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...

K-beauty brands shine among Amazon’s 2025 Prime Day bestsellers

Cosmetics and beauty devices made by South Korean companies dominated Amazon’s biggest summer shopping event this year, Prime Day, underscorin...

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...

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 ...

HYBE sparks summer vibes with BTS live album, TXT comeback, new boy band launch

HYBE Co., a South Korean music powerhouse, is turning up the heat this summer with a wave of major releases, including a live album from its flagshi...

NPS, Scape acquire Aussie senior living operator Aveo from Brookfield

South Korea’s state-run pension fund, the National Pension Service (NPS), has partnered with Australia’s student housing specialist Scap...

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...

Invesco, SK D&D likely to buy co-living building in Seoul

A consortium between US asset management firm Invesco and the real estate investment arm of SK D&D Co. has been named the preferred buyer of Nou...

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...

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...

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...

Bid heats up for IGIS-owned co-living building in Seoul

An auction for a co-living building, owned by South Korea’s top real estate asset management firm IGIS Asset Management Co., in the hip Hongda...

Dawn delivery pioneer Kurly posts 1st-ever quarterly profit

Kurly Inc., a pioneer in South Korea’s dawn delivery market, has posted its first-ever quarterly profit, bucking a slowdown in private consump...

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...

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...

Naver, Kurly tie up to counter e-commerce giant Coupang

South Korea’s online giant Naver Corp. and dawn grocery platform service provider Kurly Inc. have joined forces for a potential stake acquisit...

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-...

Kakao founder Kim to resign as control tower chair

Kakao Corp. founder Kim Beom-soo, also known as Brian Kim, will step down as chairman of the South Korean tech giant’s top decision-making bod...

Korean e-commerce platforms’ growth cools; Naver Shopping sales down

South Korea’s major e-commerce platforms, including Naver Shopping, are showing signs of slowing growth amid the rise of Chinese platform gian...

Kakao set to announce AI partnership with OpenAI

Kakao Corp., South Korea’s dominant mobile platform, is expected to unveil a business partnership with OpenAI to incorporate the technology of...

Korean B2B fintech firm Dozn plans Kosdaq IPO for $202.5 mn market cap

South Korea’s business-to-business fintech service provider Dozn is planning an initial public offering on the Kosdaq in February for an estim...

AI agent Gentoo poised to revolutionize online shopping

South Korean artificial intelligence startup Waddle Corp. is gearing up to reshape the online retail industry with artificial intelligence-powered i...

Piccoma tops consumer spending ranking in Japan

Kakao Piccoma, a Japanese digital comics app subsidiary of South Korean mobile giant Kakao Corp., topped the consumer spending ranking in the Japane...

South Korea's deadliest plane crash in decades claims 179 lives

A passenger plane carrying 181 people, including six crew members, crashed in southwestern South Korea early Sunday, killing 179 people, according t...

LG H&H’s sales surge 156% on Amazon Black Friday

South Korea’s LG H&H Co. said on Thursday its sales on Amazon Black Friday this year surged 156% year over year.The Face Shop's Rice Water...

Korean stocks diverge: Winners, losers of Yoon’s martial law debacle

South Korean stocks showed clear divergences on Wednesday amid a mixed market outlook as President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration, re...