South Korea Business & Industry

Korean business news covering major corporations, industrial sectors, semiconductors, and trade.

Korea Raises No-Show Penalty to 40% for Restaurant Reservations

Jan 1, 2026

Musinsa Offers 50,000 Won Coupon Pack, Drawing Sharp Contrast With Coupang's Data Breach Compensation

** Musinsa offers a no-strings-attached 50,000 won coupon pack to members, drawing sharp contrast with Coupang's controversial split-up compensation v...

7h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Two DGIST Faculty Startups Selected for Scale-up TIPS Program

Two DGIST faculty startups—CTCells in precision medicine and Solitech in all-solid-state batteries—secured 1.52 billion won each through Korea's Scale...

8h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Korean Parts Makers Enter AI Robotics Race with Joints, Brains and Eyes

** Korean parts makers including Hyundai Mobis, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and LG Innotek are expanding into humanoid robot components as the global r...

8h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Regional SMEs Want Better Living Conditions, Not Just Bigger Budgets

Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups emphasizes regional development with bigger budgets, but experts say attracting talent requires better living co...

8h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Warren Buffett Retires as Berkshire CEO After 60 Years

** Warren Buffett, 95, steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after 60 years, handing leadership to Greg Abel. Investors who held since 1965 gained appr...

9h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

NPS Officials Called to Parliament Over $100M Coupang Investment, Asked Just One Question

NPS officials attended two-day parliamentary hearing over Coupang investment made through external managers, receiving just one question despite the f...

9h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Kakao Raises Ad Prices, Plans AI Agent Launch to Boost Earnings

Kakao raises Brand Message ad prices by around 2 won per message and plans to launch its AI agent service Kanana in KakaoTalk in Q1, targeting operati...

9h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Lotte Department Store Abandons 'Gangnam No. 1' Strategy, Relocates MD Unit to Myeongdong

** Lotte Department Store relocates its MD headquarters from Gangnam to Myeongdong, abandoning its "Gangnam No. 1" strategy as new CEO Chung Hyun-seok...

10h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

CU Expands Fruit Sandwich Lineup Amid Viral Social Media Success

** CU convenience store expands its viral Fruits Sand dessert lineup with new tangerine and strawberry-shine muscat varieties, as the S-S-S strawberry...

10h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Mackerel Prices Surge 29% as Norway Slashes Catch Quotas

** Korean mackerel prices surged 29% to over 10,000 won per pair as Norway cuts catch quotas by 70% for 2025 and the won weakens against the dollar....

10h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Year of the Horse CEOs Face Critical Tests in 2026

Korean retail and business leaders born in the Year of the Horse face critical challenges in 2026, from Coupang's data breach crisis to SPC Group's Ch...

11h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

FSC Chair Vows AI-Driven Financial Industry; FSS Chief Targets Large Platforms

** FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won pledges AI-driven financial sector growth while FSS Governor Lee Chan-jin announces plans to supervise large platforms lik...

11h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Lotto Sales Halted at Some Outlets on New Year's Day Due to Administrative Error

** Lotto ticket sales were suspended for several hours at some Korean lottery outlets on New Year's Day after Donghang Lottery mistakenly flagged stor...

12h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

300,000 Won Loan Balloons to 70 Million: Victim Calls for More Small Policy Loans

** A Korean man borrowed 300,000 won from illegal lenders and paid back 70 million won in one year. Victim calls for more accessible small policy loan...

12h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Seoul City Unveils 2.4 Trillion Won Support Package for Small Businesses

** Seoul Metropolitan Government announces 2.4 trillion won support package for SMEs and small businesses in 2024, including low-interest loans and re...

12h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

KDB Policy Loans Exempt From Credit Limit Rules

Korea Development Bank's policy loans are now exempt from corporate credit limit regulations following an FSC no-action letter, enabling expanded supp...

13h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

US Grants TSMC Annual License for Chip Equipment Imports to China

** US grants annual licenses to TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and SK hynix for importing US-made semiconductor equipment to their China factories, ensuri...

13h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Six in Ten Korean Restaurants Hit by No-Show Damages in Three Years

A Korean government survey found 65% of restaurant owners experienced no-show damages in three years, with average losses of 443,000 won per incident....

13h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Doosan Chairman Park: Success in New Era Hinges on AI Transformation Speed

Doosan Group Chairman Park Jung-won called for accelerated AI transformation in his 2025 New Year's message, emphasizing opportunities in nuclear powe...

16h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Hyundai Department Store Chairman Calls for Stronger Competitiveness Amid Uncertainty

Hyundai Department Store Group Chairman Chung Ji-sun outlined three management principles for 2025, emphasizing fundamental competitiveness, new profi...

16h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Korea Semiconductor Exports Hit Record $173.4 Billion in 2024, Up 22.2%

South Korea's semiconductor exports surged 22.2% to a record $173.4 billion in 2024, marking the highest annual figure in the nation's history....

17h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Yongin Mayor Vows to Advance Semiconductor-Specialized Metropolis in 2026

Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il pledged to advance the city as Korea's semiconductor hub in 2026, with SK hynix and Samsung investing over 600 trillion won i...

18h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

TSMC Opens '2nm Era' — Can Samsung Win Over Qualcomm, Meta for Comeback?

** TSMC begins 2nm mass production, selling out a year's capacity to Apple and Nvidia. Samsung Electronics targets Qualcomm, Meta, and AMD with compet...

18h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

HDC Hyundai Development Operating Profit Jumps 45% on Urban Redevelopment Orders

HDC Hyundai Development reported 45.1% year-on-year growth in cumulative operating profit to 207.3 billion won through Q3 2025, driven by urban redeve...

19h ago|Seoul Economic Daily

Big Tech Races to Build Data Centers in Space

** Big Tech companies including Google, OpenAI and SpaceX are racing to build data centers in space, citing energy efficiency gains of up to 8x compar...

20h ago|Seoul Economic Daily