In October, the company was forced to stop production of its flagship smartphone model after failing to resolve battery problems leading to overheating and the devices catching fire.
A ‘thorough review’
Samsung said it would bring in “external advisors to conduct a thorough review of the optimal corporate structure.”
The firm pointed out that “the review does not indicate the management or the Board’s intention one way or another.”
Samsung also said it would pay out half of its free cash flow to shareholders for 2016 and 2017 and raise the dividend for 2016 by 36% compared to the previous year.
In order to improve governance, the firm said it would nominate at least “one new, international, independent Board member” as well as create a separate governance committee.
The company’s statement comes after US activist hedge fund Elliott Management called for the firm to split into a holding unit for ownership purposes and a separate operating company.
Why two companies?
The fund argued that a split would simplify the company structure making it easier to get a clear valuation of the firm’s assets.
Currently, companies within the wider Samsung Group are linked through a complicated web of cross shareholding, linking Samsung Electronics to many other Samsung’s firms and affiliates ranging from shipping, to heavy industries to insurance business.
That makes it difficult for investors to get a clear idea of what each individual Samsung company is actually worth.
The benefit of splitting Samsung Electronics into two companies would be that the cross-shareholding would affect only the holding company while the operating unit could be assed separately – making it a lot easier to arrive at a clean company evaluation.
The proposal has won support from several of Samsung’s investors and it is also thought that it would give back more control to the founding Lee family behind the company.
Trump denies any conflict of interest over business empire
Billionaire US President-elect Donald Trump has said he is not obliged to cut ties to his business empire when he takes office on 20 January.
A Democratic senator is tabling a resolution calling on him to liquidate his assets to prove he does not intend to profit from the office of president.
There is no legal requirement to liquidate assets but past US presidents have set aside their business dealings.
Mr Trump also disowned far right activists who hailed his election win.
“Alt-right” activists could be seen making Nazi salutes at a conference in Washington DC over the weekend, where a speaker enjoined them to “Hail Trump”.
Mr Trump, who has flown to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, is still assembling his White House team. One of America’s top generals, David Petraeus, has told the BBC he would be willing to serve under him.
What did Trump say exactly?
“In theory I could run my business perfectly and then run the country perfectly,” he told the New York Times in an interview.
“I’d assumed that you’d have to set up some type of trust or whatever and you don’t.”
Image copyrightMANDEL NGANImage captionMr Trump (right) has gone to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday
However, he added that he would “like to do something” to separate his two areas of responsibility.
Democratic Senator Ben Cardin would like a more formal separation. He plans to introduce a resolution next week calling on the president-elect to adopt blind trusts or take equivalent measures to ensure that he complies with the constitution over potential conflicts of interest.
What kind of conflicts are we talking about?
The property tycoon is said to be currently worth $3.7bn (£3bn) by Forbes magazine, with more than 500 different enterprises in his business empire.
One example of a possible conflict of interest is the newly opened Trump International Hotel in Washington DC, the BBC’s David Willis reports.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionIvanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner were present when Mr Trump welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in New York last week
Mr Trump already stands to profit from an influx of visitors in the weeks leading up to his inauguration.
Since the hotel sits on land leased from the federal government, when Mr Trump assumes office, he becomes, effectively, both landlord and tenant overnight, our correspondent notes.
Eyebrows were also raised when Ivanka Trump joined in a phone conversation her father had last week with the Argentine President, Mauricio Macri.
The Argentine government later denied reports that Donald Trump had asked Mr Macri to approve a building project by one of his companies in Buenos Aires.
Apart from condemning the far right, he defended hiring Steve Bannon, the former CEO of radical conservative news site Breitbart, as his strategist.
“Breitbart is just a publication,” Mr Trump told the famously liberal newspaper. “They cover stories like you cover stories.”
“If I thought he was a racist or alt-right or any of the things, the terms we could use, I wouldn’t even think about hiring him”, the president-elect added.
