automated control platforms

E-commerce Naver, Kurly tie up to counter e-commerce giant Coupang

South Korea’s online giant Naver Corp. and dawn grocery platform service provider Kurly Inc. have joined forces for a potential stake acquisit...

Bio & Pharma ABL Bio lands $2.8 billion license-out deal with GSK

ABL Bio Inc., a South Korean biotech company, will license out its proprietary blood-brain barrier shuttle platform, called the Grabody-B, to UK-bas...

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...

E-commerce Luxury fashion platform Balaan files for court receivership amid slump

South Korea’s top luxury goods e-commerce platform Balaan Co. said on Monday it has filed for corporate rehabilitation with a Seoul court as t...

Shareholder activism STIC Investments draws activist interest, including Align Partners

STIC Investments Inc., South Korea’s only listed private equity firm, has become the latest target of shareholder activism as Seoul-based Alig...

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...

Retail Koreans’ craving for luxury goods fades

Until recently, it was not unusual to see people waiting in a long line in front of foreign haute couture brands’ stores early in the morning ...

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...

Pension funds KB, Samsung SRA, Capstone named NPS’ core property fund operators

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has selected three asset managers to oversee its domestic core real estate platform fund — ...

Leadership & Management Kakao founder Kim to resign as control tower chair

Kakao Corp. founder Kim Beom-soo, also known as Brian Kim, will step down as chairman of the South Korean tech giant’s top decision-making bod...

Webtoons Naver’s Webtoon hints at ad business expansion in 2025

Webtoon Entertainment Inc., the Nasdaq-listed storytelling platform operator under South Korea’s internet giant Naver Corp., is set to expand ...

Mergers & Acquisitions MBK's fight for Korea Zinc control drags on after court ruling

The battle for control of Korea Zinc Inc. between an MBK Partners-led alliance and the zinc smelter’s Chairman Choi Yun-birm is evolving into ...

Mergers & Acquisitions S.Korean grocery delivery platform Oasis at forefront to acquire TMON

South Korea’s grocery delivery platform Oasis Corp., which has been looking to expand its e-commerce market at home and abroad, is seeking to ...

E-commerce Korea’s beauty wholesaler to invest $10 mn in fashion platform Balaan

South Korea’s cosmetics wholesaler Silicon2 Co. is set to invest $10 million in financially troubled luxury fashion e-commerce platform operat...

Real estate Korea’s top property asset manager IGIS Asset’s controlling stake up for sale

South Korea’s top real estate asset management firm IGIS Asset Management Co. plans to sell a controlling stake owned by the heirs of the comp...

Electric vehicles Kia CEO stands firm on electrification strategy, premieres EV4 in Europe

TARRAGONA, Spain – Despite a temporary slowdown in electric vehicle demand and intensifying competition from Chinese automakers, Kia Corp. rem...

Airlines Sono Hospitality becomes new owner of Korean budget carrier T’way Air

South Korea’s top resort operator Sono Hospitality Group has emerged as the new owner of budget carrier T’way Air Co. by acquiring ...

Regulations S.Korea needs to allow short-selling for all listed stocks: FSS chief

Lee Bok-hyun, governor of South Korea’s top financial watchdog body, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), said on Thursday that there shou...

Private equity Bain Capital acquires control of Mohegan's Korean resort

Private equity firm Bain Capital has acquired control of Mohegan Inspire Entertainment Resort on Yeongjong Island, the largest integrated resort in ...

E-commerce Korean e-commerce platforms’ growth cools; Naver Shopping sales down

South Korea’s major e-commerce platforms, including Naver Shopping, are showing signs of slowing growth amid the rise of Chinese platform gian...

Robotics LG Electronics secures control of Bear Robotics

LG Electronics Inc. has secured control of Bear Robotics Inc., a service robot developer, by raising its stake to 51% from 21% as it aims to expand ...

Airlines Sono Hospitality heralds proxy fight to control T’way Air

Sono Hospitality Group, South Korea’s top resort operator, has vowed to more actively horn in on the business of T'way Air Co., portending a p...

Retail Coupang Eats starts food delivery service in Japan

Coupang Eats, a food delivery app operated by South Korea's No. 1 e-commerce platform Coupang Inc., launched its first overseas service in Japan.Acc...

Real estate NPS commits $800 mn to Almanac for strategic partnership

The National Pension Service of Korea (NPS) has committed $800 million to Almanac Realty Investors, the private real estate investment arm of Neuber...

Cryptocurrencies Korea seeks tighter control over digital coins, mulls mandatory disclosures

South Korea plans to tighten its controls over cryptocurrency trade in the country by mandating information disclosures for listed virtual assets an...

Bio & Pharma SK Biopharmaceuticals, Eurofarma to set up AI epilepsy platform JV in US

South Korea’s SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. has signed a deal with Brazil’s Eurofarma Laboratórios S.A. to establish a joint venture ...

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...

Korean Innovators at CES 2025 SK Hynix to collaborate with Nvidia on Cosmos physical AI platform: Chey

LAS VEGAS – SK Hynix Inc., the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, has agreed to collaborate with Nvidia Corp. on the top US AI chi...

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea Zinc chair reported to prosecutors over rights issue

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has reported Korea Zinc Inc.'s Chairman Choi Yun-birm and its board of directors to prosecut...

Bio & Pharma Korean drugmakers control more than half of European biosimilar market

South Korea’s two leading drugmakers, Celltrion Inc. and Samsung Bioepis Co., have achieved a significant milestone in the European biosimilar...