KB Asset poised to buy Signature Tower in Seoul for over $700 mn

KB Asset poised to buy Signature Tower in Seoul for over $700 mn

KB Asset Management Co. has been named the preferred buyer of Signature Tower in what would be a landmark office property deal in South Korea this y...

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...

TWICE scores 7th Top 10 entry on Billboard 200 with This Is For album

TWICE scores 7th Top 10 entry on Billboard 200 with This Is For album

South Korean girl group Twice has extended their Billboard streak, landing at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 this week with their new album This Is For ...

Pebblestone, Pacific, Hanwha Asset, Hyundai Investments shortlisted for NPS’ $360 mn property fund mandate

Pebblestone, Pacific, Hanwha Asset, Hyundai Investments shortlisted for NPS’ $360 mn property fund mandate

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

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...

Blackpink’s Jump tops Spotify Global Chart, sets K-Pop record

Blackpink’s Jump tops Spotify Global Chart, sets K-Pop record

With their latest digital single Jump, Blackpink has become the first – and so far only – South Korean act to top Spotify’s Global...

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...

K-beauty contract manufacturers see record Q2 profits; rally likely to continue

K-beauty contract manufacturers see record Q2 profits; rally likely to continue

South Korea’s major original design manufacturers (ODMs) for cosmetics, led by Cosmax Inc. and Kolmar Korea Co., are estimated to have posted ...

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...

Samsung to buy US health tech firm Xealth in digital health push

Samsung to buy US health tech firm Xealth in digital health push

Samsung Electronics Co. will acquire Xealth, a US-based healthcare platform provider, as it steps up efforts to foster non-semiconductor businesses ...

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...

Samsung Asset leads H1 AUM rankings amid ETF boom

Samsung Asset leads H1 AUM rankings amid ETF boom

South Korea’s asset management industry posted stellar growth in the first half of 2025, buoyed by a 28% surge in the country’s benchmar...

The wait is over: BTS are back with new album, global tour in spring 2026

The wait is over: BTS are back with new album, global tour in spring 2026

Now the wait is over.BTS are back – as a full-member group after a four-year hiatus.The seven-member boy band is returning with a new album in...

Hanwha acquires Indonesian bank, first foreign banking venture by Korean insurer

Hanwha acquires Indonesian bank, first foreign banking venture by Korean insurer

Hanwha Life Insurance Co. has become the first South Korean insurance firm to advance into the overseas banking sector by securing a controlling sta...

Goldman Sachs acquires Mercure Ambassador: 1st stint with Korean hotels

Goldman Sachs acquires Mercure Ambassador: 1st stint with Korean hotels

Goldman Sachs, in partnership with JB Asset Management Co., has acquired Mercure Ambassador Seoul Hongdae, a prominent mixed-use commercial property...

S.Korea’s leading ERP player Douzone Bizon up for sale; EQT, others in talks

S.Korea’s leading ERP player Douzone Bizon up for sale; EQT, others in talks

Douzone Bizon Co., South Korea’s leading homegrown enterprise software firm and the country’s No. 2 player in the enterprise resource pl...

GEPS taps former KB Asset chief risk officer as new CIO

GEPS taps former KB Asset chief risk officer as new CIO

South Korea’s Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS) on Wednesday appointed Sohn Young-jin, former head of risk management at KB Asset Ma...

EQT taps ex-DHK Management CEO to lead S.Korea's real estate push

EQT taps ex-DHK Management CEO to lead S.Korea's real estate push

Swedish asset manager EQT Partners, also the largest private equity firm in Europe, has named David Kim, chief executive of South Korean real estate...

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...

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...

Koramco targets $7 bn bet on Korea data centers

Koramco targets $7 bn bet on Korea data centers

Koramco Asset Management Co., South Korea’s leading real estate investment firm, plans to invest 10 trillion won ($7 billion) in domestic data...

Proxy voting rises in South Korea, but few vetoes cast

Proxy voting rises in South Korea, but few vetoes cast

An increasing number of asset management firms in South Korea are more frequently exercising their voting rights at portfolio companies. Nevertheles...

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...

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...

Ramen, ready-to-eat meals lead 10% rise in 2024 K-food exports

Ramen, ready-to-eat meals lead 10% rise in 2024 K-food exports

South Korea’s food exports climbed 10% on-year to $7.26 billion in 2024, led by ramen, ready-to-eat meals and seasoned seaweed, according to g...

Cushman & Wakefield, Avison Young to lead Orange Center sale in Seoul

Cushman & Wakefield, Avison Young to lead Orange Center sale in Seoul

Cushman & Wakefield and Avison Young have been appointed to oversee the sale of Orange Center, a prime office tower in Seoul’s central bus...

Rental housing gains appeal amid supply crunch: asset managers

Rental housing gains appeal amid supply crunch: asset managers

The rental housing markets in the US, Europe and Australia present attractive investment opportunities as persistent supply shortages and rising urb...

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 ...

IMM joins $600 mn fund for K-beauty unicorn Goodai Global in M&A drive Blackpink’s Jump music video achieves 100 mn YouTube views 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