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Nov. 16. (Photo by Kim Bong-kyu)　　

Hyundai Group consortium has been named the final winner of a fierce acquisition battle of Hyundai Engineering & Construction between family members of Chung Ju-yung, founder of Hyundai Group, Nov. 16.

Creditors chose Hyundai Group as the preferred bidder for Hyundai E&C, the nation’s biggest builder. Hyundai Group is known to have offered about 5.5 trillion Won ($4.5 billion), outbidding Hyundai Motor Group offered 5.1 trillion Won for the 35 percent stake.

Hyundai Group officials told reporters that the buyout would help stabilize the group’s financial structure, which currently relies heavily on Hyundai Merchant Marine, and would create a huge synergy effect. Hyundai E&C owns 8.3 percent of Hyundai MM’s shares.

Shares of Hyundai Group and Hyundai E&C, however, plummeted by more than 14 percent following the buyout news over fears that the deal could put a heavy financial burden on the group to end up facing the ‘winner’s curse.’　

Even though Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun won the David-versus-Goliath battle against her brother-in-law, Hyundai Kia Automotive Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo, she seems to have difficulty securing funds enough for the acquisition.

In a surprising move, Hana Financial Group announced Tuesday that it was interested in buying Korea Exchange Bank. It was holding nonbinding talks with the U.S. private equity fund Lone Star to acquire a 51-percent controlling stake in KEB, said Kim Seung-yu, chairman of Hana Financial Group, the country’s fourth-largest banking group.

“We will make a final decision on buying KEB or Woori Bank by Nov. 26,” the deadline that letters of intent must be submitted for the 57 percent stake in Woori being sold by the government.

Three Korean cultural traditions - lyric songs, the artistry of wooden architecture and falconry - received world intangible heritage status from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday, the world body said.

In a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage added the three Korean assets, “gagok,” lyric songs, “daemokjang,” wood craftsmanship, and “maesanyang,” falcon hunting, to the intangible list, it said. The heritage status for falcon hunting was shared with 10 other countries- the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Mongolia-which have developed their own falcon hunting traditions.

(Yonhap News Agency)　

The South Korean government has taken the increasing likelihood that Baekdu Mountain could erupt seriously, and is considering forming a taskforce to address the problem, a government official said Tuesday.

Experts have reported that the 2,744-meter mountain sitting on the Chinese-North Korean border may have an active core, citing topographical signs and satellite images.

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