IMM joins $600 mn fund for K-beauty unicorn Goodai Global in M&A drive

IMM Private Equity and five other South Korean private equity firms are set to invest a total of 800 billion won ($600 million) in Goodai Global Inc...

Seoul likely to miss US tariff deal deadline as Washington abruptly cancels 2+2 trade talks

The United States has abruptly postponed high-level trade talks with South Korea, raising concerns in Seoul that it is slipping down Washington&rsqu...

Kakao, Naver step up global AI hunt amid fierce tech race

South Korea’s internet pioneers, Kakao Corp. and Naver Corp., are ramping up overseas investments in artificial intelligence startups, shiftin...

Weverse BTS Community tops 30 mn subscribers, platform's largest

The BTS Community on Weverse, the online fan engagement platform where the boy band first announced plans to return as a full-member group next spri...

Jennie, J-Hope, Jin sweep Spotify’s global K-pop rankings for mid-2025

K-pop icons Jennie of Blackpink and BTS members Jin and J-Hope have taken over Spotify’s mid-year 2025 Global Impact List, claiming the majori...

Blackpink’s Jump tops Spotify Global Chart, sets K-Pop record

With their latest digital single Jump, Blackpink has become the first – and so far only – South Korean act to top Spotify’s Global...

Korea Investment & Securities, UBP seek private banking partnership

Korea Investment & Securities Co. (KIS), a unit of Korea Investment Holdings Co., said on Thursday it has discussed a strategic partnership with...

Maru SF to open in Silicon Valley in November as Korean startup gateway

Maru SF, a startup campus and networking hub operated by the Asan Nanum Foundation, will open in Silicon Valley this November, marking the organizat...

Vietnam’s top leader to make 1st South Korea visit in 11 years

To Lam, general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party and the country’s de facto ruling leader, is expected to make a state visit to So...

S.Korea’s Bebesup earns China nod for baby skincare, eyes global expansion 

Bebesup, a leading South Korean baby skincare and wipe brand, has secured a registration certificate from the China National Medical Products Admini...

Mercedes opens world’s 1st Maybach flagship center in Seoul

Mercedes-Benz Group on Monday opened the world’s first Maybach Brand Center in Seoul, its largest-ever dealership dedicated to the ultra-luxur...

Samsung supplies newest nanoprism image sensors to Xiaomi to crack Sony’s lead

Samsung Electronics Co. is supplying a new high-performance image sensor featuring nanoprism technology to China’s Xiaomi, as the South Korean...

Korea’s game studios rebrand as AI tech firms, move into fashion, robotics, media

What was once a world of elves, dragons and power-ups is now giving rise to one of South Korea’s most unexpected tech revolutions, with game s...

Rap icon Cardi B joins K-beauty’s celebrity fan club with BB cream

Cardi B, the Grammy-winning rapper, has joined the growing list of celebrities spotlighting Korean beauty products, fueling a new wave of global ent...

Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman courts Korean AI startups as Riyadh, Abu Dhabi vie to build tech hubs

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, the Middle East was a land of opportunity for many South Korean construction workers, who labored there under the scorc...

Samsung to buy US health tech firm Xealth in digital health push

Samsung Electronics Co. will acquire Xealth, a US-based healthcare platform provider, as it steps up efforts to foster non-semiconductor businesses ...

SK Innovation to restore Vietnam’s mangrove forests in ESG initiative

SK Innovation Co. has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Tra Vinh, a province in southern Vietnam and MangLub, a local soci...

Sale of $1.5 bn Pangyo Tech 1, overseen by Mirae Asset, draws strong bids from global PEFs

The sale of Pangyo Tech 1, a landmark office tower in Pangyo, South Korea’s answer to the US' Silicon Valley, has drawn strong bidding interes...

The wait is over: BTS are back with new album, global tour in spring 2026

Now the wait is over.BTS are back – as a full-member group after a four-year hiatus.The seven-member boy band is returning with a new album in...

Economic strain drives millennials, Gen Z into collectible craze

SHANGHAI – Standing in the rain, lines of people snake along Nanjing Dong Lu, Shanghai’s bustling shopping street, outside a Miniso shop...

Naver Webtoon’s Eleceed: Now anime by studio behind The First Slam Dunk

High school student Seo Jiwoo knows nothing of the hidden world around him. Terrified of his own mysterious powers, he lives quietly, concealing his...

Goldman Sachs acquires Mercure Ambassador: 1st stint with Korean hotels

Goldman Sachs, in partnership with JB Asset Management Co., has acquired Mercure Ambassador Seoul Hongdae, a prominent mixed-use commercial property...

From G-Dragon to Ibuki: Dongmyo emerges as global fashion hotspot

Once a humble thrift market popular among older locals in Seoul, Dongmyo Market, often dubbed Dongmyo flea market, has become a vibrant hotspot for ...

Google to invest $100 mn in Gentle Monster in smart glasses push

Google LLC has signed an agreement to invest about 145.0 billion won ($100 million) in Gentle Monster, the South Korean fashion eyewear brand that i...

Growth equity portfolio largely shielded from policy headwinds: Summit

Growth equity investments have remained largely stable in the face of recent policy shifts, with key sectors like technology and healthcare avoiding...

Lotte Biologics signs antibody drug CMO deal with UK’s Ottimo Pharma

BOSTON – Lotte Biologics Co. has signed a deal to manufacture an antibody therapy for British biotech startup Ottimo Pharma as the South Korea...

Lockheed Martin, KAI to expand partnership to future defense, aerospace tech

Global defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. and Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) on Tuesday agreed to expand their collaboration into futur...

Calls grow for stronger LP oversight in national strategic asset M&As

MBK Partners’ takeover attempt of Korea Zinc Inc. has exposed the vulnerability of national strategic assets to private equity ownership, posi...

Amazon, Alibaba, TikTok up ante to woo Korean beauty brands

Riding the wave of global enthusiasm for K-Beauty, e-commerce powerhouses like Amazon and Alibaba are racing to bring South Korean cosmetics and bea...

S.Korea’s power transformer exports soar as global supply shortage bites

South Korean power equipment makers are riding a wave of export growth, with their transformers in high demand amid a global rush to reinforce power...