S Korean financial watchdog to speed up corporate overhaul

Special
Report: Global Financial Crisis

SEOUL, May 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's top financial regulator said
Wednesday that the nation's indebted conglomerates should step up restructuring
efforts and that the government will further push for the restructuring move.

"Highly leveraged conglomerates should increase efforts to overhaul their
businesses in order to win market confidence," Chin Dong-soo, chairman of the
Financial Services Commission (FSC), told reporters, adding that reluctant
companies will be punished.

Conglomerates with high debt amounts due to overexpansion should even
consider selling off affiliates to clean out their balance sheets, Chin said.

The remarks come amid a number of business groups turning to wait out the
economic downturn instead of making restructuring efforts, according to local
media.

Chin also said the government will support the restructuring move by
tapping money from a 40 trillion-won (31.32 billion-U.S. dollar) corporate
restructuring fund, which is aimed at purchasing bad debts from local financial
firms and buying ailing firms' assets.