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 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...

LG launches ChatExaone AI beta service, available soon for enterprise use

South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group has made its artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatExaone, available to external users, sign...

Korean budget carriers in the red as Japan travel slows, fare war intensifies

South Korea’s low-cost carriers (LCCs) are racking up losses as slowing growth in travel, particularly to Japan, fueled price wars to fill exc...

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...

Cohen & Steers names Andrew Shin to lead S.Korea institutional business

US-based investment firm Cohen & Steers Inc. has appointed Andrew Shin, a 20-year veteran of the institutional investment market, as vice presid...

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...

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

S.Korea’s CDMO giant Samsung Biologics to offer CRO services

Samsung Biologics Co., the world’s largest contract drugmaker, will enter the contract research organization (CRO) market by leveraging its va...

K-pop pilgrimage boosts Seoul ahead of BTS comeback

With the days numbered until all seven BTS members reunite as a group, a K-pop pilgrimage is revitalizing Seoul’s cultural and tourism sectors...

Hyundai Motor-backed Motional names AI veteran Laura Major as CEO

Motional Inc., the autonomous driving joint venture backed by Hyundai Motor Group, has appointed Laura Major, an artificial intelligence and robotic...

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...

SpaceX’s Starlink, Eutelsat’s OneWeb land in Korea for LEO satellite services

South Korea has officially cleared the way for low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet services, granting regulatory approval for SpaceX’s St...

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

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

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 gobbles up Korea’s top 4 financial holding stocks

South Korea’s largest institutional investor, the National Pension Service (NPS), remains a strong backer of the country’s top four fina...

Korean pension funds, insurers seek customized investment vehicles

South Korean institutional investors are increasingly interested in separately managed accounts (SMAs) that offer customized strategies, as well as ...

Korean financial firms launch global IR blitz to woo foreign capital  

Chiefs of South Korea’s major financial groups – Shinhan, Woori and iM – are ramping up global investor outreach with new sharehol...

Bill Clinton in Seoul to meet with MBK's ByungJu Kim, business leaders

Michael ByungJu Kim, co-founder, partner and chairman of Seoul-based private equity firm MBK Partners Ltd., is set to meet with former US President ...

Samsung flexes financial muscle as insurance, card units top rankings

Samsung Group’s financial affiliates are closing in on KB Financial Group for the top spot in South Korea’s financial services sector, u...

S.Korea’s mid-tier shipbuilders sail into new supercycle as China struggles

BUSAN – On a sunny May morning in Busan’s Yeongdo shipyard, the clang of steel and the rhythmic pounding of welders was telling the new ...

Lotte to retake $269 mn stake in logistics arm after flopped IPO

Lotte Group, South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate by assets, will buy back a stake in Lotte Global Logistics Co. from the latter’s f...

Korean Air, Delta to buy 25% stake in Canada’s WestJet for $550 million

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s largest full-service carrier, and its joint venture partner Delta Air Lines Inc. will acquire a 25% stake ...

S.Korea’s GEPS to commit $143 million to foreign mid-cap buyout funds

The Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS), one of South Korea’s top three public pension programs, will commit up to 200 billion won ($1...

Coupang’s Q1 revenue up; quarterly dip signals rising competition

Coupang Inc., South Korea’s largest e-commerce platform, extended its year-on-year sales growth with an 11.1% increase to post $7.9 billion in...

Korea Investment & Securities deepens global ties with 2nd IR in New York

Korea Investment & Securities Co. (KIS), the brokerage unit of Korea Investment Holdings Co., said on Wednesday it hosted its flagship investor ...