Digital Key 2

Electronics Now, slim is in – and Samsung aims to be No. 1 with Galaxy S25 Edge

With the advent of mobile AI, the performance arms race among smartphone makers is reaching diminishing returns, as some market analysts put it.The ...

Airlines Korea’s Sono to sell Air Premia stake to focus on another LCC

South Korea's top resort operator Sono Hospitality Group has decided to sell its entire stake in low-cost carrier (LCC) Air Premia Inc. at a profit ...

K-pop K-pop stocks surge as China set to loosen cultural ban after 9 years

Shares in South Korea’s leading entertainment companies are rallying amid growing signs that China will likely lift its longstanding ban on Ko...

Shipping & Shipbuilding Hanwha Ocean shares sink after KDB's sale of 4.2% stake

Investors rushed to dump Hanwha Ocean Co. shares early Tuesday after its second-largest shareholder, Korea Development Bank, cashed in on a 4.2% sta...

Earnings Kia maintains double-digit margin in Q1 with record revenue

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, extended its double-digit profit margin streak to a 10th consecutive quarter, posting recor...

Batteries SK On seals $2.8 bn battery deal with Bezos-backed US EV start-up Slate

SK On Co., the battery subsidiary of South Korea’s energy conglomerate SK Group, has signed a supply agreement worth an estimated 4 trillion w...

Economy Korea’s Q1 economic contraction adds to stimulus expectations

South Korea's economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter as exports and consumption fell amid a political crisis and fears over the impact...

Corporate strategy Samsung seeks tech alliance with top US universities for robotics, AI, 6G

In an ambitious bid to shape the future of technology, Samsung Electronics Co. is launching a sweeping initiative to collaborate with elite North Am...

Mergers & Acquisitions DB Insurance becomes Daol Investment’s No.2 shareholder

DB Insurance Co., a leading South Korean non-life insurance company, has become Daol Investment & Securities Co.'s second-largest shareholder af...

Foreign exchange S.Korea plans $1.2 bn forex bond issue after presidential election

South Korea plans to issue up to $1.2 billion in foreign exchange stabilization bonds as early as June, in what would mark the new administration&rs...

Asset management Mirae Asset’s default option retirement funds top $700 mn in assets

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. now manages over one-third of South Korea’s default-option retirement funds, with the assets it operates un...

Real estate Mirae, Koramco, Hana shortlisted for Korea Post’s core real estate fund

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., Koramco REITs Management and Trust Co. and Hana Alternative Asset Management Co. were shortlisted for the mandat...

Korean stock market South Korean stocks, currency dive amid deeper US tariff turmoil

The South Korean stock market logged its biggest daily loss of more than 5% in eight months on Monday, joining its Asian peers bruised by panic sell...

Bio & Pharma ABL Bio lands $2.8 billion license-out deal with GSK

ABL Bio Inc., a South Korean biotech company, will license out its proprietary blood-brain barrier shuttle platform, called the Grabody-B, to UK-bas...

Asset management Strong momentum in non-US markets, digital real estate: Principal AM CEO

It is time to shift focus toward non-US markets after years of stellar performance of US assets driven by the robust world’s No. 1 economy, sa...

Entertainment SM Entertainment acquires additional 11.4% stake in DearU for $9.2 mn

SM Entertainment Co., South Korea’s music powerhouse behind internationally popular boy and girl bands like EXO and aespa, has acquired an add...

Travel & Leisure SoftBank-backed Yanolja raises stake in Modetour as No. 2 shareholder

South Korea’s top travel and accommodation booking platform operator Yanolja Co. has increased its stake in travel agency Modetour Network Inc...

Pension funds Global assets drive Korean teachers' fund to 11.1% return in 2024

The Korean Teachers’ Credit Union (KTCU) achieved an 11.1% return on investments in 2024, with overseas portfolios in stocks, infrastructure a...

Cryptocurrencies BlackRock sees digital assets at critical turning point

Digital assets are poised for robust structural growth – not just as investment vehicles but as strategic assets – fueled by growing ins...

Pension funds S.Korea’s NPS to double pension fund size by 2050, hike risky assets

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) is projected to nearly double its fund size to 3,500 trillion won ($2.38 trillion) by 2050, follo...

Real estate Shinhan REITs picked as sole bidder for BNK Digital Tower

Shinhan REITs Management is expected to acquire BNK Digital Tower, an office building in the affluent neighborhood of Gangnam in southern Seoul, aft...

Aerospace & Defense Hanwha Aerospace plans record $2.5 bn rights offering for plant expansion

Hanwha Aerospace Co., a leading South Korean defense company, said on Thursday it is raising 3.6 trillion won ($2.5 billion) in new capital through ...

Bio & Pharma SillaJen: First to use lab-grown human tissue to find best cancer drug dose

South Korean biotechnology firm SillaJen Inc. is pioneering a new approach to determine the best dose for a cancer drug combination in clinical tria...

Real estate IGIS puts office tower, 2 nearby hotels on market in bundled sale

Prime office complex AP Tower and two adjacent hospitality properties in Seoul’s Gangnam Business District have been put up for sale in a bu...

Games Krafton invests in 10 overseas game startups in 2024

Krafton Inc. invested in 10 overseas game developers in 2024 in search of the next big franchise intellectual property (IP) following its mega-hit t...

Rights offerings Samsung SDI to raise $1.4 bn in rights offering for facility expansion

Samsung SDI Co. will issue new shares worth 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion), its first rights offering in two decades, to fund bold facility and R&...

Upcoming IPOs Hanwha Energy begins IPO process, key to 3rd-generation shift

Hanwha Energy Corp., wholly owned by Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn’s three sons, has embarked on the process of going public – a ...

Webtoons Naver’s Webtoon hints at ad business expansion in 2025

Webtoon Entertainment Inc., the Nasdaq-listed storytelling platform operator under South Korea’s internet giant Naver Corp., is set to expand ...

Economy S.Korea’s factory output dips in January; Retail sales, investment slow

South Korea’s factory production decreased in the first month of this year due to a manufacturing slowdown, while private consumption and busi...

Automobiles Hyundai CEO Muñoz named MotorTrend Person of the Year

South Korea’s top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer José Muñoz was picked as the most powerful figure in the in...