Seoul Business Agency
Scope
Date
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Economy
Trump’s tariffs are hitting exports, early Korean data show
The effects of President Trump’s new tariffs are starting to be felt across the world, preliminary South Korean trade data suggest, as Seoul p...
Apr 23, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate strategy
Samsung seeks tech alliance with top US universities for robotics, AI, 6G
In an ambitious bid to shape the future of technology, Samsung Electronics Co. is launching a sweeping initiative to collaborate with elite North Am...
Apr 22, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Travel & Leisure
Korean hotels bask in rising foreign visitors; travel agencies in trouble
Hotels in South Korea are booming thanks to a surge in foreign visitors on a weaker won currency, while domestic travel agencies are suffering from ...
Apr 22, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
Ritz-Carlton to return to Seoul, tapped by IGIS Asset for landmark project
IGIS Asset Management Co., South Korea’s leading real estate investment firm, has named The Ritz-Carlton the preferred hotel brand for its amb...
Apr 22, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
LG Chem’s medical skincare business sale draws tepid bid
South Korean chemical giant LG Chem Ltd.'s offer for sale of its cosmetics filler business, tagged with an asking price of more than 500 billion won...
Apr 18, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
Mirae, Koramco, Hana shortlisted for Korea Post’s core real estate fund
Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., Koramco REITs Management and Trust Co. and Hana Alternative Asset Management Co. were shortlisted for the mandat...
Apr 14, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
Colliers to lead $689 million sale of IGIS Asset-owned Signature Tower
Colliers Korea, a unit of global real estate asset management group Colliers, has been chosen as the adviser for the sale of Signature Tower in cent...
Apr 11, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Sovereign wealth funds
Korea’s WGBI inclusion moved to next April; Seoul works on policy steps
South Korea’s much-anticipated inclusion of its bonds in the FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI) has been postponed to April 2026 from Nov...
Apr 09, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
SK Group in talks with Hahn & Co. to sell SK Siltron
SK Inc., the holding company of SK Group, is in talks with Hahn & Co., a South Korean buyout firm, to sell SK Siltron Co., the country’s s...
Apr 08, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
Asia Property to buy WeWork building in Seoul
Seoul-based real estate investment firm Asia Property has been picked as the sole preferred bidder for an office building currently occupied by cowo...
Apr 04, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Electronics
LG’s global HVAC push takes off with new deal in Singapore
LG Electronics Inc. has landed a deal to supply its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to a fulfillment center in Singapore, a...
Apr 03, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Hahn & Co. acquires SK Specialty for $1.8 billion
Hahn & Co., South Korea’s largest private equity firm, has finalized the acquisition of SK Specialty Co., the world’s leading produc...
Apr 01, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Business & Politics
Samsung's Lee meets with Xi amid Beijing’s balancing act vs Washington
Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong, along with other global tech leaders, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday as C...
Mar 28, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pension funds
CPPIB invests in Seoul office building for rental housing conversion
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and South Korean property developer MGRV have jointly acquired the headquarters of a domestic women...
Mar 26, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Business & Politics
US Chamber of Commerce sees Korea’s business penalties as trade barrier
The US Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest lobbying group, told Washington that South Korea’s penalties on businesspeople are amo...
Mar 23, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
Shinhan REITs picked as sole bidder for BNK Digital Tower
Shinhan REITs Management is expected to acquire BNK Digital Tower, an office building in the affluent neighborhood of Gangnam in southern Seoul, aft...
Mar 21, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Steel
POSCO to sell entire stake in Nippon Steel, ending equity ties
POSCO Holdings Inc. has decided to sell its entire stake in Nippon Steel Corp., according to industry sources on Wednesday, marking the end of their...
Mar 20, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Leadership & Management
Samsung in 'do or die' situation'; Lee sounds crisis alarm
Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong has warned the company's executives that the South Korean tech giant has lost its characteristic "rele...
Mar 17, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Winia cancels acquisition deal with Seoul Private Equity
Winia Co., a South Korean home appliance manufacturer under court-led restructuring, has terminated its conditional acquisition agreement with Seoul...
Mar 14, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean chipmakers
Magnachip to sell display business in H1 to focus on power semiconductors
South Korean chipmaker Magnachip Semiconductor Corp. plans to sell its display business by the end of the first half as part of a strategic shift to...
Mar 13, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Hydrogen economy
Samsung E&A buys Norwegian Nel stake for hydrogen business push
South Korea’s Samsung E&A Co. has purchased a stake in Norway’s hydrogen technology company Nel ASA at 47.6 billion won ($32.8 milli...
Mar 12, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Regulations
MBK Partners under Korean tax agency scrutiny
MBK Partners, a leading North Asia-focused private equity firm, has come under a probe by South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) amid the br...
Mar 11, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Webtoons
Naver’s Webtoon hints at ad business expansion in 2025
Webtoon Entertainment Inc., the Nasdaq-listed storytelling platform operator under South Korea’s internet giant Naver Corp., is set to expand ...
Mar 10, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Foreign exchange
Seoul to lift curbs on banks' investment in kimchi bonds
South Korea will lift restrictions on banks' purchase of domestically issued foreign currency bonds, dubbed “kimchi bonds," as part of policy ...
Mar 09, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
Korea’s IGIS Asset puts top Seoul tourist area hotel on market
IGIS Asset Management Co., one of Asia's largest real estate investment firms, is set to sell a four-star hotel in Myeong-dong, a popular spot for f...
Mar 07, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
MBK Partners poised to acquire CJ Cheiljedang’s $3.5 billion bio business
North Asia-focused private equity firm MBK Partners is on the verge of clinching a major acquisition deal by offering a higher bid than other conten...
Mar 06, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean chipmakers
Samsung’s system chip, foundry business under close scrutiny for overhaul
Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest memory chipmaker, has put its system chip and foundry businesses under tight scrutiny for a possi...
Mar 06, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Real estate
Kumho Petrochemical's Seoul headquarters put on market
IGIS Asset Management Co., has put Kumho Petrochemical Group’s headquarters building, Signature Tower in central Seoul, up for sale – a ...
Mar 06, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
MBK-owned Homeplus files for corporate revamp with Seoul court
South Korea’s leading hypermarket operator Homeplus Co., wholly owned by North Asia-focused private equity firm MBK Partners, on Tuesday filed...
Mar 04, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
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Upcoming IPOs
Seoul Guarantee Insurance to raise $124 million from IPO
Seoul Guarantee Insurance Co. (SGI) will raise 181.5 billion won ($124.2 million) through an initial public offering later this month in its second ...
Mar 04, 2025 (Gmt+09:00)
Latest News
- 1 Lee Jae-myung to meet with top business leaders this week ahead of G7 summit
- 2 Korea to allow non-profits to buy bad consumer loans
- 3 LG to drive future growth in emerging markets with battery prowess
- 4 South Korean President Lee, Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba seek closer ties
- 5 Naver Ventures to plant flag in Silicon Valley with TwelveLabs bet