For the first time since it was founded in 2002, South Korean game developer Smilegate is out to list an affiliate in a bid to diversify its portfolio. Smilegate is the developer of hugely popular shooting game “CrossFire,” which boasts about 650 million users in some 80 countries. Its accumulated overseas sales exceeded 10 trillion won ($8.78 billion) as of April 2018. Contrary to company stat...

South Korea’s retail firm E-Land World is set to sell its subsidiary K-Swiss to a Chinese sports brand six years after it purchased the US company, industry sources said on April 10. E-Land World is scheduled to sign a stock purchase agreement with Xtep this month for about 300 billion won ($262 million), the sources said. A spokesperson declined to confirm the deal with XTep but said that the ...

As South Korea’s venture investment hit a record high last year, Korea Venture Investment, South Korea’s fund of funds management institute, saw a jump in revenue growth, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed on April 4. KVIC logged operating sales of 22.9 billion won ($20.1 million) and operating profit of 6.4 billion won, growing 38.59 percent and 385.76 percent, respectively. Its...

Terarosa, a coffee chain based in Gangneung,a city in the province of Gangwon, on the east coast of South Korea, has secured investment from the country’s leading impact venture fund that invest in companies creating soical innovations. The joint fund set up by Crevisse Partners and Lime Asset Management called Crevisse-Lime Impact Venture Fund decided to invest in the 15-year-old coffee chain t...

Sweden-based audio streaming platform Spotify is poised to enter the South Korean digital music market worth 1 trillion won ($880 billion), according to the Electronic Times on March 18. The local media report cited anonymous sources in the industry noting that the Swedish firm has initiated negotiations with copyright collectives to discuss the distribution rates of contents. Some Apple Korea e...

The concept of the “sharing economy” has caught on in Korea, but not as much as the enthusiasts had imagined. Uber, the most controversial example, was unable to enter for legal reasons, and others such as Airbnb-like house-sharing services are still fumbling to overcome regulatory hurdles. In a way, coworking spaces are the lone shining star in the sector, with experts predicting the trend to c...

A key hurdle the Korean economy faces is the fast-aging population. One way to coax a soft-landing of this problem is to speed up deregulation so that local startups can carry out innovation and improve productivity, according to Startup Alliance Korea Managing Director Lim Jung-wook. “Considering how fast South Korea is aging, we really should have a sense of urgency. Instead of spending too m...

It’s far from perfect, but South Korea’s latest adoption of a regulatory sandbox may provide some relief to the country’s startups, according to the head of one of the largest and oldest startup associations. “Urging member companies to utilize the regulatory sandbox is one of our priorities for this year,” Korea Startup Forum chief Choi Sung-jin said during a recent interview with The Korea Her...

[더인베스터(코리아헤럴드)=박가영기자] 블록체인기술기업 미디움(MEDIUM) (대표 현영권)이 지난 14일 워커힐호텔에서 하드웨어 기반의 블록체인 장비 시연회를 가졌다. 미디움은 ‘제1회 미디움 국제 컨퍼런스(1st the MEDIUM International Conference)’에서 블록체인의 속도 문제를 해결하기 위해서 개발한 하드웨어 장비 ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 소개했다. 블록체인의 소프트웨어적 속도 한계를 뛰어넘기 위해 만든 이 제품은 현재 3만 TPS (transactions per second) 가량의 속도가 가능하다고 밝히며, 현장에서 ASIC 20대를 동원하여 기술 시연을 했다. 현영권 미디움 대표는 “현재 입수할 ...

[더인베스터(코리아헤럴드)=박가영기자] 블록체인기술기업 미디움 (MEDIUM) (대표 현영권)은 오는 14일 오후 7시 광장동 워커힐호텔에서 첫 번째 기술시연행사를 개최한다. 여타 소프트웨어 중심의 프로젝트들과는 달리 미디움은 하드웨어를 활용한 초고속 블록체인 메인넷을 선보일 예정이다. ASIC칩, U.2 스토리지 등을 이용해 비트코인보다 빠르고 이더리움보다 확장성이 방대한 더욱 진보한 블록체인을 구현한다는 설명이다. 또한 어느 기업이나 사업분야에도 손쉽게 적용 가능해 개발과 운영이 간편하고 클라우드 방식 덕분에 예상치 못한 해킹공격이나 재해상황에서도 안전하게 데이터를 지킬 수 있다는 강점이 있다고 밝혔다. 공공기관 관계자 및 주요 학계 전문가 그리고 투자자들을 대상으로 개최...

As blockchain-backed services move to embrace the masses, one startup aims to serve the fast-growing community of enthusiasts, followers, experts, investors and engineers who have yet to find a “go-to” place. China-based BeeChat is the first blockchain-based messenger app that also provides cryptocurrency distribution channels and other functions for the fast-growing industry. Built on QTUM, a...

[더인베스터(코리아헤럴드)=박가영기자] 중국 최대 IT업체 텐센트가 넷마블게임즈의 ‘리니지2 레볼루션’의 중국 출시를 11월로 정하고 현지화 작업에 박차를 가하고 있다. 중국 주재 한 텐센트 관계자는 14일 더인베스터에 “유일한 걸림돌은 한중 관계”라며 “이르면 11월에 ‘리니지2’가 발매될 수 있을 것”이라고 밝혔다. 현재 17.7%의 넷마블 지분을 보유 중인 텐센트는 ‘리니지2’의 중국 발매를 담당하고 있다. 넷마블과 텐센트는 올 초부터 ‘리니지2’의 중국 출시를 준비해왔지만 고고도미사일방어체계(THAAD·사드) 배치를 둘러싼 한중 갈등이 심화되면서 불확실성이 커지고 있는 상황이다. 올해 3월 이후 국내 게임사들은 중국에서 신규 판호(版號; 서비스허가권)를 한 건도 받지 못...

The head of Woori Bank, South Korea’s recently privatized lender, will soon embark on a trip to find investors to take over the government’s remaining stake, the bank said Friday. Woori Bank CEO Lee Kwang-goo will meet potential overseas investors in the first half of the year in an attempt to seek buyers of stake held by the state deposit insurer. Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. holds 21 percent...

South Korean companies will benefit from the upcoming unitary patent system in Europe, which simplifies and lowers the cost of applications, the European Patent Office’s principal director for unitary patents said Friday. “By reducing costs and complexity of the process, the unitary patent system will benefit South Korean companies, one of the most active applicants to the EPO,” Margot Fröhlinge...

South Korea’s state-owned electricity supplier is toying with the option of joining a nuclear plant project in the UK, weighing the pros of expanding its global account and the cons of entering the shaky venture. Last month, the head of Korea Electric Power Corp. had expressed his interest in joining the nuclear plant project in the UK, confirming market speculation that Kepco might purchase Tos...