He also argued that:
His son-in-law Jared Kushner – a real estate heir who has no experience of diplomacy – could help forge peace between Israel and Palestinians
The US should not be a “nation-builder” in the world
Republican leaders Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell “love” him again
And he accepted there was some “connectivity” between human activity and climate change.
Trump: US to quit TPP trade deal on first day in office
President-elect Donald Trump says the US will quit the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal on his first day in the White House.
He made the announcement in a video messageoutlining what he intends to do first when he takes office in January.
The TPP trade deal was signed by 12 countries which together cover 40% of the world’s economy.
The Republican also pledged to reduce “job-killing restrictions” on coal production and stop visa abuses.
But there was no mention of repealing Obamacare or building a wall on the southern border with Mexico, two actions he said during the campaign he would do as soon as he assumed power.
His surprise election win two weeks ago has sparked protests across the US.
The TPP was agreed in 2015 by countries including Japan, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico, but is not yet ratified.
Its aim was to deepen economic ties and boost growth but its opponents say it was negotiated in secret and it favours big corporations.
He said in the video that “truly great and talented men and women, patriots are being brought in and many will soon be a part of our government”.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionKris Kobach met Trump on Sunday, but the photographers focused on what he was holdingImage copyrightAPImage captionHis documents outlined a registration system for certain immigrants
Some key appointments have been made, but not without controversy.
Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, who was turned down as a federal judge in 1986 due to racism complaints, will head the Justice Department.
And the news that Steve Bannon, former editor-in-chief of the conservative Breitbart website, was the new White House strategist was welcomed by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.
One of Trump’s immigration advisers, Kris Kobach, was unwittingly photographed meeting him while holding a document on view that contained some hardline proposals.
Among them was the re-introduction of registration for people arriving from mostly Muslim countries, which was brought in after the September 11 attacks but later dropped.
Asia leaders defend trade deals despite Trump stance
Asia-Pacific leaders have said they will pursue free trade deals despite Donald Trump’s US election victory.
During the campaign, Mr Trump called for greater protection for US jobs and said he would tear up the Trans-Pacific Partnership – the biggest multinational trade deal in years.
But after a two-day summit in Peru, leaders defended the benefits of open markets.
China also claimed growing support for a wider 21-nation trade deal it backs.
In a communiqué at the end of the summit the Apec leaders said: “We reaffirm our commitment to keep our markets open and to fight against all forms of protectionism.”
It also referred to the “rising scepticism over trade”, after the uneven recovery since the financial crisis had caused more people to question whether globalisation worked for enough people.
But the leaders said that the “the benefits of trade and open markets need to be communicated to the wider public more effectively, emphasising how trade promotes innovation, employment and higher living standards”.
The TPP pact involves 12 countries: the US, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru.
The pact aims to deepen economic ties between these nations, slashing tariffs and fostering trade to boost growth.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionPresident Obama says the US should not walk away from the TPP
But Donald Trump said the proposal was a “terrible deal” that would send American jobs to countries with cheaper labour.
The agreement must by ratified in the US Congress, which remains in the hands of Mr Trump’s Republican party – meaning it’s expected to fail.
Hillary Clinton, Mr Trump’s election rival, had also opposed it.
But after the Apec meeting, US President Barack Obama reiterated his support for the pact, saying not going ahead would undermine the US position across Asia Pacific.
He warned he was already hearing calls for a less ambitious trade agreement that would exclude US workers and businesses.
“When it comes to trade, I believe the answer is not to pull back,” he said. “The answer is to do trade right, making sure it has strong labour standards, strong environmental standards, that it addresses ways in which workers and ordinary people can benefit rather than be harmed by global trade.”
But while some leaders think the TPP could go ahead without the US, others say it would be impossible without a complete renegotiation.
Over the weekend, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key suggested there could be minor changes to the agreement that would give Mr Trump enough wiggle room to support it, without losing face.
Meanwhile Peru’s president Pedro Pablo said the TPP should not be written off, despite Mr Trump’s win.
What’s the alternative?
China – which is not part of the TPP – has set out an alternative vision for regional trade.
China’s proposal, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), does not include the Americas.
