(Photo=Shinsegae) E-Mart’s long-running bet on the U.S. grocery market is beginning to show tangible returns, as New Seasons Market—the Oregon-based chain it acquired in 2019—was named the state’s top grocery store by food publication Lovefood, underscoring growing local validation of the South Korean retailer’s overseas strategy. Lovefood, a U.K.-based outlet, selected New Seasons Market as Oregon’s representative in its nationwide

Photo=Bighit Music South Korean entertainment stocks climbed after HYBE disclosed plans for a large-scale global tour by K-pop group BTS, with brokerages raising price targets and forecasting a rebound in the company’s earnings. HYBE shares closed up about 2% on Jan. 15, local time, according to exchange data released Jan. 16, while other major entertainment companies—including YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment

Photo=Naver South Korea has moved to tighten the definition of “sovereign” artificial intelligence as it accelerates a state-backed effort to build a fully homegrown large language model—an ambitious bid to narrow its gap with the U.S. and China in the global AI race. On Jan. 15, the Ministry of Science and ICT said it had selected LG AI Research, SK

(Photo=Lotte) Lotte Group, one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates, is signaling a strategic pivot away from sales-driven expansion as it confronts slowing growth and mounting pressure to improve capital efficiency across its businesses. At a semiannual meeting of senior executives this week, Chairman Shin Dong-bin told top management that the company’s challenges cannot be resolved without abandoning long-standing management habits

(Photo=Dong-A ST) As the U.S. obesity drug market grows more crowded and capital-intensive, smaller biotech companies are increasingly relying on creative financing to stay in contention. MetaVia, a U.S.-based biotechnology company backed by South Korean pharmaceutical group Dong-A ST, is the latest to take that route. MetaVia said it raised about $8.1 million in gross proceeds through a registered public