Future Brand Index

Mergers & Acquisitions Harman acquires Masimo’s audio arm in Samsung’s car audio push

Harman International Industries Inc., wholly owned by Samsung Electronics Co., has acquired Masimo Corp.’s audio business for $350 million, a ...

Beauty & Cosmetics Seoul-backed K-beauty brands set to make global mark

As Korean beauty products continue to captivate global consumers, five Seoul-based cosmetics and wellness companies are gearing up to penetrate deep...

Batteries POSCO Future M to make spherical graphite as it cuts dependence on China

POSCO Future M Co., South Korea’s leading battery materials maker, is set to manufacture spherical graphite – a critical material for ba...

Beauty & Cosmetics Packaging rides K-beauty wave: Shares of cosmetics container makers soar

As South Korea’s independent beauty brands continue to take the global stage by storm, investors are now looking beyond the creams and serums ...

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 KFC’s Korean operations up for sale

Orchestra Private Equity has begun the process of divesting the South Korean operations of fast-food chain KFC, which has seen earnings growth since...

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 ...

Leadership & Management Samsung Chairman Lee meets with Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun for partnership

BEIJING – Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong has met with Xiaomi Inc. Chief Executive Lei Jun in the Chinese capital, raising specu...

Corporate strategy Hyundai chief Chung Euisun targets software-led car dominance by 2028

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun has set an ambitious target to outpace Tesla Inc. in software-defined vehicle (SDV) technology by 2028, un...

Leadership & Management Kakao founder Kim to resign as control tower chair

Kakao Corp. founder Kim Beom-soo, also known as Brian Kim, will step down as chairman of the South Korean tech giant’s top decision-making bod...

Stocks China stock funds outperform US funds in South Korea

Chinese stocks are attracting South Korean investors looking beyond Wall Street amid the downturn in US Big Tech stocks.South Korea’s equity f...

Travel & Leisure J-R AMC, BlueCove bid on $70 million sale of Mirae Asset, NPS’ Shilla Stay

The sale of Shilla Stay Dongtan, a premium business hotel operated by South Korea’s Hotel Shilla Co., has attracted four bidders, underscoring...

Electronics LG renames premium built-in appliance brand; Moody’s outlook up

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s top appliance maker, has rebranded its 10-year-old premium built-in kitchen appliance business to double do...

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...

Automobiles Hyundai Motor launches future strategy division overseeing M&As

Hyundai Motor Group has created a future business strategy division that serves as a control tower for the automotive group’s expansion into n...

Korean stock market MSCI Korea Index removes four petrochem firms, seven other stocks

MSCI, a global index compiler, said on Wednesday it has removed 11 stocks, including Lotte Chemical Corp., from its Korea index without any addition...

Artificial intelligence LG, SNU team up to develop AI modeling for protein structure predictions

LG AI Research Institute, the artificial intelligence think-tank of LG Group, South Korea’s fourth-biggest conglomerate, on Thursday signed a ...

Corporate restructuring POSCO seeks $1 bn restructuring amid weak steel, battery materials sectors

South Korea’s POSCO Holdings Inc. said on Monday it plans to sell 61 unprofitable and non-core assets to raise 1.5 trillion won ($1 billion) a...

Retail Korean sportswear brand Fila thrives in China, boding well for 2025 profit

South Korean sportswear brand Fila Holdings Corp. posted a loss in the fourth quarter of last year, hit by the downturn in the apparel industry and ...

Beauty & Cosmetics Amorepacific's Aestura to enter US market with Sephora

South Korean beauty and cosmetics giant Amorepacific Corp. said on Wednesday that its derma cosmetic brand Aestura will enter the American market wi...

Private equity Korea’s Hwasung Cosmetics shines with Affirma Capital’s Midas touch

Singapore-based private equity firm Affirma Capital has turned Hwasung Cosmetics into an emerging original design manufacturer (ODM) for global beau...

Retail KT&G establishes Uzbekistan corporation

South Korean tobacco maker KT&G Corp. said on Monday it established the Uzbekistan corporation, aiming to boost its tobacco brand awareness in...

Automobiles Hyundai Motor, Nvidia team up for AI development for future mobility

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Group said on Friday that it has teamed up with Nvidia Corp. to accelerate the development of advanc...

Automobiles Hyundai Motor vows record investment of $16.7 bn in South Korea

Hyundai Motor Group will invest 24.3 trillion won ($16.7 billion) this year in South Korea, the largest-ever annual investment in its home country, ...

Automobiles Hyundai Motor: First auto brand available for purchase on Amazon Autos

You can now buy a Hyundai on Amazon.You read that right. You can buy a vehicle on the same site where you purchase dinosaur balloons and roller skat...

Automobiles BMW retains throne in South Korea’s imported car market

German luxury carmaker BMW claimed the mantle of top imported car brand in South Korea for a second consecutive year in 2024, beating out rival Merc...

Mergers & Acquisitions KL & Partners buys cosmetics brand Manyo Factory for $130 mn

KL & Partners, a South Korean private equity firm, has agreed to buy Kosdaq-listed cosmetics company Manyo Factory Co., which has been building ...

Robotics Samsung joins humanoid robots race with larger stake in Rainbow Robotics

Samsung Electronics Co. has become the largest shareholder of Rainbow Robotics Co., a South Korean collaborative robot maker, as the tech giant spen...

Retail E-Land manages New Balance’s record $689 mn in Korean sales

South Korea’s retail giant E-Land Group has achieved 1 trillion won ($689 million) in Korean sales of the global sports footwear and apparel b...

Foreign exchange Korea to relax FX rules by December to boost dollar selling

South Korea will raise the limits on forward dollar purchases and expand the foreign exchange swap line between the National Pension Service (NPS) a...