South Korean game developer Gamevil said Thursday it will become the second-largest shareholder of Coinone by acquiring a 22 percent stake in the cryptocurrency exchange. During a board meeting Wednesday, the company, through its fully owned subsidiary Gamevil Plus, decided to buy 151,218 shares of the digital coin exchange for 53.9 billion won ($45.5 million). After the additional share purchase slated for January next year, Gamevil will hold a 38 percent stake in Coinone. 　 “The acq

Buoyed by the pandemic, video gaming boom sees e-commerce and furniture companies cater to players with deep pockets

More homegrown late-stage venture capital investing is crucial to spurring South Korean startups to be able to scale up and innovative for job creation and economic development, which will ultimately lead to a windfall for investors, head of Seoul-based unicorn Kurly said Thursday. “Once a startup achieves a scale-up at a certain point, the value it can create is immense,” Sophie Kim, founder and chief executive officer, said during KDB Nextround 500, a special investor relation eve

South Korea’s tax agency is probing suspected tax evasion involving hundreds of young people who allegedly acquired houses, commercial buildings and stocks through undue wealth transfers from their parents. The National Tax Service said Thursday that it had launched a probe into 446 people in their early 30s or younger, saying they had “seriously hampered fairness” in society by increasing their wealth in an improper manner. The youngest property owner under investigation was

South Korea will put forth its best efforts to curb the nation’s fast-growing household debt and roll out additional measures next month to do so, while allowing borrowers to take out loans within their repayment capabilities, the nation’s fiscal chief said Thursday. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remark at a meeting of macroeconomic leaders here, where he was joined by Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, recently appointed chief of the policymaking Fin

Kim Jong-un expresses willingness to restore inter-Korean hotlines next month

A smart factory from LS Electric was awarded at the World Economic Forum for its innovative technologies and efforts to increase energy efficiency, the company said Thursday. According to the South Korean power solutions producer, its smart factory in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, was among winners of the “Lighthouse Factory” title awarded to factories that set an example in the manufacturing industry for effectively utilizing next-generation technologies like artific

Gov. to neutralize outdoor dogs; consider introducing pet acquisition system

The Air Force opened a space center Thursday to bolster its defense capabilities and exchanges with foreign counterparts as the country seeks a greater presence in space. In May, South Korea and the US terminated missile guidelines that since 1979 had allowed Seoul to build missiles with a range of no more than 800 kilometers. The restrictions prevented Seoul from flying missiles far beyond the Korean Peninsula. “Space will be a key war-fighting domain and we will have our weapons ready

Korean top actor is willing to appear in possible “Squid Game Season 2,“ if the director needs him

South Korean banks' lending rates rose in August as the Bank of Korea (BOK) delivered its first pandemic-era rate hike, central bank data showed Thursday. The average interest rate charged on new bank loans came to 2.87 percent in August, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the BOK. The BOK cut the key interest rate to a record low of 0.5 percent in May last year after delivering an emergency rate cut of half a percentage point in March to cushion

POSCO, the world's fifth-largest steelmaker by output, said Thursday it has broken ground on a 120 billion won ($101 million) plant that will extract nickel and lithium, key materials for electric vehicle batteries. The plant by POSCO HY Clean Metal is capable of extracting nickel, lithium and cobalt from 12,000 tons of black mass annually. The recycling plant is set to be completed in the second half of next year in Yulchon Industrial Complex in South Jeolla Province. POSCO said it will receive

Business leaders, former government and military officials to discuss future-oriented Korea-Japan relations

South Korea's trade ministry said Thursday it is reviewing joining a mega free trade pact comprising Asia-Pacific countries in line with its goal to play a leading role in trade in the region. "South Korea is considered an ideal partner for the CPTPP in terms of its competitiveness in different industries and technologies," Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said during a meeting with local trade experts. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is the

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday its latest smartphones, including the Galaxy Z Fold3, will be able to be used as a digital car key for a new electric vehicle from South Korean luxury automaker Genesis. The tech giant said its ultra-wideband (UWB)-based digital car key service with its Galaxy smartphones will be available for the Genesis GV60. At its Unpacked event in January, Samsung said it is working with several automakers, including Audi, BMW, Ford and Genesis, to develop digital key s