ZUFS 4.0

Automobiles BMW surpasses Mercedes in Korean sales for 1st time in 10 years

The top five imported car brands in South Korea underwent a major shake-up last year. BMW overtook Mercedes-Benz in sales for the first time in a de...

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...

Earnings S.Korea’s top 4 financial holding firms cheer upbeat Q1 results

South Korea’s top four financial holding companies – Shinhan, KB, Hana and Woori – reported stellar earnings for the first quarter...

Economy Korea’s Q1 economic contraction adds to stimulus expectations

South Korea's economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter as exports and consumption fell amid a political crisis and fears over the impact...

Culture & Trends S.Korea’s medical tourism thrives on weak currency

Foreign visitors to South Korea jumped nearly 20% early this year, largely driven by a sharp depreciation in the country’s currency value agai...

Central bank BOK stands pat; rate cut likely within 3 months as economic growth slows

The Bank of Korea (BOK) left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.75% on Thursday, with Governor Rhee Chang-yong warning that a surge in globa...

Asset management South Korea’s young rich vs old rich: Coins, art outpace bonds, funds

Young South Korean millionaires, placing bold wagers on unconventional financial assets such as cryptocurrencies and art, are gaining ground fast, g...

Korean stock market South Korean stocks, currency dive amid deeper US tariff turmoil

The South Korean stock market logged its biggest daily loss of more than 5% in eight months on Monday, joining its Asian peers bruised by panic sell...

Beauty & Cosmetics K-beauty exports to China rebound after 4-month slump

South Korea’s beauty industry is showing signs of recovery in China, with exports rebounding after four months of decline.The turnaround follo...

Business & Politics S.Korean court to rule on impeached President Yoon’s fate April 4

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Friday will give its ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December for declaring mart...

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...

Real estate Shinhan REITs picked as sole bidder for BNK Digital Tower

Shinhan REITs Management is expected to acquire BNK Digital Tower, an office building in the affluent neighborhood of Gangnam in southern Seoul, aft...

Pension funds NPS to buy stake in Australia’s Metrics to expand alternative investments

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, has agreed to buy a stake in Australian asset mana...

Debt financing MBK chairman to leverage own funds to pay Homeplus suppliers

Michael ByungJu Kim, the co-founder, partner and chairman of Northeast Asia-focused private equity firm (PEF) MBK Partners Ltd., is expected to leve...

Shareholder value Celltrion to cancel $140 mn in treasury shares, stock up

South Korea’s leading biosimilar drug developer Celltrion Inc. announced on Friday a plan to cancel $140 million worth of treasury shares to i...

Rights offerings Samsung SDI to raise $1.4 bn in rights offering for facility expansion

Samsung SDI Co. will issue new shares worth 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion), its first rights offering in two decades, to fund bold facility and R&...

Korean startups Hyundai Motor spins off 4 in-house startups in energy, AI, mobility

South Korea’s auto behemoth Hyundai Motor Group has spun off its four in-house startups with innovative technologies in mobility, automation a...

Economy Korea’s weak exports add to Trump tariff risk woes

South Korea’s exports in the first two months skidded as sales to the world’s two largest economies China and the US fell, adding to con...

Shipping & Shipbuilding HMM seeks to acquire parts of SK Shipping for $1.4 bn from Hahn & Co.

HMM Co., South Korea’s largest ocean carrier, is seeking to buy SK Shipping Co., excluding its liquefied natural gas (LNG) transportation busi...

Real estate PAG raises $4 bn for opportunistic Asia real estate fund

PAG, an Asia Pacific-focused alternative investment firm, on Friday announced the final close of its 10th opportunistic real estate fund at $4 billi...

Korean games Nexon becomes 1st Korean game publisher with over 4 trillion won in sales

Nexon Co., the parent of Nexon Games Co., became the first Korean game developer to achieve the 4 trillion won ($2.8 billion) sales milestone in 202...

Mergers & Acquisitions MBK Partners, 2 Chinese firms vie for CJ Cheiljedang’s $4 bn bio business

North Asia-focused private equity firm MBK Partners and two leading Chinese biotechnology firms are vying for management control of CJ Cheiljedang C...

Corporate restructuring SK Ecoplant seeks to sell waste treatment business for $1.4 billion

SK Ecoplant Co., a South Korean construction engineering and waste management company under SK Group, is seeking to dispose of its waste treatment b...

Korean stock market Alternative stock exchange Nextrade to launch on March 4

Nextrade, South Korea’s first alternative stock exchange, enabling trading of stocks listed on the Kospi and the Kosdaq for 12 hours a day is ...

Economy Korea to launch $23 bn high tech fund, bracing for Trump 2.0

South Korea will launch a high tech fund worth more than 34 trillion won ($23 billion) to provide cheap financing, including equity investments, for...

Automobiles Hyundai, Kia enjoy record January US sales on eco-friendly cars

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. saw their US sales in January rise to record highs thanks to the gro...

Korean chipmakers Magnachip, up for sale again, contacts Samsung, LG, LX

South Korean chipmaker Magnachip Semiconductor Corp. is on the market again four years after the US blocked a takeover by a Chinese private equity f...

Economy Korean exports snap 15 months of gains in Jan despite higher chip sales

South Korea’s exports dropped in January on-year for the first time in 16 months due to more holiday days in the month, although overseas sale...

Economy S.Korea’s economy grows 2.0% in 2024; Q4 GDP below forecast

South Korea’s economy expanded 2.0% last year, falling short of the central bank’s forecast on weaker-than-expected growth in the fourth...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix sharply narrows gap with Samsung’s market cap

SK Hynix Inc. has significantly raised its value by bolstering its presence in the artificial intelligence memory market, threatening Samsung Electr...