Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy

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 ...

K-pop K-pop stocks surge as China set to loosen cultural ban after 9 years

Shares in South Korea’s leading entertainment companies are rallying amid growing signs that China will likely lift its longstanding ban on Ko...

Business & Politics US tariffs add risk premium to dollar assets: Maurice Obstfeld

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The US tariff increases are adding risk premiums to dollar-denominated assets, undermining the dollar’s role as a glo...

Shipping & Shipbuilding Hanwha Ocean shares sink after KDB's sale of 4.2% stake

Investors rushed to dump Hanwha Ocean Co. shares early Tuesday after its second-largest shareholder, Korea Development Bank, cashed in on a 4.2% sta...

Mergers & Acquisitions LG Chem to sell water filter business to Glenwood PE for $692 million

South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. has agreed to sell its water filter business – the world’s second-largest producer of reverse osmosis m...

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...

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 ...

Banking & Finance Shinhan to lead financing for battery storage project in Japan

Shinhan Financial Group will lead 4.9 billion yen ($35 million) in financing for a large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) construction pro...

Batteries LG Energy Solution clinches multibillion-dollar ESS deals in Japan, Europe

LG Energy Solution Ltd. has secured a string of billion-dollar energy storage system (ESS) deals in Japan and Europe, outmaneuvering Chinese rivals ...

Economy S&P reaffirms South Korea’s AA credit rating with stable outlook

S&P Global Ratings has reaffirmed South Korea’s sovereign credit rating at AA with a stable outlook, citing the country’s resilient ...

Corporate strategy Dongwon Industries to delist wholly owned Dongwon F&B

Dongwon Industries Co., the holding company of South Korea’s seafood-to-logistics Dongwon Group, will delist its canned tuna-manufacturing sub...

Leadership & Management Ex-US Congressman Drew Ferguson to head Hyundai's Washington office

Hyundai Motor Group has appointed former Republican Congressman Drew Ferguson as head of its Washington office, a strategic move designed to bolster...

Aerospace & Defense South Korean defense industry thriving on strong overseas demand

The South Korean defense industry's current heyday is expected to continue for a while as global demand for Korean-made weapons and combat systems h...

Carbon neutrality SK Innovation E&S, JB Financial team up for renewable energy loans

JB Financial Group Co., the parent company of Jeonbuk Bank and Gwangju Bank, will join hands with SK Innovation E&S Co. and InnerGen Co. to roll...

Steel POSCO eyes deeper steel, energy ties with global peers

POSCO Group, South Korea’s steelmaking giant, will further bolster its competitiveness in the global steel market and energy value chains thro...

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...

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 ...

Aerospace & Defense Hanwha Aerospace slashes planned rights offering size to $1.6 billion

Hanwha Aerospace Co., a leading South Korean defense company, said on Tuesday it plans to slash the size of its proposed rights offering to 2.3 tril...

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...

Beauty & Cosmetics K-beauty defies trade headwinds as exports to China, US lead sales growth

South Korea’s beauty industry is mounting a powerful global push, defying trade pressures and economic uncertainties with a surge in exports t...

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...

Leadership & Management Samsung mobile chief fills leadership void in device division

Samsung Electronics Co. has appointed TM Roh, president and head of its mobile eXperience (MX) business, as the new chief of its device eXperience (...

Mergers & Acquisitions Aekyung Industrial up for sale as group struggles to ease liquidity crunch

South Korea’s Aekyung Group has put its flagship subsidiary, Aekyung Industrial Co., up for sale as part of broader restructuring efforts to s...

Shipping & Shipbuilding Samsung Heavy makes breakthrough in FLNG liquefaction technology

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a major Korean shipbuilder, has made a breakthrough in its liquefaction technology for floating liquefied natural gas ...

Batteries LG Energy bags 1-GWh ESS battery deal from Poland’s PGE

LG Energy Solution Ltd. will supply 1 gigawatt-hour of energy storage system (ESS) batteries to a state-owned utility company in Poland in a deal ex...

Business & Politics US Chamber of Commerce sees Korea’s business penalties as trade barrier

The US Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest lobbying group, told Washington that South Korea’s penalties on businesspeople are amo...

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...

Batteries LG Energy, Doosan Bobcat tie up for construction equipment battery packs

LG Energy Solution Ltd., the world’s third-largest battery maker, and Doosan Bobcat Inc., a global construction machinery producer, said on We...

Sovereign bonds S.Korea courts active funds for $140 bn treasury issuance

South Korea’s finance ministry will hold its largest-ever investor relations (IR) event for global institutional investors at the end of this ...

Upcoming IPOs Hanwha Energy begins IPO process, key to 3rd-generation shift

Hanwha Energy Corp., wholly owned by Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn’s three sons, has embarked on the process of going public – a ...