SKorea factory activity

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...

Korean games Krafton buys India’s Nautilus Mobile, fueling IP race in Korean game scene

Krafton Inc., one of South Korea’s top four market-cap gaming firms, has taken over Indian game developer Nautilus Mobile for $14 million, upp...

Mergers & Acquisitions Daol PE buys Youngil Glass to ride Korean cosmetics boom

Daol Private Equity has acquired Youngil Glass Industry Co., a South Korean manufacturer of glass containers, in a 65 billion won ($44.5 million) de...

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 ...

Real estate Global real estate market poised for strong rebound: Savills

The global real estate market is expected to pick up significantly over the next few years, with around $500 billion worth of real estate assets, he...

Economy S.Korea’s factory output dips in January; Retail sales, investment slow

South Korea’s factory production decreased in the first month of this year due to a manufacturing slowdown, while private consumption and busi...

Beauty & Cosmetics Korean beauty giants Amorepacific, LG H&H come back from China woes

South Korea’s two largest cosmetics makers, Amorepacific Corp. and LG H&H Co., are recovering from years of lackluster overseas business p...

Mergers & Acquisitions SK, Lotte's restructuring to drive Korea's M&A market in 2025

SK and Lotte groups remain the focus for South Korean dealmakers as the two conglomerates accelerate restructuring by divesting non-core assets, a s...

Artificial intelligence Naver D2SF invests in N.American AI startup

South Korea's online giant Naver Corp.'s startup nurturing organization D2SF (D2 Startup Factory) invested in North American AI ad tech startup Remb...

Electronics Hanmi Semiconductor to build new TC Bonder plant in Incheon

Hanmi Semiconductor Co., South Korea’s leading chip packaging equipment manufacturer, held a ground-breaking ceremony for its seventh plant of...

Mergers & Acquisitions KL & Partners buys cosmetics brand Manyo Factory for $130 mn

KL & Partners, a South Korean private equity firm, has agreed to buy Kosdaq-listed cosmetics company Manyo Factory Co., which has been building ...

Economy Korea’s 2024 exports hit all-time high, driven by chips, shipments to China

South Korea’s exports, the country’s main growth driver, reached an all-time high in 2024, buoyed by strong semiconductor exports and a ...

Robotics POSCO to buy Korean robotics firm stake for steel business

South Korea’s steel-to-battery materials conglomerate POSCO Group will invest in the leading domestic robotics company to boost its ailing ste...

Robotics Hyundai Motor, Kia unveil wearable robot X-ble Shoulder

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. unveiled the wearable robot X-ble Shoulder at Wearable Robot Tech Day held at the Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang, Gyeong...

Electronics Apple supplier LG Innotek to invest $268.4 mn in Vietnam in 2025

South Korea’s LG Innotek Co., a major contractor for Apple Inc., said on Thursday it plans to spend 375.9 billion won ($268.4 million) next ye...

Korean food CJ CheilJedang to invest $584 mn to build food factories in Europe, US

CJ CheilJedang Corp., South Korea’s largest food company, will spend a total of $584 million to build new food-manufacturing factories in Euro...

Tech, Media & Telecom Naver Band surpasses 6 mn MAU in US

South Korea’s Naver Corp. said on Friday its group-based social media platform Band reached 6.04 million monthly active users (MAU) in the Uni...

Tech, Media & Telecom CJ OliveNetworks to build HiteJinro smart factory in Vietnam

South Korea's CJ OliveNetworks said on Thursday it secured a contract to build a smart factory of the nation's leading soju maker HiteJinro Co. in V...

Electric vehicles Hyundai Mobis to invest $257 mn in EV parts plants in Slovakia

Hyundai Mobis Co., the world’s fifth-largest auto parts maker, agreed to invest some 350 billion won ($256.9 million) in building electric veh...

ASK 2024 NPS bullish on real estate in low interest era: chairman

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) will raise exposure to residential housing and data centers to take advantage of lower interest r...

Food & Beverage Paris Baguette opens 600th overseas store in Canada for global expansion

Paris Baguette opened its 600th overseas store in Toronto, Ontario, as the leading South Korean bakery brand is rapidly expanding its global busines...

Bio & Pharma SK Pharmteco to invest $260 mn in new peptide factory in S. Korea

SK Pharmteco, the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) of South Korea's SK Inc., said on Tuesday that it plans to invest $260 ...

Automobiles Hyundai Motor, Kia to boost partnership with RISD

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. said on Friday they strengthened their partnership with the renowned US art school, Rhode Island School of Design (R...

Energy Taihan Cable completes 1st optical cable plant in Kuwait

Taihan Cable & Solution Co. said on Tuesday it has completed the first fiber optic cable factory in Kuwait, in a joint project with Rank General...

Batteries EcoPro, China’s GEM to build cathode complex in Indonesia

South Korea’s leading electric vehicle cell materials producer EcoPro Group joined hands with the world’s second-largest precursor manuf...

Food & Beverage Samyang to cement lead in South Korean allulose market

Samyang Corp., a 100-year-old South Korean chemical and food ingredient-manufacturer, is poised to cement its leadership in the Korean allulose mark...

Electronics HD Hyundai Electric to build 3rd circuit breaker factory

HD Hyundai Electric Co., a South Korean electric power distribution equipment manufacturer, will spend 120 billion won ($89 million) to build its th...

Food & Beverage Nongshim to build export-only ramen factory in Korea

South Korea’s instant noodle giant Nongshim Co. will build a local plant dedicated to producing ramen — or ramyun, as the company spells...

Batteries Samsung SDI, GM to build $3.5 bn EV battery plant in US

Samsung SDI Co., the world’s No. 6 battery maker, and General Motors Co., the leading US automaker, are set to build a $3.5 billion cell plant...

Aerospace & Defense Hanwha completes Australia plant for howitzers, armored vehicles

South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace Co. has completed building its first overseas plant — producing howitzers and ammunition carriers in Aust...