Korea’s top four financial holding firms post stellar Q2 profit on won, non-interest gains

Korea’s top four financial holding firms post stellar Q2 profit on won, non-interest gains

South Korea’s four largest financial holding groups posted stellar profits in the second quarter, bolstered by a sharp increase in non-interes...

KB Asset poised to buy Signature Tower in Seoul for over $700 mn

KB Asset poised to buy Signature Tower in Seoul for over $700 mn

KB Asset Management Co. has been named the preferred buyer of Signature Tower in what would be a landmark office property deal in South Korea this y...

HYBE, Paramount to bring KPop Demon Hunters star to life in idol film

HYBE, Paramount to bring KPop Demon Hunters star to life in idol film

HYBE America Co., the US subsidiary of South Korea's entertainment titan HYBE Co., will produce a K-pop-themed film in collaboration with Paramount ...

Olive Young, a must-stop for foreign visitors to South Korea

Olive Young, a must-stop for foreign visitors to South Korea

For many foreign visitors to South Korea, a trip to the beauty retailer Olive Young is as essential as sampling kimchi or touring Gyeongbokgung Pala...

South Korea, US to resume trade talks ahead of tariff deadline

South Korea, US to resume trade talks ahead of tariff deadline

South Korea’s finance minister will discuss tariff issues with his US counterpart in Washington this week, marking the first trade talks under...

Glass Skin boom: Why Seoul’s interactive beauty clinics are hottest stop for foreign tourists

Glass Skin boom: Why Seoul’s interactive beauty clinics are hottest stop for foreign tourists

On a recent morning in Seoul’s hip Seongsu neighborhood, a line of eager foreign tourists snaked around the corner of CJ Olive Young Corp.&rsq...

Hanwha-owned burger chain Five Guys Korea up for sale two years after launch

Hanwha-owned burger chain Five Guys Korea up for sale two years after launch

South Korea’s Hanwha Group is seeking to sell the Korean operations of US premium burger chain Five Guys, two years after the brand’s hi...

HYBE Chair Bang referred to prosecutors over alleged unfair trading

HYBE Chair Bang referred to prosecutors over alleged unfair trading

South Korea’s financial watchdog has referred Bang Si-hyuk, founder and chairman of K-pop powerhouse HYBE Co., to prosecutors over alleged fra...

Shinsegae, Hana Financial, Bain Capital to finance $438 mn Starfield Cheongna

Shinsegae, Hana Financial, Bain Capital to finance $438 mn Starfield Cheongna

Shinsegae Property, a subsidiary of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group, on Tuesday unveiled a 600 billion won ($438 million) investment agree...

K Shipbuilding up for sale as Korean shipyards ride new boom

K Shipbuilding up for sale as Korean shipyards ride new boom

K Shipbuilding Co., a mid-tier South Korean shipbuilder, will be put on the market this month after a strong turnaround. The deal, estimated at 500 ...

Gochujang, fiery seasonings: K-sauces go viral among adventurous foreign palates

Gochujang, fiery seasonings: K-sauces go viral among adventurous foreign palates

Once an afterthought in the global food trade, South Korea’s signature spices and sauces, ranging from fiery gochujang to fermented doenjang, ...

Fictional K-pop band Saja Boys beat BTS, Blackpink to top US Spotify charts

Fictional K-pop band Saja Boys beat BTS, Blackpink to top US Spotify charts

A fictional K-pop boy band from a Netflix animated feature has achieved what few real-world Korean acts have – to top the US Spotify chart.You...

Hanwha acquires Indonesian bank, first foreign banking venture by Korean insurer

Hanwha acquires Indonesian bank, first foreign banking venture by Korean insurer

Hanwha Life Insurance Co. has become the first South Korean insurance firm to advance into the overseas banking sector by securing a controlling sta...

GEPS taps former KB Asset chief risk officer as new CIO

GEPS taps former KB Asset chief risk officer as new CIO

South Korea’s Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS) on Wednesday appointed Sohn Young-jin, former head of risk management at KB Asset Ma...

Affinity Equity nets $220 mn from block sale of Shinhan Financial

Affinity Equity nets $220 mn from block sale of Shinhan Financial

Affinity Equity Partners has unloaded its remaining shares in Shinhan Financial Group, the second largest banking group in South Korea, for about 58...

