S.Korea avoids recession with 0.6% Q2 GDP growth; US tariff impact seen limited

S.Korea avoids recession with 0.6% Q2 GDP growth; US tariff impact seen limited

The South Korean economy returned to firmer footing in the second quarter, expanding 0.6% from the previous three months, as a recovery in exports a...

S.Korea’s ruling party gears up for won-based stablecoin legislation

S.Korea’s ruling party gears up for won-based stablecoin legislation

South Korea’s push to launch won-based stablecoins is taking shape as the ruling Democratic Party unveiled proposed legislation to promote cry...

LG launches ChatExaone AI beta service, available soon for enterprise use

LG launches ChatExaone AI beta service, available soon for enterprise use

South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group has made its artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatExaone, available to external users, sign...

Hyundai Hyms sale kicks off as J& Private Equity sends out teaser letters

Hyundai Hyms sale kicks off as J& Private Equity sends out teaser letters

Hyundai Hyms Co., a Kosdaq-listed ship block manufacturer, is officially on the auction block as its private equity owner, J& Private Equity (J&...

Korean budget carriers in the red as Japan travel slows, fare war intensifies

Korean budget carriers in the red as Japan travel slows, fare war intensifies

South Korea’s low-cost carriers (LCCs) are racking up losses as slowing growth in travel, particularly to Japan, fueled price wars to fill exc...

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...

IMM Credit closes $700 mn blind credit fund backed by NPS

IMM Credit closes $700 mn blind credit fund backed by NPS

IMM Credit & Solutions Inc. (ICS), the private credit unit of South Korea’s major investment firm IMM Holdings Inc., has raised nearly 1 t...

Cohen & Steers names Andrew Shin to lead S.Korea institutional business

Cohen & Steers names Andrew Shin to lead S.Korea institutional business

US-based investment firm Cohen & Steers Inc. has appointed Andrew Shin, a 20-year veteran of the institutional investment market, as vice presid...

S.Korea to overhaul retirement pension system, introduce competition for higher returns

S.Korea to overhaul retirement pension system, introduce competition for higher returns

South Korea is planning a sweeping overhaul of its corporate retirement pension system by introducing a competitive, fund-based model that would pit...

K Shipbuilding up for sale as Korean shipyards ride new boom

K Shipbuilding up for sale as Korean shipyards ride new boom

K Shipbuilding Co., a mid-tier South Korean shipbuilder, will be put on the market this month after a strong turnaround. The deal, estimated at 500 ...

Korean waste management firm Koentec put on market for $730 mn

Korean waste management firm Koentec put on market for $730 mn

Korea Environment Technology Co. (Koentec) is up for sale in a deal that could fetch up to 1 trillion won ($730.4 million) with global private equit...

Korean commercial act revision to drive reevaluation of equities: J.P. Morgan

Korean commercial act revision to drive reevaluation of equities: J.P. Morgan

J.P. Morgan, a leading US investment bank, has thrown its weight behind South Korea’s landmark commercial act revision, saying that the new go...

Taekwang, Anchor Equity shortlisted for Aekyung stake

Taekwang, Anchor Equity shortlisted for Aekyung stake

Taekwang Industrial Co., a South Korean chemical and textile company, and Anchor Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, have emerge...

NPS, Scape acquire Aussie senior living operator Aveo from Brookfield

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...

S.Korea’s pension fund NPS posts weaker returns amid US tariff concerns

S.Korea’s pension fund NPS posts weaker returns amid US tariff concerns

The National Pension Service (NPS), South Korea’s state-run pension fund and the country’s largest institutional investor, is posting sh...

Affinity Equity nets $220 mn from block sale of Shinhan Financial

Affinity Equity nets $220 mn from block sale of Shinhan Financial

Affinity Equity Partners has unloaded its remaining shares in Shinhan Financial Group, the second largest banking group in South Korea, for about 58...

Growth equity portfolio largely shielded from policy headwinds: Summit

Growth equity portfolio largely shielded from policy headwinds: Summit

Growth equity investments have remained largely stable in the face of recent policy shifts, with key sectors like technology and healthcare avoiding...

Calls grow for stronger LP oversight in national strategic asset M&As

Calls grow for stronger LP oversight  in national strategic asset M&As

MBK Partners’ takeover attempt of Korea Zinc Inc. has exposed the vulnerability of national strategic assets to private equity ownership, posi...

Hong Kong-based Anchor Equity puts Korea's Danbi Education up for sale

Hong Kong-based Anchor Equity puts Korea's Danbi Education up for sale

Anchor Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, is putting its majority stake in South Korea’s top children’s smart educa...

S.Korea’s CDMO giant Samsung Biologics to offer CRO services

S.Korea’s CDMO giant Samsung Biologics to offer CRO services

Samsung Biologics Co., the world’s largest contract drugmaker, will enter the contract research organization (CRO) market by leveraging its va...

K-pop pilgrimage boosts Seoul ahead of BTS comeback

K-pop pilgrimage boosts Seoul ahead of BTS comeback

With the days numbered until all seven BTS members reunite as a group, a K-pop pilgrimage is revitalizing Seoul’s cultural and tourism sectors...

Hyundai Motor-backed Motional names AI veteran Laura Major as CEO

Hyundai Motor-backed Motional names AI veteran Laura Major as CEO

Motional Inc., the autonomous driving joint venture backed by Hyundai Motor Group, has appointed Laura Major, an artificial intelligence and robotic...

Partners Group sees infrastructure secondaries quadrupling to $60 bn

Partners Group sees infrastructure secondaries quadrupling to $60 bn

Infrastructure secondaries are gaining momentum as the infrastructure sector attracts investors seeking stable and predictable returns amid heighten...

SpaceX’s Starlink, Eutelsat’s OneWeb land in Korea for LEO satellite services

SpaceX’s Starlink, Eutelsat’s OneWeb land in Korea for LEO satellite services

South Korea has officially cleared the way for low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet services, granting regulatory approval for SpaceX’s St...

NPS logs 0.87% return from first-quarter investment

NPS logs 0.87% return from first-quarter investment

The National Pension Service (NPS), South Korea’s state-run pension fund and the country’s largest institutional investor, announced on ...

Korea Post to commit $150 mn to mid-cap infrastructure funds

Korea Post to commit $150 mn to mid-cap infrastructure funds

Korea Post will commit $150 million to one or two global asset managers for mid-cap infrastructure equity investments, the postal service agency sai...

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

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...

NPS to ramp up shareholder engagement with overseas companies

NPS to ramp up shareholder engagement with overseas companies

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) plans to deepen shareholder engagement with its foreign portfolio companies, signaling a more ass...

Korean pension funds, insurers seek customized investment vehicles

Korean pension funds, insurers seek customized investment vehicles

South Korean institutional investors are increasingly interested in separately managed accounts (SMAs) that offer customized strategies, as well as ...

SK Earthon secures rights to explore 2 offshore oil blocks in Indonesia

 SK Earthon secures rights to explore 2 offshore oil blocks in Indonesia

SK Earthon Co., the petroleum exploration and production (E&P) unit of South Korea’s top energy company SK Innovation Co., has secured rig...

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 SK Nexilis, LG Energy revive supply ties as US seeks China decoupling Hyundai Mobis defies tariff headwinds with 37% jump in Q2 profit