K-beauty craze sends Olive Young online sales to new heights
CJ Olive Young Corp., South Korea’s top beauty store chain, is another beneficiary of the global K-beauty surge, with its online cosmetics sal...
South Korea’s Lee completes cabinet lineup with IT executive, lawmaker
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has tapped an information technology firm executive as culture minister and a ruling party lawmaker as land min...
Korea’s game studios rebrand as AI tech firms, move into fashion, robotics, media
What was once a world of elves, dragons and power-ups is now giving rise to one of South Korea’s most unexpected tech revolutions, with game s...
K-style strikes back to win over China’s Gen Z with Musinsa at helm
Musinsa, South Korea’s fashion unicorn backed by KKR Co., is set to bring the K-style wave to China with Anta Sports Products Ltd., China's le...
Roborock’s privacy policy fuels data leak fears over Chinese goods
A new personal data processing policy from Chinese robot vacuum maker Roborock is raising fears that consumer data could be leaked to or misused by ...
Netmarble to debut new games with fresh IPs, platforms in second half
Netmarble Corp. is gearing up for a strong year-end with plans to launch at least six more new games, powered by original intellectual properties, a...
From G-Dragon to Ibuki: Dongmyo emerges as global fashion hotspot
Once a humble thrift market popular among older locals in Seoul, Dongmyo Market, often dubbed Dongmyo flea market, has become a vibrant hotspot for ...
Even barcodes copied: Counterfeits invasion threatens K-brands
Counterfeit Korean beauty, fashion and food products are surging on overseas e-commerce platforms, with lookalike packaging making them hard to dist...
Google to invest $100 mn in Gentle Monster in smart glasses push
Google LLC has signed an agreement to invest about 145.0 billion won ($100 million) in Gentle Monster, the South Korean fashion eyewear brand that i...
Naver Financial seeks to acquire S. Korean real estate data platform Asil
Naver Financial Corp., the fintech subsidiary of South Korean tech giant Naver Corp., is looking to acquire Asil, a domestic big data-based real est...
Time to spend: Korean shoppers loosen purse strings on luxuries, hotels
South Korea’s long-dormant consumer sector is showing signs of revival, as shoppers – once paralyzed by political uncertainty – re...
Genesis targets broader European presence with EV trio
Genesis, Hyundai Motor Co.'s premium brand, is expanding its European footprint to four additional countries –France, Spain, Italy and the Net...
Coupang bids for Korean luxury market dominance with Farfetch
Coupang Inc., South Korea’s largest e-commerce player, is set to seize control of the country’s online luxury market with Farfetch amid ...
Kakao Mobility to build smart infrastructure for Saudi Diriyah project
Kakao Mobility Corp., which runs South Korea’s most popular ride-hailing app, Kakao T, has clinched a deal to build a future mobility infrastr...
Tencent to become SM Entertainment's No. 2 shareholder via HYBE deal
Tencent Music Entertainment Group is set to become the second-largest shareholder of SM Entertainment Co. by acquiring HYBE Co.'s remaining shares i...
Shinhan Securities acquires stake in Vietnam’s top trading platform FireAnt
Shinhan Securities Co., a leading South Korean brokerage house, has acquired a strategic equity stake in FireAnt, Vietnam’s largest retail tra...
Dawn delivery pioneer Kurly posts 1st-ever quarterly profit
Kurly Inc., a pioneer in South Korea’s dawn delivery market, has posted its first-ever quarterly profit, bucking a slowdown in private consump...
With Ulta deal, APR steps up US beauty push
Medicube, the beauty-tech brand under South Korea’s fast-growing beauty company APR Co., will sell its products through both online and offlin...
Coupang’s Q1 revenue up; quarterly dip signals rising competition
Coupang Inc., South Korea’s largest e-commerce platform, extended its year-on-year sales growth with an 11.1% increase to post $7.9 billion in...
StockX in merger talks with Naver’s online reseller Kream
StockX, the world’s most popular online resale marketplace, is in talks to merge with Kream, a resale unicorn under South Korea’s tech g...
Naver, Kurly tie up to counter e-commerce giant Coupang
South Korea’s online giant Naver Corp. and dawn grocery platform service provider Kurly Inc. have joined forces for a potential stake acquisit...
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...
EQT set to invest in KKR-backed fashion unicorn Musinsa
EQT, Europe's largest private equity firm, is set to invest 20 billion to 30 billion won ($14 million-$21 million) in Musinsa, South Korea’s f...
ABL Bio lands $2.8 billion license-out deal with GSK
ABL Bio Inc., a South Korean biotech company, will license out its proprietary blood-brain barrier shuttle platform, called the Grabody-B, to UK-bas...
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...
SM Entertainment acquires additional 11.4% stake in DearU for $9.2 mn
SM Entertainment Co., South Korea’s music powerhouse behind internationally popular boy and girl bands like EXO and aespa, has acquired an add...
LF to open Korea’s 1st standalone fashion outlet in India
LF Corp., a leading South Korean clothing company, will foray into India with its flagship brand Hazzys to build its presence in the rapidly growing...
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 ...
KB, Samsung SRA, Capstone named NPS’ core property fund operators
South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has selected three asset managers to oversee its domestic core real estate platform fund — ...
Naver’s Webtoon hints at ad business expansion in 2025
Webtoon Entertainment Inc., the Nasdaq-listed storytelling platform operator under South Korea’s internet giant Naver Corp., is set to expand ...
