Seoul signals agricultural market access on tariff talks table amid intensifying US trade pressure

South Korea’s senior government officials said on Friday that agricultural products, including politically sensitive items such as rice and be...

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...

President Lee meets with Samsung chief amid stalled US-Korea trade talks

South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung met with Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Thursday amid growing speculation that Seoul may leve...

Seoul likely to miss US tariff deal deadline as Washington abruptly cancels 2+2 trade talks

The United States has abruptly postponed high-level trade talks with South Korea, raising concerns in Seoul that it is slipping down Washington&rsqu...

MBK, Mirae Asset to force CJ CGV to give up overseas cinema assets

MBK Partners Ltd. and Mirae Asset Securities Co. are set to force South Korea’s top multiplex cinema chain CJ CGV Co. to surrender control of ...

South Korea, US to resume trade talks ahead of tariff deadline

South Korea’s finance minister will discuss tariff issues with his US counterpart in Washington this week, marking the first trade talks under...

TPG’s sale of cosmetics packaging specialist Samhwa to KKR: A textbook turnaround story

Global private equity firm TPG has struck one of this year’s standout mid-cap deals in South Korea, selling Samhwa Co., a cosmetics packaging ...

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...

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...

HYBE Chair Bang referred to prosecutors over alleged unfair trading

South Korea’s financial watchdog has referred Bang Si-hyuk, founder and chairman of K-pop powerhouse HYBE Co., to prosecutors over alleged fra...

Test case looms for Korea’s revised Commercial Act as VIP Asset challenges Lotte Rental’s rights issue to Affinity

Lotte Rental Co., South Korea’s No. 1 car rental and leasing company, is facing a backlash from a key minority shareholder over its planned ri...

POSCO sells Chinese stainless steel JV to Chinese rival for $300 mn

POSCO, South Korea’s largest steelmaker, has sold Zhangjiagang Pohang Stainless Steel (PZSS), its loss-generating stainless steel joint ventur...

Seoul vows zero-tolerance measures against unfair stock trading

South Korea’s top financial regulators and its stock exchange operator will launch a joint task force to strengthen oversight of unlawful fina...

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 ...

US unveils 25% tariffs on S.Korea, sets Aug. 1 deadline for agreement

US President Donald Trump on Monday announced new tariffs of 25% on South Korea, set to take effect on Aug. 1 unless the two countries reach a trade...

Sale of $1.5 bn Pangyo Tech 1, overseen by Mirae Asset, draws strong bids from global PEFs

The sale of Pangyo Tech 1, a landmark office tower in Pangyo, South Korea’s answer to the US' Silicon Valley, has drawn strong bidding interes...

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...

IGIS Asset resumes sale of KIC-backed Shilla Stay Seodaemun

Shilla Stay Seodaemun has been put on the market again amid signs of a recovery in South Korea’s hospitality industry, after earlier attempts ...

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

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

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

Hana Asset launches ultra-low-fee Nasdaq 100 ETF

Hana Asset Management Co. will list the “1Q US Nasdaq 100 ETF” on Tuesday, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the Nasdaq 100 index with...

Loss-making Lotte Chemical to sell water treatment unit to Synopex

Lotte Chemical Corp., South Korea’s second-largest petrochemical company grappling with mounting losses amid a prolonged industry downturn, wi...

Mirae Asset debuts AI-recommended ETF on NYSE to invest in US bonds

Mirae Asset Financial Group, one of the largest asset managers in South Korea, has launched its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) investing in high-q...

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

CJ CGV under pressure to shed China, Vietnam cinema assets

MBK Partners and Mirae Asset Securities Co. are considering divesting of their holdings in CGI Holdings Co., which oversees CJ CGV Co.’s multi...

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...

US monitors NPS, sovereign funds in expanded currency surveillance

Washington will strengthen its monitoring of portfolio investments by pension and sovereign wealth funds of its trading partners as it broadens its ...

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...