Korean startups

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea’s top cinema chains seek merger to counter box office slump

South Korea’s two leading multiplex operators Lotte Culture Works Co. and Contentree JoongAng Corp. have tentatively agreed to merge in a bid ...

Mergers & Acquisitions Soon for sale: Altos Ventures-backed Cafe Knotted operator

Silicon Valley-based Altos Ventures-backed Good Food For Good (GFFG), operator of South Korea’s popular dessert cafe, Cafe Knotted, will likel...

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...

Tech, Media & Telecom Samsung steps up AR race with advanced microdisplay for smart glasses

Samsung Electronics Co. has launched a major push into next-generation microdisplays for augmented reality (AR) glasses as it aims to position itsel...

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...

Arts Maybe Happy Ending: A robot love story that rewrote Broadway playbook

On an unremarkable evening in November 2024, inside the opulent Belasco Theatre in Manhattan, something quietly historic was taking place.A delicate...

Pension funds NPS yet to schedule external manager selection; PE firms’ fundraising woes deepen

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, has yet to decide on a plan to select local extern...

Automobiles BMW surpasses Mercedes in Korean sales for 1st time in 10 years

The top five imported car brands in South Korea underwent a major shake-up last year. BMW overtook Mercedes-Benz in sales for the first time in a de...

Arts Seoul appeal: Korean art captivates Indonesia’s affluent connoisseurs

JAKARTA – Last Thursday, Baik Art gallery in Jakarta, Indonesia, was crowded with well-heeled art patrons eager to meet a revered artist from ...

Business & Politics Trump Jr. meets Korean business chiefs in back-to-back sessions

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, spent his one-and-a-half-day visit to South Korea in back-to-back private meetings wi...

Korean chipmakers Samsung in talks to supply customized HBM4 to Nvidia, Broadcom, Google

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s leading memory chipmaker, is in talks to supply customized sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory, or HBM...

Automobiles Exports of Korea-made used cars to hit record high in 2025

South Korea’s exports of used cars by its homegrown auto brands are expected to hit a historic high this year, thanks to their improved brand ...

Steel POSCO raises ship steel prices as Korea's tariffs curb supply

POSCO Holdings Inc. has raised second-quarter prices of thick plates used in vessels amid concerns over tighter supply after South Korea levied anti...

Asset management Mirae Asset bets on China as Korean investors’ US focus draws concern

South Korea’s leading asset manager Mirae Asset Financial Group is increasingly unveiling China-focused investment products as Chairman P...

Business & Politics Seoul, Washington agree on July tariff deal framework in '2+2' trade talks

WASHINGTON, D.C. – South Korea and the US have agreed to work together to craft a comprehensive tariff-liberalization package by July 8, marki...

E-commerce JD.com opens Korean logistics centers, preluding C-commerce invasion

JD.com, often dubbed China’s answer to Amazon.com, has opened its own logistics centers in South Korea, becoming the first Chinese e-commerce ...

Earnings Hyundai Motor posts solid Q1; rough road ahead on Trump's auto tariffs

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. defied mounting global trade headwinds and a fresh round of US import tariffs to deliver record ...

IPOs LG Electronics eyes India IPO delay, says plan in flux

LG Electronics Inc. is mulling putting off an initial public offering of its wholly owned subsidiary in India amid growing volatility in the global ...

Earnings SK Hynix’s Q1 profit soars on HBM chips, beats Samsung’s overall earnings

SK Hynix Inc., the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, reported a dramatic surge in first-quarter profits on Thursday, delivering the sec...

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...

Business & Politics Trump Jr. to visit Seoul next week to meet Korean business leaders

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the US President Donald Trump, is set to visit Seoul next week and meet with Korean business leaders grappling w...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix makes strides in CXL technology, escalating rivalry

SK Hynix Inc., the leading global high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip provider, has moved faster than its rivals in the commercialization of the next-g...

Economy Trump’s tariffs are hitting exports, early Korean data show

The effects of President Trump’s new tariffs are starting to be felt across the world, preliminary South Korean trade data suggest, as Seoul p...

Economy China bans export of Korean goods containing its rare earth metals to US

The Chinese government has warned South Korean companies of retributions for exporting any product containing its critical metals to US military con...

Travel & Leisure Korean hotels bask in rising foreign visitors; travel agencies in trouble

Hotels in South Korea are booming thanks to a surge in foreign visitors on a weaker won currency, while domestic travel agencies are suffering from ...

Mergers & Acquisitions DB Insurance becomes Daol Investment’s No.2 shareholder

DB Insurance Co., a leading South Korean non-life insurance company, has become Daol Investment & Securities Co.'s second-largest shareholder af...

Batteries Samsung SDI, Hanwha Ocean to usher in battery-driven submarine era

Hanwha Ocean Co. and Samsung SDI Co. will start evaluating their jointly developed lithium-ion battery system for a submarine with South Korea&rsquo...

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 ...

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...

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...