KH Explains In series
Major issues broken down to the basics.
#Explained
# Issues
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KH Explains In series
Major issues broken down to the basics.
Would you like to subscribe?
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
Sept. 21, 2026 - 13:14:59
Shinhan’s Incheon win: Why banks fight for city funds despite thin margins
Shinhan’s renewed Incheon mandate highlights the value of public accounts as gateways to deposits, customers and regional business Shinhan Bank’s latest win gives it another four years managing Incheon’s main treasury, an account handling nearly 15 trillion won in annual public spending. But the value of the mandate lies less in the headline figure than in the business it can help generate. Municipal treasury contracts can be costly to secure and slow to turn a profit. Banks offer competitive de
Sept. 18, 2026 - 16:35:01
COVID-19 drug controversy clouds justice minister nominee's confirmation
Justice Minister nominee Rep. Kim Seung-won is facing scrutiny over his ties to Genencell, a biotech company whose COVID-19 treatment claims were factors in a Financial Supervisory Service investigation into alleged stock-price manipulation. Kim is accused of passing on a request to drug authorities to approve clinical trials for a Genencell drug in October 2021. It is also alleged that the subsequent approval was used in stock price manipulation. An FSS report obtained by lawmakers yesterday su
Sept. 16, 2026 - 17:44:09
How Korea plans to take won global
South Korea has allowed foreign financial institutions to settle won payments directly overseas, marking a step toward making the currency more widely used on a global scale, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. Under the new framework, existing registered foreign institutions will be able to obtain an additional license as Registered Foreign Institutions for KRW Business, or RFI-Ks for short. With the license, foreign financial institutions will be able to open omnibus accounts with domestic ba
Sept. 16, 2026 - 15:02:53
Samsung’s foldable lead faces the Apple test
Samsung Electronics has spent seven years developing the Galaxy Z Fold from an experimental device into one of the world’s best-known foldable smartphones. Next month, for the first time, it will face an iPhone built around the same book-style idea and priced almost directly against it in the US. Apple surprised the market last week by setting the 256-gigabyte iPhone Duo at $1,999, well below prelaunch estimates of around $2,500. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8 launched at $1,899.99. That leaves only a
Sept. 16, 2026 - 14:57:17
Could Trump open America’s door to Chinese cars?
Chinese automakers have been largely shut out of the US by steep tariffs and national security restrictions. US President Donald Trump, however, has signaled that the door may not remain closed. Trump said last week he would welcome Chinese automakers that build vehicles in the US and hire American workers, unsettling global rivals that have long viewed America as one of the last major markets insulated from Chinese competition. “If China wanted to come in and open a plant to build their cars he
Sept. 15, 2026 - 12:48:12
How Ford could keep CATL in the US battery game
A new US order targeting foreign-linked power-grid equipment appears, at first glance, to give South Korean battery makers an opening against their dominant Chinese rivals. But Ford’s use of technology licensed from China’s CATL shows why the competitive benefit may be smaller than expected. Ford argues that batteries produced at its wholly owned Michigan plant are American-made despite relying on CATL technology. That ownership structure could help the automaker navigate Washington’s latest res
Sept. 15, 2026 - 12:44:16
Why Kepco wants five years of chipmakers’ power bills upfront
Electricity is the lifeblood of the artificial intelligence era. In South Korea, however, the utility responsible for delivering it is carrying more than 200 trillion won ($148 billion) in debt as the country prepares to build power-hungry semiconductor clusters. Korea Electric Power Corp. needs roughly 100 trillion won to expand the grid. To help finance that work, the state-run utility has asked Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to pay five years of electricity bills upfront — a combined 25 tri
Sept. 13, 2026 - 10:07:05
Korea Zinc audit panel win shifts balance in control battle
The nearly two-year management control battle between Korea Zinc and the Young Poong-MBK Partners alliance has unfolded as a costly war of attrition marked by repeated legal and shareholder challenges. At Wednesday’s extraordinary general meeting, however, Korea Zinc management under Chair Choi Yun-birm gained a clear tactical advantage, securing broad shareholder support in a pivotal vote for an independent audit committee seat. Baek In-kyoo, the Korea Zinc board-backed nominee, received suppor
Sept. 10, 2026 - 15:00:40
Why Apple’s first foldable may be its most Korea-dependent iPhone yet
Apple spent years waiting for foldable phones to become good enough for an iPhone. When it finally moved, however, it reportedly put the part that makes the phone fold in the hands of a single supplier: Samsung Display. That gives iPhone Duo, unveiled Wednesday at a starting price of $1,999, an unusual supply-chain profile. Apple still sources major components from around the world. But the part most closely tied to its new form factor is also one of the hardest to replace outside Korea. "With t
Sept. 10, 2026 - 11:14:18
Is sending officials to UAE a sign Seoul is leaning towards Hormuz deployment?
South Korea's dispatch of an assessment team to the United Arab Emirates should not be seen as a sign that Seoul has decided to send forces to the Strait of Hormuz, experts said Wednesday, as the government weighs possible military support for US-led efforts amid the war with Iran. The assessment came after the Defense Ministry confirmed Tuesday that a team had traveled to the UAE over the weekend to examine security conditions and operational circumstances around the strait. The US has asked So
Sept. 9, 2026 - 14:49:09
Won’s comeback comes at a cost
The South Korean won’s rapid rebound to its strongest level in nearly two years is proving a double-edged sword: easing import costs while threatening the earnings of the semiconductor giants powering the country’s growth. The won strengthened to 1,334.7 per dollar in onshore Seoul trading Monday, its strongest level since Oct. 4, 2024. It has gained more than 200 won against the dollar in just over two months after weakening to 1,599.2 on July 1. The currency was trading at 1,346.08 per dollar
Sept. 7, 2026 - 15:11:19
Why SK hynix’s ‘Made in USA’ HBM starts in Korea
“The Indiana fab will become a gateway to deliver the first ‘Made in USA’ HBM products,” SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung said at the groundbreaking ceremony on Aug. 26. Those products, however, will begin in South Korea. SK hynix will make the DRAM wafers at its Korean fabs, ship them across the Pacific and then stack, package and test them in West Lafayette, Indiana. The $4 billion-plus facility, the company's first HBM production base in the US, is due to begin mass production in the second half of
Sept. 3, 2026 - 14:26:56
Korea’s decades-old shipbuilding rivalry crosses the Pacific
The decades-old rivalry between HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean is moving across the Pacific, as the two shipbuilding giants race for a much bigger prize: entry into the US naval shipbuilding market. Hanwha has seized an early lead. After acquiring Philadelphia-based Philly Shipyard, it is now pursuing Austal USA, a major supplier of vessels to the US Navy and Coast Guard. HD Hyundai has taken a more cautious route, favoring partnerships with American shipbuilders over outright acquisitions, but tha
Aug. 30, 2026 - 11:51:02
Why soaring US long-term yields are becoming Korea’s problem
A surge in long-term US Treasury yields is driving up borrowing costs in Korea, lifting government bond yields and adding pressure on companies, households and stocks. The spillover was on full display last week. As the US 30-year yield climbed to 5.33 percent, its highest since 2007, Korea’s 30-year government bond yield surged to a record 4.751 percent. The yields have since retreated, but the underlying pressures — heavy US debt issuance, aggressive AI-related borrowing and weakening demand f
Aug. 27, 2026 - 16:21:31
