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...

Kakao Pay backs out of acquisition deal for Shinsegae’s SSG Pay, Smile Pay

Kakao Pay Corp., the mobile payment and digital wallet service unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp., has pulled out of a deal to acquire two ...

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 ...

DB Insurance in talks to buy US auto insurer Fortegra in $1.5 billion deal

DB Insurance Co., a leading South Korean non-life insurance company, is in advanced talks to acquire US-based insurer Fortegra in a deal that could ...

Kolon's early bets on para-aramid recovery pays off amid AI boom

The artificial intelligence boom is spilling over into the industrial fiber market, driving demand for para-aramid, a so-called super fiber essentia...

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...

Tencent eyes 2nd-largest stake in Kakao Mobility amid broader Korea push

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. has emerged as a surprise contender in a race to acquire a roughly 40% stake in Kakao Mobility Corp., the o...

Nexon Games shares rally on Tencent’s possible Nexon acquisition

Shares of Nexon Games Co., the game-developing studio under Nexon Co., surged on Friday morning after Bloomberg reported on Chinese IT giant Tencent...

KT&G seeks $200 mn acquisition of Nordic nicotine pouch maker

KT&G Corp. is in talks to acquire a leading nicotine pouch company in Northern Europe for about 300 billion won, or  $200 million, investme...

Kakao Mobility to build smart infrastructure for Saudi Diriyah project

Kakao Mobility Corp., which runs South Korea’s most popular ride-hailing app, Kakao T, has clinched a deal to build a future mobility infrastr...

Elliott loses appeal over $19 mn claim against Samsung C&T

A South Korean appellate court has rejected Elliott Investment Management Corp.’s claim for 26.7 billion won ($19.3 million) in interest for a...

Tencent to become SM Entertainment's No. 2 shareholder via HYBE deal

Tencent Music Entertainment Group is set to become the second-largest shareholder of SM Entertainment Co. by acquiring HYBE Co.'s remaining shares i...

OpenAI sets up entity in Korea with most paid ChatGPT users outside US

OpenAI Inc., the creator of generative AI ChatGPT, has established a legal entity in South Korea, which has the largest number of paying ChatGPT sub...

Shinsegae, Ascent Equity Partners weigh acquisition of C&C International

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group is seeking to acquire local color cosmetics manufacturer C&C International Co. in partnership with pri...

Kakao Pay in talks to acquire SSG.COM’s SSG Pay and Gmarket’s Smile Pay

Kakao Pay Corp., the mobile payment and digital wallet service unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp., is in advanced negotiations to acquire t...

Mirae Asset Global Investments’ AUM tops $288 bn as global push pays off

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. now manages more than 400 trillion won ($288 billion) in assets for the first time since its first global venture...

S.Korea’s Lunit installs breast cancer AI diagnostic tool at 200 US hospitals

Lunit Inc., a South Korean AI-powered cancer diagnostics company, said on Monday that more than 200 healthcare institutions across the US have now a...

Hanwha acquires Ourhome for $622 million in push to revive food business

South Korea’s Hanwha Group has completed the acquisition of the country’s No. 2 food service and catering company Ourhome Ltd. for 869.5...

Samsung bets on data center HVAC with $1.7 bn FläktGroup acquisition

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday announced the acquisition of FläktGroup, a German manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditionin...

Mubadala, Goldman Sachs to invest $700 mn in Kakao Mobility

United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. and Goldman Sachs are set to invest a combined $700 million in Kakao Mobil...

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

Kakao shares sink on SK Telecom’s stake sell-off news

Kakao Corp. shares underperformed its peers and the broad market on Friday after SK Telecom Co. sold off its entire stake in the South Korean platfo...

Korea not to appeal ruling in favor of Mason Capital in Samsung case

South Korea said on Friday it has decided not to appeal a Singaporean court’s rejection of its lawsuit to annul an investor-state dispute sett...

Kakao Entertainment scraps IPO, seeks new buyer

Kakao Corp., South Korea’s largest mobile platform, is looking to sell a majority stake in Kakao Entertainment Corp., dropping a plan to take ...

Kakao Entertainment sheds loss-making units, revives IPO prospects

Kakao Entertainment Corp. has been divesting unprofitable music labels and digital content platforms, which it has gobbled up over the past few year...

VIG taps KDB financing to buy 40% stake in Kakao Mobility

South Korea’s private equity firm VIG Partners’ buyout of minority stakes in Kakao Mobility Corp., the nation’s most popular taxi-...

MBK chairman to leverage own funds to pay Homeplus suppliers

Michael ByungJu Kim, the co-founder, partner and chairman of Northeast Asia-focused private equity firm (PEF) MBK Partners Ltd., is expected to leve...

Winia cancels acquisition deal with Seoul Private Equity

Winia Co., a South Korean home appliance manufacturer under court-led restructuring, has terminated its conditional acquisition agreement with Seoul...

BNK's planned acquisition of Hyundai Motor Securities building falters

BNK Asset Management Co.'s bid to acquire the Hyundai Motor Securities building in central Seoul has hit a stumbling block as the main tenant, Hyund...