After the Apec meeting, Beijing said several nations including Peru and Chile had expressed interest in joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
US President Barack Obama has made a strong defence of globalisation as he arrived in Germany on his final visit to Europe before leaving office.
In a joint article, Mr Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that with the global economy developing faster than ever, co-operation was vital.
Mr Obama arrived in Germany from Athens where he had warned of threats to modern democracy.
He is seeking to calm unease following the election of Donald Trump.
In the article in the business magazine, Wirtschaftswoche (in German), he and Mrs Merkel made a strong case for international trade in contrast to Mr Trump’s more protectionist stance.
“There will be no return to a world before globalisation,” they wrote.
“We owe it to our companies and our citizens, indeed to the entire world community, to broaden and deepen our co-operation.”
The two leaders voiced support for the proposed Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the US and the EU.
By contrast, Mr Trump is a fierce critic of global free trade agreements and welcomed the UK’s decision in June to leave the EU.
Image copyrightAFP/GETTY IMAGESImage captionMr Obama visited some of Athens’ most famous sites, including the Parthenon
In Athens, Mr Obama acknowledged that globalisation had created a “sense of injustice” and a “course correction” was needed to address growing inequality.
“When we see people, global elites, wealthy corporations seemingly living by a different set of rules, avoiding taxes, manipulating loopholes… this feeds a profound sense of injustice,” he told Greek leaders.
Mr Obama’s visit to Greece was marked by street protests by leftist groups which denounced US “imperialism”. Police used tear gas against about 2,500 demonstrators who had tried to reach the city centre on Tuesday.
The US president will stay in Germany until Friday and then head to Peru.
Google is to open a new headquarters building in London which could see 3,000 new jobs created by 2020.
The news comes as a major boost to Britain’s technology sector.
Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Google, told the BBC that the UK was still an attractive place to do business.
He said open borders and free movement for skilled migrants were “absolutely” important to the success of the technology sector in the UK.
It was Mr Pichai’s first European broadcast interview since he became chief executive last year.
Sources at the technology company also said if barriers were thrown up to skilled immigration following the vote to leave the European Union, some of Google’s investment could be at risk.
Turning to the “fake news” controversy in America – and choosing his words very carefully – Mr Pichai said that, at the margin, false stories about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton could have affected the outcome of the US election as the margins were “very narrow”.
And that it was important that companies like Google and other social media businesses promoted “accurate” stories to their billions of users.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionGoogle currently employs around 4,000 people in the UK
Although Google refused to be drawn on the cost of the UK investment, development experts said the new building in King’s Cross and the cost of employing thousands more staff was likely to put the figure at over £1bn.
At present, Google employs around 4,000 people in the UK, a figure that could now rise to 7,000.
The office space owned by Google in King’s Cross will more than double.
“The UK has been a tremendous market for us,” Mr Pichai told me.
“We see big opportunities here. This is a big commitment from us – we have some of the best talent in the world in the UK and to be able to build great products from here sets us up well for the long term.”
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionArchitect Thomas Heatherwick has designed Google’s new London headquarters
The new 650,000 sq-ft headquarters has been designed by Thomas Heatherwick, the designer behind the “garden bridge” across the Thames.
He was brought in by Google after its founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, rejected initial designs for a new headquarters as “too boring” in 2013. Danish architects Bjarke Ingels Group are also involved in the project.
Many companies raised fears before the referendum that if Britain voted to leave the European Union, foreign investment would be affected.
Questions were raised over whether Google would commit to the new building.
But Mr Pichai made it clear the strength of the UK economy went far beyond the Brexit vote.
“The innovation we see here, the talent we have available here and how on the cutting edge of technology we are able to be here makes it an incredible place for us to invest,” he said.
“We do value how open and connected it is and we can bring in talent from anywhere in the world and we value those attributes and we are optimistic that those will stay true over time.
“So we did [make the investment decision] taking into consideration [the referendum], but we are very optimistic.”
