Kakao Games exchangeable bond

Mergers & Acquisitions Mubadala, Goldman Sachs to invest $700 mn in Kakao Mobility

United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. and Goldman Sachs are set to invest a combined $700 million in Kakao Mobil...

Debt financing Korea Securities Finance eyes its 1st foreign bond sale in 2026

Korea Securities Finance Corp. (KSF) is preparing to issue its first foreign currency-denominated bonds in 2026 to provide low-cost funding to domes...

Earnings KakaoBank posts record Q1 profit, eyes Thai expansion after Indonesia

KakaoBank Corp., a leading South Korean internet-only bank, posted its highest quarterly profit in the first quarter, defying a drop in interest inc...

Korean games NCSOFT invests in US game startup emptyvessel

NCSOFT Corp. has made an equity investment in emptyvessel, a US indie games studio, as part of efforts to expand into the first-person shooter genre...

Debt financing Kookmin Bank raises $700 mn in forex bonds amid strong demand

Kookmin Bank, a unit of KB Financial Group, raised $700 million in foreign exchange bonds on Tuesday, signaling a recovery in investor sentiment tow...

Markets Kakao shares sink on SK Telecom’s stake sell-off news

Kakao Corp. shares underperformed its peers and the broad market on Friday after SK Telecom Co. sold off its entire stake in the South Korean platfo...

Korean games WeMade accuses Shengqu Games of withholding $600 mn in royalties

WeMade Co. on Monday asked the South Korean government to intervene in its ongoing copyright dispute with China’s Shengqu Games, accusing the ...

Games S.Korea’s Krafton to nurture 6 new game studios in India

Krafton Inc., the publisher of global mega-hit “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG), has selected six new Indian game studios to...

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...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix bets on 3D HBM as next game-changer in AI chip race

SK Hynix Inc., the world’s top DRAM memory chipmaker, aims to redefine the competitive landscape in artificial intelligence memory chips with ...

Real estate S.Korean gaming giant Netmarble eyes headquarters building sale

Netmarble Corp., a leading South Korean gaming company, is seeking to sell its headquarters building in Seoul, which could fetch up to 800 billion w...

Asset management South Korea’s young rich vs old rich: Coins, art outpace bonds, funds

Young South Korean millionaires, placing bold wagers on unconventional financial assets such as cryptocurrencies and art, are gaining ground fast, g...

Entertainment Kakao Entertainment scraps IPO, seeks new buyer

Kakao Corp., South Korea’s largest mobile platform, is looking to sell a majority stake in Kakao Entertainment Corp., dropping a plan to take ...

Entertainment Kakao Entertainment sheds loss-making units, revives IPO prospects

Kakao Entertainment Corp. has been divesting unprofitable music labels and digital content platforms, which it has gobbled up over the past few year...

Entertainment Korean entertainment stocks advance, unfazed by US tariff concerns

South Korean entertainment and gaming stocks climbed on Friday, defying a broader market drop as investors sought refuge in sectors seen as immune t...

Korean games Netmarble gets tailwind from new titles, BTS comeback

Netmarble Corp., a leading South Korean gaming company, expects to gain new growth momentum from the launch of nine new titles and the anticipated f...

Short selling All listed stocks to be available for shorting in South Korea

South Korea will allow short selling of all listed stocks in the country as of Monday for the first time in five years, raising expectations of more...

Korean games Krafton buys India’s Nautilus Mobile, fueling IP race in Korean game scene

Krafton Inc., one of South Korea’s top four market-cap gaming firms, has taken over Indian game developer Nautilus Mobile for $14 million, upp...

Mergers & Acquisitions VIG taps KDB financing to buy 40% stake in Kakao Mobility

South Korea’s private equity firm VIG Partners’ buyout of minority stakes in Kakao Mobility Corp., the nation’s most popular taxi-...

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...

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...

Korean games Netmarble to launch new game 'RF Online Next'

Netmarble Corp., South Korea’s leading game developer, is slated to roll out “RF Online Next” on March 20, a revamp of the old tit...

Foreign exchange Seoul to lift curbs on banks' investment in kimchi bonds

South Korea will lift restrictions on banks' purchase of domestically issued foreign currency bonds, dubbed “kimchi bonds," as part of policy ...

Games Chinese games expand foothold in South Korea

Chinese games are making deep inroads into South Korea, increasing their presence in the mobile gaming market amid a lack of restrictions on foreign...

Korean stock market Korea’s Nextrade stock exchange debuts; YG Entertainment tops 1st day

South Korea’s first alternative stock exchange Nextrade (NXT) started trading on Tuesday, challenging the Korea Exchange’s (KRX) long-st...

Mergers & Acquisitions Gaming company NXC looks to unload stroller maker Stokke

NXC Corp., the holding company of South Korea’s Nexon Games Co., is looking to unload Stokke AS, a premium baby stroller brand, for around 700...

Cryptocurrencies Dunamu slapped with 3-month business suspension order

Dunamu Inc., the operator of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, has been hit with a three-month partial business suspension ...

Central bank Bank of Korea cuts rates, growth forecast on Trump tariff policy

South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday cut interest rates while sharply reducing its economic growth forecast as lingering political turmoil fo...

Corporate bonds One-third of Korean petrochem bonds incur valuation losses

South Korean institutional investors, including banks, insurers and securities companies, have yet to fully benefit from recent declines in bond yie...

Corporate bonds S.Korea’s corporate bond market cools amid poor earnings

Investors’ appetite for corporate debts sold by South Korea’s petrochemical, retail and battery companies has waned this month amid grim...