Kakao users' carbon reduction

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...

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...

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...

Energy SK Innovation E&S to secure 10 mn tons of LNG to compete with BP, Shell

SK Innovation E&S (SKI E&S), the natural gas business unit of South Korea’s SK Innovation Co., is set to begin an LNG trading business...

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...

Mergers & Acquisitions PCB maker Isupetasys cancels M&A with carbon nanotube producer

South Korean printed circuit board (PCB) maker Isupetasys Co. has withdrawn a 300-billion-won ($210 million) deal to buy Jeio Co., one of the countr...

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...

ESG Korea Investment Holdings’ MSCI ESG rating upgraded to A

Korea Investment Holdings Co. said on Thursday it was upgraded by three notches from B to A in the MSCI ESG rating this year.The MSCI ESG rating is ...

Korean startups DOR sets sights on TikTok-like virtual world for gamers  

South Korean startup DOR Corporation has thrown down the gauntlet to Discord, a popular global social platform for gamers, with its TikTok-like soci...

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...

Shipping & Shipbuilding HMM introduces S.Korea's first LNG-powered vessels

South Korea's HMM Co. said on Friday that it will introduce two 7,700 TEU (1 TEU equals one 20-foot container) container ships powered by liquefied ...

Retail S.Korea’s food delivery apps relish fresh boom in demand

South Korea’s online food delivery market is poised to hit record-high transactions in 2024 as lower fees triggered by Coupang Eats’ fre...

Fintech NinjaTrader to revitalize Koreans’ domestic, overseas derivatives investments

NinjaTrader Group LLC., a leading US futures broker, is set to accelerate South Koreans’ investments in overseas derivatives while seeking to ...

Construction Lotte E&C develops low-carbon cement construction

Lotte Engineering & Construction (E&C) said on Tuesday developed carbon dioxide-infused mortar technology for flooring with Hanil Cement Co....

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...

Tech, Media & Telecom S-1 releases CCTV monitoring service

South Korea's security service provider S-1 Corp. said on Monday it launched CCTV Monitoring Service, a system designed to notify customers of any r...

Artificial intelligence SK Telecom unveils AI personal agent Aster for global users

SK Telecom Co. on Tuesday unveiled an AI-driven personal assistant Aster (A*) that understands users' intentions and goes beyond answering simple qu...

Tech, Media & Telecom LG Uplus unveils content review platform 1Row

South Korea's LG Uplus Corp. said on Wednesday it launched 1Row, a content review platform for movies and dramasUsers can access cast and director i...

Chemical Industry HD Hyundai OCI supplies recycled tire materials to Hankook Tire

HD Hyundai OCI, the petrochemical affiliate of HD Hyundai Oilbank, said on Tuesday it started to supply Hankook Tire & Technology with recycled ...

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...

Webtoons Instagram poised to crack Korean webcomics market

Big tech has begun its encroachment on the South Korean webcomics market, largely dominated by local players over the past two decades, fanning fear...

Electronics Samsung unveils generative wallpaper of AI TVs

Samsung Electronics Co. said on Wednesday the launch of its Generative Wallpaper feature for the 2024 Neo QLED and QLED models, powered by Tizen OS....

Artificial intelligence Kakao to launch AI messenger service Kanana in H1 2025

South Korea’s platform giant Kakao Corp. will roll out Kanana, a conversational AI agent-integrated messenger app, in the first half of next y...

Korean games Netmarble’s RPG ‘Solo Leveling’ reaches 50 mn cumulative users

South Korean game developer Netmarble Corp. announced on Tuesday that the action role-playing game (RPG) “Solo Leveling: Arise” has reac...