South Korea Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Disgraced crypto tycoon Do Kwon was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to fraud in connection with the $40 billion crash of his TerraUSD and Luna coins in 2022. Kwon, who had asked for a sentence of five years, pleaded guilty to two criminal counts in August, including one count of wire fraud and one on conspiracy to commit wire, securities and commodities fraud.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Foreign investors have spent much of this year cutting exposure to Indian equities, diverting some capital to Taiwan and South Korea amid an AI-driven rally and robust semiconductor earnings. However, recent selling in those East Asian markets has brought the conversation surrounding foreign flows back to India.According to Bloomberg data, Foreign portfolio investors have pulled nearly $23.4 billion from Indian equitiesso far this year, driven by stretched valuations, rupee weakness and softer earnings growth expectations.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.American hospitality chain Marriott International is betting on a surge in outbound Indian travellers despite temporary disruptions from the West Asia war and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for austerity, with this growth likely to reshape customer loyalty programmes that reward customers with points and perks for repeat stays.The company said loyalty-conscious Indian travellers are increasingly driving demand across Southeast and East Asia, and now expect far more from hotel loyalty programmes than simple earn-and-burn on room nights, including upgrades and experiences beyond stays.“We’re seeing Indian travellers explode into Southeast Asia -- not just Thailand -- but in every destination, from Bali to Japan to South Korea, this summer,” said John Toomey, chief commercial officer for Asia Pacific (excluding Greater China) for Marriott International. He attributed part of the growth to rising air connectivity, led by IndiGo and Air India.The hospitality chain expects travel demand to remain strong through the summer months, with a significant jump in June and July compared to the same time last year.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Ford has finally hit upon an electric strategy that shouldn’t lose money. The key element is that it doesn’t involve vehicles—not for now, anyway.Ford’s stock, a habitual water-treader, jumped almost 14% on Wednesday, its biggest gain in over six years, on news that the Detroit stalwart had found a way to tap into the AI boom—sort of.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: Two strategic joint ventures have set the Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel on course to becoming one of the world's biggest steel companies outside of China.The first joint venture is with Japan's JFE Steel through a recent 50% stake sale in Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd (BPSL), a company it acquired through the bankruptcy court five years ago.Add to that another equal joint venture with South Korea's POSCO to set up a new 6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) capacity steel plant in Odisha.Including planned capacity expansions at BPSL, the two partnerships would add about 16 mtpa capacity by 2032, setting it on course to reach 80 mtpa capacity by 2032, according to Jayant Acharya, the chief executive officer and joint managing director of JSW Steel.The company’s consolidated steelmaking capacity stood at just under 38 million tonnes per annum at the end of FY26, including BPSL.These capacity additions would make JSW Steel a strong contender to be the world's largest steelmaker outside China by 2032.At present, ArcelorMittal is the world’s largest steel company outside China, with a capacity of 65 million tonnes per annum, according to 2024 manufacturing capacity data from the Belgium-based World Steel, the latest figures published by the international trade body.The BPSL stake sale to JFE Steel brought JSW Steel about ₹37,250 crore, which sharply deleveraged its balance sheet, and gave the company the financial muscle to fund expansion. The Mumbai-headquartered steelmaker pared about ₹30,000 crore of debt in FY26, mostly in foreign borrowings.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Coal is making a comeback.Countries around the world are returning to the highly polluting but reliable source of power after the Iran war effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz and cut off around 20% of global liquefied natural gas supplies.Taiwan is restarting idled coal-fired power plants and South Korea boosted the amount of electricity it generated from coal by more than a third last month. In Europe, Italy has put its coal plants on standby as it girds for a prolonged energy shock.Spot coal prices at Australia’s Newcastle port, a key supplier to Asia, have jumped 12% since the war started.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.What do the Indonesian stockmarket, South Korean government bonds and Robinhood, an online broker, have in common? Not much, you might think. But over the past year investors in all three have quivered before the same phenomenon: the awesome power of financial indices.The largest of these now exert a tidal pull on markets. As of 2025, around $36trn-worth of capital was in passive investment funds.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Despite the craze for Korean literature in India, you’d be hard-pressed to find an Indian fan who knows of Don Mee Choi. She writes poetry, not fiction.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Jung Da-yun didn’t quite like what she saw in the mirror. Her ears weren’t big enough.She booked a visit to a South Korean clinic offering “elf ear” injections.For about $70, a plastic surgeon injected the ridged cartilage of her ears with a hyaluronic-acid filler that caused her ears to perk up.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The global jet-fuel crunch is hitting Asia’s low-cost airlines harder than their full-service counterparts. Governments should prepare financial or operational support to avoid further flight cancellations during the busy summer travel season—as well as outright shutdowns like the collapse of America’s Spirit Airlines.Discount carriers like Malaysia’s AirAsia, Indonesia’s Lion Air and Cebu Air of the Philippines are already bearing the brunt of the energy shock. Policymakers must consider targeted measures in the form of loans, grants or fuel price relief.