April

Beauty & Cosmetics K-Beauty defies seasonal slump with record $980 mn in April exports

The global appetite for Korean beauty products shows no sign of slowing, with their exports in April surging 20% year on year to a record high, ev...

Central bank South Korea Inflation Flat in April, Possibly Paving Way for Policy Easing

South Korea’s headline inflation remained flat in April, possibly paving the way for the central bank to loosen monetary policy further to sup...

Earnings KB Financial logs 61% profit growth, rebounding from ELS fiasco

KB Financial Group Inc. on Thursday reported a 61% jump in first-quarter profit, led by a nearly threefold rise in earnings at its flagship unit Koo...

Economy China bans export of Korean goods containing its rare earth metals to US

The Chinese government has warned South Korean companies of retributions for exporting any product containing its critical metals to US military con...

Sovereign wealth funds Korea’s WGBI inclusion moved to next April; Seoul works on policy steps

South Korea’s much-anticipated inclusion of its bonds in the FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI) has been postponed to April 2026 from Nov...

Automobiles Hyundai Motor launches global talent recruitment program

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. has launched a global talent recruitment program, beginning April 1 via its official hiring webs...

Business & Politics S.Korean court to rule on impeached President Yoon’s fate April 4

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Friday will give its ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December for declaring mart...

Steel Hyundai Steel to shut down Incheon rebar plant in April

Hyundai Steel Co. is set to shut down its reinforced bar plant in Incheon in April to trim output as steel bar prices are hovering near a four-and-a...

Shipping & Shipbuilding HMM seeks to acquire parts of SK Shipping for $1.4 bn from Hahn & Co.

HMM Co., South Korea’s largest ocean carrier, is seeking to buy SK Shipping Co., excluding its liquefied natural gas (LNG) transportation busi...

Korean stock market Alternative stock exchange Nextrade to launch on March 4

Nextrade, South Korea’s first alternative stock exchange, enabling trading of stocks listed on the Kospi and the Kosdaq for 12 hours a day is ...

Tech, Media & Telecom KT to sell financial security unit for $59 mn for restructuring

South Korea’s KT Corp. is set to sell Initech Co., its Kosdaq-listed financial security unit, for 85 billion won ($59.1 million) as the leadin...

IPOs Korea’s LG CNS, DN Solutions seek billions of dollars via Jan IPOs

LG CNS Co., DN Solutions Co. and other South Korean companies aim to raise billions of dollars through domestic initial public offerings (IPOs) in J...

Economy S.Korea’s economy slows in Q2, but on growth course

South Korea’s economy unexpectedly slowed in the second quarter on softer private consumption and business investments, reinforcing expectatio...

Regulations Korea likely to lift short-selling ban in April after leveling playing field

South Korea’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said on Thursday it will extend its blanket stock short-selling ba...

Economy S.Korea’s current account swings to deficit on higher dividend payouts

South Korea logged a current account deficit in April, ending a streak of surpluses for the past 11 months, on seasonal factors such as increased di...

Retail Foreign VIP customers boost Korean department stores' sales

Wei Liu, a 41-year-old Taiwanese businessman, snapped up 300 million won ($220,000) worth of luxury brand products at Hyundai Department Store&rsquo...

Electric vehicles Hyundai to raise Tucson Hybrid output in Korea for exports

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s top automaker, plans to ramp up Korean production of the hybrid version of its Tucson sport utility vehicle f...

Economy Korea’s April factory output rebounds amid weak consumption

South Korea’s factory production rebounded in April on healthy manufacturing while domestic consumption and capital expenditures dipped, indic...

Electric vehicles Kia EV9 poised to hit 50,000 unit mark in a year on strong exports

Kia Corp., South Korea’s No. 2 automaker, is poised to sell 50,000 units of its flagship all-electric sport utility vehicle EV9 within one yea...

Korean food S.Korea's monthly ramen export surpasses $100 mn

The monthly export value of South Korea's ramen exceeded $100 million for the first time. According to the Korea Customs Service's trade statistics...

Economy Strong exports power S.Korea’s manufacturing job growth

South Korea’s job increases rebounded in April with growth in the manufacturing sector at a 17-month high on strong exports amid the semicondu...

Automobiles Hyundai, Kia US car sales dip in April; EVs outperform

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp., under Hyundai Motor Group, suffered a drop in US car sales last month for a second month in a row, while rising sal...

Economy Korea’s headline inflation dips below 3% in April but erratic

South Korea’s headline inflation dipped below 3% for the first time in three months last month but uncertainty lingers from still-high agricul...

E-commerce MBK to delist Korean e-commerce Connectwave after tender offer

MBK Partners, one of the largest Asian private equity firms, is set to delist South Korea’s leading e-commerce operator Connectwave Co. from t...

K-pop HYBE conflict vs NewJeans label set to escalate into legal battle

HYBE Co., the company behind boy band BTS, has reported Min Hee-jin, the chief of popular girl group NewJeans’ label ADOR, to police for inves...

Real estate Keppel REIT to sell Seoul-based prime office T Tower

Singapore’s Keppel REIT Management Ltd. is set to divest of its Seoul-based prime office building T Tower near Seoul Station.Real estate manag...

Food & Beverage End of the Whopper, Burger King's belated April Fool’s prank?

Burger King on Monday announced a plan to stop selling its iconic Whopper hamburger in South Korea this month after 40 years, provoking an outcry am...

Fashion Korea’s Hansae MK targets global children’s fashion market

South Korean clothing retailer Hansae MK Co. selling National Basketball Association (NBA) apparel in the country aims to expand its presence with i...

Beauty & Cosmetics Aekyung AGE20's to launch cushion foundation in Japan

AGE20's, South Korean cosmetic company Aekyung Industrial Co. 's flagship cosmetic brand, announced that it held a new cushion foundation for a Japa...

Advertising & Marketing Doosan Robotics, Bodyfriend to collaborate on marketing

South Korea's Bodyfriend Inc. announced on Thursday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Doosan Robotics Inc. for co-marketing th...