of crimes such as accounting fraud, embezzlement and breach of duty. Their sentences reduced, many have returned to their jobs. Some never left them. "Most of the chairmen at the 10 biggest companies are convicts," said Kim, a senior official at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, which has lobbied for more accountability from South Korean companies.

* Workers at South Korea's Samsung Motors Inc. have ended a two-month strike, paving the way for Daewoo Group to sign a deal to take over the loss-making car maker. Production at Samsung Motors could resume Wednesday. Workers and management of Samsung Motors have been negotiating since the strike began in December. Officials at Samsung, a unit of Samsung Group, were not available for comment. Daewoo is due to sign a memorandum of understanding by today to take over Samsung Motors.

Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea, the world's largest maker of liquid-crystal display televisions, may be barred from selling TVs and computer monitors in the U.S. after losing a patent case filed by Japanese rival Sharp Corp. The U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington said Wednesday that Samsung violated Sharp's patent rights and ordered both sides to submit arguments on whether an import ban should be imposed. In a notice on its website, the agency said it wanted to consider the effect of a ban on "competitive conditions in the U.S. economy."

French auto maker Renault said it's in talks to acquire all or part of Samsung Motor Inc. as it seeks to expand its alliance with Nissan Motor Co. in Asia. Samsung Group confirmed Renault's statement, saying it's been in exclusive talks with the French company since Dec. 30. Samsung Motor, by far the smallest of South Korea's auto makers--capable of making 180,000 cars a year--uses Nissan technology.

3DO Co., concentrating on computer games and the Internet, said it will leave the hardware business by forming a semiconductor company with South Korean electronics maker Samsung Group. The company, which was unable to succeed with its innovative game player, said last year that it would sell its hardware division or form a joint venture with it.

William Bush, brother of President Bush, has agreed to work as a consultant for the Samsung group, one of South Korea's largest conglomerates, a company spokesman said today. Under the contract, the spokesman said the younger Bush will occasionally advise Samsung Chairman Lee Kun Hee on managerial matters on a case-by-case basis. Samsung is a major exporter of electronics and machinery to the United States. Washington is pressuring South Korea to admit more U.S.

Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, indicted last week on tax evasion and other charges, said today that he would step down from his post at the top of South Korea's biggest conglomerate. "I have decided to resign from the post of chairman," Lee said in a nationally broadcast news conference less than one week after he was indicted after a special independent counsel's investigation into Samsung's operations.

Special prosecutors investigating corruption allegations at massive conglomerate Samsung Group raided an office of Chairman and Chief Executive Lee Kun-hee on Monday as part of a probe reluctantly approved last year by South Korea's president, an official said. Government investigators also raided the company's headquarters in Seoul today, said Yim Jun-seok, a Samsung spokesman. He said investigators entered the strategic planning office.

Spansion Inc. wants to block U.S. sales of iPods, BlackBerrys and other devices because memory chips made by Samsung Electronics Co. in those products allegedly violate Spansion patents. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Spansion, the world's No. 3 maker of flash memory chips by revenue, sued South Korea's Samsung on Monday.

A South Korean court handed a suspended sentence to former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee on Wednesday, leaving the country's widely known business figure free from prison while convicting him for evading taxes. The Seoul Central District Court found Lee guilty of not paying about 47 billion won ($46 million) in taxes and fined him 110 billion won ($109 million).

Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, indicted last week on tax evasion and other charges, said today that he would step down from his post at the top of South Korea's biggest conglomerate. "I have decided to resign from the post of chairman," Lee said in a nationally broadcast news conference less than one week after he was indicted after a special independent counsel's investigation into Samsung's operations.

Special prosecutors investigating corruption allegations at massive conglomerate Samsung Group raided an office of Chairman and Chief Executive Lee Kun-hee on Monday as part of a probe reluctantly approved last year by South Korea's president, an official said. Government investigators also raided the company's headquarters in Seoul today, said Yim Jun-seok, a Samsung spokesman. He said investigators entered the strategic planning office.

Cho Sung Yoon and his wife live on the 27th floor of a Samsung apartment complex here. They cook their food on a Samsung electric range. They call each other on Samsung cellphones and check their e-mail on a Samsung home computer. Recently, they used their Samsung credit card to get a 30% discount at a water park at Samsung Everland, South Korea's largest amusement park. If the couple had a serious mishap there, they would have been covered. Their insurance company? Who else: Samsung.

South Korea's ambassador to the United States, embroiled in a widening scandal over an alleged political slush fund involving conglomerate Samsung Group, has offered his resignation, the South Korean presidential office confirmed today.

When corporate ethics activist Kim Gun-ho heard that convicted tax evader Lee Kun-hee had returned as chairman of Samsung Electronics, he winced and thought: "Here we go again." And who could blame him? In recent years, executives at some of South Korea's top companies have been convicted of crimes such as accounting fraud, embezzlement and breach of duty. Their sentences reduced, many have returned to their jobs. Some never left them. "Most of the chairmen at the 10 biggest companies are convicts," said Kim, a senior official at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, which has lobbied for more accountability from South Korean companies.

Hewlett-Packard Co. said it is in talks to buy all or part of its joint venture with Samsung Group, the troubled South Korean conglomerate that is selling some of its businesses to reduce debt. The HP Korea venture sells computers and printers, and makes power-supply devices for electronic equipment. Samsung said it is also in negotiations with General Electric Co. to sell its medical equipment joint venture in South Korea.

Visitors to the Winter Olympics may walk away talking about more than just the medal winners and who crashed and burned on the slopes, thanks to an ultramodern fiberglass interactive visitor center at Olympic Square that offers a virtual snowball fight and live-action screenings of the Games.

Cargill Steel, Duferco, Samsung and TradeARBED said they will band together to create an independent global exchange for online steel trading. The three steel trading companies have pledged a proportion of their business, amounting to billions of dollars, to ensure sufficient volume, liquidity and market-making ability for the operation. They said the exchange, which will be based in New York, should be operational by the fourth quarter.