Shaky firms pressed to speed up restructuring

South Korea's financial watchdog is pressing financially weak conglomerates such as Dongbu Group to speed up their restructuring amid worsening liquidity conditions, industry sources said Tuesday. According to the sources, the Financial Supervisory Service called in executives of Dongbu Group last week and told them to accelerate the conglomerate's self-rescue efforts to dispel market concerns over its financial health. "Although the group does not seem to face a great liquidity risk, we have urged it to address its liquidity problem," said an official at the FSS. The conglomerate has been trying to restore its fiscal health under a contract with state-run Korea Development Bank, the main creditor, since 2003.