He said Brexit may have complicated “secondary effects” over the longer term but it was too early to say what they may be.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
I asked Mr Pichai what the government’s approach should be to immigration controls.
“I want to be respectful,” he answered.
“These are important questions for the citizens of the UK to answer.
“I think there are thoughtful debates to be had.
“In our experience as a company, when we have been able to bring people together and operate in an open and connected way it achieves tremendous impact over time.
“Those are the values we cherish, and we have been open and public about how we think about these things.
“When I look at London [I see] a place in which we are able to attract great talent, find great talent in the UK, thanks to a great educational system here, but it has also been a place where people are willing to come from anywhere in the world.
“Increasingly, for the kinds of complex things we do, we need to bring people who are across many disciplines – with many different backgrounds – together to solve problems. That’s how you can build newer things, so that is particularly important for us.”
He said that he would “worry” if controls on skilled migration were made more stringent.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionSundar Pichai said the US was “deeply divided”
Turning to events in America and the election of Donald Trump, Mr Pichai said it was clear the country was “deeply divided”.
“I come from India, I am used to a vibrant democracy, and it is the same in the United States.
“It is important to remember that we had a democratic process and there has been an outcome.
“As you can see the country is deeply divided so I tend to look forward and I think we need to figure out how to constructively engage with the new administration and hear the voices of people, as at Google we care about certain values – be it freedom of expression, the notion of inclusion and fairness, building open systems, building a connected world.
“But it is also important to acknowledge that there are people, through a process like this, who feel left behind, and I am glad the democratic process gives voices to everyone.”
‘Fake news’
I asked him if the atmosphere in America had become nastier during the campaign and in its aftermath.
“The rhetoric, for sure, did bother me, as it did many people during the election but I am hopeful there are a lot of founding principles – what makes the US the country it is – and I hope post the campaign season, as we move back into a governing phase, I think people will come together and we have a lot of important problems to work through.”
Following the presidential election, Facebook and Google have faced protests over the dissemination of “fake news”, with their computer systems often promoting stories about Mr Trump and Hillary Clinton that were false.
Some have even suggested that the stories may have affected the way people voted, and ultimately, the outcome of the vote, an argument dismissed by Mark Zuckerberg as “pretty crazy”.
Image copyrightAPImage captionGoogle gets “billions of queries every day” says Mr Pichai
In his interview with me, Mr Pichai was more circumspect, saying that social media companies needed to do more to promote accurate stories.
“This is very important to us,” he said.
“At Google we have always cared about bringing the most relevant, the most accurate results to users and that is where almost all of our work goes at the end of the day.
“It is important to remember that we get billions of queries every day.
“There have been a couple of incidences where it has been pointed out and we didn’t get it right.
“And so it is a learning moment for us and we will definitely work to fix it.
“Just in the last two days we announced that we will remove advertising from anything we identify as fake-news.
“Over the last year we have looked at things like how do we fact check articles, the notion of trusted sources in journalism – how do we promote those better.
“So there are a lot of initiatives we are undertaking so hopefully all of that will help us do it even better.”
I asked Mr Pichai whether he believed fake news could have affected the outcome of the election.
“I think there is a lot of discussion about this in the context of social media.
“I am not fully sure.
“Look, it is important to remember this was a very close election and so, just for me, so looking at it scientifically, one in a hundred voters voting one way or the other swings the election either way.
“So, when you talk about such narrow margins, obviously there are many, many contributing factors and so I think there is enormous debate because of that – I am not fully sure what caused this.”
‘More fact checking’
Given those tight margins, I asked, could fake news have affected some people’s vote – and maybe enough people’s vote to affect the outcome.
“Sure,” he answered after a pause.
“You know, I think fake news as a whole could be an issue.
“From our perspective, there should just be no situation where fake news gets distributed, so we are all for doing better here.
“So, I don’t think we should debate it as much as work hard to make sure we drive news to its more trusted sources, have more fact checking and make our algorithms work better, absolutely.”
Mr Pichai said it was too early to say whether Google would change its corporate tax structure if Mr Trump followed through with his campaign pledge to cut American business taxes.
