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

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...

Celltrion eyes record high sales in 2025, fueled by high-margin biosimilars

Celltrion eyes record high sales in 2025, fueled by high-margin biosimilars

Celltrion Inc., South Korea’s leading biosimilar drug developer, is poised to reap nearly 5 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in revenue this year a...

Hanwha seeks to buy Paraspara Seoul from developer tied to Banyan Tree Busan fire

Hanwha seeks to buy Paraspara Seoul from developer tied to Banyan Tree Busan fire

Hanwha Hotels & Resorts Co. is in talks to acquire Paraspara Seoul, a five-star hotel and resort, up for sale by a property developer facing lia...

Korea Investment & Securities, UBP seek private banking partnership

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...

LG links up with Chinese rivals for budget appliance supremacy

LG links up with Chinese rivals for budget appliance supremacy

LG Electronics Inc. has turned its rivals into allies in an unlikely pact to win the budget appliance war and ward off Chinese competitors rapidly e...

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

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...

South Korean airlines bank on China routes for profit recovery

South Korean airlines bank on China routes for profit recovery

South Korean airlines are ramping up international routes, particularly to China, Japan and Southeast Asian countries, in a bid to boost profitabili...

BOK chief warns household debt near tipping point, keeps rates steady

BOK chief warns household debt near tipping point, keeps rates steady

Rhee Chang-yong, governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK), warned on Thursday that mounting household debt is now undermining both private consumption an...

Allianz-backed Koh Young’s brain surgery robot set for US debut by end-August

Allianz-backed Koh Young’s brain surgery robot set for US debut by end-August

Koh Young Technology Inc., a South Korean developer of 3D optical inspection devices used in electronics manufacturing, is set to install its brain ...

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...

NH, KB Securities, Kookmin Bank, Kim & Chang lead capital markets in H1

NH, KB Securities, Kookmin Bank, Kim & Chang lead capital markets in H1

NH Investment & Securities Co. retained its lead in South Korea’s equity capital market (ECM) in the first half, riding a surge in large-s...

S.Korean game developer Krafton acquires Japan’s ADK for $517 million

S.Korean game developer Krafton acquires Japan’s ADK for $517 million

Krafton Inc., a major South Korean game publisher, has acquired Japan's leading advertising and animation group ADK for 75 billion yen ($517 million...

LS Electric poised to join Nvidia's supply chain via Vertiv deal

LS Electric poised to join Nvidia's supply chain via Vertiv deal

LS Electric Co., a South Korean industrial system supplier, is poised to deliver a large volume of power control equipment, including switchgears an...

Fubon Bank expands Korea presence into banking

Fubon Bank expands Korea presence into banking

Fubon Bank, Taiwan’s largest bank, is poised to open its first office in Seoul in July, expanding its footprint in South Korea beyond insuranc...

KakaoBank rallies after winning Thai virtual banking license

KakaoBank rallies after winning Thai virtual banking license

Shares in KakaoBank Corp. soared as much as 17% to hit their highest level in nearly three years on Friday after the South Korean internet-only bank...

Mirae Asset debuts AI-recommended ETF on NYSE to invest in US bonds

Mirae Asset debuts AI-recommended ETF on NYSE to invest in US bonds

Mirae Asset Financial Group, one of the largest asset managers in South Korea, has launched its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) investing in high-q...

Seoul agrees to reduce Jakarta’s KF-21 cost share by two thirds

Seoul agrees to reduce Jakarta’s KF-21 cost share by two thirds

South Korea has finally agreed to reduce Indonesia’s contribution to their joint KF-21 fighter jet development project by two thirds to 600 bi...

Korea’s stablecoin trade at $42 bn; BOK balks at non-bank stablecoin deals

Korea’s stablecoin trade at $42 bn; BOK balks at non-bank stablecoin deals

South Korea’s central bank is cautious about non-banks and fintech firms issuing and handling stablecoins amid a global cryptocurrency rally, ...

Hanjin KAL, LS expand defense business alliance to counter Hoban Group

Hanjin KAL, LS expand defense business alliance to counter Hoban Group

South Korea’s Hanjin Group and LS Group are tightening their alliance further against Hoban Group, which is raising its stake in Hanjin.Korean...

Hanwha Ocean to team up with Polish shipyards for Navy project bid

Hanwha Ocean to team up with Polish shipyards for Navy project bid

Hanwha Ocean Co. is ramping up efforts to win Poland's highly competitive next-generation submarine project, worth around 3 trillion won ($2.2 billi...

BOK turns more dovish after 25 bp rate cut; 2025 growth outlook halved

BOK turns more dovish after 25 bp rate cut; 2025 growth outlook halved

The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.5%, citing growing concerns over faltering do...

LG CNS, Cohere co-develop Korean-specific agentic AI

LG CNS, Cohere co-develop Korean-specific agentic AI

LG CNS Co., the information technology services arm of South Korea’s LG Group, has unveiled a lightweight Korean-specific large language model...

Morgan Stanley stalwart Cho bows out after over 10 years at the helm   

Morgan Stanley stalwart Cho bows out after over 10 years at the helm   

The investment banking head of Morgan Stanley’s Seoul office is stepping down after overseeing a series of landmark deals over more than a dec...

Samsung Biologics to spin off biosimilar unit Samsung Bioepis

Samsung Biologics to spin off biosimilar unit Samsung Bioepis

Samsung Biologics Co., the world’s largest contract drugmaker, will undergo a strategic split to separate its contract development and manufac...

South Korea’s Rznomics inks $1.3 bn out-licensing deal with Eli Lilly

South Korea’s Rznomics inks $1.3 bn out-licensing deal with Eli Lilly

Rznomics Inc., a South Korean RNA therapeutics developer, has signed an agreement worth more than $1.3 billion with US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lill...

LG Innotek, Boston Dynamics team up to develop Atlas eyes

LG Innotek, Boston Dynamics team up to develop Atlas eyes

LG Innotek Co., a leading South Korean electronics parts maker, will jointly develop new vision sensing systems with Boston Dynamics Inc., a major g...

KakaoBank posts record Q1 profit, eyes Thai expansion after Indonesia

KakaoBank posts record Q1 profit, eyes Thai expansion after Indonesia

KakaoBank Corp., a leading South Korean internet-only bank, posted its highest quarterly profit in the first quarter, defying a drop in interest inc...

Woori Financial wins approval for Tongyang, ABL Life acquisition

Woori Financial wins approval for Tongyang, ABL Life acquisition

Woori Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s fourth-largest financial services provider, has received conditional approval from the country&rsquo...

Kookmin Bank raises $700 mn in forex bonds amid strong demand

Kookmin Bank raises $700 mn in forex bonds amid strong demand

Kookmin Bank, a unit of KB Financial Group, raised $700 million in foreign exchange bonds on Tuesday, signaling a recovery in investor sentiment tow...

Hanwha Ocean shares sink after KDB's sale of 4.2% stake

Hanwha Ocean shares sink after KDB's sale of 4.2% stake

Investors rushed to dump Hanwha Ocean Co. shares early Tuesday after its second-largest shareholder, Korea Development Bank, cashed in on a 4.2% sta...

IMM joins $600 mn fund for K-beauty unicorn Goodai Global in M&A drive Blackpink’s Jump music video achieves 100 mn YouTube views 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