March

E-commerce Naver, Kurly tie up to counter e-commerce giant Coupang

South Korea’s online giant Naver Corp. and dawn grocery platform service provider Kurly Inc. have joined forces for a potential stake acquisit...

Culture & Trends S.Korea’s medical tourism thrives on weak currency

Foreign visitors to South Korea jumped nearly 20% early this year, largely driven by a sharp depreciation in the country’s currency value agai...

Retail Koreans cut spending in March, except on health, education

South Korean consumers exhibited recessionary spending behavior in March, cutting expenditures across nearly all sectors, except healthcare and educ...

Retail Koreans cut spending in March, except on health, education

South Korean consumers exhibited recessionary spending behavior in March, cutting expenditures across nearly all sectors, except healthcare and educ...

Pension funds NPS gears up for investment overhaul with boost in risk assets

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the country’s largest institutional investor, is set to overhaul its investment strategy w...

Shareholder value Celltrion to cancel $140 mn in treasury shares, stock up

South Korea’s leading biosimilar drug developer Celltrion Inc. announced on Friday a plan to cancel $140 million worth of treasury shares to i...

Korean stock market Korea’s Nextrade stock exchange debuts; YG Entertainment tops 1st day

South Korea’s first alternative stock exchange Nextrade (NXT) started trading on Tuesday, challenging the Korea Exchange’s (KRX) long-st...

Automobiles Hankook Tire, Lamborghini strengthen ties as chairmen set to meet

Cho Hyun-bum, chairman of Hankook & Company Co., the holding firm of South Korea’s largest tire maker Hankook Tire & Technology Co., i...

Shipping & Shipbuilding US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth eyes March visit to Seoul

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is arranging a visit to South Korea next month to inspect shipyards and discuss cooperation on naval vessel constr...

Electronics LG Electronics hits record sales in India, paving way for 2025 IPO

LG Electronics Inc. posted its largest-ever sales in India in 2024, providing a boost to the planned initial public offering of its Indian unit this...

Regulations South Korea to fully resume short selling in March: FSC Chief

South Korea will allow short selling on all listed stocks in the country next month as planned, said the chief of the country’s financial regu...

Shipping & Shipbuilding HMM seeks to acquire parts of SK Shipping for $1.4 bn from Hahn & Co.

HMM Co., South Korea’s largest ocean carrier, is seeking to buy SK Shipping Co., excluding its liquefied natural gas (LNG) transportation busi...

Mergers & Acquisitions Seoul Private Equity seeks to buy Winia under court receivership

Seoul Private Equity has signed a conditional agreement to buy Winia Co., a home appliance manufacturer under court receivership, through a stalking...

Korean stock market MSCI Korea Index removes four petrochem firms, seven other stocks

MSCI, a global index compiler, said on Wednesday it has removed 11 stocks, including Lotte Chemical Corp., from its Korea index without any addition...

Tech, Media & Telecom Microsoft CEO Nadella seeks AI alliance with Hyundai, POSCO, Shinhan, KT

Microsoft Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Satya Nadella is seeking to forge an artificial intelligence alliance with major South Korean companies...

Korean stock market Alternative stock exchange Nextrade to launch on March 4

Nextrade, South Korea’s first alternative stock exchange, enabling trading of stocks listed on the Kospi and the Kosdaq for 12 hours a day is ...

Upcoming IPOs Seoul Guarantee Insurance sharply cuts IPO valuation

Seoul Guarantee Insurance Co. (SGI) has slashed its target valuation by about 40% in a renewed attempt to go public on the South Korean stock exchan...

Energy KHNP, Westinghouse end legal dispute; Korea nears Czech nuclear deal

South Korea's state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) said on Friday it has reached an agreement with US-based Westinghouse Electric Co...

Business & Politics Korea sharply cuts 2025 growth forecast, opens door for extra budget

South Korea sharply lowered its economic growth forecast for this year amid the prolonged political turmoil following President Yoon Suk Yeol’...

Automobiles Korean carmakers to bolster lineups with EVs, hydrogen models

Hyundai Motor Co. and other South Korean carmakers will release various types of new models ranging from hybrid sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and el...

Entertainment TVing beefs up sports content, narrowing gap with Netflix

TVing, a South Korean over-the-top (OTT) platform, is beefing up its live sports programming and TV series featuring baseball players to catch up to...

Economy Korea’s export growth at 7-month low amid growing external risk

South Korea’s export growth slowed to a seven-month low in October despite strong shipments of semiconductors and automobiles, stoking concern...

Energy Czech anti-trust body puts signing of nuclear power deal on hold

The Czech anti-trust body put a temporary block on the conclusion of a contract with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) for the construction...

IPOs Korea’s LG CNS, DN Solutions seek billions of dollars via Jan IPOs

LG CNS Co., DN Solutions Co. and other South Korean companies aim to raise billions of dollars through domestic initial public offerings (IPOs) in J...

Tech, Media & Telecom Hyundai Motor Group becomes KT's largest shareholder

Hyundai Motor Group has officially become the largest shareholder of South Korea's major telecommunications company KT Corp., following a public int...

Debt financing Korean firms rush to sell bonds with yields at over 2-yr low

South Korea’s corporate bond markets are having an unusually busy summer as companies are rushing to sell debts to lock in lower interest cost...

Banking & Finance Korea’s Woori Bank raises $550 mn in AT1 hybrid bond

South Korean major bank Woori Bank said on Thursday that it raised $550 million by issuing additional tier 1 (AT1) hybrid bonds on July 17 with call...

Insurance Kyobo Life gets Moody's A1 credit rating for 10 consecutive years

South Korea's Kyobo Life Insurance Co. announced on Tuesday that it has received an A1 (stable) insurance financial strength rating from Moody's Rat...

Airlines Korean Air expects US approval for Asiana merger by end-Oct: report

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s No. 1 full-service carrier, expects to gain full approval from the US government by the end of October to ...

Pension funds NPS logs 5.8% return in Q1 led by US tech stock rally

National Pension Service (NPS) of South Korea, the world’s third-largest pension fund, posted a 5.82% investment return for the first quarter ...