Korea passes controversial ‘Yellow Envelope Act,’ inviting backlash from employers, foreign firms

South Korea’s Parliament has approved sweeping labor reforms known as the “Yellow Envelope Act,” prompting a fierce backlash ...

GS E&C offloads Spanish water treatment arm GS Inima for $1.2 bn

GS Engineering & Construction Corp. (GS E&C) said on Friday it has agreed to sell its Spanish water treatment arm GS Inima Environment SA fo...

Seoul calls for specific ethylene cut targets, demands shareholders’ fresh fund injections

South Korea’s financial regulators are calling on the country’s petrochemical producers to draw up sweeping self-rescue measures, includ...

Korean firms eye $5 bn in bond sales as credit spread hits 14-mth low

South Korean companies are ramping up bond offerings ahead of the Korean Thanksgiving holiday in early October, taking advantage of falling interest...

Korea to tighten stewardship code with workplace safety penalties; accident-prone firms remain wary

South Korea is preparing sweeping changes to its stewardship code that will allow public pension funds and other institutional investors to penalize...

S.Korea’s petrochemical firms to cut capacity on state call for rigorous restructuring

South Korea’s 10 largest petrochemical companies have agreed to restructure their operations, including up to 25% cuts to their naphtha-cracki...

Kospi-listed firms underperform in Q2 with gloomy H2 forecast

South Korean firms suffered steeper losses in the second quarter as hefty US import tariffs took a toll, fueling fears of a tougher road ahead as th...

Mastern Investment puts 13 E-Mart outlets up for sale in package deal

Mastern Investment Management Co., a Seoul-based real estate investment firm, is putting 13 E-Mart Inc. outlets it acquired from the South Korean re...

UCK Partners sues ex-employee in Korea’s 1st PE non-compete case

UCK Partners has sued a former senior employee who joined local rival Premier Partners in June, alleging he violated a non-compete clause, in what i...

KT reports record operating profit on robust AI business in Q2

South Korea’s major mobile carrier KT Corp., which has picked artificial intelligence as its next growth engine, posted record-high quarterly ...

LG CNS to build AI data center in Indonesia, first for Korean firm

LG CNS Co., the information technology services unit of South Korea’s LG Group, has bagged a deal to build an artificial intelligence-ready da...

Korea’s IPO market revives as newly listed stocks surge

South Korea’s initial public offering (IPO) market is reviving, with long-awaited companies such as the creator of the global hit Baby Shark p...

Keistone Partners acquires e-commerce logistics firm GoodsFlow from SK Energy

Keistone Partners has acquired GoodsFlow Co., an e-commerce logistics service provider, from oil refiner SK Energy Co. in a deal valued at around 50...

Global private equity firms line up for laundry chain Cleantopia, now up for grabs

JKL Partners, a South Korean private equity firm, is set to finalize a shortlist of bidders this month for Cleantopia, the country’s largest l...

Seoul’s tax reform hits top firms as US tariffs, tighter rules loom

South Korea’s finance ministry has finalized a tax reform plan that raises the top corporate tax rate by one percentage point to 25% and incre...

KKR in exclusive talks to buy SK Ecoplant’s waste unit for $1.1 bn

Global private equity giant KKR & Co. Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire the waste management arm of SK Ecoplant Co., a South Korean construct...

Fabless chip unicorn FuriosaAI raises $120 mn in new funding

South Korea’s AI chip designer FuriosaAI Inc. said on Thursday it has raised 170 billion won ($120 million) in bridge funding from about 40 in...

SK Innovation to Merge SK On and SK Enmove to Strengthen Battery Unit

SK Innovation is betting big on an internal reshuffle to turn things around for its struggling battery business.The South Korean energy and chemicals ...

Korea Investment & Securities, Muzinich & Co. explore strategic partnership on global credit portfolio

Korea Investment & Securities Co. (KIS), the brokerage unit of Korea Investment Holding Co., is exploring a strategic partnership with US privat...

Bain Capital set to acquire HS Hyosung Advanced Materials' tire cord business

US private investment firm Bain Capital is poised to acquire HS Hyosung Advanced Materials Corp.'s tire steel cord business in a deal estimated...

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...

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...

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&...

IMM PE pitches A’pieu sale in breakup of struggling Able C&C

IMM Private Equity Inc. is pursuing a separate sale of A’pieu, a color makeup brand under Able C&C Co., as the Seoul-based private equity ...

Hanwha Ocean wins $1.4 bn order from Yang Ming to build 7 containerships

Hanwha Ocean Co., South Korea’s third-largest shipbuilder, has bagged an order to build seven containerships, valued at about 2 trillion won (...

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...

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...

Samsung supplies newest nanoprism image sensors to Xiaomi to crack Sony’s lead

Samsung Electronics Co. is supplying a new high-performance image sensor featuring nanoprism technology to China’s Xiaomi, as the South Korean...