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Caution is returning to small-, and mid-cap stocks after last month’s sharp rally, with experts warning that stretched valuations could leave the segment vulnerable to even minor macroeconomic and earnings shocksThe BSE Smallcap index rose nearly 20% in April, while the BSE Midcap index gained almost 14%, their strongest monthly performances since May 2014. In comparison, the Sensex rose 7%.But the rebound has been uneven.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The weak performance of Indian shares hasn’t just dampened wealth creation, it has also put India’s stock market at risk of being overtaken in terms of capitalization by the bourses of smaller economies. Catching up fast are Taiwan and South Korea; the former’s market cap is now about $4.6 trillion, within sniffing distance of India’s $4.9 trillion, and South Korea’s is at about $4.2 trillion.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.There is a discomforting paradox at the heart of India’s current macroeconomic situation. By almost every conventional measure of sovereign economic health—growth, inflation, fiscal trajectory, external vulnerability and investor confidence in the real economy—India’s fundamentals are among the strongest of any large emerging market. Yet the rupee has depreciated by over 13% against the dollar in the past two years and by more than 15% since January 2023.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.From India and New Zealand formally signing a free trade agreement (FTA) to India once again becoming a net exporter of finished steel, the index of industrial production (IIP) easing to a five-month low in March, freshers facing disruptions in job offers,and gender disparity in India’s boardrooms — here is a compilation of this week's news in numbers.India and New Zealand formally signed a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) on Monday after completing the negotiations in just nine months in December 2025, making this one of the fastest trade deals ever concluded. The deal carries a $20 billion investment commitment from Wellington over the next 15 years, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said.The FTA will grant duty-free access to all Indian exports to New Zealand, spanning 100% of tariff lines.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd on Monday announced the $11.75 billion acquisition of Organon & Co., in a seemingly aggressive push into the US market that has long decided the global fortunes of Indian drugmakers. However, the biggest buyout by an Indian company in nearly 20 years also signals that the US generics market's decades-long allure is beginning to fade for Indian drugmakers, which are now eyeing newer markets such as China, South Korea, and Spain with branded generics.Announced early on Monday, the Organon acquisition ranks as the second-largest acquisition by an Indian company, behind Tata Steel's 2007 deal to buy British steel maker Corus Group for $12 billion.For years, Indian pharma rode a powerful wave in the US, as expiring patents of blockbuster small-molecule drugs opened a gold mine for low-cost generic drug makers in the world's largest drug market.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Geography may place India and New Zealand at distant points on the world map, but that distance has never defined their relationship. They have common democratic values, strong people-to-people ties and a deep cultural affinity, which includes their shared love for cricket. Much like their encounters on the pitch, India-New Zealand trade has traditionally resembled a Test match: steady and patient but often lacking in tempo, and has only picked up pace in recent years.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Chasing autumn in South Korea, Bengaluru-based Jiwangi Singh and Milan Tanna turned their K-drama dreams into a thoughtfully planned 12-day holiday.When narrowing down their next international trip, the couple wanted a destination that blended culture, coastal charm and immersive local experiences—without stretching their budget. South Korea checked all the boxes.They spent a total of ₹2.75 lakh, striking a balance between smart savings and meaningful splurges.“We built our itinerary to save where it mattered and spend on must-do experiences.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) is likely to begin groundwork next month on India’s first greenfield shipyard by a global shipbuilder, entailing an investment of ₹40,000 crore, according to two people aware of the development.The company, part of South Korea’s HD Hyundai Group, is expected to sign a definitive investment agreement with the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government after the ongoing state elections to set up a mega manufacturing facility at the Thoothukudi shipbuilding cluster, the people cited earlier said on condition of anonymity. The investment pact follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on 7 December 2025 by HD Hyundai with the Tamil Nadu government for the shipyard.HD KSOE is likely to invest about ₹40,000 crore in the project in phases, which is expected to have an annual production capacity of 3.5 million gross tonnage (GT).

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Earlier this week, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said that India and South Korea were working towards doubling bilateral trade while reviewing a 16-year-old trade agreement between them.Signed in 2010, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has seen bilateral trade more than double, but with a greater share of gains accruing to South Korea. Speaking to the media at an India-Korea business forum, Goyal said this agreement “has not worked for India” and that a review was being undertaken to bring about “more balanced trade between the two countries”.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.When the war in Iran started nearly two months ago, countries in Asia—which receive more than 80% of the oil and liquefied natural gas delivered through the Strait of Hormuz—were among the most exposed to the energy shock.But now, a combination of deep reserves, aggressive energy conservation efforts and savvy diplomatic efforts have allowed the deepest-pocketed of them to weather the blow—at least for now.They rushed to locate energy outside the Middle East, including the U.S. and Russia, often paying top dollar on the spot markets.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.South Korean tech companies Krafton Inc. and Naver Corp.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: South Korean tech companies Krafton Inc. and Naver Corp.