Perspectives

Private equity
Now is the time for PEFs to show their art of exit
Leading private equity firms, including Bain Capital, KKR & Co. and MBK Partners, appeared to have turned to an exit mode in South Korea this year, cashing out their long-held assets at decent valuations, or slightly below their optimal prices.T
Aug 27, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
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The Deep Dive
Growing pains: Korea’s smaller crypto exchanges face shutdown
In mid-July, a small obscure South Korean cryptocurrency exchange posted a notice on its website at midnight, saying it is suspending trading of 57 c...
Aug 05, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
5 Min read -
Business & Politics
The art of the apology
Apologies are a thorny topic for business executives and private individuals alike. How should a company or an organization issue an apology? On socia...
Aug 04, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min read -
Memo from Howard Marks
Thinking about macro
For a piece of information to be desirable, it has to satisfy two criteria: it has to be important, and it has to be knowable. – Warren BuffettR...
Jul 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
long read -
Real estate
Korean housing prices soar to $5 tn in Moon admin with record growth
South Korean house prices have risen more during the President Moon Jae-in administration than any other as the current government has focused more o...
Jul 23, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min readlanguage -
Culture & Trends
Perfection and speed
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast” is a famous quote attributed to the late management thinker Peter Drucker. Like most quotes from fam...
Jun 28, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min read -
Carbon neutrality
In the crosswinds of coal’s clean transition
The recent announcement by President Moon Jae-in that South Korea will stop funding coal-powered plants overseas and expand its decision to phase out ...
May 26, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
5 Min read -
Culture & Trends
Reading the air
For the past 18 years I have worked in East Asia, four of them here in Korea and the last ten for the Swiss national trade and investment agency calle...
May 25, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
5 Min read -
Carbon neutrality
Korea has vital role in a green post-COVID world
Rapid development and roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines globally are occupying the headlines of major media outlets. We are now well over a year into the ...
Apr 20, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
5 Min read -
Economy
IMF warns against South Korea's debt explosion
South Korea needs to closely monitor government spending to avoid a future debt explosion given its rapidly aging population, according to a senior I...
Apr 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
ESG
How South Korea can prevent a self-defeating green recovery
The rules of economic growth have changed. From the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have emerged with renewed sense of purpose, activ...
Mar 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
Bernard Moon on Korean Startups
The BTS of social media: The next Facebook will come from South Korea
South Korea is hitting its stride as an innovator, but it’s an overnight success story over 20 years in the making. Coupang’s $60B IPO th...
Mar 18, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min read -
Interview
Howard Marks says ETFs can't go on forever
Retail investors have been leaning toward passive investment vehicles like equity-traded funds (ETFs), which should eventually push high-valued stock...
Mar 15, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
Interview
Legendary trader Larry Hite sees tech bubble, says Tesla yet to prove value
NEW YORK -- Larry Hite, long-time successful hedge-fund manager who doesn’t believe anyone can predict how the stock market will move, has warne...
Nov 23, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
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Foreign exchange
How the Biden win will affect the won-dollar exchange rate
The won-dollar exchange rate, which has been declining since the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, is falling faster since Joe Biden was elected as ...
Nov 15, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min read -
Michael Breen on Korean Peninsula
Why Korea struggles to manage the US, China
As the United States and China fight like proverbial whales in the ocean, middle power dolphins like South Korea must strategize to avoid being crushe...
Oct 29, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min read -
Interview
US-China tensions push S. Korea to find middle way
The US and China trade disputes are unlikely to fade, whoever wins the Nov. 3 US presidential election, and South Korea needs to find a middle way bet...
Oct 19, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
long read -
Bernard Moon on Korean startups
South Korea, The Oracle of Global Trends
Back in early 2004, my friend and I met with Bill Gurley and Mark Evans from Benchmark Capital, who were visiting Seoul from Silicon Valley to gathe...
Oct 16, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
5 Min read -
Blackstone leans toward warehouse, life science properties
The Blackstone Group, which four years ago held the world’s largest hotel portfolio, has shed most of its hotel investments over the past few ye...
Oct 14, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
Michael Breen on Korean Peninsula
Why a Biden presidency means more of the same with North Korea
If the Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden wins the US presidential election next month, as the polls suggest he will, many things will change. The g...
Oct 13, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min read -
Editor's note
Korea Does Matter: Why KED decided to go global
Korea Does Matter. This was one of many candidates for the name of our new global media outlet. Although we ended up going with our existing brand Th...
Oct 09, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min read -
Korean startups
Korean last-mile delivery apps’ valuations out of sync with demand surge
South Korea’s leading last-mile delivery startups have put their shares or management rights up for sale, riding on the surging demand for deliv...
Sep 10, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min read -
Startups
[Focus] Korean unicorns face reality check from US startups poised for IPOs
With a number of high-profile US startups in line for initial public offerings, investors in South Korean startups may be looking to Wall Street for c...
Aug 31, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
4 Min read -
Market Watch
Korean household credit risk nears record-high
Korea's household credit risk hit the second-highest record for the upcoming third quarter, driven by impacts of the global pandemic which has reduced...
Jul 16, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
Tech, Media & Telecom
Why Korean online giants Kakao and Naver soar amid global pandemic
Shares of South Korean online giants Kakao Corp. and Naver Corp. recorded all-time highs last week, ahead of their quarterly earnings results and on e...
Jul 13, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
6 Min read -
Startups
Korean startups raking in big investment money
Biotech startup Bionetix easily surpassed what's known as the "10 billion won hurdle" by raising an additional 10 billion won in funding on Dec. 23. I...
Feb 13, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
3 Min read -
Editor's note
[Editor's Note] Korea funds warm up to private debts
Private debt products such as senior secured loans, collateralized loan obligation and mezzanine debt in the U.S. and European markets have become one...
Jul 06, 2016 (Gmt+09:00)
1 Min read -
Editor's note
[Editor's Note] Korean investors gearing up to boost overseas alternative assets
“Only free lunch in finance is diversification.”Korean institutional investors, who have seen their assets under management (AUM) snowball...
May 24, 2016 (Gmt+09:00)
2 Min read
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