Kakao digital wallet

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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-...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

Earnings Korean financial holding firms log record-high profits in 2024

South Korea’s top four financial holding firms are estimated to have posted their highest-ever profits in 2024, driven by hefty interest incom...

Artificial intelligence Kakao set to announce AI partnership with OpenAI

Kakao Corp., South Korea’s dominant mobile platform, is expected to unveil a business partnership with OpenAI to incorporate the technology of...

IPOs Korean B2B fintech firm Dozn plans Kosdaq IPO for $202.5 mn market cap

South Korea’s business-to-business fintech service provider Dozn is planning an initial public offering on the Kosdaq in February for an estim...

Earnings Kia hits record 2024 sales; profit margins highest among global automakers

South Korea’s second-largest automaker Kia Corp. on Friday posted its highest-ever annual sales, operating profit and profit margins in 2024, ...

Shipping & Shipbuilding HD KSOE wins $2.6 bn order for 12 container ships

South Korea’s largest shipbuilder HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (HD KSOE) said on Thursday it got 3.716 trillion won ...

Deals IMM PE exits Woori Financial with double-digit return

IMM Private Equity has divested its remaining 1.38% stake in Woori Financial Group for 166.4 billion won ($115 million), exiting the South Korean fi...

Webtoons Piccoma tops consumer spending ranking in Japan

Kakao Piccoma, a Japanese digital comics app subsidiary of South Korean mobile giant Kakao Corp., topped the consumer spending ranking in the Japane...

Cryptocurrencies Korea seeks tighter control over digital coins, mulls mandatory disclosures

South Korea plans to tighten its controls over cryptocurrency trade in the country by mandating information disclosures for listed virtual assets an...

Korean startups Imagoworks raises $15.6 mn in Series C funding

Imagoworks, South Korea's AI-based digital dental service startup, said on Tuesday it raised 23 billion won ($15.6 million) in Series C funding.Foun...

Batteries LG Energy, Qualcomm to commercialize BMS solution

South Korea's LG Energy Solution Ltd. said on Monday it partnered with Qualcomm Technologies to commercialize its new system-on-chip (SoC)-based bat...

Banking & Finance Hanwha's financial companies open AI center in San Franciso

South Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate’s financial companies have opened a joint artificial intelligence center in San Francisco, a ...

Korean stock market Korean stocks diverge: Winners, losers of Yoon’s martial law debacle

South Korean stocks showed clear divergences on Wednesday amid a mixed market outlook as President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration, re...

Entertainment SM's UK K-pop group Dear Alice to debut with Gamma

South Korea's SM Entertainment Co. partnered with the US-based music label "Gamma." to globally debut its first British K-Pop boy group Dear Alice.A...

Tech, Media & Telecom Naver, Saudi Arabia's NHC to build JV

South Korea’s Naver Corp. said on Monday it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Saudi Arabia’s National Housing Company (NHC...

Tech, Media & Telecom Team Naver unveils digital twin platform in Saudi Arabia

Naver Cloud, the cloud subsidiary of South Korean online giant Naver Corp., said on Friday that Team Naver participated in the Cityscape Global 2024...

Cryptocurrencies Korea’s crypto exchanges ride bitcoin rally on Trump optimism

South Korea’s crypto exchanges are enjoying a global boom in virtual currencies, including bitcoin, as US President-elect Donald Trump is expe...