BTS live album debuts at No. 10 on Billboard 200, setting new K-pop record

BTS’s first live album Permission to Dance on Stage – Live debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated on Aug. 2, accordin...

IMM joins $600 mn fund for K-beauty unicorn Goodai Global in M&A drive

IMM Private Equity and five other South Korean private equity firms are set to invest a total of 800 billion won ($600 million) in Goodai Global Inc...

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...

S.Korea avoids recession with 0.6% Q2 GDP growth; US tariff impact seen limited

The South Korean economy returned to firmer footing in the second quarter, expanding 0.6% from the previous three months, as a recovery in exports a...

Kakao, Naver step up global AI hunt amid fierce tech race

South Korea’s internet pioneers, Kakao Corp. and Naver Corp., are ramping up overseas investments in artificial intelligence startups, shiftin...

Hyundai Hyms sale kicks off as J& Private Equity sends out teaser letters

Hyundai Hyms Co., a Kosdaq-listed ship block manufacturer, is officially on the auction block as its private equity owner, J& Private Equity (J&...

Weverse BTS Community tops 30 mn subscribers, platform's largest

The BTS Community on Weverse, the online fan engagement platform where the boy band first announced plans to return as a full-member group next spri...

Jennie, J-Hope, Jin sweep Spotify’s global K-pop rankings for mid-2025

K-pop icons Jennie of Blackpink and BTS members Jin and J-Hope have taken over Spotify’s mid-year 2025 Global Impact List, claiming the majori...

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 Co. (KIS), a unit of Korea Investment Holdings Co., said on Thursday it has discussed a strategic partnership with...

S.Korea’s Bebesup earns China nod for baby skincare, eyes global expansion 

Bebesup, a leading South Korean baby skincare and wipe brand, has secured a registration certificate from the China National Medical Products Admini...

IMM Credit closes $700 mn blind credit fund backed by NPS

IMM Credit & Solutions Inc. (ICS), the private credit unit of South Korea’s major investment firm IMM Holdings Inc., has raised nearly 1 t...

Rap icon Cardi B joins K-beauty’s celebrity fan club with BB cream

Cardi B, the Grammy-winning rapper, has joined the growing list of celebrities spotlighting Korean beauty products, fueling a new wave of global ent...

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 ...

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...

Korean commercial act revision to drive reevaluation of equities: J.P. Morgan

J.P. Morgan, a leading US investment bank, has thrown its weight behind South Korea’s landmark commercial act revision, saying that the new go...

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...

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...

Taekwang, Anchor Equity shortlisted for Aekyung stake

Taekwang Industrial Co., a South Korean chemical and textile company, and Anchor Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, have emerge...

Economic strain drives millennials, Gen Z into collectible craze

SHANGHAI – Standing in the rain, lines of people snake along Nanjing Dong Lu, Shanghai’s bustling shopping street, outside a Miniso shop...

Naver Webtoon’s Eleceed: Now anime by studio behind The First Slam Dunk

High school student Seo Jiwoo knows nothing of the hidden world around him. Terrified of his own mysterious powers, he lives quietly, concealing his...

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 pension fund NPS posts weaker returns amid US tariff concerns

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

From G-Dragon to Ibuki: Dongmyo emerges as global fashion hotspot

Once a humble thrift market popular among older locals in Seoul, Dongmyo Market, often dubbed Dongmyo flea market, has become a vibrant hotspot for ...

Shinsegae chair likely to head Asian arm of pro-Trump Rockbridge

Chung Yong-jin, chairman of South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae Inc., is likely to head the Asian operations of the Rockbridge Network, a gro...

Affinity Equity nets $220 mn from block sale of Shinhan Financial

Affinity Equity Partners has unloaded its remaining shares in Shinhan Financial Group, the second largest banking group in South Korea, for about 58...

Growth equity portfolio largely shielded from policy headwinds: Summit

Growth equity investments have remained largely stable in the face of recent policy shifts, with key sectors like technology and healthcare avoiding...

Lotte Biologics signs antibody drug CMO deal with UK’s Ottimo Pharma

BOSTON – Lotte Biologics Co. has signed a deal to manufacture an antibody therapy for British biotech startup Ottimo Pharma as the South Korea...

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...

Amazon, Alibaba, TikTok up ante to woo Korean beauty brands

Riding the wave of global enthusiasm for K-Beauty, e-commerce powerhouses like Amazon and Alibaba are racing to bring South Korean cosmetics and bea...