seed round funding
Scope
Date
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Shareholder activism
KT&G claims sweeping victory against activist funds
Activist funds such as Singapore-based Flashlight Capital Partners Pet. (FCP) on Tuesday failed to gain approval on almost all of their proposals ma...
Mar 28, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
Korean startup investments rapidly dry up in wake of SVB debacle
The shock from the collapse of American startups’ main financing artery Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has been deeply felt in the South Korean sta...
Mar 27, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
S.Korean fashion platform Ably attracts $39 mn before Series C round
South Korea’s Ably Corp., operator of the fashion shopping app Ably, has attracted 50 billion won ($39 million) via venture debt amid the slow...
Mar 23, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Electric vehicles
EV fast-charging company Crocus succeeds in $5 mn Series B funding
Crocus Inc., a South Korean startup focused on energy infrastructure and leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), announced on Wednesday that it rai...
Mar 23, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pre-IPOs
SK Pharmteco again seeks $382 mn in pre-IPO funding
SK Pharmteco Co., a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), is eyeing pre-initial public offering funding again after it dropped...
Mar 21, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shareholder activism
Two global shareholder voting advisors oppose activist funds in S. Korea
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the world's two biggest advisory bodies for shareholder voting rights, have recommended op...
Mar 20, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Markets
Korean ETP market doubles amid increasing distrust of fund managers
South Korea’s exchange-traded product (ETP) market has doubled in four years as more investors preferred their own trades to discretionary inv...
Mar 20, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shareholder activism
ISS, Glass Lewis urge shareholders to veto activist fund's requests on JB
Proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass Lewis & Co. are urging shareholders of JB Financial Group Co., a South Ko...
Mar 17, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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ESG
ESG: Name of the game in investing, funding amid Korea’s green push
With South Korea’s aggressive green push at both the government and corporate levels, money is flowing back to environmental, social and gover...
Mar 16, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Fintech
TravelWallet succeeds in attracting $15 mn Series C funding
South Korea's TravelWallet, a global payment service provider, announced on Wednesday that it has raised 19.7 billion won ($15 million) in Series C ...
Mar 16, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Bio & Pharma
S.Korean biotech NKMax’s unit aims for US IPO
NKMax Co., a South Korean cancer drug maker, is in talks with local and foreign investors in a bid to list its California-based unit NKGen Biotech I...
Mar 14, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Sovereign wealth funds
S.Korean sovereign wealth fund KIC to set up Mumbai office
Sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) has kicked off procedures to open a Mumbai-based office later this year, The Korea Economic...
Mar 14, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean chipmakers
Samsung chief Lee vows bold investment to bolster chip R&D capabilities
Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Jay Y. Lee pledged another bold investment in the world’s largest memory chipmaker’s next-generation se...
Mar 14, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Hahn & Co. puts SK Shipping’s tanker business up for sale
South Korean private equity firm Hahn & Co. is seeking to sell SK Shipping Co.’s tanker division, a business widely seen as the breadwinne...
Mar 13, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Venture capital
SK Networks invests $22 mn in US AI-based device company
South Korea's SK Networks has identified a startup specializing in AI-based devices and software platforms as a new investment target. The startup, ...
Mar 09, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Will SM shares’ bull run foil Kakao’s takeover attempt?
The bull run in shares of SM Entertainment Co. may deal a heavy blow to Kakao Corp. ’s 1.25-trillion-won ($950 million) takeover bid for the K...
Mar 08, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Construction
Hyundai Eng. completes Lemba-Imbu water purification plant in DR Congo
Hyundai Engineering, a South Korean construction contractor, held a completion ceremony for the "Lemba-Imbu water purification plant phase 1 project...
Mar 08, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Korea's AI startup Quantit attracts $23 mn Series A investment
South Korea's artificial intelligence (AI) company Vaiv Company Inc. announced on Tuesday that Quantit, its fintech subsidiary, has received a 30 bi...
Mar 08, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Sovereign wealth funds
S.Korea's KIC to strengthen responsible investments
Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) plans to actively voice its opinions on portfolio companies' management over the next two years to tighten its re...
Mar 06, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shareholder activism
KT&G’s hidden saviors in activist fight: In-house funds
KT&G Corp., the world’s fifth-largest tobacco maker, will likely get support from in-house shareholders in a battle against activist funds...
Mar 06, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
HYBE to raise up to $769 mn, new twist on battle with Kakao for SM
HYBE Co. is tightening the reins in its fight against Kakao Corp. for control of SM Entertainment Co. by raising up to 1 trillion won ($768.6 millio...
Mar 05, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shareholder activism
JB Financial refuses activist fund's request to increase dividends
South Korea’s JB Financial Group Co. has refused a local activist fund’s request to raise dividend payouts, stressing such a measure wil...
Mar 03, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Pension funds
S.Korea's GEPS logs 10.2% return on alternative assets in 2022
South Korea’s Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS) had a 4.4% loss on investment last year, seeing its assets under management (AUM) dr...
Mar 01, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
FADU joins ranks of unicorns as S.Korea’s first fabless chip firm
FADU Technology has become South Korea’s first fabless semiconductor unicorn after successfully raising funds from share sales before its init...
Feb 28, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shareholder activism
Activist fund Tcha Partners calls for Namyang Dairy to buy back shares
Seoul-based activist fund Tcha Partners Asset Management Co. on Monday demanded that South Korea’s Namyang Dairy Products Co. buy back half of...
Feb 27, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Artificial intelligence
Kakao Brain to launch investment fund for AI startups
Kakao Brain, a South Korean artificial intelligence (AI) company owned by Kakao Corp., said on Sunday it plans to set up a fund of up to 10 billion ...
Feb 27, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shareholder activism
S.Korea’s KT&G engulfed in lawsuit against activist funds
The world’s fifth-largest tobacco maker KT&G’s battle against activist investors intensified as a group of funds sued the South Kore...
Feb 24, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Future mobility
KAIST, Hyundai sign agreement for high-speed self-driving research
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) announced that it would embark on research into high-speed autonomous driving techn...
Feb 23, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Shareholder activism
KT&G potential target of aggressive activist shareholder
KT&G Corp., the world’s fifth-largest tobacco maker, is likely to face a tougher battle against activist shareholders as an aggressive hed...
Feb 22, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Patty-cooking robotics startup Aniai completes seed funding
Aniai Inc., a foodservice robotics developer founded by a South Korean, said on Feb. 21 it has attracted $3 million via a seed funding round to boos...
Feb 21, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)