Solo Leveling

Economy Trump’s tariffs are hitting exports, early Korean data show

The effects of President Trump’s new tariffs are starting to be felt across the world, preliminary South Korean trade data suggest, as Seoul p...

Economy S.Korea’s default risk dips below pre-martial law levels

South Korea’s financial market has stabilized with a sharp fall in the country’s default risk and some recovery of its currency value ag...

Commodities FOMO-driven gold rush lifts kimchi premium on gold to highest level

With South Korean retail investors joining the global gold rush in ‘fear of missing out’, or FOMO, the country’s gold price has ...

Tech, Media & Telecom KT to sell financial security unit for $59 mn for restructuring

South Korea’s KT Corp. is set to sell Initech Co., its Kosdaq-listed financial security unit, for 85 billion won ($59.1 million) as the leadin...

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea’s Cactus PE to buy stake in Kosdaq-listed EV parts firm

South Korea’s Cactus Private Equity is set to acquire a stake in YM Tech Co., a Kosdaq-listed electric vehicle (EV) parts maker, for nearly 20...

Automobiles Kia aims to reclaim Europe with EV2, keeps K4 output unchanged in Mexico

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest carmaker, will start producing its entry-level electrified model EV2 from its plant in Slovakia next y...

Automobiles S.Korea's personal mobilities firm GCoo enters Africa

South Korean personal mobility (PM) company Gbike, the operator of PM sharing service platform Gcoo, said on Wednesday it started the electric kick ...

Central bank S.Korea’s c.bank chief sees limited impact of political turmoil on economy

South Korea’s central bank chief said on Wednesday the impact of political turmoil caused by martial law on Asia’s fourth-largest econom...

Economy S&P downplays martial law impact on S.Korean economy

Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said on Thursday "the introduction and swift revocation of martial law in South Korea ...

Economy S.Korea’s inflation stays at 1% level for 3rd straight month

South Korea’s consumer prices remained steady at the 1% level for the third straight month in November thanks to a drop in oil prices. But eco...

Tech, Media & Telecom Samsung Electro-Mechanics gets European certification for camera SW

South Korea's Samsung Electro-Mechanics said on Wednesday it obtained Automotive SPICE (A-SPICE) Level 3 certification for its vehicle camera modu...

K-pop Rose’s music video ‘APT.’ surpasses 300 mn views on YouTube

The music video for “APT.”, featuring girl group Blackpink's Rose in a duet with pop star Bruno Mars, has surpassed 300 million views on...

Economy Korea’s household debt sees ‘balloon effect’ as rules tightened in Seoul

South Korea’s household lending market is witnessing a balloon effect as tighter government lending rules for Seoul and its surrounding metrop...

K-pop BTS Jin to open pop-up for solo album release

BTS Jin will open a pop-up titled “Running Wild to Happiness” from November 19 to December 1 at The Hyundai Seoul, marking the release o...

K-pop BTS Jin previews new song ‘I’ll Be There' ahead of release of his solo album

BTS Jin released “I'll Be There,” a preview track from his first solo album, on Friday, his agency Big Hit Music announced.“I'll B...

Korean games Netmarble’s RPG ‘Solo Leveling’ reaches 50 mn cumulative users

South Korean game developer Netmarble Corp. announced on Tuesday that the action role-playing game (RPG) “Solo Leveling: Arise” has reac...

Automobiles Hyundai AutoEver SW platform gets A-SPICE level 3 certification

South Korea's Hyundai AutoEver Corp. said on Tuesday that its Mobilgene Classic 2.0 software platform has become the first in South Korea to receive...

K-pop BTS Jin reveals track list of 6 songs for solo album 'Happy'

The title track of the first solo album to be released by BTS member Jin is “Running Wild,” his agency Big Hit Music announced on Thursd...

Artificial intelligence SK Telecom partners with Perplexity to level up conversational search

South Korea's largest telecom company SK Telecom Co. will enhance its conversational search services through a partnership with US AI search startup...

Shipping & Shipbuilding Hanwha Ocean, US Senator discuss US Navy MRO

South Korea's Hanwha Ocean Co. said on Tuesday that it discussed various aspects of the US Navy ship projects with key figures from the US Senate Co...

Machinery Hyundai Rotem to supply additional rail cars to Boston

South Korea's Hyundai Rotem Co. announced on Friday that it signed a contract with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to supply a...

Mergers & Acquisitions Acquisition loan rates dip to pre-pandemic levels in S.Korea

Interest rates on acquisition financing in South Korea are set to stabilize at the 5% level, rates last seen before COVID-19 swept the world, height...

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...

Markets Korean treasury yields fall to lowest level in over 2 years

South Korea’s treasury bond yields fell to their lowest points in more than two years, slipping below the 3% level for the first time since Ap...

Real estate Seoul prime office deals at 10-year low on rate uncertainty

Prime office transactions in Seoul hit a 10-year low in the second quarter due to delayed fundraising amid uncertainties of the central bank’s...

Retail Duty-free stores: Golden goose gone for Korean retailers

South Korea welcomed a record-high number of post-pandemic foreign tourist arrivals for a single quarter in the first three months of this year, but...

ESG LIG Nex1 earns top Morgan Stanley ESG rating of AA for 2nd consecutive year

LIG Nex1 Co., a leading defense system developer in South Korea, announced on Thursday that it has received an AA rating in the 2024 environmental, ...

Korean games Netmarble's new RPG 'Solo Leveling' logs $70 mn sales in 1st month

South Korean game developer Netmarble Corp. is enjoying growing sales of its new action role-playing game (RPG) “Solo Leveling: Arise,” ...

Travel & Leisure Jeju casinos, hotels bask in return of Chinese tourists; luxury shops fall

Following the pandemic, hotels and casinos are enjoying a renewed tourist boom with Chinese tourists returning to South Korea, particularly its top ...

Regulations Korea likely to lift short-selling ban in April after leveling playing field

South Korea’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said on Thursday it will extend its blanket stock short-selling ba...