COVID-19 crisis level

Airlines Korea’s Incheon Airport to upgrade, operate Uzbek airfield in $140m deal

INCHEON – South Korea’s Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) is set to upgrade and operate an airfield in Uzbekistan to expand the...

Economy Trump’s tariffs are hitting exports, early Korean data show

The effects of President Trump’s new tariffs are starting to be felt across the world, preliminary South Korean trade data suggest, as Seoul p...

Private equity Red flags raised even before Homeplus crisis: Sales fall, credit ratings cut

Even before South Korea’s second-largest hypermarket chain Homeplus Co. was put under court receivership due to its worsening financial woes, ...

Leadership & Management Samsung in 'do or die' situation'; Lee sounds crisis alarm

Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong has warned the company's executives that the South Korean tech giant has lost its characteristic "rele...

Economy S.Korea’s default risk dips below pre-martial law levels

South Korea’s financial market has stabilized with a sharp fall in the country’s default risk and some recovery of its currency value ag...

Commodities FOMO-driven gold rush lifts kimchi premium on gold to highest level

With South Korean retail investors joining the global gold rush in ‘fear of missing out’, or FOMO, the country’s gold price has ...

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...

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea’s Cactus PE to buy stake in Kosdaq-listed EV parts firm

South Korea’s Cactus Private Equity is set to acquire a stake in YM Tech Co., a Kosdaq-listed electric vehicle (EV) parts maker, for nearly 20...

Central bank BOK lowers growth forecasts to bolster rate cut expectations

South Korea’s central bank slashed its economic growth forecasts on Monday, adding to views that the monetary authority will cut interest rate...

Economy Political crisis ups downside risk to S.Korea’s economy: S&P, Moody’s

Global credit rating agencies are warning of looming downward pressure on South Korea’s sovereign credit rating about a month after Asia&rsquo...

Banking & Finance Korea Eximbank issues $3 bn global bonds

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) said on Wednesday it issued a total of $3 billion in global bonds, targeting worldwide investors.The matu...

Batteries SK Nexilis gets $133 mn subsidy from Poland

South Korea's SK Nexilis Co., the world’s largest copper foil maker, said on Monday it received a $133 million subsidy from the Polish gover...

Automobiles Kia aims to reclaim Europe with EV2, keeps K4 output unchanged in Mexico

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest carmaker, will start producing its entry-level electrified model EV2 from its plant in Slovakia next y...

Automobiles S.Korea's personal mobilities firm GCoo enters Africa

South Korean personal mobility (PM) company Gbike, the operator of PM sharing service platform Gcoo, said on Wednesday it started the electric kick ...

Central bank S.Korea’s c.bank chief sees limited impact of political turmoil on economy

South Korea’s central bank chief said on Wednesday the impact of political turmoil caused by martial law on Asia’s fourth-largest econom...

Business & Politics S.Korea's Yoon survives impeachment; economic fundamentals firm

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol survived an impeachment vote against him after an overwhelming majority of governing party lawmakers boycotted ...

Economy Korea’s credit fundamentals remain firm amid political crisis: Fitch

South Korea’s credit rating remained unscathed by the political turmoil caused by the short-lived martial law declaration of President Yoon Su...

Economy S&P downplays martial law impact on S.Korean economy

Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said on Thursday "the introduction and swift revocation of martial law in South Korea ...

IPOs Sono International seeks IPO in 2025 with $2.1 billion in corporate value

South Korea’s top resort operator Sono International Co. is seeking an initial public offering of its shares on the Korean market next year, r...

Economy S.Korea’s inflation stays at 1% level for 3rd straight month

South Korea’s consumer prices remained steady at the 1% level for the third straight month in November thanks to a drop in oil prices. But eco...

Central bank BOK makes 1st back-to-back rate cut since 2009 global crisis

South Korea’s central bank lowered interest rates for a second straight meeting on Thursday in a surprise move and left the door open for anot...

Corporate restructuring Lotte Group denies liquidity crisis rumors to calm bond holders

Lotte Group on Thursday denied liquidity crisis rumors sparked by Lotte Chemical Corp.'s struggle to meet a bond redemption request after the South ...

Tech, Media & Telecom Samsung Electro-Mechanics gets European certification for camera SW

South Korea's Samsung Electro-Mechanics said on Wednesday it obtained Automotive SPICE (A-SPICE) Level 3 certification for its vehicle camera modu...

Economy Korea’s household debt sees ‘balloon effect’ as rules tightened in Seoul

South Korea’s household lending market is witnessing a balloon effect as tighter government lending rules for Seoul and its surrounding metrop...

Korean games Netmarble’s RPG ‘Solo Leveling’ reaches 50 mn cumulative users

South Korean game developer Netmarble Corp. announced on Tuesday that the action role-playing game (RPG) “Solo Leveling: Arise” has reac...

Automobiles Hyundai AutoEver SW platform gets A-SPICE level 3 certification

South Korea's Hyundai AutoEver Corp. said on Tuesday that its Mobilgene Classic 2.0 software platform has become the first in South Korea to receive...

Economy Korea’s finance min, central bank chief to take on demographic crisis

South Korea’s finance minister and central bank chief on Monday agreed to address the world’s lowest fertility rate, a most urgent task ...

Leadership & Management Samjong KPMG reappoints CEO Kim Kyo Tae for 4th term

Kim Kyo Tae on Friday was reappointed to a fourth term as chief executive of Samjong KPMG, announced the South Korean unit of the global audit and a...

Artificial intelligence SK Telecom partners with Perplexity to level up conversational search

South Korea's largest telecom company SK Telecom Co. will enhance its conversational search services through a partnership with US AI search startup...

Shipping & Shipbuilding Hanwha Ocean, US Senator discuss US Navy MRO

South Korea's Hanwha Ocean Co. said on Tuesday that it discussed various aspects of the US Navy ship projects with key figures from the US Senate Co...