In the bustling backstreets of Ulaanbaatar, shoppers file out of a CU convenience store with instant tteokbokki, or simmered Korean rice cake, packs and Samyang spicy noodles tucked under their arms.Across the Pacific, South Korean snack aisles at New York's H Mart, a leading cha
Korean food is making waves globally, but back home, the story is different for food and beverage franchise operators. Franchisors in South Korea are facing tepid consumer demand and investor apathy, weighed down by sluggish domestic spending and tightening regulations.According
South Korea’s once-dominant golf apparel market, the largest in the world at its peak, is rapidly losing steam, as sales tumble and brands scramble to restructure.What was a pandemic-driven boom, led by image-conscious millennials and generation Z flocking to outdoor sports
South Korea’s major original design manufacturers (ODMs) for cosmetics, led by Cosmax Inc. and Kolmar Korea Co., are estimated to have posted their highest-ever quarterly profits in the second quarter. A surge in exports by small and mid-sized labels fueled their earnings growth with indie brands expanding into markets that were once out of reach. Reflecting robust exports, Kolmar Korea’s share price has skyrocketed 88% year-to-date,
As global automakers raise prices in the US market to respond to new Washington import tariffs, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group is taking the opposite approach: slashing prices and rolling out aggressive zero-interest financing to win over US car buyers.Hyundai Motor Co.'s US subsidiary recently launched a promotional blitz offering 60-month zero-interest loans on popular SUV models, including the Santa Fe, Santa Fe Hybrid and Palisa
Ultium Cells LLC, a battery joint venture between South Korea’s LG Energy Solution Ltd. and General Motors Co., will upgrade its battery cell manufacturing facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee, to produce low-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells.Conversion of battery cell lines at Spring Hill will begin later this year, with commercial production anticipated by late 2027, the company said in a statement.The facility currently makes
Once an afterthought in the global food trade, South Korea’s signature spices and sauces, ranging from fiery gochujang to fermented doenjang, ar
Global memory chip markets, long weighed down by excess inventories and sagging demand, are showing early signs of a thaw.South Korea’s exports
South Korea’s long-dormant consumer sector is showing signs of revival, as shoppers – once paralyzed by political uncertainty – retu
Bebesup, a leading South Korean baby skincare and wipe brand, has secured a registration certificate from the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for its infant and toddler cosmetics, a move expected to expedite the company’s
CJ Olive Young Corp., South Korea’s top beauty store chain, is another beneficiary of the global K-beauty surge, with its online cosmetics sales to overseas markets soaring 70% year over year in the first half of this year, fueled largely by ex
LG Electronics Inc. has turned its rivals into allies in an unlikely pact to win the budget appliance war and ward off Chinese competitors rapidly encroaching on the South Korean electronics giant’s premium turf. According to sources in the ele
IMM Credit & Solutions Inc. (ICS), the private credit unit of South Korea’s major investment firm IMM Holdings Inc., has raised nearly 1 trillion won ($728 million) for its first blind credit fund from more than 30 domestic institutional in
US-based investment firm Cohen & Steers Inc. has appointed Andrew Shin, a 20-year veteran of the institutional investment market, as vice president to lead its institutional distribution business in South Korea and support broader institutional g
Financial investors in Chorocmaeul Co., a South Korean organic food store chain, are seeking to sell the management control of the company, which recently filed for court receivership, according to investment banking sources on Thursday.The investors
K Shipbuilding Co., a mid-tier South Korean shipbuilder, will be put on the market this month after a strong turnaround. The deal, estimated at 500 billion won ($364 million), is expected to deliver a sizeable return for its investors four years afte
Samsung Electronics Co. will acquire Xealth, a US-based healthcare platform provider, as it steps up efforts to foster non-semiconductor businesses – robotics, healthcare services, consumer audio and cooling and heating systems – as futur
Korea Environment Technology Co. (Koentec) is up for sale in a deal that could fetch up to 1 trillion won ($730.4 million) with global private equity firms aiming to acquire the country’s largest waste management company, investment banking ind
Shinsegae Property, a subsidiary of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group, on Tuesday unveiled a 600 billion won ($438 million) investment agreement with two partners to develop Starfield Cheongna, a next-generation mega-mall and entertainment co
NH Investment & Securities Co. retained its lead in South Korea’s equity capital market (ECM) in the first half, riding a surge in large-scale rights offerings while initial public offerings (IPOs) remained subdued.According to data compile
South Korea raised 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) through a euro bond sale on Thursday, marking the country's largest-ever euro-denominated debt issuance and its biggest overall foreign currency bond deal in over a decade.The issuance marked the co
Mirae Asset Financial Group, one of the largest asset managers in South Korea, has launched its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) investing in high-quality US bonds picked by artificial intelligence, aimed at outperforming traditional methods via a da
The original soundtrack Golden from Netflix’s hit animated movie KPop Demon Hunters has made chart history, becoming the first track by a virtual Kpop artist to break into the upper tier of the Billboard Hot 100.According to Billboard’s p
Blackpink's new single Jump has rocketed to No. 1 on the Spotify Daily Top Songs Global chart, YG Entertainment Inc., the company behind the girl group, said on Sunday.Released on July 11, the song marks the K-pop idol group's third career No. 1 on t
Netflix’s smash-hit animated film KPop Demon Hunters is more than just a pop culture phenomenon. It is fueling global interest in Korean heritage products such as the iconic Joseon-era top hat, gat, well beyond typical K-pop idol merchandise.It
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has tapped an information technology firm executive as culture minister and a ruling party lawmaker as land minister, the presidential office said on Friday, completing the nomination of all 19 members of his first Cabinet.Lee named Chae Hwi-young, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Nol Universe, a travel plat
Rhee Chang-yong, governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK), warned on Thursday that mounting household debt is now undermining both private consumption and economic growth.He cited the sharp rise in home prices in the Seoul metropolitan area and the rapid growth in mortgage lending as key factors behind the unanimous decision to keep the policy rate unch
