market policy

Mergers & Acquisitions Harman acquires Masimo’s audio arm in Samsung’s car audio push

Harman International Industries Inc., wholly owned by Samsung Electronics Co., has acquired Masimo Corp.’s audio business for $350 million, a ...

Central bank South Korea Inflation Flat in April, Possibly Paving Way for Policy Easing

South Korea’s headline inflation remained flat in April, possibly paving the way for the central bank to loosen monetary policy further to sup...

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...

Debt financing Kookmin Bank raises $700 mn in forex bonds amid strong demand

Kookmin Bank, a unit of KB Financial Group, raised $700 million in foreign exchange bonds on Tuesday, signaling a recovery in investor sentiment tow...

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...

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...

Business & Politics Seoul, Washington agree on July tariff deal framework in '2+2' trade talks

WASHINGTON, D.C. – South Korea and the US have agreed to work together to craft a comprehensive tariff-liberalization package by July 8, marki...

Earnings Hyundai Motor posts solid Q1; rough road ahead on Trump's auto tariffs

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. defied mounting global trade headwinds and a fresh round of US import tariffs to deliver record ...

Aerospace & Defense South Korea’s renewed stock market darlings: Weapons makers

South Korea’s defense industry is once again capturing investor attention, as exports of tanks, armored vehicles and other weapons systems soa...

Shareholder activism Activist fund Oasis boosts Korea team amid investor-friendly policy shift

Hong Kong-based activist fund Oasis Management is ramping up hiring for its Korea team as Seoul’s push to boost corporate value and strengthen...

Electronics LG Display eyes turnaround on China's shift to OLED

LG Display Co., the world’s top large-sized organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel maker, will likely swing to profit this year for the fir...

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...

Tech, Media & Telecom LG CNS breaks into US smart city market

LG CNS Co., the information technology service unit of South Korea’s LG Group, has won its first public-sector smart city contracts in the US,...

Economy S&P reaffirms South Korea’s AA credit rating with stable outlook

S&P Global Ratings has reaffirmed South Korea’s sovereign credit rating at AA with a stable outlook, citing the country’s resilient ...

Leadership & Management Ex-US Congressman Drew Ferguson to head Hyundai's Washington office

Hyundai Motor Group has appointed former Republican Congressman Drew Ferguson as head of its Washington office, a strategic move designed to bolster...

Asset management Mirae Asset’s default option retirement funds top $700 mn in assets

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. now manages over one-third of South Korea’s default-option retirement funds, with the assets it operates un...

Fashion Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Chanel: Winners in S.Korea’s luxury market

South Korea’s luxury goods market is becoming increasingly polarized, with ultra-high-end brands such as Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Chan...

Korean stock market NPS pours $3.9 bn to buttress Korean stock market

South Korea’s National Pension Service, the country’s largest institutional investor, has come to the rescue of the domestic stock marke...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix beats Samsung to become global No.1 DRAM maker

SK Hynix Inc. has snatched the crown from Samsung Electronics Co. to become the world’s largest memory chip supplier for the first time since ...

Sovereign wealth funds Korea’s WGBI inclusion moved to next April; Seoul works on policy steps

South Korea’s much-anticipated inclusion of its bonds in the FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI) has been postponed to April 2026 from Nov...

Electronics Samsung unveils upgraded AI-powered OLED TVs

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday showcased its new lineup of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs with advanced artificial intelligence features...

IPOs LG Electronics set for early-May Indian stock market debut

LG Electronics Inc. is set to list its wholly owned subsidiary in India on the country's stock exchange in early May, aiming to raise up to $1.5 bil...

Shipping & Shipbuilding HD Hyundai on course for $1.55 bn order amid US-China trade war

HD Hyundai Co., the world’s largest shipbuilding group, is emerging as a key beneficiary of the Trump administration’s tariff policies a...

Entertainment Korean entertainment stocks advance, unfazed by US tariff concerns

South Korean entertainment and gaming stocks climbed on Friday, defying a broader market drop as investors sought refuge in sectors seen as immune t...

Asset management Strong momentum in non-US markets, digital real estate: Principal AM CEO

It is time to shift focus toward non-US markets after years of stellar performance of US assets driven by the robust world’s No. 1 economy, sa...

Korean chipmakers DB GlobalChip forays into mobile phone OLED driver chip market

DB GlobalChip Co., the chip design subsidiary of South Korea’s chip foundry company DB HiTek Co., has begun mass-producing organic light-emitt...

Mergers & Acquisitions KFC’s Korean operations up for sale

Orchestra Private Equity has begun the process of divesting the South Korean operations of fast-food chain KFC, which has seen earnings growth since...

League table UBS tops Korea’s buyout deal advisory in Q1 thanks to Lotte

UBS Group AG, the frontrunner in South Korea's M&A market last year, retained the top position in the country's buyout advisory market in the fi...

Bio & Pharma MicroDigital's Disco Pang Pang-inspired bioreactors debut in US

MicroDigital Co., a bio-instrument and diagnostic kit manufacturer, is set to launch single-use bioreactors in the US, marking the first shipment of...

Batteries Samsung SDI launches mass production of 46 mm-diameter batteries

Samsung SDI Co. has become South Korea’s first company to mass-produce cylindrical  46-millimeter(46 mm)-diameter batteries, regarded as ...