World Bank

Earnings KakaoBank posts record Q1 profit, eyes Thai expansion after Indonesia

KakaoBank Corp., a leading South Korean internet-only bank, posted its highest quarterly profit in the first quarter, defying a drop in interest inc...

Woori Financial wins approval for Tongyang, ABL Life acquisition

Woori Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s fourth-largest financial services provider, has received conditional approval from the country&rsquo...

Debt financing Kookmin Bank raises $700 mn in forex bonds amid strong demand

Kookmin Bank, a unit of KB Financial Group, raised $700 million in foreign exchange bonds on Tuesday, signaling a recovery in investor sentiment tow...

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 Kyobo Life poised to buy Japan’s SBI Group-owned savings bank

Kyobo Life Insurance Co. is in the final stages of negotiation with Japanese financial group SBI Holdings Inc. to buy about a 50% stake in SBI Savin...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix bets on 3D HBM as next game-changer in AI chip race

SK Hynix Inc., the world’s top DRAM memory chipmaker, aims to redefine the competitive landscape in artificial intelligence memory chips with ...

Automobiles Kia EV3 named 2025 World Car of the Year; Hyundai Inster wins EV award

NEW YORK – Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s third-largest automaker, snagged top trophies for its low-cost electric vehicles at the 2025...

Shipping & Shipbuilding S.Korean shipbuilders rally as Trump hints at buying foreign ships

South Korean shipbuilding stocks soared on Friday on news that US President Donald Trump indicated that the world’s No. 1 economy may purchase...

Korean chipmakers SK chairman in Taiwan to deepen ties with TSMC

Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, the parent of SK Hynix Inc., is visiting Taiwan amid the threat of escalating US tariff threats, suggesting the ...

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea Zinc faces multiple legal, regulatory challenges in fight against MBK

Korea Zinc Inc. Chairman Choi Yun-birm appears to have kept his grip on the world’s largest zinc smelter after successfully fending off an MBK...

Automobiles Hyundai, GM near to unveiling EV, pickup truck sharing plan

Hyundai Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are expected to soon announce a vehicle-sharing deal about six months after they signed an agreement for th...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix ships world’s first 12-layer HBM4 samples early

South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix Inc. has begun delivering samples of the world’s most advanced, next-generation high bandwidth memory ...

Banking & Finance Shinhan Bank partners with Hyundai Mobis for loan services to suppliers

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea’s top auto parts maker, has partnered with the country’s biggest lender Shinhan Bank to help its partners...

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 ...

Shipping & Shipbuilding HD Hyundai, Palantir chiefs discuss AI shipyard, defense technology

Chung Kisun, executive vice chairman of the world’s largest shipbuilder HD Hyundai Co., has met with Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies I...

Foreign exchange South Korea’s forex reserves dip to nearly 5-year low in February

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves diminished to the lowest level in nearly five years last month, largely due to the expanded forex swap...

Markets Mirae Asset launches world’s 1st passive target-date ETF

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. is set to introduce the world’s first passive target-date exchange-traded fund (ETF) this month to attract ...

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...

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 ...

Cryptocurrencies S.Korea to allow listed firms to trade cryptocurrencies in second half

South Korea plans to allow companies listed on the local stock market to trade virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies, on a pilot basis in the s...

Asset management US Capital Group raises stake in South Korea’s LS Electric

Capital Group Companies Inc. has increased its stake in LS Electric Co., a South Korean supplier to Elon Musk’s X.AI Corp., as the US asset ma...

Earnings Shinhan Bank reclaims top spot as S.Korea’s leading lender

Shinhan Bank, a key arm of Shinhan Financial Group, reclaimed its position as South Korea’s top lender posting its largest-ever profit in 2024...

Regulations South Korea allows foreigners to trade treasuries via omnibus accounts

South Korea will allow foreign investors to trade South Korean treasury bonds via omnibus accounts under the names of global custodians or asset man...

Beauty & Cosmetics Amorepacific's Aestura to enter US market with Sephora

South Korean beauty and cosmetics giant Amorepacific Corp. said on Wednesday that its derma cosmetic brand Aestura will enter the American market wi...

Investment banking MBK’s ByungJu Kim, UBS’ Kyungin Lee: Most influential in capital market

Michael ByungJu Kim, co-founder, partner and chairman of Northeast Asia-focused private equity firm MBK Partners Ltd., and Kyungin David Lee, UBS Gl...

Central bank Bank of Korea seen cutting interest rates by 25 bps in January

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Thursday amid the nation's softening economy and moderating i...

Korean startups DOR sets sights on TikTok-like virtual world for gamers  

South Korean startup DOR Corporation has thrown down the gauntlet to Discord, a popular global social platform for gamers, with its TikTok-like soci...

IPOs K Bank drops 2025 IPO in 3rd Kospi listing cancellation

K Bank, a South Korean online lender, said on Wednesday it has again canceled its initial public offering plan amid the languid stock market an...

Foreign exchange South Korea’s forex reserves drop to 5-year low in 2024

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves shrank to a five-year low at the end of last year after the country’s foreign exchange authoriti...