South Korea’s financial authorities announced on January 31, that their investigation into initial coin offerings (ICOs) led them to maintain a negative stance on the institutionalization of ICOs in the future. They added that their investigation found that ICOs lacked information disclosure for inv
SK Telecom is expanding its mobility business overseas through “T MAP” ranking first among mobile navigation map services in Korea.On January 30, SK Telecom announced that it signed an agreement to set up Grab Geo Holdings (JB), a joint venture in Singapore with Grab, the largest shared car company
Samsung Electronics has regained a spot in Fortune's list of the world’s 50 most admired companies.Samsung Electronics ranked 50th in the list of "World's Most Admired Companies 2019" announced recently by Fortune, a leading U.S. economic magazine. The Korean electronics giant shared the spo
Dulwich College Seoul (DCSL) announced on Jan. 23 that it received “Teaching Initiative of the Year” at the International School Awards 2019. Head of mathematics, Chris Krnic, flew to the awards ceremony in London to receive the distinguished accolade on behalf of Dulwich College Seoul.“After winnin
Netmarble announced on Jan. 22 that it ranked fifth in terms of sales among global mobile game producers last year.The Korean game company came after Tencent, NetEase, Activision Blizzard and Bandai Namco, according to a ranking released by mobile app market analysis website App Annie on Jan. 18.Net
Global communications marketing firm Edelman announced on Jan. 17 that Christine Park, executive director of Edelman Korea, has been selected to serve as a jury member at the upcoming 2019 APAC Effie Awards, which will celebrate some of the best accomplishments in the marketing industry on March 6 i
Mirae Asset Group is accelerating investment in Southeast Asian startups with great growth potential, following its investment in Grab, a ride-hailing service provider in Southeast Asia, last year.Investment banking (IB) industry sources said on Jan. 16 that Mirae Asset Group invested 8.3 billion wo
Kolon Life Sciences said on Jan. 14 that it has signed an agreement with Mundipharma of the United States to export 100 billion won (US$89.75 million) worth of Invossa, the world's first cell and gene therapy for osteoarthritis, to nine countries.Under the terms of the agreement, Mundipharma wil
The fear of being held responsible for accidents prevented a South Korean state-run firm from signing a multibillion dollar deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for long-term maintenance of the Barakah nuclear power plant, it was learned belatedly.The UAE intended to sign a private long-term mai
Korean builders received overseas construction orders worth US$32.1 billion (662 contracts) in 2018, according to the International Contractors Association of Korea on Dec. 30.This year's total fell short of the records set in the early 2010s, but is meaningful in that it recorded double-digit g
As the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a new 11-country Asia-Pacific trade agreement, took effect on Dec. 30, there is a growing public outcry that South Korea also needs to take part in the new agreement as soon as possible and accelerate signing free trade agreemen
Ssangyong Engineering & Construction has landed an underground highway construction project worth US$750 million (850 billion won) from Singapore.The Korea-based global builder announced on Dec. 26 that it has been chosen to build the N102 and N111 sections of the North South Corridor (NSC) promoted
Paraxylene (PX) is buttressing South Korean chemical companies facing difficulties amid the ongoing global economic recession and oil price fluctuations. Their PX exports are estimated to total an all-time high of US$7.8 billion this year.According to the Korea Petrochemical Industry Association, Ko
The competitiveness of the South Korean labor market declined for the past 10 years unlike those of the rest of the labor markets of the seven “20-50 club” countries.On December 19, the Korea Economic Research Institute announced based on the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum
Jivaka Care, a Korean startup that provides healthcare information and booking services for overseas patients, has attracted investments totaling 600 million won (US$540,000).The company announced on Dec. 12 that it has received seed round investments from Springcamp, a venture capital subsidiary of
Global leading companies are expanding investment in the Songdo Bio Cluster in Incheon to supply their products to South Korean biotech firms. They are flocking to Songdo as it is the manufacturing base of Samsung BioLogics Co. and Celltrion Inc., which have already grown into global biotech compani
“Innovative New Zealand -- A Country-Sized Incubator” was this year’s theme for the Kiwi Chamber’s year-end networking function held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Seoul on Nov. 28. The annual event demonstrated Korea and New Zealand’s strong bilateral relationship – an inspiring story of two small countr
South Korea’s exports are continuing to grow this month, led by automobiles and petroleum products. Yet semiconductor export growth is slowing down. The outlook is not rosy for the semiconductor sector as chip prices are falling and China is poised to boost its semiconductor production.According to
Adaption of regulations and business models are just some of the changes needed to keep aligned with the growing shared economy, experts at “The Future of the Sharing Economy -- and How Korea Can Benefit from it” conference claim.The conference, hosted by Agoda Outside at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul, b
Jeju Air, a low-cost carrier (LCC) operated by Korea's Aekyung Group, will introduce up to 50 new B737 MAX aircraft, Boeing’s latest model.The budget carrier said in a public disclosure on Nov. 20 that it has placed a firm order for 40 B737 MAX 8 aircraft plus 10 options.The acquisition cost of