Business and government voting is under way in south korea, but will new leadership make a difference this time . And, the wasteland. American Shopping Mauls are deserted and retailers are suffering, so what is President Trump planning to do about it . Welcome to World Business report. Im sally bundock. Also in the programme, Rico Willjoin us from singapore hes seen the latest International Monetary fund report on asian economies. But first, today, the people of south korea are voting for a new president. The election comes after the former head of state Park Geun Hye was removed from office as part of an Ongoing Investigation into corruption. The south korean economy bounced back strongly following the 2008 financial crisis, but in recent years, quarterly growth has struggled to break above 1 . The current frontrunner, moonjae in, has vowed to boost Government Spending and create over 800,000 newjobs in the public sector. His main rival Ahn Cheol Soo feels the government should be more cautious with its spending plans, but both candidates are united over one key issue corruption. South korea is still reeling from a Money For Influence scandal which has seen several of the countrys top executives grilled by politicians. This includes the bosses of massive corporations such as samsung, hyundai and lotte group. In the past, large conglomerates were credited with south koreas rise to economic prominence, but now many experts are questioning whether the country has become too over reliant on the so called chaebol. To give you a sense of scale, the Biggest Company in south korea is samsung the group spans every aspect of life and its Business Accounts for roughly 20 of the countrys gdp growth. Currently the Ten Biggest Companies in south korea account for nearly a quarter of the countrys total Corporate Tax revenue. Joining us now from seoul is the journalist jason strother. Just tell us a bit more about moon jae in, the frontrunner. He ran against Park Geun Hye in 2012 and lost, why is he so popular this time . Well, moon jaein has wanted thisjob for a very long time . Well, moon jaein has wanted this job for a very long time. Time . Well, moon jaein has wanted thisjob for a very long time. He is pa rt thisjob for a very long time. He is part of the generation that helped bring democracy to south korea in the 1980s. He was an aid to a president from 2002 2008. He did lose to Park Geun Hye by not an entirely large margin in 2012. But ever since protest began against the former president at the end of last year, he was out there at the peaceful Candlelight Vigil is. He wa nted peaceful Candlelight Vigil is. He wanted to be amongst the people, to show them that if he is elected, he will do away with the cosy ties between the political and business elite. In recent months, weve had the perfect storm of an impeached president and the boss of samsung facing criminal charges. Many are arguing, is this really what will bring change in south korea at last . Do you think that is the case, and if so, is the new president going to be able to deliver it . if so, is the new president going to be able to deliver it . I think every president , no matter what their political persuasion is, has wanted to reduce the powers of the Economic Companies and their dominance over the economy. That is easier said than done. There are many linkages between the Political Class and the business class. If moonjae in is elected, he certainly has a mandate to try his best to do away with these ties. But it will prove to be difficult, sure. In terms of the economy, it has not been performing that well but it has also not been a disaster. Companies like samsung, despite corruption and problems with their phones, they have still seen profits rise. What Will Moonjae In bring to the economy . We have to separate the Campaign Promises from what is realistic. I am not too sure if moonjae in, with his pledges to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, working out of a Civil Servant office, will that really make a difference . Can he really live up to these expectations that many voters have hung on him . He is facing a strong challenge, although he does have a clear lead right now. If the conservatives were to pull ahead and come ahead with it to read, we could expect to see very much the same in terms of Business Relations that we have seen for the past ten years. Thank you for that. We will keep an eye on the outcome of that president ial election. Much attention has been paid to the loss of manufacturing and heavy industryjobs in the us. But in the last few months alone, morejobs have been lost in retail than exist in the entire coal industry. Despite years of steady recovery and a pick up in wages, us retailers are in dire straits. Samira hussain reports on a crisis that can be seen from the boutiques of manhattan to the local mall. New york city, known for broadway shows, great restaurants and shopping. 0h, shows, great restaurants and shopping. Oh, the shopping. But there is a Seismic Shift happening in american retail. It is even evident right here in the big apple. The red parts on this map show that Va Ca Nt The Red parts on this map show that vacant storefronts in new york city. When they close, they take jobs with them. New york City Clothing stores have been shedding jobs for the last three years. 