With business tax rates currently above 30%, many global companies like Google shelter a substantial proportion of the profits they make in offshore tax jurisdictions.
“We have always said that the US corporate tax structure is part of the problem in the overall corporate structure globally for multi-nationals,” Mr Pichai said.
“To the extent that there is progress there I think it will help us arrive at a better construct but the solution needs to be comprehensive and needs to work for all companies involved.”
Image copyrightGOOGLEImage captionGoogle’s investment in its new UK headquarters will be £1bn, experts say
I asked the Google chief executive about the controversies the company has faced over the payment of taxes and over accusations it has used its market dominance to crush opposition businesses.
“As a company, we want to be a good citizen in every market we are in and that is true for the UK as well,” he said.
“To your question on tax – today, we contribute a lot to the UK economy and we enable for example small businesses to be the engine of any economy.
“We are happy to pay our fair share of tax.
“As you know tax is a global construct. We are a multi-national company in well over 100 countries and we have advocated comprehensive tax reform so we can engage and get to a better place.
“But I think it is important to remember that we are one company in a global system and it is more important for governments and citizens to sort out the right structure and we are always happy to engage in a thoughtful and constructive manner.”
On criticisms from competitors and in Brussels that Google has acted anti-competitively, Mr Pichai said “there has never been a day at Google where we have had a construct like that”.
He said the company developed technology that was shareable and focused on what consumers wanted.
Samsung buys connected car firm Harman for $8bn in cash
Samsung Electronics is buying automotive electronics-maker Harman International Industries for $8bn (£6.4bn), as it makes a big push into connected car technologies.
Internet-connected cars will improve in-car entertainment, and be able to help with crash alerts and diagnosing engine problems.
It will also be key for driverless technology.
Samsung said automotive electronics was “a strategic priority”.
The deal is the biggest overseas purchase made by a South Korean firm, and comes as Samsung is looking to recover from the withdrawal of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.
New growth areas
It is estimated that the so-called connected technologies market, which goes under the Internet of Things umbrella, will grow to $100bn by 2025.
Cars will be a major part of this growth, with technology research firm Gartner forecasting that by 2020 one in five vehicles will have some sort of wireless network connection.
Features being working on include in-car monitors assessing drivers’ health as they travel, and automatic leaving and arriving alerts for friends and family. However, campaigners have highlighted potential data privacy issues around connected vehicles.
“The vehicle of tomorrow will be transformed by smart technology and connectivity in the same way that simple feature phones have become sophisticated smart devices over the past decade,” Young Sohn, Samsung’s president and chief strategy officer, said in a statement.
The purchase comes in the wake of the Galaxy Note 7 episode, which saw both Samsung’s reputation and profits harmed after it was forced to recall, then end production of the device, because it turned out to be a fire hazard.
Samsung generates the bulk of its revenues from its smartphone business, but is now looking for new areas of growth.
Last year, it created a business division focused on automotive electronics and recently invested in a Chinese carmaker, BYD.
Harman, which has its headquarters in Connecticut, makes products that are used in more than 30 million vehicles.
The deal is expected to be completed in mid-2017. Harman’s chief executive, Dinesh Paliwal, will continue to run the company.
India scraps 500 and 1,000 rupee bank notes overnight
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that the 500 ($7.60) and 1,000 rupee banknotes will be withdrawn from the financial system overnight.
The surprise move is part of a crackdown on corruption and illegal cash holdings, he said in a TV address.
Banks will be closed on Wednesday and ATM machines will not be working.
India is overwhelmingly a cash economy. New 500 and 2,000 rupee denomination notes will be issued to replace those removed from circulation.
“Black money and corruption are the biggest obstacles in eradicating poverty,” Mr Modi said.
People will be able to exchange their old notes for new ones at banks over the next 50 days but they will no longer be legal tender.
The announcement prompted people across the country to rush to ATMs that offer 100 rupee notes in an attempt not to be left without cash over the next few days.
