wage hikes

Pension funds S.Korea’s NPS to double pension fund size by 2050, hike risky assets

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) is projected to nearly double its fund size to 3,500 trillion won ($2.38 trillion) by 2050, follo...

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...

Mergers & Acquisitions MBK Partners’ vice chair vows to hike Korea Zinc’s value to $20.6 billion

The battle over Korea Zinc Inc.'s management control between Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-birm and the Young Poong Corp.-MBK Partners alliance has b...

Corporate strategy POSCO Holdings unveils aggressive value-up plan, hike in cash dividends

South Korea’s steel-to-battery materials conglomerate POSCO Group on Monday unveiled a spate of corporate value-up measures, including a highe...

Mergers & Acquisitions MBK, Young Poong close in on majority of Korea Zinc

A consortium of MBK Partners and Young Poong Corp. has raised its stake in Korea Zinc Inc. to 46.7% of voting shares, drawing the group closer to ma...

Foreign exchange Koreans' yen savings fall on profit-taking despite BOJ rate hike views

Yen-denominated deposits in South Korea fell in November, dragging down overall foreign-currency savings, as investors took profits from the Japanes...

Corporate strategy Kia vows to drastically raise shareholder returns, hike EV, hybrid sales

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, plans to drastically raise its shareholder return rates to bolster shareholder value. The c...

Real estate Koramco to open office next to NPS for property investment partnership

Koramco Asset Management Co. will open a liaison office next to South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) to bolster cooperation with the w...

Korean startups Race to win tableside ordering market heats up in Korea

Baemin, South Korea's top food delivery platform, and the country’s leading travel and accommodation booking platform operator Yanolja Co. hav...

Aerospace & Defense South Korea to extend export missile range from 300 km to 500 km

South Korea has decided to extend the range of missiles for export to 500 kilometers from the current 300 km after accepting requests to do so from ...

Electric vehicles Hyundai, Kia to hike prices of low-cost EVs for profitability

Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s third-largest carmaker, plans to increase prices of the existing low-cost electric vehicles in the second hal...

Economy South Korea’s 2025 minimum wage rises 1.7%; SMEs seen suffering

South Korea has set next year’s hourly minimum wage at 10,030 won ($7.3) – a 1.7% increase from this year’s 9,860 won, the second-...

Private equity Korean PE funds shrink in 2023 for first time in 7 years

South Korean private equity investments declined last year for the first time since 2016 due to interest rate hikes, high inflation and the Korean w...

Tech, Media & Telecom Southeast Asia, Korea Inc’s new IT outsourcing powerhouse

PHNOM PENH – South Korean technology companies grappling with prolonged software developer shortages are actively broadening their search for ...

Pension funds NPS to hike risky asset purchases under simplified allocation system

The National Pension Service (NPS), South Korea’s state-run pension fund, is introducing a new simplified asset allocation guideline under whi...

E-commerce Coupang to raise membership fees, 1st hike in over 2 years

Coupang Inc., South Korea’s largest e-commerce platform, said on Friday it will raise membership fees 58.1% to 7,890 won ($5.7) per month as i...

Korean startups Money pours in for technology to reshape Korean restaurants

Investors are betting big on food service technology startups in South Korea as the adoption of self-service systems in the country’s food and...

The KED View Labor reform urged in Korea with higher wages than Japan

Wages at South Korean companies, both large and small, have surpassed those of their Japanese counterparts.According to a report on wage comparisons...

Shareholder activism Activist funds to wage proxy battle with Samsung C&T

Five activist funds have joined hands to wage a proxy battle with Samsung C&T Corp., demanding additional share buybacks and dividend increases....

Tech, Media & Telecom S.Korean government seeks to lower streaming service rates

The South Korean government is seeking to lower the country’s video streaming service, or over-the-top (OTT) media service, rates as part of i...

Steel Korean steelmakers to raise prices further

South Korea’s top steelmaker POSCO Holdings Inc. and its domestic peers are poised to raise product prices further to cut losses amid surging ...

Robotics KIST develops wearable robot for hiking assistance

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced on Thursday that it has developed a lightweight wearable robot called Moonwalk Omni, ...

Tech, Media & Telecom Korea’s besieged mobile carriers grapple with OTT players’ rate hikes

South Korea’s telecommunications companies, besieged by the onslaught of foreign over-the-top (OTT) players such as Netflix and YouTube, are g...

Leadership & Management MBK raises Hankook bid price, asks FSS to probe Cho's stock purchase

The sibling rivalry for control of Hankook & Company Co., the holding firm of South Korea’s largest tire maker Hankook Tire & Techno...

Corporate bonds More Koreans seek high-yield bond funds, betting the Fed will end hikes

South Korean investors are growing more interested in global high-yield bond funds, betting that the US Federal Reserve is likely to end its interes...

Foreign exchange Yen hits 15-year low vs Korean won on less hawkish BOJ

The yen on Friday plunged to the weakest level in more than 15 years against the South Korean won as the Japanese central bank’s recent change...

ASK 2023 Digital infrastructure as essential as water today: asset managers

Digital assets are important components of change in the infrastructure investment landscape today and are as essential as water and electricity, ex...

Economy Korea Inc.’s record short-term borrowing raises specter of debt overhang

South Korea’s short-term corporate loan growth is picking up at a fast pace, stirring concern among some analysts who see parallels to the 200...

Real estate Brookfield puts Conrad Seoul on market at over $370 mn

Brookfield Asset Management is seeking to sell off five-star hotel Conrad Seoul at more than 500 billion won ($369.5 million), tapping real estate i...

Batteries Korea’s battery trio aims to outsmart Chinese rivals in US

South Korea’s three major battery makers — LG Energy Solution Ltd., SK On Co. and Samsung SDI Co. — recently came under renewed pr...