0verall, have been shedding jobs for the last three years. Overall, the us economy has lost more than 90,000 retail jobs since october 2016. There were too many stores built out, too many stores, too much space, too mount inventories. Then we had the internet, that has also had a big impact. The story is repeating itself across america. This is what is left of this small, showing the demise of the american shopping centre. Its lunchtime and im in the food court. Normally it would be really busy, but as you can see, it is rather quiet. This is what happens when the Big Department stores leave. They take the customers with them. In just the last two years, both macys and jcpenney have closed their doors at this more. The future of sears is looking rocky. This store is also collateral damage. There are not a lot of stores left. We still have hope. In the absence of customers, hope. In the absence of customers, hope may be all this store has. But it isa hope may be all this store has. But it is a hope shared by the new owners of the more, who believe they can turn it around. Nationwide, the outlook for retail looks bleak. Nationwide, the outlook for retail looks it has been a tough few years for the global economy, but the International Monetary fund predicts the Asia Pacific Region will remain robust this year. Rico hizon is in our Asia Business hub in singapore. Rico, that sounds encouraging, what else did they say . They said a whole lot of things. The imf forecast in asia is picking they said a whole lot of things. The Imfforecast In Asia is picking up momentum, with the chinese economy expected to perform better at 6. 6 . All Regional Economic expansion will move up to 5. 5 , making it the world s Fastest Growing economy. There are problems. The influential multinational body noted risks to be able to sustain this growth. 0ne risk is that there is a rapidly ageing population. Asian economies must learn from the experience of japan. Number two, the must learn from the experience of japan. Numbertwo, the Big Buildup Of Borrowing in china in the aftermath of the Global Financial crisis. Also, the imf wants tighter regulations, which could change. Change things. There are also protectionist measures that will be taken into protectionist measures that will be ta ken into account. Protectionist measures that will be taken into account. Thank you. Taking a look at the markets now. We got results from toyota and mitsubishi, they are still coming, there is some nervousness. Sony is looking good and they could have some better profits news. Their shares are climbing, that is interesting. That is how markets are faring right now in asia, i will be back soon with a look at the mornings papers. The conservatives have confirmed they intend to cap Energy Prices for millions of households if they win the election. They claim the move could save consumers up to £100 a year. Labour says the cap would not stop bills increasing and the pledge has drawn criticism from the industry. Heres our Political Correspondent ben wright. Energy prices have been hot politics for some time. At the last election, labour promised a two year price freeze. The conservatives want to intervene in the market, they say it doesnt work for most people. The Prime Minister says rip off Energy Prices hit people on the lowest income is the hardest. Switching to another carrier often brings bills down, but seven of ten households are on standard variable rates, which are usually more expensive. So, the conservatives would give 0fgem the power to impose a Price Ceiling on these rates. The cap would be reset every six months and conservatives say it would reduce bills by about £100 a year. At a conference last year, theresa may hinted at the move. That is why we markets are dysfunctional, we should be prepared to intervene. Where companies are exploiting the failures of the markets, where Consumer Choice is inhibited by deliberately complex pricing structures, we must set the market right. It is just the right that two thirds of Energy Customers are stuck on the most expensive tariffs. The conservatives said the price cap would allow competition in the market, but lib dems said the policy would damage investment in energy. Labour said would damage investment in energy. Laboursaid a cap would damage investment in energy. Labour said a cap would not stop price increases. A british gas owner warned it could lead to higher bills and less competition. Coming up at 6am on breakfast dan walker and Louise Minchin will have all the days news, business and sport. The latest headlines on bbc news. The former us attorney general, sally yates, says she warned President Trumps administration against hiring general michael flynn, because he was open to russian blackmail. Flynn was forced to resign, as National Security adviser less than a month later. Riot police have fired tear gas at protestors in venezuela at the start of another week of demonstrations. 0rganisers say the want to stop president nicolas maduros plan to reform the constitution. People in south korea are voting for a new president following the impeachment of park guen hye. The front runner, moon jae in, favours closer ties with north korea the so called sunshine policy. Now it is time for our news review. Lets start with a story from the us. Politicos website has an article on the Senate Hearings over ex National Security adviser Michael Flynns russian connections. Former acting attorney general sally yates said that she had informed the Trump Administration that flynn was susceptible to blackmail from russia 18 days before he was fired. In the gulf times they lead with an article putins message to the newly elected french president emmanuel macron. It says that the russian president wants to Work Together with france on World Security and to end mistrust. In the Financial Times a story about chemchina and sinochems potential merger next year to create the worlds biggest chemicals group
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