Wine sales in S.Korea surge amid COVID-19 lockdown

E-Mart Inc., one of South Korea’s largest retailers, saw its annual wine sales exceed 100 billion won ($90.3 million) for the first time as ...

S.Korea's share issues set to hit fresh high of $17 bn by year-end

Credit crunch concerns from the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak seem long ago as South Korea-based companies' capital raising nears an all-time ...

Korea's top craft brewer seeks junior Kosdaq listing

Jeju Beer Co., South Korea's No. 1 craft beer maker, is preparing to become the country's first craft brewery to go public, buoyed by the rapid mark...

S.Korea's household debt ratio exceeds 100% for first time

South Korea’s household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio has exceeded 100% for the first time, with its debt growing relatively faster...

Korean govt urged to hike diesel tax, ban fossil fuel cars by 2035

South Korea should raise its tax on diesel to match the price of gasoline and phase out internal combustion engine cars by 2035 to tackle air pollutio...

Fadu, Mobilint emerge as S.Korea's system chip startup dark horses

South Korea's two semiconductor startups, Fadu Inc. and Mobilint, have emerged as the country's system chip industry dark horses as their competitiv...

Goldman Sachs joins race for Korea’s beauty store chain

Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Area (PIA) has entered the race for a stake in South Korea’s health and beauty franchise CJ Olive Young, beco...

S. Korea's foreign currency deposits hit record high on weaker dollar

Foreign currency deposits in South Korea have swelled to a record high in November on the back of a weaker dollar, boosting local banks' holdings to $...

Korea to tighten grip on brokerages’ alternative investments

South Korean brokerage firms' alternative investments worth over $50 billion will come under tight control, after reckless investment in overseas real...

Korea Post to commit $200 mn to global infrastructure funds

Korea Post’s savings arm will select two infrastructure fund houses to invest $200 million in overseas core infrastructure assets, according to ...

S.Korea, Japan ink first free trade deal via 15-country trade bloc

South Korea joined the world’s biggest free trade regime on Nov. 15 by signing a mulilateral FTA pact that covers 15 countries in the Asia-Pacif...

Amazon, SK Telecom join hands in Korea e-commerce market

SK Telecom Co. and online retail giant Amazon.com have agreed to team up in South Korea’s e-commerce market, in a deal that could lead to cross-...

S. Korea's shipping firms grapple with container shortages

Growing shipping volumes and surging sea freight rates are wreaking havoc on South Korea's shipping companies, reeling from a dire shortage of contain...

S. Korea's fiscal deficit tops $90 bn; public debt hits record high

South Korea's fiscal deficit in September has pushed the annual shortfall to over 100 trillion won ($89.6 billion) with public debt reaching an all-ti...

Global petrochem supply glut divides Korea’s winners, losers

The global petrochemical market is grappling with oversupply amid weak demand in the pandemic era, creating a clear divide between winners and losers ...

Korea's most-repurchased mask maker up for sale

Wellkeeps Co., a South Korean mask manufacturer, has issued an information memorandum to potential buyers including financial investors and strategic ...

Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid to bolster global PE, VC portfolios

The Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid Fund, a $12 billion savings arm for South Korea’s small business owners, will diversify its fixed income-heavy po...

SAP joins growing competition in S. Korea's cloud market

SAP, a German enterprise software giant, is expected to heat up competition in South Korea's cloud market as it unveils plans to build a data center i...

S. Korea’s current account surplus at 2-yr high; full-year surplus to top BOK forecast

South Korea’s current account surplus rose in September to its highest level in two years on the back of rebounding exports of chips and automob...

Korea’s No. 1 chicken franchise raises $8.2bn in subscriptions

South Korea’s No. 1 fried chicken franchise operator Kyochon F&B pulled in a staggering $8.2 billion in deposits during its two-day public s...

Korea's largest job portal JobKorea up for sale

South Korea-based private equity firm H&Q has begun the sale process for JobKorea, the country's largest job portal estimated to be worth up to $7...

KIC CEO Choi Heenam named S.Korea’s financial ambassador

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has appointed Choi Heenam, chief executive of the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), as the country's...

S. Korea's FX reserves rise for 7th straight month to record-high $426.5 bn

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves rose for a seventh straight month to a fresh record high in October due to gains in non-dollar assets and incr...

Korea’s EV battery stocks surge on Europe sales, US vote

Shares of South Korea’s three leading electric vehicle battery makers surged Tuesday, on strong electric car sales in Europe and expectations th...

Strong KRW helps S. Korea hold above $30,000 per capita GNI

South Korea’s per capita income is expected to continue its downward streak for the second straight year in 2020 due to the coronavirus impact, ...

Samsung Engineering wins biggest-ever $3.6 bn deal; shares surge

Samsung Engineering Co., a construction arm of Samsung Group, has clinched a 4.1 trillion won ($3.6 billion) deal to build part of a refinery facility...

SK Holdings' board underpins new standard in Korea

On Jul. 21, SK Holdings Co.'s board of directors rejected management's request to simplify the reporting procedure for investment proposals. Among the...

Why Korea struggles to manage the US, China

As the United States and China fight like proverbial whales in the ocean, middle power dolphins like South Korea must strategize to avoid being crushe...

Transparency, GP commitment key in Korea LPs' manager selection

South Korea’s leading institutional investors, including the National Pension Service (NPS), rated general partners’ (GP) commitment and f...

KKR’s $3 bn Asia infra fund to raise $200 mn from Korea

South Korean pension funds and insurance companies will commit $200 million in aggregate to KKR’s first Asia infrastructure fund targeting to ra...