Cheongdam-dong luxury goods street

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...

Fashion Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Chanel: Winners in S.Korea’s luxury market

South Korea’s luxury goods market is becoming increasingly polarized, with ultra-high-end brands such as Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Chan...

Mergers & Acquisitions Aekyung Industrial up for sale as group struggles to ease liquidity crunch

South Korea’s Aekyung Group has put its flagship subsidiary, Aekyung Industrial Co., up for sale as part of broader restructuring efforts to s...

E-commerce Luxury fashion platform Balaan files for court receivership amid slump

South Korea’s top luxury goods e-commerce platform Balaan Co. said on Monday it has filed for corporate rehabilitation with a Seoul court as t...

Retail Koreans’ craving for luxury goods fades

Until recently, it was not unusual to see people waiting in a long line in front of foreign haute couture brands’ stores early in the morning ...

Economy S.Korea logs current account surplus in Jan; Growth slows

South Korea reported a current account surplus for 21 straight months in January but with a moderated gain largely due to a contraction in the goods...

E-commerce Korea’s beauty wholesaler to invest $10 mn in fashion platform Balaan

South Korea’s cosmetics wholesaler Silicon2 Co. is set to invest $10 million in financially troubled luxury fashion e-commerce platform operat...

Korean stock market South Korean stock trading volume at 8-month high

Trading volume in South Korean stock market has surged to its highest level in eight months, with investors piling into defense, nuclear energy, shi...

Mergers & Acquisitions Shin & Kim’s Jeong Hae Sung named Korea’s most influential M&A lawyer

Jeong Hae Sung, a partner at Shin & Kim, topped the list of South Korea’s 10 most influential M&A lawyers after advising on a total of...

Memo from Howard Marks Prices are not high enough? Trees don't grow to the sky

The S&P 500 index just experienced its best two-year streak since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, with the hype surrounding artificial intel...

Beauty & Cosmetics Korean cosmetics beat Chanel, Lancôme to rank top in US, Japan

South Korea’s cosmetics products, also known as K-beauty, have gained global renown, overtaking French brands such as Chanel and Lancôme...

Retail China's Miniso re-enters S.Korea

Miniso, a household goods store known as "the Chinese version of Daiso", has re-entered South Korea after three years.According to the retail indust...

E-commerce S.Korea's dawn delivery pioneer Kurly sells luxury goods to uplift profit

Kurly Inc., South Korea's dawn delivery service market pioneer, has invited a third-party online retailer to sell luxury goods on its platform to bo...

Executive reshuffles Lotte replaces 21 CEOs, slashes executive jobs by 22% in drastic reshuffle

South Korea’s retail-to-chemical conglomerate Lotte Group on Thursday replaced 21 chief executives across its affiliates and slashed executive...

Korean startups Everyone deserves a good night’s sleep: Munice CEO

Insomnia is a common clinical phenomenon in modern societies profoundly affecting many people’s health and well-being, and South Korean startu...

Beauty & Cosmetics Shilla Duty Free opens Guerlain Ultimate Boutique at Incheon Airport

South Korea's Shilla Duty Free Shop announced on Tuesday it opened the Guerlain Ultimate Boutique, the first flagship store in a global airport, at ...

Culture & Trends Seoul to light up Myeong-dong with LEDs like Times Square

Seoul will light up Myeong-dong, a bustling area with office workers and shoppers in the heart of the city, with 16 large outdoor digital billboards...

Korean food S.Korea’s premium kimchi war escalated by luxury hotels

Kimchi, Koreans’ staple food throughout millennia, has become a new, lucrative revenue source for the country’s luxury hotel chain opera...

Automobiles Genesis unveils GV80 Black, GV80 Coupe Black

Hyundai Motor Co.'s premium brand Genesis on Friday unveiled its large-size sport utility vehicles (SUVs) the Genesis GV80 and GV80 Coupe Black mode...

Automobiles Nexen Tire N'FERA Supreme surpasses 1 mn sales

South Korea’s Nexen Tire Corp. said on Sunday its premium high-performance all-season tire N’FERA Supreme has exceeded 1 million cumulat...

Beauty & Cosmetics CJ Olive Young, Musinsa rivalry heats up in Brooklyn of Seoul

South Korea’s top beauty chain CJ Olive Young Corp. is turning up the heat against Musinsa to contain the rise of the country’s No. 1 on...

Beauty & Cosmetics Shinsegae Int'l opens Swiss Perfection pop-up in Tokyo

Shinsegae International, the cosmetics and fashion division of South Korea's Shinsegae Group, entered Japan's ultra-luxury beauty market by promot...

Leadership & Management Hanwha’s Kim Dong-seon to raise his stake in Galleria to 19.86%

Kim Dong-seon, vice president of South Korea’s Hanwha Galleria Corp. and the third son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon, plans to buy a...

Real estate IGIS puts NPS-backed building in Seoul on sale for $294 mn

IGIS Asset Management Co., one of Asia's largest real estate investment firms, is seeking to sell a building backed by South Korea’s National ...

Companies Samsung, Ottogi unveil exclusive lifestyle TV goods

Samsung Electronics Co. announced on Friday that it collaborated with the domestic food company Ottogi to release limited edition goods called Samsu...

Electronics LG Elec opens LG Labs experience pop-up zone

LG Electronics Inc. announced on Wednesday that it will operate the "Wow Life's Good Lab" pop-up zone at Ground 220 in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, until...

Beauty & Cosmetics Handsome's luxury skincare brand Oera lures Chinese tourists

South Korean clothing manufacturer and retailer Handsome Corp., a Hyundai Department Store Co. unit, is enjoying growing popularity among Chinese vi...

Corporate strategy Lotte leader Shin Dong-bin stresses pivot to AI-centered innovation

Shin Dong-bin, chairman of South Korea’s retail, food and chemicals conglomerate Lotte, on Friday urged affiliate executives to ramp up effort...

Retail More luxury brands seek Korean market on sales surge

South Korea’s luxury goods market, estimated at around $7.1 billion, is experiencing a surge in demand led by affluent consumers in their 40s ...

Banking & Finance Mirae Asset's India Billion Consumer ETF surpasses $150 mn in net assets

South Korea's Mirae Asset Global Investments said on Thursday that the net assets of its TIGER India Billion Consumer ETF surpassed 200 billion wo...