Joo-wan Kim

2 weeks ago | kedglobal.com | Joo-wan Kim

Kakao Entertainment Corp. has been divesting unprofitable music labels and digital content platforms which it has gobbled up over the past few years as their deteriorating performance dragged on its financial health. The entertainment arm of South Korea’s mobile giant Kakao Corp. is expected to continue divestments, raising expectations that the company could revisit its initial public offering put on hold since 2021.

3 weeks ago | kedglobal.com | Joo-wan Kim

Krafton Inc., one of South Korea’s top four market-cap gaming firms, has taken over Indian game developer Nautilus Mobile for $14 million, upping the ante in a race against its local rivals -- Netmarble Corp., NCSoft Corp. and Nexon Co. -- to acquire promising intellectual properties. According to sources in the Korean gaming industry on Friday, Krafton has greed to pay $14 million in cash to acquire a controlling stake of more than 75% in Pune-based gaming studio Nautilus Mobile.

1 month ago | kedglobal.com | Joo-wan Kim

Webtoon Entertainment Inc., the Nasdaq-listed storytelling platform operator under South Korea’s internet giant Naver Corp., is set to expand its advertisement business to offset flagging revenue from its mainstay paid content business. The Korea-native digital comic platform operator hinted in a shareholder letter filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb.

1 month ago | kedglobal.com | Joo-wan Kim

Chinese games are making strong inroads in South Korea, increasing their presence in the mobile gaming market amid a lack of restrictions on foreign titles. Chinese game exports to South Korea have surged by more than 20% over the past four years, reaching $1.65 billion in 2024, according to data published by the Game Publishing Committee (GPC) on Thursday. GPC is under the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association.

2 months ago | kedglobal.com | Hyeon-woo Oh |Joo-wan Kim

Lee Hae-jin, the founder of South Korea’s No. 1 internet portal operator Naver Corp., is set to return to the company to lead the board amid the intensifying global artificial intelligence technology war. His return as chairman of the board was announced on Friday after the company announced its annual sales for 2024 topped 10 trillion won ($7 billion) for the first time since its inception.