Why Musinsa is taking on Olive Young ahead of its IPO

Musinsa is going up against CJ Olive Young in beauty as it makes its case to investors that the company is worth as much as 10 trillion won ($7.2 billion). The harder sell is to prove that its nonfashion ventures can deliver profits to match. The fashion platform filed its listing application Sept. 7, with market insiders floating a valuation well above the 5.5 trillion won implied by unlisted-market trading that day and the 3.5 trillion won valuation it secured in a 2023 funding round. Beauty i

2026-09-21 13:14:59:00

HanmiGlobal to manage construction of SK hynix's Indiana fab through 2028

HanmiGlobal is overseeing construction of SK hynix's advanced chip packaging plant in Indiana, the project management firm said Monday, as Korean tech firms lean more heavily on specialized managers for their US expansions. The facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, will be SK hynix's first US production base for advanced packaging for high bandwidth memory chips. Site excavation began in March, with clean room completion targeted for October 2028. HanmiGlobal joined the project in August 2024 dur

2026-09-21 11:54:08:00

Ssangyong E&C wins record $2.1b Singapore hospital deal

Ssangyong Engineering & Construction has won a contract worth more than $2 billion to build a Singaporean hospital, its largest single-project contract on record, the builder said Thursday. The $2.15 billion contract from Singapore's Ministry of Health will fund construction of Tengah General and Community Hospital. Its value exceeds Ssangyong's entire annual revenue last year of 1.8 trillion won ($1.3 billion). The hospital will be constructed in Tengah, a housing development in Singapore's wes

2026-09-17 14:38:10:00

Korean Air seals largest-ever US aviation deal at $45b

Korean Air has closed out its largest-ever aircraft order, finalizing a $44.8 billion deal for jets and engines first outlined in Washington more than a year ago, the airline said Wednesday. The package includes $36.2 billion for 103 Boeing aircraft — 20 Boeing 777-9s, 25 787-10s, 50 737-10s and eight 777-8F freighters — and roughly $8.6 billion in combined agreements with GE Aerospace and CFM International covering 21 spare engines and a 15-year maintenance contract for 28 aircraft. Korean Air

2026-09-16 14:38:02:00

Korean Air wins antitrust approval for W4tr mileage merger

South Korea’s antitrust regulator approved Korean Air’s plan to merge its frequent-flyer program with Asiana Airlines’ on Tuesday, clearing the last major hurdle before the carriers become a single legal entity on Dec. 17. The decision determines how customers can use miles representing about 4.07 trillion won ($3 billion) in combined accounting liabilities. As of the end of June, Korean Air had recognized 3.12 trillion won in deferred revenue tied to unused miles, while Asiana had recorded 946.

2026-09-15 14:27:00:00

K-food exports hit $10b at record pace on ramyeon boom

South Korean food exports surpassed $10 billion this year in 253 days, the fastest pace on record, powered by a ramyeon boom that has taken hold most strongly in the US, the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. (aT), said Monday. Korea first hit the $10 billion mark in 2021, and has reached it faster each year since, with this year's milestone arriving 19 days ahead of last year's pace. Growth spanned established and emerging markets alike, along with processed foods and fresh produce, the st

2026-09-14 13:35:19:00

K-coffee chains take second US shot on K-culture wave

American coffee giants, Starbucks chief among them, have long held court in South Korea's cafe scene, but Korean brands have yet to claim similar ground stateside. At a high tide of global interest in Korean culture, the country's cafe franchises are now knocking on the US market's door themselves, hoping their timing is better than it was the first time around. This scramble abroad follows a squeeze at home, where Korea's coffee market has hit its ceiling. Expansion has mostly targeted Asia so

2026-09-14 11:36:54:00

Korean Air takes free, high-speed Wi-Fi to the skies

Korean Air said Friday it will begin offering free high-speed internet via SpaceX's Starlink satellite system, becoming the first full-service carrier in East Asia to adopt the low-orbit network. Starlink Wi-Fi, set to launch Tuesday, will initially roll out on four retrofitted aircraft — three Airbus A350-900s and one Boeing 777-300ER — deployed mainly on long-haul routes to the Americas, Europe and Southeast Asia, as well as on key short-haul flights. Korean Air plans to extend the service acr

2026-09-11 11:07:55:00

Musinsa’s first beauty flagship gets a pharmacy twist

Musinsa built its name by spotting fashion trends early. Its latest beauty bet takes it somewhere more clinical — and into more direct competition with Korea’s dominant beauty retailer, CJ Olive Young. The fashion platform opened its first standalone beauty flagship Friday in Hongdae, western Seoul, a youth shopping district with heavy international foot traffic. While CJ Olive Young has forged its leadership around convenience, broad selection and an extensive store network, Musinsa asserts its

2026-09-10 17:08:16:00

Korea must turn global appeal into investment: AmCham chief

American Chamber of Commerce in Korea Chairman and CEO James Kim urged Seoul to close the gap between global investor interest and actual capital inflows, saying at The Korea Herald's 2026 HIT Forum on Tuesday that Korea has never had a stronger hand to play as a global financial hub. Kim pointed to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix as evidence of Korea's technology rise, calling them fitting examples for the forum's theme, "Korea Premium: Connecting Korean Opportunities with Global Capital." "Th

2026-09-09 14:36:37:00