KakaoBank’s $2.3 bn IPO set to alter Korea’s banking landscape

KakaoBank Corp., the mobile banking unit of online messaging app giant Kakao Corp., is looking to raise as much as 2.55 trillion won ($2.26 billion)...

Hanwha to make satellite thrusters with Korea's aerospace institute

Hanwha Corp. will develop the bipropellant thruster, a key component for adjusting the satellite’s position in orbit, together with Korea Aero...

Bain report renews debate on alternative trading system in Korea

With South Korea’s stock markets maintaining bullish momentum this year, debate about setting up an alternative trading system (ATS) in the co...

Korea’s M&A market heats up with record deals in first half

South Korea’s merger and acquisition market is heating up as both big conglomerates and promising startups seek to buy out businesses with gro...

Fried chicken chain bids for Outback Steakhouse Korea

South Korea's No. 2 fried chicken brand BHC Group has submitted a binding offer for the domestic operations of Outback Steakhouse, an Australian-the...

Korea’s leading e-book startups eye IPO in 2022

South Korea’s leading e-book platforms are targeting to go public next year. The country’s subscription-based e-book service provider Mi...

BOK chief signals interest rate hike within 2021

The Bank of Korea needs to drop its accommodative monetary stance of the past two years and to begin raising interest rates from this year, the cent...

Shinsegae now Korea’s No.2 e-commerce player with eBay Korea buyout

Shinsegae Group pushed through to be the sole winner in the prolonged race to acquire control of eBay Korea, making it a close runner-up in South Ko...

Malaysia becomes preferred destination for Korea’s convenience chains

South Korea’s major convenience store chains are rushing to enter the Malaysian market. E-Mart 24, the convenience chain operated by Shinsegae...

Korea’s super-rich: How their wealth ballooned during the pandemic

In South Korea, just like any other major economies, the stock market has been a mine of gold even for small investors, who enjoyed hefty gains from...

Cigna seeks to enter Korea's digital non-life insurance market

The US insurance group Cigna looks set to become the first foreign insurer on South Korea's digital non-life insurance platform, with an aim to crac...

SK Chairman vows to achieve carbon neutrality ahead of 2050 UN target

SK Group has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality prior to 2050, the year set by the United Nations (UN) to reach net-zero carbon emissions globally...

Art auction sales in Korea soar to highest point since 2008 financial crisis

South Korea’s art market is facing the biggest boom since the global financial crisis, drawing wealthy investors and art enthusiasts alike. Se...

Toss en route to being Korea’s first fintech decacorn; valuation tops $7 bn

South Korea-based mobile financial platform Toss is en route to becoming the country's first fintech decacorn, or a company valued at over $10 billi...

AI startup Voyager X raises over $25 mn in Series A funding round

South Korea-based artificial intelligence startup Voyager X Inc. has successfully raised around 30 billion won ($26.4 million) in a Series A funding...

Coupang fire may cut ROI of warehouse assets

Last week’s devastating fire at a Coupang distribution center, which reportedly burned down more than 16 million items for delivery, is expect...

The butterfly effect: How the W Concept takeover stirred up Korea's fashion industry

“Just give us three weeks. We’ll offer a price by then.”This conversation took place in early March. A senior executive from retai...

Short-selling ban keeps Korea from MSCI’s developed-markets index

South Korea is unlikely to obtain the global index provider MSCI’s developed-market status this year with the Korean government’s decisi...

Israel’s Nanox begins production of digital X-ray components in Korea

Nano-X Imaging Ltd. (Nanox), an Israeli startup listed on the Nasdaq last August, has started manufacturing digital X-ray components in South Korea....

Hyosung, Linde kick off building world’s largest liquid hydrogen plant

Hyosung Group has once again made a key step forward in achieving its long-term ambition to become South Korea’s corporate leader in the hydro...

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore wins $1 bn order to build 10 vessels

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) has won a 1.1 trillion won ($1 billion) deal to build 10 vessels, bringing its total ship c...

Why fast-growing coffee chains fail to get listed in Korea

A Twosome Place has scrapped its initial public offering plans after being touted as the country’s first coffee chain to go public. This has r...

Naver's Line makes remote working the new norm; who will be next?

South Korea-based Line Plus Corp. is set to become the country's first large business group to allow employees to work from home permanently. T...

Korea’s coal power companies squeezed for financing amid ESG fever

South Korea’s coal power companies are facing tighter scrutiny for debt financing as they are increasingly shunned by financial investors amid...

Singapore emerges as new financial hub for S.Korean banks

South Korea’s major banks are rushing to Singapore as the city-state is emerging as a new financial hub in Southeast Asia, replacing the tradi...

GS Caltex marks Korea’s first company to buy carbon-neutral crude oil

GS Group has become South Korea’s first business group to purchase carbon-neutral crude oil, in a move to strengthen its ESG efforts.South Kor...

Naver tipped to pull out of Shinsegae-led eBay Korea deal

In the latest twist to the pending deal worth nearly $4 billion, South Korea's online titan Naver Corp. has tentatively decided to withdraw from a S...

Harrison Street taps Korean LPs for $1.5 bn life science property fund

The Korean Teachers' Credit Union has committed $100 million to Harrison Street Real Estate Capital's new flagship fund that is aiming to raise $1.5...

PigUp targets MZ consumers with new meat culture

South Korea's island of Jeju is famous for its native citrus and pork. It's also where Shin Woo-sup, the founder of startup studio Futurera, came up...

GS Energy to create renewable JV with Spain’s Iberdrola

South Korea’s leading oil and gas company GS Energy Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of GS Holdings, and Spain’s largest utility company...