Lawmaker concerned about foreign investors' influence on KT Corp.

(From Yonhap)

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- KT Corp., South Korea's biggest telecommunications company, has been under pressure by foreign shareholders to pay more dividends while cutting facility investment, a lawmaker said Friday.

Growing influence by foreign investors, which had a combined 48.71 percent stake as of May, on KT's management is forcing the company to focus on short-term profit-taking and to neglect telecom services for the public interest, the ruling Uri Party lawmaker Kim Nak-soon said in a parliamentary audit session.

The lawmaker also expressed concerns about a decision by Templeton Global Advisors Ltd., which owns a 7.78 percent …