Department of Commerce
Scope
Date
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Banking & Finance
NongHyup to gain toehold in southwest Asia with India branch
NongHyup Bank, a major arm of South Korea's National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, got the nod from India last week to open its first branch ...
May 30, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Retail
Korea electronics retailers face headwind from e-commerce, dept. stores
South Korea’s major electronics retailers such as Lotte Himart are facing a headwind as more customers are buying home appliances online and d...
May 18, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Earnings
Coupang poised to turn to black after smallest loss in Q1
South Korea’s e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. reported the smallest quarterly loss on strong product commerce business, raising hopes for a turn...
May 13, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Electronics
LG Electronics receives ISO certification for auto chip technology
LG Electronics Inc., a leading South Korean home appliance maker, has received ISO certification for its automotive chip development process, includ...
May 06, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Banking & Finance
Shinhan to boost Vietnam digital services with Tiki
South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group has picked Vietnam’s e-commerce startup Tiki as its first strategic partner in the Southeast Asian count...
May 02, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Artificial intelligence
LG Electronics establishes hiring-guaranteed AI department at Yonsei
LG Electronics Inc. is poised to set up a new department at Seoul-based Yonsei University to train aspiring artificial intelligence engineers. ...
Apr 26, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
SK Networks sees $80 mn valuation gain from Kurly
South Korea's grocery delivery app Kurly Inc. has generated a valuation gain of 100 billion won ($80 million) for SK Networks Co., or a triple-digit...
Apr 25, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Korean Air-Asiana deal girds for tough US challenge
The merger between South Korea's two largest air carriers – Korean Air Lines Co. Asiana Airlines Inc. – may face a tough challenge in th...
Apr 22, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Samsung Group
CJ, Samsung to launch $600 million e-commerce logistics fund
CJ Logistics and an affiliate of Samsung Life Insurance have joined forces to launch a real estate investment fund worth 740 billion won ($600 milli...
Apr 18, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
S.Korea’s luxury e-commerce startups poised to become unicorns
South Korea’s e-commerce startups are enjoying massive hikes in their valuations on the back of robust online spending by millennials and memb...
Apr 14, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Kurly applies for Korea IPO to raise about $800 mn
South Korea's Kurly Inc. on Monday applied for a preliminary review of its initial public offering, the Korea Exchange said, as the operator of groc...
Mar 28, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Nine out of 10 VC heads in S.Korea say startups overvalued: Survey
Heads of South Korea’s leading venture capital firms say domestic startups have entered a phase of overvaluation. The Korea Economic Dail...
Mar 15, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Coupang wraps up 2021 with record sales of $18.4 bn
South Korea’s e-commerce juggernaut Coupang Inc. posted $18.4 billion in sales last year, up 54% on-year. Compared to the pre-pandemic level i...
Mar 04, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
Live commerce platforms like Grip to keep growing in Asia Pacific: Google
In April 2021, there were some 200 unicorns in the Asia Pacific region, second only to the United States which had 290 startups each valued at $1 bi...
Feb 22, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Artificial intelligence
Naver recruits two AI scholars based in US
Naver Corp. is ramping up its recruitment of global talent in artificial intelligence. The South Korean tech giant announced Monday that it h...
Jan 25, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Alternative investments
Warehouse deals in greater Seoul area hit record high in Q4
The total deal volume of Seoul metropolitan area-based grade-A logistics centers hit a record high of 7.2 trillion won ($6.1 billion) last year. A g...
Jan 19, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Metaverse
Lotte Group aims for top spot in metaverse retail space
Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin is known for his obsession with new tech gadgets.He’s one of those early adopters in South Korea of the Ocu...
Jan 13, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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Artificial intelligence
SK Telecom taps AI expert as new technology chief
SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top mobile carrier, has tapped its e-commerce arm's chief executive and artificial intelligence (AI) expert Lee Sang-h...
Jan 04, 2022 (Gmt+09:00)
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E-commerce
Coupang embraces affordable fashion industry
Korea’s e-commerce giant Coupang is looking to tap into the country’s mid-range fashion market. The company is now reversing the ...
Dec 21, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Korean unicorns jump fivefold in four years with record investment in 2021
Investment in South Korean startups hit an all-time high in 2021 as the number of new unicorns, unlisted companies with a valuation topping $1 billi...
Dec 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Kakao buys startup Grip, fueling e-commerce push
South Korea's Kakao Corp. has acquired a live streaming e-commerce app Grip Co. to beef up its online shopping business, considered the weakest spot...
Dec 02, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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E-commerce
KoreaCenter acquires Danawa, paving way for MBK’s bolt-on deal
KoreaCenter Co. has been named the new owner of Danawa Co., one of South Korea’s first-generation e-commerce platforms – a move that is ...
Nov 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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E-commerce
STIC invests $20 mn in e-commerce giant Tiki
South Korean private equity firm STIC Investments Inc. has invested $20 million in Vietnam’s e-commerce giant Tiki Corporation’s serie...
Nov 17, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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E-commerce
MBK seeks to buy two S.Korean e-commerce platforms
MBK Partners is in talks to buy management rights of two e-commerce platforms listed on South Korea's Kosdaq market in a package deal, according to ...
Nov 09, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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IPOs
Kurly, SSG.COM, Oasis plan for fast-track 2022 IPOs
Competition among South Korean e-commerce companies for initial public offerings is expected to get even fiercer next year. Kurly Inc., the oper...
Oct 29, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Tech, Media & Telecom
Naver launches Japan-focused e-commerce platform
South Korea's top online portal Naver Corp. launched its e-commerce platform dedicated to Japan last month, taking its first step toward a global on...
Oct 22, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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E-commerce
Korea's first-generation platforms collapse, ringing in new e-commerce era
South Korea's first-generation e-commerce platforms, which have been around since the 1990s, are rushing to sell off their businesses as their valua...
Oct 05, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Lotte Shopping to acquire furniture maker Hanssem with IMM PE
Lotte Shopping Co., South Korea’s top department store operator, is set to acquire Hanssem Co. with IMM Private Equity.IMM PE selected Lotte S...
Sep 10, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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E-commerce
Amazon Global Store shakes up S.Korea’s e-commerce scene
Amazon Global Store posted a stellar first-week performance in South Korea. The service, launched at the end of August on SK Telecom Co.’s onl...
Sep 08, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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Private equity
GIC, PEFs face further delays to Kyobo exit after ruling
Singapore’s GIC, Canada's Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan (OTPP) and private equity firms, including Affinity Equity Partners, may need to endu...
Sep 07, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)