Put people before profits, South Korea's new leader tells tycoons

The President-elect, Park Geun-hye, has appealed to business leaders to avoid cutting jobs.

Ms Park told the bosses of companies including Hyundai and Samsung: "I believe that the management goal of conglomerates should not remain maximising profit but should involve pursuing coexistence with the larger community.

"As you try to overcome management difficulties, do not start with restructuring or layoffs but instead [try] as much as you can to save jobs."