Where to Go in May: 10 Family-Friendly Festivals Across South Korea May, widely marked in South Korea as Family Month, brings a packed calendar of festivals aimed at family visitors nationwide. Options range from nature and hands-on events during the Children’s Day holiday to culture, food, and flower festivals later in the month. In Hampyeong, South Jeolla Province, the 28th Hampyeong Butterfly Festival runs through the 5th at Hampyeong Expo Park. Under the theme “Dreaming Butterfly, the Journey Begins,” it features flower-and-butterfly exhibits, activit May 4, 2026

Iran Military Warns It Will Attack U.S. Forces if They Approach Strait of Hormuz Iran’s unified military command warned that U.S. forces would be attacked if they approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz, after President Donald Trump said the United States would help ships stuck in the waterway. Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran’s unified military command, said in a statement on the 4th that security in the Strait of Hormuz is handled by Iran’s armed forces and that safe passage for vessels must be coordinated with the military. He added that Iran would strike “foreign armed May 4, 2026

Samsung Electronics Replaces TV Business Chief, Names Marketing Veteran Lee Won-jin Samsung Electronics has abruptly replaced the head of its TV business. Samsung said May 4 that Lee Won-jin, president and head of global marketing for the Device eXperience (DX) division, was appointed head of the DX division’s Visual Display (VD) Business and will also lead the Service Business Team. Yong Seok-woo, who had led the Visual Display Business, will move to a role as an adviser to the head of the DX division. Samsung described Lee as an expert in content, services and marke May 4, 2026

PPP’s Choo Kyung-ho and Lee Cheol-woo visit Park Geun-hye, urge conservatives to hold Daegu People Power Party Daegu mayoral candidate Choo Kyung-ho and North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Cheol-woo, also a candidate in the June 3 local elections, visited Park Geun-hye on May 4, in what appeared to be an effort to rally conservative voters with help from former presidents. The two candidates visited Park’s home in Dalseong County, Daegu, on Monday afternoon. They were accompanied by Lee In-sun, head of the party’s Daegu chapter; Koo Ja-geun, head of the party’s North Gyeongsang chapter; an May 4, 2026

Pan Ocean Q1 Operating Profit Rises 24.4% on Strong LNG, Tanker Business Pan Ocean posted strong first-quarter results on solid performance in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and tanker businesses. The company said in a regulatory filing on the 4th that its consolidated operating profit for the first quarter totaled 140.9 billion won, up 24.4% from a year earlier on a preliminary basis. Revenue rose 8.3% to 1.5089 trillion won, and net profit increased 31.3% to 94.5 billion won. By segment, the tanker business reported operating profit of 28.1 billion won, up May 4, 2026

Mirae Asset’s Covered-Call Assets Top 10 Trillion Won, an Industry First Mirae Asset Global Investments said its covered-call products have surpassed 10 trillion won ($) in net assets, the first such milestone in the industry, as demand grows for income-focused strategies during periods of heightened market volatility. The firm said Monday that as of April 27, net assets in its covered-call series totaled 10.4484 trillion won, including 3.4416 trillion won in public mutual funds and 7.0068 trillion won in exchange-traded funds. The combined covered-call assets May 4, 2026

Democratic Party rules out national-level candidate unity talks ahead of June 3 local elections Cho Seung-rae, secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Korea, said May 4 that there would be no party-led candidate unification at the national level for the June 3 local elections, while leaving open the possibility of local coordination in Ulsan based on public sentiment. At a news briefing held 30 days before the vote, Cho said there had been “various things being said” about unification. He added that there would be no central party-to-party negotiations, saying such talks could May 4, 2026

Han Dong-hoon Registers as Preliminary Candidate in Busan Buk-gu Gap By-election, Vows to Win Han Dong-hoon, former leader of the People Power Party, registered on May 4 as a preliminary candidate in the parliamentary by-election in Busan’s Buk-gu Gap district, vowing to win and “check the runaway Lee Jae-myung administration.” After completing his filing at the Buk-gu Election Commission office in Busan that afternoon, Han told reporters he would “win this by-election” and “change Busan’s future and South Korea’s future to the end.” He said he would push Buk-gu Gap to “the next s May 4, 2026

Samsung Electronics union quits joint labor front, citing internal conflict A rift among labor unions at Samsung Electronics has become official after a union based in the company’s Device Experience (DX) division decided to leave the joint labor front. Samsung Electronics Union Donghaeng, known as the Donghaeng Union, said May 4 it had formally notified the National Samsung Electronics Union and the Samsung Electronics branch of a cross-company union that their joint bargaining group for 2026 wage talks had ended. Donghaeng said the decision was driven by de May 4, 2026

Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik orders steps to curb favoritism in highway rest stops Kang Hoon-sik, the presidential chief of staff, on Monday ordered steps to recover improper gains and refer suspected violations for investigation following controversy over a group of retired Korea Expressway Corp. employees operating highway rest stops. He also instructed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to conduct a comprehensive inspection of all public institutions and draw up measures to prevent preferential treatment for former officials. Kang made the remarks May 4, 2026