Kobe Steel finds more malfeasance, to overhaul board

[March 06, 2018]  TOKYO (Reuters) - Kobe Steel Ltd said on Tuesday that an external investigation into a data-cheating scandal had found a new case of inappropriate corporate behavior.

Announcing the results of the four-month long investigation, the company said it would overhaul its board to ensure a third of its members were external directors. It is due to hold a news conference at 1530 JST (0630 GMT), and media reports have said Chief Executive Officer Hiroya Kawasaki will step down.

Japan's third-largest steelmaker, which supplies manufacturers of cars, planes and trains across the world, said in October that about 500 of its customers had received products with falsified specifications.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.