crypto boom

Cryptocurrencies S.Korea's crypto market doubles to $77.5 bn with 20% of population trading

South Korea’s cryptocurrency market surged to nearly 108 trillion won ($77.5 billion) in the second half of last year, fueled by growing retai...

Healthcare Korea’s aesthetic medicine enjoys golden era with surge in foreign spending

As beauty-conscious tourists continue to flock to Seoul’s clinics, South Korea’s aesthetic medicine sector may be entering a golden era,...

Mergers & Acquisitions Centroid to divest control of TaylorMade as exit strategy, drops IPO plan

Centroid Investment Partners, a South Korean private equity firm, has confirmed plans to divest its controlling stake in US sports equipment manufac...

Business & Politics Shinsegae Chair Chung joins Trump’s Middle East tour

Chung Yong-jin, chairman of South Korea’s retail group Shinsegae Inc., is the only Korean businessperson accompanying US President Donald Trum...

Cryptocurrencies RedotPay lands in Seoul with crypto cards

RedotPay, a Hong Kong-based blockchain fintech company, has arrived in South Korea with its cryptocurrency-based payment cards and is poised to disr...

Steel POSCO raises ship steel prices as Korea's tariffs curb supply

POSCO Holdings Inc. has raised second-quarter prices of thick plates used in vessels amid concerns over tighter supply after South Korea levied anti...

Food & Beverage India: Tantalizing frontier for K-food’s global ambitions beyond China

South Korea’s processed food exports to India have surged to a record 6 trillion won ($4.1 billion), marking a significant milestone in the gr...

K-pop K-pop exports boom as end of Chinese K-wave ban looms large

Exports of Korean popular music, or K-pop, have seen a significant surge in recent months, driven by increasing demand from China and Japan, accordi...

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...

Energy Trump-driven energy boom spurs Korean firms to hike US gas investments

WOODFORD, Oklahoma – A shale gas field in Woodford, Carter County was bustling with activity on Feb. 25.A team of engineers oversaw the drilli...

Sovereign wealth funds S.Korea’s sovereign fund KIC logs 8.5% return in 2024

The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) reported an annual return of 8.49% last year thanks to steady gains from equity investments led by the AI tec...

Cryptocurrencies Dunamu slapped with 3-month business suspension order

Dunamu Inc., the operator of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, has been hit with a three-month partial business suspension ...

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...

Cryptocurrencies Korean investors abandon savings, stocks for cryptocurrencies

Money is rapidly shifting to cryptocurrency markets in South Korea as lower interest rates and lackluster stock prices reduce the investment appeal ...

Debt financing Korean bonds heavily oversubscribed in January boom

South Korea’s debt market got off to a strong start this year, as several blue chip companies made a bold return to the bond market for new is...

Regulations Korea seeks to ease fintech ownership, crypto regulations

South Korea’s top financial regulator has proposed loosening restrictions on financial holding companies’ ownership of fintech platforms...

Korean Innovators at CES 2025 LG Electronics, Microsoft sign strategic partnership on AI agents

LAS VEGAS – South Korea’s top home appliance maker LG Electronics Inc. has signed a strategic partnership with US tech giant Micros...

Cryptocurrencies Koreans flock to cryptos amid Trump-fueled crypto craze

The number of South Koreans investing in cryptocurrencies recently broke past 15 million — about 30% of the country’s population —...

Corporate bonds Korea Inc. rushes to booming local corporate bond market

South Korean companies are rushing to raise money in the local corporate bond market, which is unusually buoyant at year's end amid expectations of ...

Cryptocurrencies Korea’s crypto exchanges ride bitcoin rally on Trump optimism

South Korea’s crypto exchanges are enjoying a global boom in virtual currencies, including bitcoin, as US President-elect Donald Trump is expe...

Retail S.Korea’s food delivery apps relish fresh boom in demand

South Korea’s online food delivery market is poised to hit record-high transactions in 2024 as lower fees triggered by Coupang Eats’ fre...

Sports Global sportswear brands race to ride on Korea’s running craze

Global sportswear makers have stepped up competition in South Korea to take advantage of the country’s growing running craze with major brands...

Automobiles Kia launches Sportage facelift to accelerate SUV boom

Kia Corp., South Korea’s No. 2 automaker, on Monday unveiled a facelift of its Sportage to boost the sport utility vehicle (SUV) craze in the ...

Korean food Lotte chief bets on K-food boom for global expansion

Lotte Group, a multinational retail-to-chemical business empire, is seeking to ride the growing popularity of Korean food to achieve its global expa...

Automobiles Kia to sweep top three spots in Korea car sales on SUV, hybrid boom

Kia Corp., South Korea’s No. 2 automaker, is poised to claim the top three spots on the country’s best-selling car list this year thanks...

Mergers & Acquisitions HD Hyundai seeks to acquire Leeyoung to prepare for shipbuilding boom

South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. is seeking to acquire Leeyoung Industrial Machinery Co., a domestic shipbuilding equipment maker...

Culture & Trends Vinyl renaissance in Korea holds steady with diverse music tastes

Within just two hours of the opening of the 13th Seoul Record Fair last Saturday, the waitlist for new LP records reached 1,500. There were 20 new r...

Korean food Pulmuone to boost K-food boom in China with gimbap

Leading South Korean food company Pulmuone Corp. is poised to crank up the K-food craze in China, the world’s second most populous country, wi...

Korean chipmakers Samsung, SK Hynix up the ante on HBM to enjoy AI memory boom

TAIPEI – Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc., the world’s two largest memory chipmakers, are racing to supply their advanced DRAM ...

Korean stock market Korea's KEDI-based ETFs boom; net assets double in 2 months

South Korean exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking KEDI, an index set created by The Korea Economic Daily, are booming on growing investor demand fo...