record high

Earnings KakaoBank posts record Q1 profit, eyes Thai expansion after Indonesia

KakaoBank Corp., a leading South Korean internet-only bank, posted its highest quarterly profit in the first quarter, defying a drop in interest inc...

Bio & Pharma Korea’s pharmaceutical exports set to top $10 bn, led by ‘K-M7’ champions

South Korea’s pharmaceutical exports are on course to surpass $10 billion this year, underscoring the country’s growing clout in the glo...

Automobiles Exports of Korea-made used cars to hit record high in 2025

South Korea’s exports of used cars by its homegrown auto brands are expected to hit a historic high this year, thanks to their improved brand ...

Earnings Shinhan Financial’s overseas business blooms, on track for record earnings

Shinhan Financial Group Co., South Korea’s leading financial holding company, is poised to surpass 1 trillion won ($692 million) in annual net...

Energy South Korea nears Czech nuclear deal; Doosan, related stocks fly high

South Korea’s nuclear energy stocks surged this week as momentum builds around a landmark nuclear power project in the Czech Republic, with in...

Earnings Kia maintains double-digit margin in Q1 with record revenue

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, extended its double-digit profit margin streak to a 10th consecutive quarter, posting recor...

Economy Trump’s tariffs are hitting exports, early Korean data show

The effects of President Trump’s new tariffs are starting to be felt across the world, preliminary South Korean trade data suggest, as Seoul p...

Real estate Ritz-Carlton to return to Seoul, tapped by IGIS Asset for landmark project

IGIS Asset Management Co., South Korea’s leading real estate investment firm, has named The Ritz-Carlton the preferred hotel brand for its amb...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix bets on 3D HBM as next game-changer in AI chip race

SK Hynix Inc., the world’s top DRAM memory chipmaker, aims to redefine the competitive landscape in artificial intelligence memory chips with ...

Travel & Leisure S.Korea’s foreigners-only casinos bask in return of Chinese high rollers

South Korea’s foreigners-only casinos are witnessing a significant rise in their sales revenue with the return of high rollers from China and ...

Earnings Samsung’s Q1 profit beats expectations; Q2 outlook murky on tariff war

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest memory chipmaker, posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter operating profit on Tuesday, booste...

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...

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 ...

Retail Baemin, Yogiyo see record transaction drops in Feb amid Coupang's rise

South Korea’s top and third-ranked food delivery apps, Baedal Minjok (Baemin) and Yogiyo, saw their biggest-ever monthly drops in transaction ...

Aerospace & Defense Hanwha Aerospace plans record $2.5 bn rights offering for plant expansion

Hanwha Aerospace Co., a leading South Korean defense company, said on Thursday it is raising 3.6 trillion won ($2.5 billion) in new capital through ...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix ships world’s first 12-layer HBM4 samples early

South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix Inc. has begun delivering samples of the world’s most advanced, next-generation high bandwidth memory ...

Business & Politics Korea sees record February auto exports before looming Trump tariffs

South Korea enjoyed record February auto exports on strong demand in the US ahead of its looming tariffs, the government said on Tuesday, while the ...

Automobiles Kia to ramp up Seltos output to meet high global demand

Kia Corp. will expand production of its compact sport utility vehicle, the Seltos, after selling 310,000 units of the model across the globe, making...

Food & Beverage Korean snacks mesmerize global consumers amid K-pop popularity

South Korea’s snack exports soared to a record high in February, surpassing $40 million for the first time, as global demand surged amid the s...

Business & Politics Trump says Korea interested in Alaska gas project; Korean firms skeptical

South Korea, Japan and other countries want to partner with the US in a $44 billion natural gas pipeline project in Alaska, President Donald Trump s...

Economy Korea to create new visa for high-quality foreign talent

South Korea said on Wednesday it plans to create a new visa to attract high-level foreign talent for advanced industries such as artificial intellig...

Pension funds S.Korea’s pension fund NPS posts record return in 2024 on US stock rally

The National Pension Service (NPS), South Korea’s state-run pension fund and the country’s largest institutional investor, said on ...

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...

Shipping & Shipbuilding HD Hyundai, Hanwha Ocean to jointly bid for high-stakes warship deals

South Korea’s two warship builders – HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Hanwha Ocean Co. – have agreed to join forces to pur...

Electronics LG Electronics hits record sales in India, paving way for 2025 IPO

LG Electronics Inc. posted its largest-ever sales in India in 2024, providing a boost to the planned initial public offering of its Indian unit this...

Electronics LG renames premium built-in appliance brand; Moody’s outlook up

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s top appliance maker, has rebranded its 10-year-old premium built-in kitchen appliance business to double do...

Earnings Meritz cheers record profit in 2024, boasts top 3 market cap

Meritz Financial Group Inc. has reported its best-ever net profit for last year thanks to handsome gains from investments by its insurance and secur...

Korean stock market South Korean stock trading volume at 8-month high

Trading volume in South Korean stock market has surged to its highest level in eight months, with investors piling into defense, nuclear energy, shi...

Aerospace & Defense S.Korea’s defense order backlog reaches record $73.1 billion at end-2024

South Korea’s seven major defense companies saw their combined order backlog reach a record 105.6 trillion won ($73.1 billion) at the end of 2...

Commodities FOMO-driven gold rush lifts kimchi premium on gold to highest level

With South Korean retail investors joining the global gold rush in ‘fear of missing out’, or FOMO, the country’s gold price has ...