Naver Financial seeks to acquire S. Korean real estate data platform Asil

Naver Financial seeks to acquire S. Korean real estate data platform Asil

Naver Financial Corp., the fintech subsidiary of South Korean tech giant Naver Corp., is looking to acquire Asil, a domestic big data-based real est...

South Korean eyewear poised to spark next global K-wave

South Korean eyewear poised to spark next global K-wave

As eyewear evolves into a key fashion statement, South Korea’s homegrown brands are setting their sights on the global stage with bold, unconv...

JLL, Savills to lead Seoul Square sale in $1 bn deal

JLL, Savills to lead Seoul Square sale in $1 bn deal

JLL and Savills have been tapped to lead the sale of Seoul Square, a landmark office tower, valued at around 1.4 trillion won ($1 billion), adding t...

S.Korea eases path for foreign REITs in senior housing push

S.Korea eases path for foreign REITs in senior housing push

South Korea, grappling with a fast-aging population, has relaxed development and ownership rules for senior housing, opening the sector to foreign h...

Jollibee to buy chicken chain Norang Tongdak amid global K-food frenzy

Jollibee to buy chicken chain Norang Tongdak amid global K-food frenzy

Jollibee Foods Corp., a household name in Southeast Asia’s food market, has been named the preferred buyer of Norang Tongdak, a South Korean f...

Seoul, once-rising art hub, feels pinch of global strains  

Seoul, once-rising art hub, feels pinch of global strains  

In Seoul’s Hannam district, the storefront that once housed Various Small Fires (VSF) now sits empty, a “For Rent” sign taped to i...

Proxy voting rises in South Korea, but few vetoes cast

Proxy voting rises in South Korea, but few vetoes cast

An increasing number of asset management firms in South Korea are more frequently exercising their voting rights at portfolio companies. Nevertheles...

Shinhan expands global IR push to woo foreign investors

Shinhan expands global IR push to woo foreign investors

Shinhan Financial Group Co. is stepping up efforts to attract foreign investors with back-to-back global investor relations (IR) campaigns, as South...

NPS logs 0.87% return from first-quarter investment

NPS logs 0.87% return from first-quarter investment

The National Pension Service (NPS), South Korea’s state-run pension fund and the country’s largest institutional investor, announced on ...

Baby Shark video creator files for Kosdaq IPO

Baby Shark video creator files for Kosdaq IPO

The Pinkfong Company Inc., the creator of the billion-view video Baby Shark, has launched the process of an initial public offering on South Korea&r...

HYBE Bang under financial watchdog’s scrutiny for alleged unfair trading

HYBE Bang under financial watchdog’s scrutiny for alleged unfair trading

Bang Si-hyuk, founder and chairman of HYBE Co., the South Korean entertainment giant behind K-pop global sensation BTS, could face investigation by ...

DB Group eyes Hanyang Securities amid KCGI deal uncertainty

DB Group eyes Hanyang Securities amid KCGI deal uncertainty

DB Group, which owns DB Securities Co. and DB Insurance Co., is considering acquiring Hanyang Securities Co., as a deal by South Korean private equi...

Samsung Biologics drives foreign lead in Korea’s biotech supply chain

Samsung Biologics drives foreign lead in Korea’s biotech supply chain

A surge in orders from Samsung Biologics Co., the world’s largest contract drugmaker, has propelled South Korea to the forefront of global rev...

Shinhan Financial’s Jin meets with Goldman Sachs Int'l CEO for strategies

Shinhan Financial’s Jin meets with Goldman Sachs Int'l CEO for strategies

Jin Ok-dong, chairman of South Korea’s leading financial conglomerate Shinhan Financial Group, has met with senior executives of US-based mult...

NPS to ramp up shareholder engagement with overseas companies

NPS to ramp up shareholder engagement with overseas companies

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) plans to deepen shareholder engagement with its foreign portfolio companies, signaling a more ass...

Seoul signals agricultural market access on tariff talks table amid intensifying US trade pressure Korea’s top four financial holding firms post stellar Q2 profit on won, non-interest gains KB Asset poised to buy Signature Tower in Seoul for over $700 mn SK Nexilis, LG Energy revive supply ties as US seeks China decoupling Hyundai Mobis defies tariff headwinds with 37% jump in Q2 profit