Samsung C&T Construction Q1 Operating Profit Falls 30% to 111 Billion Won Samsung C&T Corp.’s construction division said April 29 that its first-quarter operating profit fell 30.1% from a year earlier to 111 billion won. Revenue for the quarter slipped 5.7% to 3.413 trillion won, it said. A company official cited one-time costs and the completion of major projects as reasons revenue and operating profit declined from a year earlier. The official said results are expected to improve gradually as key businesses continue to move forward steadily. April 29, 2026

LG Electronics Cites Uncertainty, Plans B2B, Subscription and Online Push LG Electronics said on April 29 that external uncertainty, including the war in the Middle East and concerns about U.S. inflation, has delayed a recovery in consumer sentiment and weighed on revenue. The company said operating profit faced pressure from some higher raw material prices and the impact of tariffs that intensified in the second half of last year, but it is maintaining solid profitability by expanding higher-margin businesses. LG Electronics said uncertainty will remain hig April 29, 2026

Netflix’s ‘Girigo’ Turns a Familiar Teen Horror Setup Into Korean Shamanic Occult * This review contains spoilers. There is an app called “Girigo.” Users hold a paper with their fortune written on it, speak a wish, record the moment on video and send it in. The app grants the wish — then starts a 24-hour timer. When the countdown ends, the person who made the wish dies. It is a familiar setup, common in teen horror across cultures. Netflix’s series “Girigo” opens with students in school uniforms trying the app as a prank, only to meet brutal deaths. Through the mi April 29, 2026

Doosan to Invest 180 Billion Won to Build CCL Production Base in Thailand for AI Demand Doosan Corp. is setting up a new production base in Thailand to get ahead of rising demand for copper-clad laminate, or CCL, driven by the expansion of artificial intelligence data centers. The company said Tuesday it will establish a new local entity and build a CCL plant at the Araya Industrial Park in the Bang Bo area of Samut Prakan province. Total investment will be about 180 billion won. The site will cover about 73,000 square meters. Doosan plans to break ground within this year an April 29, 2026

Finance Ministry Holds 4th Strategic Economy Advisory Panel Meeting on AI Shift The Ministry of Finance and Economy said it held the fourth meeting of the Strategic Economy Advisory Panel’s steering committee on the 28th at the Government Complex Seoul, chaired by Park Young-sun, head of the panel. Launched on the 13th, the panel has been identifying field-focused policy tasks tied to strategic industries. Over about two weeks, it convened both the steering committee and subcommittees to continue work on selecting key assignments. At the meeting, members discussed April 29, 2026

China Halts New Level 4 Self-Driving Permits After Baidu Robotaxi Disruption China has reportedly suspended new permits for Level 4 (highly automated) self-driving vehicles, including robotaxis, after a major service disruption involving Baidu’s Apollo Go in Wuhan. The move is expected to slow the rollout of new vehicles, new pilot programs and expansion into additional cities. Bloomberg reported on the 29th that three government agencies, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, held a meeting earlier this month with local officials April 29, 2026

Budget Office Seeks Strategic Fiscal Investment to Boost Key Industries South Korea’s Planning and Budget Office said it will prepare fiscal investment measures to strengthen the competitiveness of key industries. The office made the announcement at a meeting held on the 29th at the Seoul Regional Procurement Service to discuss “strategic fiscal investment measures to strengthen industrial competitiveness.” The meeting was convened as global technology competition intensifies around advanced industries such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence, an April 29, 2026

PPP Floor Leader Says Calling North Korea 'Joseon' Is Unconstitutional, Urges Unification Minister’s Dismissal Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, said on the 29th that Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young’s suggestion of calling North Korea “Joseon” is “clearly unconstitutional.” In a Facebook post that afternoon, Song wrote, “That’s one more reason Jeong should be dismissed.” Song said Jeong had previously used the North’s official name, the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” and that a Unification Ministry official has now issued an official position on whether to r April 29, 2026

Samsung Electronics Union Cites Strike Losses as Leverage in Bonus Dispute Samsung Electronics’ union, which is in a dispute over performance bonuses, said production results in the foundry (contract manufacturing) business plunged 58.1% during nighttime hours on the day of a rally on the 23rd. It also said memory production results fell 18.4%. The union added an estimate that an 18-day general strike would cause more than 30 trillion won in damage to the company. In semiconductor fabs, a shutdown is not simply a delay in output; it can also reduce yield, the April 29, 2026

Lee hosts lunch with minor-party, independent lawmakers, urges broader view in politics President Lee Jae-myung on April 29 invited lawmakers from minor parties and independents to the Blue House for a lunch meeting, including the Rebuilding Korea Party, the Progressive Party, the New Reform Party and the Social Democratic Party. Lee previously met leaders of both major parties at a Jan. 16 lunch that also included leaders of minor parties. On April 7, he held a meeting and lunch of a ruling-opposition-government consultative body on the people’s economy with Democratic Part April 29, 2026