BOK chief warns household debt near tipping point, keeps rates steady

BOK chief warns household debt near tipping point, keeps rates steady

Rhee Chang-yong, governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK), warned on Thursday that mounting household debt is now undermining both private consumption an...

Shinsegae, Hana Financial, Bain Capital to finance $438 mn Starfield Cheongna

Shinsegae, Hana Financial, Bain Capital to finance $438 mn Starfield Cheongna

Shinsegae Property, a subsidiary of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group, on Tuesday unveiled a 600 billion won ($438 million) investment agree...

Korea Investment & Securities, Capital Group eye product launch in Korea

Korea Investment & Securities, Capital Group eye product launch in Korea

Korea Investment & Securities Co. (KIS), a unit of Korea Investment Holdings Co., is exploring new offshore funds for individual investors in co...

NH, KB Securities, Kookmin Bank, Kim & Chang lead capital markets in H1

NH, KB Securities, Kookmin Bank, Kim & Chang lead capital markets in H1

NH Investment & Securities Co. retained its lead in South Korea’s equity capital market (ECM) in the first half, riding a surge in large-s...

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...

Affirma Capital to acquire Equis’ Korean waste assets for $294 million

Affirma Capital to acquire Equis’ Korean waste assets for $294 million

Affirma Capital, a Singapore-headquartered buyout private equity firm, has agreed to acquire the entire portfolio of South Korean waste processing a...

Miri Capital closes in on STIC Investments chairman’s stake

Miri Capital closes in on STIC Investments chairman’s stake

Miri Capital Management LLC has steadily raised its stake in STIC Investments Inc., narrowing the ownership gap with the firm’s founder and Ch...

JLL, Savills to lead Seoul Square sale in $1 bn deal

JLL, Savills to lead Seoul Square sale in $1 bn deal

JLL and Savills have been tapped to lead the sale of Seoul Square, a landmark office tower, valued at around 1.4 trillion won ($1 billion), adding t...

BOK chief warns against aggressive policy rate cuts, sees need for stimulus

BOK chief warns against aggressive policy rate cuts, sees need for stimulus

Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong on Thursday signaled a cautious approach to monetary easing, warning that excessive interest rate cuts could ...

Seoul, once-rising art hub, feels pinch of global strains  

Seoul, once-rising art hub, feels pinch of global strains  

In Seoul’s Hannam district, the storefront that once housed Various Small Fires (VSF) now sits empty, a “For Rent” sign taped to i...

South Korea’s startup M&A winter deepens capital bottleneck  

South Korea’s startup M&A winter deepens capital bottleneck  

South Korea’s startup M&A winter has deepened as once major investors like conglomerates are prioritizing restructuring over expansion, ch...

BOK turns more dovish after 25 bp rate cut; 2025 growth outlook halved

BOK turns more dovish after 25 bp rate cut; 2025 growth outlook halved

The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.5%, citing growing concerns over faltering do...

NPS, KIC step up focus on mid-market infrastructure

NPS, KIC step up focus on mid-market infrastructure

The National Pension Service (NPS) and Korea Investment Corp. (KIC) are actively exploring mid-market infrastructure opportunities as they are expec...

Korean financial firms launch global IR blitz to woo foreign capital  

Korean financial firms launch global IR blitz to woo foreign capital  

Chiefs of South Korea’s major financial groups – Shinhan, Woori and iM – are ramping up global investor outreach with new sharehol...

Bain Capital sells 6% stake in Korea’s Classys via block deal for $163 million

Bain Capital sells 6% stake in Korea’s Classys via block deal for $163 million

Bain Capital LP has offloaded a 6% stake in South Korean medical aesthetics company Classys Inc. through a block trade, raising 228 billion won ($16...

Seoul-backed K-beauty brands set to make global mark

Seoul-backed K-beauty brands set to make global mark

As Korean beauty products continue to captivate global consumers, five Seoul-based cosmetics and wellness companies are gearing up to penetrate deep...

Korea not to appeal ruling in favor of Mason Capital in Samsung case

Korea not to appeal ruling in favor of Mason Capital in Samsung case

South Korea said on Friday it has decided not to appeal a Singaporean court’s rejection of its lawsuit to annul an investor-state dispute sett...

BOK stands pat; rate cut likely within 3 months as economic growth slows

BOK stands pat; rate cut likely within 3 months as economic growth slows

The Bank of Korea (BOK) left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.75% on Thursday, with Governor Rhee Chang-yong warning that a surge in globa...

US PE firm Miri Capital ups stake in Korea’s STIC Investments

US PE firm Miri Capital ups stake in Korea’s STIC Investments

US private equity firm Miri Capital Management LLC said on Tuesday it has raised its stake in STIC Investments Inc. to step up its shareholder activ...

S&P reaffirms South Korea’s AA credit rating with stable outlook

S&P reaffirms South Korea’s AA credit rating with stable outlook

S&P Global Ratings has reaffirmed South Korea’s sovereign credit rating at AA with a stable outlook, citing the country’s resilient ...

NPS gears up for investment overhaul with boost in risk assets

NPS gears up for investment overhaul with boost in risk assets

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the country’s largest institutional investor, is set to overhaul its investment strategy w...

Hanwha Aerospace slashes planned rights offering size to $1.6 billion

Hanwha Aerospace slashes planned rights offering size to $1.6 billion

Hanwha Aerospace Co., a leading South Korean defense company, said on Tuesday it plans to slash the size of its proposed rights offering to 2.3 tril...

UBS tops Korea’s buyout deal advisory in Q1 thanks to Lotte

UBS tops Korea’s buyout deal advisory in Q1 thanks to Lotte

UBS Group AG, the frontrunner in South Korea's M&A market last year, retained the top position in the country's buyout advisory market in the fi...

CPPIB invests in Seoul office building for rental housing conversion

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...

Red flags raised even before Homeplus crisis: Sales fall, credit ratings cut

Red flags raised even before Homeplus crisis: Sales fall, credit ratings cut

Even before South Korea’s second-largest hypermarket chain Homeplus Co. was put under court receivership due to its worsening financial woes, ...

Hanwha wins $1.6 billion order to build 6 container ships for Evergreen

Hanwha wins $1.6 billion order to build 6 container ships for Evergreen

Hanwha Ocean Co., a leading South Korean shipbuilder, said on Monday it has won a 2.33 trillion won ($1.61 billion) order to build six eco-friendly,...

S.Korea’s pension fund NPS posts record return in 2024 on US stock rally

S.Korea’s pension fund NPS posts record return in 2024 on US stock rally

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

South Korea welcomes more babies after downward birth rate spiral

South Korea welcomes more babies after downward birth rate spiral

South Korea’s fertility rate bounced back last year for the first time in nearly a decade following a surge in marriages, raising hopes for a ...

CHA Biotech seeks to resume healthcare unit IPO after affiliates’ merger

CHA Biotech seeks to resume healthcare unit IPO after affiliates’ merger

CHA Biotech Co., South Korea’s leading stem cell therapeutics developer, plans to resume an initial public offering of CHA Healthcare Co., a m...

Bank of Korea cuts rates, growth forecast on Trump tariff policy

Bank of Korea cuts rates, growth forecast on Trump tariff policy

South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday cut interest rates while sharply reducing its economic growth forecast as lingering political turmoil fo...

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