Media captionOne woman says the unexpected change will make it tricky for her to pay to get to work
The move is designed to lock out money that is unaccounted for – known as “black money ” – which may have been acquired corruptly, or be being withheld from the tax authorities.
Finance Secretary Shaktikant Das warned people with large stashes of hidden cash that banks would closely monitor the exchange of old notes for new ones.
Analysis: Simon Jack, BBC business editor in Delhi
Mr Modi has set his stall out as a modernising, anti-corruption crusade.
Scrapping notes that are very, very common is his biggest offensive yet. Most transactions in daily life are in cash and 45% of those are in notes in denominations of 500 rupees and over.
Not a single news organisation seemed to know this was coming. I saw one news anchor produce a wad of 500s from his own pocket on air wondering whether these were now just pieces of paper – and also wondering if the bars of Delhi would see a sudden surge of business.
It has caught the country completely off guard. There will also be limits on cash point withdrawals over the next couple of weeks.
How long have people got to change their old notes?
The 500 and 1,000 rupee notes are the highest denomination notes in the country and are extremely common in India. Airports, railway stations and hospitals will only accept them until 11 November.
People will be able to exchange their money at banks between 10 November and 30 December.
Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party came into power in 2014 promising to bring billions of dollars of black market money into the country’s financial system. His government is half way through its term of office.
The announcement comes just over a month after the government raised nearly $10bn through a tax amnesty for Indians to declare hidden income and assets.
How much ‘black money’ is there in circulation?
The BBC’s Justin Rowlatt in Delhi says the issue of “black money” is a huge problem in India and the latest move is the prime minister’s big demonstration that he is taking it seriously.
The idea is to lock out money that is unaccounted for and make it visible for tax purposes – banks will be happy to exchange a few thousand rupees, but will be asking questions of those who turn up with hundreds of thousands or millions in currency.
There are no precise figures available but experts say the government’s move could be “a very powerful measure” to curb “black money”. IIFL Holdings Ltd Chairman Nirmal Jain told Bloomberg that it will have “a deflationary impact in general and more specifically on real estate prices – making homes affordable”.
Is there a limit on the amount an individual or household can cash in?
It seems not. An individual can put as much as he or she likes into the bank – but withdrawals are limited so the banking system may end up being flooded with cash.
Image copyrightINDIAN GOVERNMENTImage captionThe government has issued flyers explaining the changes
Government guidelines say it is possible to exchange 4,000 rupees – but it is not clear if this is per day or in total.
Critics say the new rules may make it especially difficult for people who choose to keep their cash at home rather than in a bank account and for people with large rupee cash reserves who live abroad.
If there is a legitimate explanation for the cash, the authorities say, it will be possible to exchange it.
Cash points will close on Wednesday and in some places also on Thursday – a development that it seems may cause cash blockages or queues at ATMs.
Is this risky for the government?
It’s a bold step because many people who voted for Mr Modi were small traders who overwhelmingly did their business in cash.
Our correspondent says these are people who probably do have a few hundred thousand rupees – a few thousand dollars – stored under their beds and will have problems when they turn up in the bank on Thursday trying to change their money.
The move leaves a lot of uncertainty about the Indian economy at least in the short term.
In this latest twist of the scandal that’s been rocking South Korea for weeks, prosecutors are investigating allegations that Samsung might have provided €2.8m euros ($3.1m, £2.5m) to a company co-owned by Ms Choi and her daughter, to bankroll the daughter’s equestrian training in Germany.
Prosecutors are also reported to have raided the offices of the Korea Equestrian Federation and the Korea Horse Affairs Association.
Image copyrightAFP/GETTYImage captionMs Choi, a long-time friend of Ms Park’s, is the daughter of Choi Tae-min, a shadowy quasi-religious leader
Over the past days, tens of thousands of South Koreans have protested in the capital, Seoul, to demand the resignation of President Park over the corruption row.
Ms Choi, a long-time friend of Ms Park’s, is the daughter of Choi Tae-min, a shadowy quasi-religious leader who was closely linked to Ms Park’s father, then-president Park Chung-hee.
