Survival of the fittest for Korean firms in COVID-19 era

The global COVID-19 pandemic has shaken up South Korea's industry landscape, whereby in each of the country's core industries, such as airline, smar...

Korean investors face $270 mn loss on Las Vegas hotel loans

South Korean investors in the Drew Las Vegas development project are at higher risk of losing their investment of 300 billion won ($271 million) in ...

Match Group buys Korean video chat startup for $1.73 bn

Match Group, the operator of the world’s largest dating app Tinder, has agreed to buy 100% of South Korea’s leading video chat startup...

MBK Foundation awards scholarships to 14 Korean students

South Korea-based MBK Partners has selected 14 Korean students who are starting their first semester of college next month as this year's recipients...

Renault vows action if Korean unit fails to improve productivity, cut costs

French auto giant Groupe Renault has warned of stern action against its struggling South Korean unit, urging it to improve productivity and cut cost...

Korean banks fund alternative deals with $540 mn loans via KIC

South Korean banks have offered a combined $540 million in syndicated loans to fund overseas alternative investments, in which Korea Investment Corp...

Tight margins, regulatory meddling weigh on Korean banks

The five leading banks in South Korea, including Kookmin and Shinhan, logged their first drop in net profit last year in five years, dented by shrin...

Korean auto parts players to shine as carmakers go all in on EVs

Korean auto parts makers have rarely been favored by stock investors as they were regarded as mere subcontractors, with their performance largely de...

Korean shipbuilders to hike newbuilding prices; Daewoo eyes $1 bn deal

South Korea’s major shipbuilding companies are set to benefit from rising newbuilding prices, brightening the outlook for an improvement in th...

Korean Air: Another earnings surprise in Q4 2020

Korean Air Lines Co. (KAL) posted a positive earnings surprise in 2020, reporting an operating profit of 238.3 billion won ($212 million) amid a dra...

Korean pension funds on over 1-month Kospi selling streak

The National Pension Service and other South Korean pension funds have offloaded a net 9.9 trillion won ($8.9 billion) worth of shares on the countr...

Startups spice up Korean food export market

South Korean startups are at the forefront of the Korean food export boom as they boost global awareness of popular dishes such as spicy fermented c...

Two thirds of Koreans use OTT services; YouTube favored

Two out of every three Koreans used over-the-top (OTT) media last year, with YouTube the favored platform from which to watch videos and other strea...

US data centers-backed REIT seeks $90 mn Korean IPO in 2021

A South Korean real estate investment trust (REIT), backed by data centers in North America, is preparing an initial public offering worth 100 billi...

SM Line eyes H2 IPO on Korean bourse, aims to expand US trade

South Korea’s SM Group, formerly known as Samla Midas Group, is pushing for an initial public offering of its merchant liner, SM Line Corp., o...

Korean social network-turned-Wall Street gateway

Korean investment bankers are more visible on Wall Street than ever before. Between 2010 and 2020, some 120 bankers, of Korean origin, landed covete...

S.Korean chem firms hasten shift to bioplastics amid China's plastic ban

South Korea’s chemical industry is in crisis mode as China declares war on plastics, likely to deliver a heavy blow to Korean companies that b...

HMM, SM Line to deploy container ships to support Korean exporters

South Korea’s leading shipping companies have decided to deploy at least five container carriers on major sea routes to provide support for lo...

Surging freight rates, bulker shortages squeeze Korean importers

Surging sea freight rates, coupled with a shortage of bulk carriers and container ships, are putting South Korean exporters and importers in a bind ...

Korean LPs pick their 44 favorite alternative managers

Canada-based Brookfield was chosen as the best global asset manager for both real estate and infrastructure investments by South Korea’s pension...

ESG becomes name of the game on Korean corporate boards

South Korea’s big companies, such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG, are increasingly embracing environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards ...

Netflix sweeps S.Korean content market

Global streaming giant Netflix Inc. has become a leading platform in South Korea, boasting around 4.1 million paid subscribers and earning over 500 ...

S.Korean chem firms look to specialty chemicals to drive growth

South Korea-based Kumho Petrochemical Co. stunned the market last year with a positive earnings surprise in the third quarter of 2020. The company...

S.Korean banks' household, company loans near $1.8 trn

South Korean households and companies have taken out fresh loans worth 208 trillion won ($189 billion) from banks last year, pushing the outstanding...

S.Korean game behemoth invests $16 mn in Elon Musk's SpaceX

The founder of South Korea's leading game company Nexon Co. has invested $16 million in SpaceX, the aerospace company headed by Elon Musk, chief e...

Hanwha to buy controlling stake in Korean satellite maker

Hanwha Aerospace Co., an aircraft engine components maker, will acquire a 30% stake in a South Korean Earth observation satellite maker for 109 bill...

Silicon Valley-based PnP sets sights on Korean smart city ventures

Plug and Play (PnP), a Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator, will team up with the city of Seoul to invest in South Korean venture firms with sm...

Korean Air begins due diligence on Asiana Airlines

The proposed union between South Korea’s two leading airlines is nearing the finish line as Korean Air Lines Co. begins due diligence on Asi...

Korean PE firm acquires Achronix Semiconductor via SPAC merger

South Korea-based private equity firm Ace Equity Partners has acquired Achronix Semiconductor Corp., a US-based fabless company, through a special p...

CEO of MBK Partners-owned Korean retailer to resign

Lim Il-soon, chief executive of South Korean retailer HomePlus, is stepping down after leading the MBK Partners-owned discount store chain for about...