MS CEO Summit 2024

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...

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...

Private equity Geopolitics rewrite investment playbook – and that’s an opportunity: KKR

In an era of escalating geopolitical uncertainty, the head of one of the world’s largest private equity firms sees opportunity – not ret...

Automobiles Hyundai chief Chung, GM CEO Barra to meet September in Detroit

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chairman Chung Euisun and General Motors Co. Chair and Chief Executive Mary Barra are slated to meet in September in D...

Asset management Stay liquid, be selective, look outside US tech, says TCW CEO

Global financial markets are facing rising volatility and uncertainty this year as the US stock market rally led by Big Tech is losing steam amid co...

Shipping & Shipbuilding HD Hyundai on course for $1.55 bn order amid US-China trade war

HD Hyundai Co., the world’s largest shipbuilding group, is emerging as a key beneficiary of the Trump administration’s tariff policies a...

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...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix aims to lock in all 2026 HBM orders by mid-2025

SK Hynix Inc., the world’s largest supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), aims to lock in orders for its entire 2026 HBM output by the end o...

Pension funds Global assets drive Korean teachers' fund to 11.1% return in 2024

The Korean Teachers’ Credit Union (KTCU) achieved an 11.1% return on investments in 2024, with overseas portfolios in stocks, infrastructure a...

Leadership & Management Samsung Chairman Lee meets with Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun for partnership

BEIJING – Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong has met with Xiaomi Inc. Chief Executive Lei Jun in the Chinese capital, raising specu...

Banking & Finance Hana Financial CEO set for reappointment with foreign investor backing

More than half of the foreign shareholders in Hana Financial Group have thrown their support behind Chief Executive Ham Young-joo for a second term,...

Business & Politics S.Korea wary of inclusion on US ‘Dirty 15’ nations list for reciprocal tariffs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The US government plans to unveil country-specific reciprocal tariffs on April 2, with particular attention to nations impo...

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...

Automobiles Kia to release PV9 in 2029, retains CEO for 3 more years

Kia Corp. will release a new purpose-built vehicle (PBV) model every two years, with plans to launch the PV9 in 2029 and its first model, the PV5, t...

Automobiles Kia to ramp up Seltos output to meet high global demand

Kia Corp. will expand production of its compact sport utility vehicle, the Seltos, after selling 310,000 units of the model across the globe, making...

Stocks China stock funds outperform US funds in South Korea

Chinese stocks are attracting South Korean investors looking beyond Wall Street amid the downturn in US Big Tech stocks.South Korea’s equity f...

Private equity South Korea emerges as private equity firms’ global hub

New York-based Apollo Global Management and London-based Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) have joined the ranks of global private equity firms that ...

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 ...

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...

Korean startups South Korea loses tech startups at rapid clip amid dwindling funding

Concerns are growing that the tech startup ecosystem in South Korea, home to global tech household name Samsung Electronics Co., would be trapped in...

Mergers & Acquisitions Affinity Equity set to close $1.1 bn purchase of Lotte Rental

Affinity Equity Partners said on Friday that it will sign a definitive agreement on March 11 with Lotte Group to acquire a 56.2% stake in South Kore...

Pension funds S.Korea’s pension fund NPS posts record return in 2024 on US stock rally

The National Pension Service (NPS), South Korea’s state-run pension fund and the country’s largest institutional investor, said on ...

Sovereign wealth funds S.Korea’s sovereign fund KIC logs 8.5% return in 2024

The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) reported an annual return of 8.49% last year thanks to steady gains from equity investments led by the AI tec...

Automobiles Hyundai CEO Muñoz named MotorTrend Person of the Year

South Korea’s top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer José Muñoz was picked as the most powerful figure in the in...

Shareholder value Hana Financial to boost corporate value by raising shareholder returns

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group aims to increase corporate value by ramping up shareholder returns based on a sustainable profit structure ...

Electric vehicles Kia CEO stands firm on electrification strategy, premieres EV4 in Europe

TARRAGONA, Spain – Despite a temporary slowdown in electric vehicle demand and intensifying competition from Chinese automakers, Kia Corp. rem...

Earnings Coupang posts profit for 2 straight years in 2024 on new growth drivers

Coupang Inc., South Korea’s answer to global e-commerce giant Amazon.com, ended last year with profit for the second straight year thanks to t...

Earnings Meritz cheers record profit in 2024, boasts top 3 market cap

Meritz Financial Group Inc. has reported its best-ever net profit for last year thanks to handsome gains from investments by its insurance and secur...

Business & Politics Woori Financial CEO Yim Jong-yong should stay for governance: FSS chief

Woori Financial Group Chief Executive and Chairman Yim Jong-yong should keep his post through to the end of his term and lead the banking group&rsqu...

Aerospace & Defense S.Korea’s defense order backlog reaches record $73.1 billion at end-2024

South Korea’s seven major defense companies saw their combined order backlog reach a record 105.6 trillion won ($73.1 billion) at the end of 2...