Kakao online payments

Cryptocurrencies RedotPay lands in Seoul with crypto cards

RedotPay, a Hong Kong-based blockchain fintech company, has arrived in South Korea with its cryptocurrency-based payment cards and is poised to disr...

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...

E-commerce Coupang’s Q1 revenue up; quarterly dip signals rising competition

Coupang Inc., South Korea’s largest e-commerce platform, extended its year-on-year sales growth with an 11.1% increase to post $7.9 billion in...

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...

E-commerce StockX in merger talks with Naver’s online reseller Kream

StockX, the world’s most popular online resale marketplace, is in talks to merge with Kream, a resale unicorn under South Korea’s tech 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...

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-...

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...

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...

Korean startups AI agent Gentoo poised to revolutionize online shopping

South Korean artificial intelligence startup Waddle Corp. is gearing up to reshape the online retail industry with artificial intelligence-powered i...

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...

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...

IPOs K Bank drops 2025 IPO in 3rd Kospi listing cancellation

K Bank, a South Korean online lender, said on Wednesday it has again canceled its initial public offering plan amid the languid stock market an...

Tech, Media & Telecom China's Xiaomi establishes S.Korean branch

China's IT giant Xiaomi has entered the South Korean market. Xiaomi said on Monday it established its South Korean branch, Xiaomi Korea, and wi...

Fintech Korea’s Naver Pay partners with WeChat Pay for mobile payments in China

South Korean tech giant Naver Corp. said on Tuesday it has partnered with WeChat Pay to offer a Naver Pay mobile pay and digital wallet service usin...

Upcoming IPOs Online lender K Bank eyes Feb 2025 IPO at lower valuation

K Bank, a South Korean online lender, is making a fresh attempt to list on the Korean stock market in February 2025 as bitcoin’s record-breaki...

Social media Seoul probes fake online accounts of Hyundai Motor advisor Sung Kim

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has launched an investigation into social media accounts pretending to be Hyundai Motor Group advisor Sung Kim,...

Bio & Pharma SK Biopharm submits NDA of epilepsy drug to China

South Korea's SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. said on Tuesday it submitted the new drug application (NDA) for its flagship epilepsy drug Cenobamate to Chi...

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...

Logistics Kakao Mobility, Samyang Logistics partner on fulfillment services

Kakao Mobility Corp., South Korea’s most popular ride-hailing app operator, said on Monday that it partnered with logistics firm Samyang Logis...

Artificial intelligence Naver’s AI-powered search, online shopping services to go into full swing

South Korea’s Naver Corp. has been preparing for years to take its artificial intelligence-based services to the next level. The tech giant no...

Retail Lotte Mart to launch grocery shopping app

South Korea's Lotte Mart and Lotte Super will introduce a grocery-focused app, Lotte Mart Zeta, in the first half of next year to expand its digital...

Automobiles Hyundai Motor aims high for online small EV sales in Japan

TOKYO – Hyundai Motor Co. will accelerate its penetration into Japan, a market it has been struggling to crack for decades, with small-size el...

Future mobility Kakao Mobility to launch outdoor robot delivery

Kakao Mobility Corp., South Korea’s largest taxi-hailing app operator, said on Monday that it signed a business agreement with Robotis, a comp...

Energy Kia, KEPCO collaborate to build power ecosystem using PBV

South Korea's Kia Corp. and Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), the state-run utility company, said on Thursday that they signed a memorandum of und...