Lawmakers debate military exemption for pop artists like BTS

As a historic first, South Korean lawmakers are duking it out on the hotly debated topic of military exemption for global K-pop sensation BTS. ...

POSCO to invest $20 billion in battery materials to rival Chinese firms

POSCO Group, which owns South Korea’s largest steelmaker, plans to invest 25 trillion won ($20 billion) to secure a stable supply of key raw m...

Affirma taps NPS executive as private credit head

Singapore-based private equity firm Affirma Capital has founded an affiliate for private credit management and tapped Kim Seong-mok, a former execut...

SKT, SK Square invests $40 mn in Korea metaverse game firm

South Korea’s top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. and its spin-off SK Square Co. have together invested 50 billion won ($40 million) into a loca...

Fabless startup FADU eyes unicorn status with $157 mn funding

FADU Technology, a fabless startup that develops architecture for solid-state drive (SSD) controllers and storage products, is seeking to raise 200 ...

Quantum computing firm IonQ hit by short seller report

IonQ Inc., a US-listed quantum computing firm, has become a new target of short selling-focused Scorpion Capital, taking a hit from the US hedge fun...

CJ ENM buys stake in US metaverse firm Hyperreal

South Korean entertainment powerhouse CJ ENM Co. has acquired a minority stake in US metaverse entertainment and media firm Hyperreal Digital Inc., ...

LG Display to drastically cut LCD output as Chinese rivals churn it out

LG Display Co., a major South Korean display panel maker, plans to drastically cut production of its liquid crystal display panels for TVs, as it fa...

Korea's big three trading firms log record profit in Q1

South Korea’s top three general trading companies, LX International Corp., POSCO International Corp. and Samsung C&T Corp. achieved record...

Hyundai Motor, battery firms strive to limit China lockdown disruptions

The growing fears of a Beijing lockdown are prompting South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and battery makers, already suffering from...

Dongkuk buys 15% stake in Vietnamese steel fabricator

Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., South Korea’s leading color-coated steel manufacturer, said on Wednesday it has acquired a 15% stake in VSSC Steel Cen...

Korean drugmakers close to commercializing COVID-19 vaccine, pill

South Korea’s biopharmaceutical companies are close to commercializing a COVID-19 vaccine and treatment pill as they are on the brink of compl...

Affinity Equity to refinance Serveone to recoup investment

Affinity Equity Partners is in the process of raising 700 billion won ($565 million) to recapitalize South Korea's Serveone Co. in an attempt to rec...

COVID test kit maker SD Biosensor buys Italian medical device firm

SD Biosensor Inc., South Korea’s top manufacturer of COVID-19 test kits, said on Friday that it has signed a deal to purchase a 100% stake i...

Hyundai Rotem to kick off liquid hydrogen fueling station project

Hyundai Rotem Co., a South Korea’s railway system maker under Hyundai Motor Group, said on Friday that it has won a demonstration project to b...

Dongwon restructuring plan faces shareholder backlash

A South Korean leading seafood and logistics conglomerate Dongwon Group’s corporate restructuring plan hit a roadblock as institutional invest...

Hyundai Motor expands partnership with quantum computing firm IonQ

IonQ and Hyundai Motor Co. announced a new project on Wednesday designed to apply quantum machine learning to image classification and 3D object det...

NPS’ shareholder meeting vetoes cast pall on its profitability

National Pension Service (NPS) of South Korea, the world's third-largest pension fund with 948.7 trillion won ($768.9 billion) in assets under man...

Global pension funds veto more of Korean firms' agendas

Global pension funds are expanding their influence as key shareholders of major companies in South Korea. Some of the world’s largest pensio...

One Store refiles IPO application, changing peer group list

One Store Co., investment firm SK Square Co.'s homegrown app store, is gearing up for an initial public offering to be held in May. The local app st...

Korean firms tapped to buy shoe parts supplier Texon

Southeast Asia-focused Navis Capital Partners is tapping South Korean companies and private equity firms to sell Texon, a Hong Kong-based footwear c...

Warehouses pile financial burden on investment firms

South Korea’s logistics centers are ramping up the financial pressure on real estate investment firms. Previously a favored property type, i...

SK's biotech bets step closer to commercialization

Biotechnology startups in Europe, backed by South Korea's SK Inc., are speeding up their development of next-generation drug candidates by joining h...

Korea firms’ Shanghai plants to remain disrupted long on lockdown

South Korean companies’ production in Shanghai is expected to remain disrupted long on the lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, raising co...

SK Networks on hunt for one billion-dollar M&A target

South Korea's SK Networks Co. is looking for an acquisition worth over 1 trillion won ($816 million) to accelerate its shift away from trading and r...

LS Group may raise stake in LS-Nikko Copper to 90%

South Korea's LS Group is considering buying an additional stake in LS-Nikko Copper Inc. to boost its stake in the world’s second-largest elec...

Shinhan Card makes strategic investment in car sales platform

South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group is intensifying its online car sales business through partnerships with online platforms. The group&rs...

Hahn & Co. buys Korean food startup in bolt-on deal

Seoul-based private equity firm Hahn & Co. has acquired a South Korean meal kit provider for 75 billion won ($61 million), a deal expected to bo...

Samsung Biologics to raise $2.6 bn in rights issue

Samsung Biologics Co., a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and a biotech division under the Samsung Group, is set ...

China’s tighter grip on minerals boosts costs for Korean battery makers

South Korea’s major battery makers and materials suppliers are suffering from soaring battery raw materials prices as China is tightening its ...