back-endprocessing

Mergers & Acquisitions Soon for sale: Altos Ventures-backed Cafe Knotted operator

Silicon Valley-based Altos Ventures-backed Good Food For Good (GFFG), operator of South Korea’s popular dessert cafe, Cafe Knotted, will likel...

Beauty & Cosmetics Seoul-backed K-beauty brands set to make global mark

As Korean beauty products continue to captivate global consumers, five Seoul-based cosmetics and wellness companies are gearing up to penetrate deep...

Business & Politics Trump Jr. meets Korean business chiefs in back-to-back sessions

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, spent his one-and-a-half-day visit to South Korea in back-to-back private meetings wi...

Batteries SK On seals $2.8 bn battery deal with Bezos-backed US EV start-up Slate

SK On Co., the battery subsidiary of South Korea’s energy conglomerate SK Group, has signed a supply agreement worth an estimated 4 trillion w...

Earnings KB Financial logs 61% profit growth, rebounding from ELS fiasco

KB Financial Group Inc. on Thursday reported a 61% jump in first-quarter profit, led by a nearly threefold rise in earnings at its flagship unit Koo...

Alternative investments Meritz backs half of ex-manager’s $210 mn hedge fund

Meritz Financial Group Inc., one of South Korea’s most aggressive alternative asset managers, has committed 150 billion won ($105 million) to ...

Private equity EQT set to invest in KKR-backed fashion unicorn Musinsa

EQT, Europe's largest private equity firm, is set to invest 20 billion to 30 billion won ($14 million-$21 million) in Musinsa, South Korea’s f...

Travel & Leisure SoftBank-backed Yanolja raises stake in Modetour as No. 2 shareholder

South Korea’s top travel and accommodation booking platform operator Yanolja Co. has increased its stake in travel agency Modetour Network Inc...

Banking & Finance Hana Financial CEO set for reappointment with foreign investor backing

More than half of the foreign shareholders in Hana Financial Group have thrown their support behind Chief Executive Ham Young-joo for a second term,...

Venture capital South Korean VCs back US humanoid robot developer Apptronik

South Korean venture capital firms invested undisclosed tens of billions of won, equivalent to tens of millions of dollars, in US humanoid-developin...

Shipping & Shipbuilding Korea’s Hanwha Ocean sends USNS Wally Schirra back to theater after MRO

A 210-meter, 40,000-ton US Navy vessel, heavily corroded and weathered from years of service, was pulled into Hanwha Ocean Co.'s shipyard in Ge...

Shareholder value Hana Financial to boost corporate value by raising shareholder returns

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group aims to increase corporate value by ramping up shareholder returns based on a sustainable profit structure ...

Shipping & Shipbuilding HD Hyundai in talks to buy back Korean ship parts maker

HD Hyundai Co., the world’s second-largest shipbuilder, is in talks with a private equity firm to buy back a South Korean ship parts manufactu...

Beauty & Cosmetics Korean beauty giants Amorepacific, LG H&H come back from China woes

South Korea’s two largest cosmetics makers, Amorepacific Corp. and LG H&H Co., are recovering from years of lackluster overseas business p...

Banking & Finance KB Financial to buy back $359 bn in shares after record net profit in 2024

KB Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s largest financial holding group, will spend nearly 1.8 trillion won ($1.2 billion) to boost shareholder...

Earnings Hana Financial to buy back $280 mn shares after record 2024

Hana Financial Group will buy back 400 billion won ($280 million) worth of shares to retire, marking its largest-ever repurchase, in line with ongoi...

Petrochemicals Lotte Chemical’s JV to boost specialty chemicals output

Lotte Chemical Corp.'s joint venture with Japan’s Tokuyama Corp. will ramp up specialty chemicals production to accelerate its shift from...

Corporate restructuring NPS steps back from Doosan Robotics' Bobcat merger

The National Pension Service (NPS) appears to be stalling on a vote for Doosan Robotics Inc.'s merger with Doosan Bobcat Inc., with major proxy advi...

Petrochemicals HD Hyundai Oilbank ventures into bioenergy sector as new growth driver

HD Hyundai Oilbank Co., a South Korean crude oil refiner backed by Saudi Aramco, is diversifying its business beyond fossil fuel-centered operations...

Central bank BOK makes 1st back-to-back rate cut since 2009 global crisis

South Korea’s central bank lowered interest rates for a second straight meeting on Thursday in a surprise move and left the door open for anot...

Shareholder value Hyundai Motor to buy back $720 mn in shares

Hyundai Motor Co. said on Wednesday it will buy back 1 trillion won ($720 million) in shares in line with the government campaign to unlock corporat...

Private equity La Defense might have a say over Hanmi Pharm's family feud

La Defense Partners is expected to exercise a casting vote over the ongoing management dispute at Hanmi Science Co. after the Seoul-based private eq...

Shareholder value SK Square to buy back $72 mn shares amid Palliser's value-up push

SK Square Co., the investment arm of South Korea’s No. 2 conglomerate SK Group, announced shareholder-friendly measures on Thursday, in respon...

Shareholder value Samsung Electronics to buy back $7.2 bn in shares

Samsung Electronics Co. will buy back 10 trillion won ($7.2 billion) in shares over the next year to prop up its share price, which has plunged more...

Shareholder activism KT&G to buy back shares, rejects Ginseng unit buyout offer

South Korean tobacco maker KT&G Corp. on Thursday unveiled a plan to buy back shares and pay dividends totaling 3.7 trillion won ($2.7 billion) ...

Earnings Coupang posts record quarterly sales, swings to Q3 operating profit

Coupang Inc., South Korea’s answer to global e-commerce giant Amazon.com, posted its highest quarterly sales in the third quarter and swung to...

Banking & Finance KB Financial to use excess capital for share buybacks, dividends

KB Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s largest financial holding group, is set to use its excess capital for share buybacks and dividends next...

Cryptocurrencies Growing dollar-backed stablecoin trades may destabilize Korean economy

Trading in dollar-backed stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to the US currency, in South Korea hit a record high amid complex and costly currency ...

Robotics Hyundai Movex to lead S. Korea’s unmanned robot project

South Korea’s Hyundai Movex Co. was selected to lead the design of a high-precision large autonomous mobile robot (AMR) platform and integra...

Korean startups YC-backed Relate defies conventional wisdom for deeper integration

It may look like David versus Goliath, but Y Combinator-backed Relate has found a sweet spot where it can beat Salesforce in the sales customer rela...