SM Entertainment governance

Shareholder activism Korea not to appeal ruling in favor of Mason Capital in Samsung case

South Korea said on Friday it has decided not to appeal a Singaporean court’s rejection of its lawsuit to annul an investor-state dispute sett...

Economy South Korea to boost aid for chipmakers to $23 billion, expanding extra budget

South Korea’s government is planning to increase support for chip makers to around $23 billion, proposing a bigger-than-expected supplementary...

Sovereign wealth funds Korea’s WGBI inclusion moved to next April; Seoul works on policy steps

South Korea’s much-anticipated inclusion of its bonds in the FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI) has been postponed to April 2026 from Nov...

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 ...

Entertainment Kakao Entertainment sheds loss-making units, revives IPO prospects

Kakao Entertainment Corp. has been divesting unprofitable music labels and digital content platforms, which it has gobbled up over the past few year...

Entertainment Korean entertainment stocks advance, unfazed by US tariff concerns

South Korean entertainment and gaming stocks climbed on Friday, defying a broader market drop as investors sought refuge in sectors seen as immune t...

Private equity MBK sees better exit landscape in 2025, bets on governance reform

MBK Partners sees a recovery in the exit environment in 2025 and seeks to capitalize on the opportunities emerging from corporate governance reform ...

K-pop K-pop exports boom as end of Chinese K-wave ban looms large

Exports of Korean popular music, or K-pop, have seen a significant surge in recent months, driven by increasing demand from China and Japan, accordi...

Entertainment SM Entertainment acquires additional 11.4% stake in DearU for $9.2 mn

SM Entertainment Co., South Korea’s music powerhouse behind internationally popular boy and girl bands like EXO and aespa, has acquired an add...

Foreign exchange Seoul to lift curbs on banks' investment in kimchi bonds

South Korea will lift restrictions on banks' purchase of domestically issued foreign currency bonds, dubbed “kimchi bonds," as part of policy ...

Business & Politics Asia’s defense stocks climb on hopes of more European arms spending

Defense stocks in key Asian markets jumped on Tuesday, buoyed by expectations that European nations will boost security spending amid fears that the...

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...

Central bank Bank of Korea cuts rates, growth forecast on Trump tariff policy

South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday cut interest rates while sharply reducing its economic growth forecast as lingering political turmoil fo...

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...

Sovereign bonds Foreigners return to Korean debt market; Korea on course to join WGBI

Foreigners scooped up South Korean government bonds in January despite the country’s ongoing political upheavals, betting big on the country&r...

Pension funds Korea to let securities firms manage $43 bn public fund investment pool

South Korea said on Wednesday it aims to boost returns on 62.1 billion won ($42.7 billion) in the public fund investment pool by entrusting some of ...

Energy South Korean oil refiners to jointly build SAF plant

South Korea’s four major oil refining companies will jointly build a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant in the country, for which the gover...

IPOs Korean entertainment powerhouse K Wave Media to debut on Nasdaq in Feb

K Wave Media Ltd., an umbrella entity of South Korean entertainment companies, is set to go public on the Nasdaq next month in a bid to raise money ...

Real estate Seoul office sales rebound for first time in 4 years in 2024

The Seoul office market bounced back for the first time in four years in 2024, with transaction volume soaring 78.7% to 13.4 trillion won ($9.1 bill...

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’...

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 ...

Food & Beverage SPC to establish bakery plant in Texas

South Korea's SPC Group, the operator of the bakery franchise Paris Baguette said on Thursday it plans to build a plant in the City of Burleson, Joh...

Business & Politics South Korea mulls visa waiver for Chinese group tourists

South Korea is considering temporary visa exemptions for Chinese group tourists to boost the domestic tourism sector, after being spooked by the bot...

Business & Politics Korea’s Shinsegae chairman dines with Trump at Mar-a-Lago

Chung Yong-jin, the chairman of South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae Group, held talks with US President-elect Donald Trump, becoming Korea's ...

Foreign exchange South Korea to ease foreign exchange regulations, expand FX swap line

South Korea’s foreign authorities said on Friday they will ease foreign exchange regulations to allow more dollars into the domestic financial...

Economy S.Korea to hold IR session to unveil market-boosting steps

South Korea's government will host an overseas investor relations session to explain the country’s economic conditions and unveil market-boost...

Economy Opposition-controlled Korean Parliament passes slashed $470 bn budget

South Korea's opposition-controlled National Assembly on Tuesday passed a government budget bill for 2025, slashed from the government's proposal am...

Korean games S.Korea's Smilegate invests in GTA producer's studio

Smilegate, the South Korean developer of the world’s top first-person shooter game Crossfire, said on Tuesday it invested in the US-based medi...

Foreign exchange NPS incurs $500 million in missed gains due to improper forex hedging

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

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea Zinc’s role questioned in SM Entertainment stock manipulation case

When OneAsia Partners, a Seoul-based private equity fund operator, revised part of its PEF Havana I’s articles of association on Feb. 14, 2023...