Korea’s top four financial holding firms post stellar Q2 profit on won, non-interest gains

Korea’s top four financial holding firms post stellar Q2 profit on won, non-interest gains

South Korea’s four largest financial holding groups posted stellar profits in the second quarter, bolstered by a sharp increase in non-interes...

Olive Young, a must-stop for foreign visitors to South Korea

Olive Young, a must-stop for foreign visitors to South Korea

For many foreign visitors to South Korea, a trip to the beauty retailer Olive Young is as essential as sampling kimchi or touring Gyeongbokgung Pala...

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

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...

Glass Skin boom: Why Seoul’s interactive beauty clinics are hottest stop for foreign tourists

Glass Skin boom: Why Seoul’s interactive beauty clinics are hottest stop for foreign tourists

On a recent morning in Seoul’s hip Seongsu neighborhood, a line of eager foreign tourists snaked around the corner of CJ Olive Young Corp.&rsq...

Hanwha-owned burger chain Five Guys Korea up for sale two years after launch

Hanwha-owned burger chain Five Guys Korea up for sale two years after launch

South Korea’s Hanwha Group is seeking to sell the Korean operations of US premium burger chain Five Guys, two years after the brand’s hi...

K Shipbuilding up for sale as Korean shipyards ride new boom

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 ...

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 ...

Gochujang, fiery seasonings: K-sauces go viral among adventurous foreign palates

Gochujang, fiery seasonings: K-sauces go viral among adventurous foreign palates

Once an afterthought in the global food trade, South Korea’s signature spices and sauces, ranging from fiery gochujang to fermented doenjang, ...

BTS’ Suga, MLB star Chan Ho Park to join Oakland Athletics as shareholders

BTS’ Suga, MLB star Chan Ho Park to join Oakland Athletics as shareholders

BTS member Suga and former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Chan Ho Park are putting their money on the Athletics, formerly the Oakland Athletics...

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...

South Korean eyewear poised to spark next global K-wave

South Korean eyewear poised to spark next global K-wave

As eyewear evolves into a key fashion statement, South Korea’s homegrown brands are setting their sights on the global stage with bold, unconv...

S.Korea eases path for foreign REITs in senior housing push

S.Korea eases path for foreign REITs in senior housing push

South Korea, grappling with a fast-aging population, has relaxed development and ownership rules for senior housing, opening the sector to foreign h...

Jollibee to buy chicken chain Norang Tongdak amid global K-food frenzy

Jollibee to buy chicken chain Norang Tongdak amid global K-food frenzy

Jollibee Foods Corp., a household name in Southeast Asia’s food market, has been named the preferred buyer of Norang Tongdak, a South Korean f...

Korea to allow non-profits to buy bad consumer loans

Korea to allow non-profits to buy bad consumer loans

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has proposed regulatory changes that would allow non-profit organizations to purchase bad loans from individ...

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...

Korea’s stablecoin trade at $42 bn; BOK balks at non-bank stablecoin deals

Korea’s stablecoin trade at $42 bn; BOK balks at non-bank stablecoin deals

South Korea’s central bank is cautious about non-banks and fintech firms issuing and handling stablecoins amid a global cryptocurrency rally, ...

Shinhan expands global IR push to woo foreign investors

Shinhan expands global IR push to woo foreign investors

Shinhan Financial Group Co. is stepping up efforts to attract foreign investors with back-to-back global investor relations (IR) campaigns, as South...

NPS logs 0.87% return from first-quarter investment

NPS logs 0.87% return from first-quarter investment

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

Samsung Biologics drives foreign lead in Korea’s biotech supply chain

Samsung Biologics drives foreign lead in Korea’s biotech supply chain

A surge in orders from Samsung Biologics Co., the world’s largest contract drugmaker, has propelled South Korea to the forefront of global rev...

Kakao Pay in talks to acquire SSG.COM’s SSG Pay and Gmarket’s Smile Pay

Kakao Pay in talks to acquire SSG.COM’s SSG Pay and Gmarket’s Smile Pay

Kakao Pay Corp., the mobile payment and digital wallet service unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp., is in advanced negotiations to acquire t...

NPS to ramp up shareholder engagement with overseas companies

NPS to ramp up shareholder engagement with overseas companies

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) plans to deepen shareholder engagement with its foreign portfolio companies, signaling a more ass...

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...

Korea’s aesthetic medicine enjoys golden era with surge in foreign spending

Korea’s aesthetic medicine enjoys golden era with surge in foreign spending

As beauty-conscious tourists continue to flock to Seoul’s clinics, South Korea’s aesthetic medicine sector may be entering a golden era,...

SK Group seeks to sell SK Signet as part of sweeping portfolio realignment

SK Group seeks to sell SK Signet as part of sweeping portfolio realignment

South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate SK Group is seeking to divest SK Signet Inc., four years after acquiring the EV charger manufacturin...

RedotPay lands in Seoul with crypto cards

RedotPay lands in Seoul with crypto cards

RedotPay, a Hong Kong-based blockchain fintech company, has arrived in South Korea with its cryptocurrency-based payment cards and is poised to disr...

Korea Securities Finance eyes its 1st foreign bond sale in 2026

Korea Securities Finance eyes its 1st foreign bond sale in 2026

Korea Securities Finance Corp. (KSFC) is preparing to issue its first foreign currency-denominated bonds in 2026 to provide low-cost funding to dome...

S.Korea’s GEPS to commit $143 million to foreign mid-cap buyout funds

S.Korea’s GEPS to commit $143 million to foreign mid-cap buyout funds

The Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS), one of South Korea’s top three public pension programs, will commit up to 200 billion won ($1...

When in S. Korea, it’s a ritual: Foreigners make stops at CU, GS25, 7-Eleven

When in S. Korea, it’s a ritual: Foreigners make stops at CU, GS25, 7-Eleven

“If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair,” as Scott McKenzie sang in the late 1960s and 70s.If...

Woori Financial wins approval for Tongyang, ABL Life acquisition

Woori Financial wins approval for Tongyang, ABL Life acquisition

Woori Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s fourth-largest financial services provider, has received conditional approval from the country&rsquo...

Kyobo Life poised to buy Japan’s SBI Group-owned savings bank

Kyobo Life poised to buy Japan’s SBI Group-owned savings bank

Kyobo Life Insurance Co. is in the final stages of negotiation with Japanese financial group SBI Holdings Inc. to buy about a 50% stake in SBI Savin...

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