She is alleged to have pushed businesses to donate millions of dollars to foundations she controlled, helped choose presidential aides, and even picked the president’s clothes.
Ms Park has since apologised on TV for allowing her long-standing friend inappropriate access to government policy-making. The president admitted she had let Ms Choi edit her speeches.
President Park has already replaced her prime minster, reshuffled her cabinet and dismissed several aides, but there are growing calls for her resignation or impeachment.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionMs Park said she had “put too much faith” in her friendship with Ms Choi
The scandal has left Ms Park with an approval rating of just 5%.
Choo Mi-ae, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said she did not believe the apology was genuine and called on her to accept a new prime minister recommended by parliament.
Ms Park became her country’s first female president when she was elected in a close-run contest in December 2012.
Theresa May rejects calls to raise Indian visa quota
Theresa May has rejected calls to relax Indian visa rules saying the UK already has a “good system” for applications.
The prime minister, who is in Delhi to pave the way for the UK’s first post-Brexit trade deal, said the UK was already able to attract “the brightest and the best” from outside the EU.
“Nine out of 10 visa applications from India are already accepted,” she said.
But Mrs May announced the UK would make it easier for wealthy Indian business executives to come to the UK.
Thousands of Indians on work visas will also be able to join the Registered Travellers Scheme which will mean they can get through UK border controls more quickly.
“As we leave the EU, we want to ensure that the UK remains one of the most attractive countries in the world to do business and invest,” Mrs May said.
Image copyrightREUTERS
Analysis: Simon Jack, BBC business editor in Delhi
The Prime minister flew into Delhi late last night to be greeted by the worst smog this city has seen in nearly 20 years.
Where better to get a taste of life beyond the EU – than India. With such deep historical links between the two countries – surely the UK can cut through the bureaucratic smog that saw Brussels spend nearly a decade negotiating, but ultimately fail to agree a deal with the world’s fastest growing economy.
But Indian business leaders are confused. No-one knows what the UK’s relationship with Europe will eventually look like, and many are unsure about how much can be usefully discussed until the UK has withdrawn from the EU – a point that is at least two years away.
Some things are clear and all too familiar. Trade and immigration are linked. If the UK wants better access to Indian markets, the government in Delhi wants a looser approach to UK work and student visas. This week saw Britain’s visa rules for foreign visitors tightened.
Specific deals will be announced over the next 24 hours but more clarity around a trade relationship that has stagnated or even declined in recent years is likely to remain enveloped in the Delhi smog.
Visa issues risk dominating Theresa May’s first trade trip since becoming prime minister.
Cobra Beer founder Lord Bilimoria earlier said restrictions on staying in the UK after their studies meant the number of Indians attending UK universities had halved in the past five years.
He said “movement of people” would form a key part of any trade negotiations.
‘Bridge-building’
The number of study visas issued to Indian nationals fell from 68,238 in the year to June 2010 to 11,864 five years later, official UK figures show.
The solution, according to Karan Bilimoria, is to exclude foreign students from Britain’s statistics on net migration, which Mrs May has pledged to cut to below 100,000 annually – down from 336,000 in the year to June 2015.
“We need to immediately get the government, Theresa May, on this visit to announce and say ‘we’re no longer going to include international students within the net migration figures,'” crossbencher Lord Bilimoria told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend.
He added: “The reality is Theresa May when she was home secretary did deliver very, very negative messages towards immigration.”
“She has got a lot of bridge-building to do when she goes to India.”
Mrs May will be accompanied on the three-day trip by International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and trade minister Greg Hands as well as representatives from 33 UK companies.
Deals expected to be confirmed during the trip include:
A £1.2m joint venture between the Pandrol Group UK and Rahee Group in India to set up a manufacturing plant for rail projects
A £15m imaging and diagnostic centre in Chennai by Lyca Health UK
A £350m investment from UK start-up Kloudpad in high-tech electronics manufacturing in Kochi.
President-elect Donald Trump says the US will quit the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal on his first day in the White House.
VIYAPARIKA LOKAYA 