yen weakness

Culture & Trends S.Korea’s medical tourism thrives on weak currency

Foreign visitors to South Korea jumped nearly 20% early this year, largely driven by a sharp depreciation in the country’s currency value agai...

Economy Korea’s weak exports add to Trump tariff risk woes

South Korea’s exports in the first two months skidded as sales to the world’s two largest economies China and the US fell, adding to con...

Corporate restructuring POSCO seeks $1 bn restructuring amid weak steel, battery materials sectors

South Korea’s POSCO Holdings Inc. said on Monday it plans to sell 61 unprofitable and non-core assets to raise 1.5 trillion won ($1 billion) a...

Earnings Samsung to focus on HBM, other high-end chips after weak Q4 earnings

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest memory chipmaker, on Friday vowed to cut its production of legacy chips and increase sales of pre...

Foreign exchange Global investment banks see Korean won staying weak in 2025

The South Korean won is forecast to hover in the mid-1,400s level against the dollar through the third quarter of 2025, according to global investme...

Business & Politics South Korea’s Acting President Han impeached; Stocks, won plummet

Han Duck-soo, South Korea’s acting president and prime minister, was impeached in Parliament on Friday amid a deepening political crisis batte...

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...

Foreign exchange NPS incurs $500 million in missed gains due to improper forex hedging

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

Earnings Samsung chip head vows drastic revamp after flagging weak Q3 earnings

Jun Young-hyun, vice chairman and head of Samsung Electronics Co.'s semiconductor business, on Tuesday vowed to take drastic steps to improve profit...

Automobiles Hyundai, Kia’s September US sales fall; hybrids buck weak sales trend

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister firm Kia Corp. saw their US sales decline last month due to fewer selling days and weak market ...

Shareholder value Naver to retire $306 mn shares, but stock remains weak

South Korea’s leading internet portal operator Naver Corp. will buy back and retire about 400 billion won ($306 million) worth of shares by th...

Batteries SK On to cut jobs for first time amid sustained EV weakness

SK On Co., the world’s fifth-largest electric vehicle battery maker, plans to cut its workforce with the company’s first voluntary retir...

Korean food South Korea enjoys record-high kimchi exports in first half

South Korea's kimchi exports surged to an all-time high for a six-month period in the first half of this year, according to data from the Korea Agro...

Foreign exchange Korea's foreign currency savings snap 5-mth losing streak

Foreign currency deposits in South Korea increased in June, snapping their losing streak over the past five months, with the yen-denominated savings...

Travel & Leisure Korea’s taxi app i.M ties up with MK Group to land in Japan

South Korea’s premium ride-hailing app i.M joined hands with Japan’s taxi operator MK Group to allow each platform's customers to use bo...

Travel & Leisure S.Korean travelers splurge in Japan on softer yen

South Korean travelers spent a total of 431.4 billion won ($312 million) through debit and credit cards in Japan in the first half of this year, twi...

Batteries LG Energy halts Arizona battery plant building on weak EV sector

LG Energy Solution Ltd., the world’s third-largest electric vehicle (EV) cell maker, has suspended construction of a plant in Arizona for batt...

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...

Airlines South Korea-Japan air travelers soar to 10 mn in first five months

The number of air passengers traveling between South Korea and Japan has surpassed 10 million in the first five months of this year, setting a new r...

Real estate Japan golf courses, Korean investors’ new target assets

South Korean investors are eyeing Japan’s golf resorts to buy amid the weak yen, rising demand for golf courses in Japan, and relatively low p...

Economy Korea’s April factory output rebounds amid weak consumption

South Korea’s factory production rebounded in April on healthy manufacturing while domestic consumption and capital expenditures dipped, indic...

Business & Politics Naver beleaguered by weak Korean businesses amid Line woes

South Korea’s online giant Naver Corp. is struggling with sluggish core domestic businesses – commerce, search and sports – as Jap...

Earnings Kia logs record profit, revenue in Q1 on weak won

Kia Corp., the second-largest automaker in South Korea, posted record quarterly profit and revenue for the first three months of this year, backed b...

Electric vehicles Hyundai to produce hybrid cars at EV-only plant in US state of Georgia

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s top automaker, plans to manufacture hybrid models at its electric vehicle and battery plant in the US state o...

Pension funds NPS loses $1.2 bn in local stocks in Q1 on weak battery shares

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world's third-largest pension fund, lost 1.66 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in domestic stock ...

Fashion Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior post weak profits in Korea post-pandemic

Global luxury brands Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Dior saw worsening profitability of their South Korean operations last year after a few years of dece...

Foreign exchange Korean won at 17-month low on Middle East woes, Fed rate view

The South Korean won currency on Tuesday fell to its weakest level in 17 months, briefly touching the psychologically important 1,400 per dollar lev...

Travel & Leisure Lotte Home Shopping expands Japan tour packages

South Korea's Lotte Home Shopping said on Tuesday that it will expand its range of travel packages to Japan, including trips to Kyushu and Okinawa, ...

Food & Beverage CJ CheilJedang to sell feed, livestock unit for $1.4 bn

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang Corp. is seeking again to sell its loss-making feed and livestock subsidiary, Asia’s largest in the ind...

Earnings Weak property market cuts into Korean securities firms’ profits

dd South Korea’s securities firms suffered a 20% fall in overall net profit last year hurt by the weak property market, adding to bearish vie...