korea economic growth

Central bank BOK turns more dovish after 25 bp rate cut; 2025 growth outlook halved

The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.5%, citing growing concerns over faltering do...

Korean food Ramen, ready-to-eat meals drive 10% rise in 2024 K-food exports

South Korea’s food exports climbed 10% on-year to $7.26 billion in 2024, led by ramen, ready-to-eat meals and seasoned seaweed, according to g...

Regulations HYBE Bang under financial watchdog’s scrutiny for alleged unfair trading

Bang Si-hyuk, founder and chairman of HYBE Co., the South Korean entertainment giant behind K-pop global sensation BTS, could face investigation by ...

Shipping & Shipbuilding HD Hyundai Group joins S.Korea’s 100 trillion won market cap club

South Korean shipbuilding conglomerate HD Hyundai Group has joined South Korea’s elite club of conglomerates with a market capitalization exce...

Tech, Media & Telecom Korea’s KT signs $95 million AI partnership with Vietnam’s Viettel Group

South Korea’s leading telecommunications service provider KT Corp. said on Tuesday it has signed a 130 billion won ($95 million) strategic par...

Shareholder value Celltrion shares rise after bonus issue announcement   

Celltrion Inc., South Korea’s largest biosimilar developer, will issue bonus shares to bolster its stock performance, which has been in the do...

Bio & Pharma Samsung Biologics drives foreign lead in Korea’s biotech supply chain

A surge in orders from Samsung Biologics Co., the world’s largest contract drugmaker, has propelled South Korea to the forefront of global rev...

Artificial intelligence OpenAI sets up entity in Korea with most paid ChatGPT users outside US

OpenAI Inc., the creator of generative AI ChatGPT, has established a legal entity in South Korea, which has the largest number of paying ChatGPT sub...

ASK 2025 NPS, KIC step up focus on mid-market infrastructure

The National Pension Service (NPS) and Korea Investment Corp. (KIC) are actively exploring mid-market infrastructure opportunities as they are expec...

Banking & Finance NPS gobbles up Korea’s top 4 financial holding stocks

South Korea’s largest institutional investor, the National Pension Service (NPS), remains a strong backer of the country’s top four fina...

North Korea US considers withdrawing thousands of troops from South Korea

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ASK 2025 NPS boosts allocation to direct lending, secondaries

The National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, has been further diversifying its portfolio through increased expo...

Aerospace & Defense Samsung gears up for foray into space infrastructure industry

Samsung Group is stepping up efforts to venture into the space infrastructure industry, a sector analysts say remains a blue ocean where South Korea...

Real estate Seoul’s prime office transactions rise 6% in Q1 despite weak sentiment

Despite mounting economic headwinds and heightened investor caution, the prime office market in Seoul posted a modest recovery in the first quarter,...

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...

Bio & Pharma S.Korea’s Lunit installs breast cancer AI diagnostic tool at 200 US hospitals

Lunit Inc., a South Korean AI-powered cancer diagnostics company, said on Monday that more than 200 healthcare institutions across the US have now a...

Food & Beverage Bird flu in Brazil hikes wholesale chicken prices in Korea

South Korea has suspended chicken imports from Brazil following the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the South American count...

Private equity Bain Capital sells 6% stake in Korea’s Classys via block deal for $163 million

Bain Capital LP has offloaded a 6% stake in South Korean medical aesthetics company Classys Inc. through a block trade, raising 228 billion won ($16...

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,...

Tech, Media & Telecom S.Korea’s Naver to launch Silicon Valley venture arm in aggressive AI push

Naver Corp., South Korea’s top internet portal operator, plans to set up a dedicated venture capital arm in Silicon Valley in a move seen as a...

Upcoming IPOs UK chip testing device maker TeraView seeks Kosdaq debut

TeraView Ltd., a UK semiconductor inspection device maker, is aiming to list on South Korea’s Kosdaq market in the second half of this year, i...

Beauty & Cosmetics K-Beauty defies seasonal slump with record $980 mn in April exports

The global appetite for Korean beauty products shows no sign of slowing, with their exports in April surging 20% year on year to a record high, ev...

Real estate Greystar hires ex-Samsung SRA manager to launch Seoul office

Greystar Real Estate Partners, the largest housing investment firm in the US, has hired Kang Junghwan, former managing director and head of portfoli...

Bio & Pharma South Korea’s Rznomics inks $1.3 bn out-licensing deal with Eli Lilly

Rznomics Inc., a South Korean RNA therapeutics developer, has signed an agreement worth more than $1.3 billion with US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lill...

Korean startups Korea's science ministry picks 10 AI, digital startups to back global growth

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT on Thursday announced that it has selected 10 startups founded by Koreans in a program to support th...

Earnings Dawn delivery pioneer Kurly posts 1st-ever quarterly profit

Kurly Inc., a pioneer in South Korea’s dawn delivery market, has posted its first-ever quarterly profit, bucking a slowdown in private consump...

Shipping & Shipbuilding S.Korea’s mid-tier shipbuilders sail into new supercycle as China struggles

BUSAN – On a sunny May morning in Busan’s Yeongdo shipyard, the clang of steel and the rhythmic pounding of welders was telling the new ...

Automobiles Used SUVs pricier than new ones? Yes, in South Korea thanks to Russia

Prices of certain used sport utility vehicles in South Korea are defying the broader economic slowdown, with used models like Hyundai Motor Co.'s Pa...

Electronics LG Innotek, Boston Dynamics team up to develop Atlas eyes

LG Innotek Co., a leading South Korean electronics parts maker, will jointly develop new vision sensing systems with Boston Dynamics Inc., a major g...

Airlines Korean Air, Delta to buy 25% stake in Canada’s WestJet for $550 million

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s largest full-service carrier, and its joint venture partner Delta Air Lines Inc. will acquire a 25% stake ...