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

Insurers’ K-ICS Solvency Ratios Improve as Higher Rates Cut Liabilities Major insurers affiliated with financial holding groups posted broadly improved K-ICS solvency ratios in the first quarter, helped by rising interest rates that reduced insurance liabilities and by additional capital raising, the industry said. According to the insurance industry on Tuesday, Tongyang Life’s first-quarter K-ICS ratio rose to 185.8% from 127.2% a year earlier. KB Insurance’s ratio increased to 188%, while Shinhan Life and KB Life improved to about 200% and 277%, respective April 29, 2026

Seoul Apartment Listings Diverge Ahead of Capital Gains Tax Surcharge Deadline With the deadline 10 days away for the end of a temporary suspension of heavier capital gains taxes on home sales, Seoul’s apartment market is showing a sharper split in how quickly listings are being cleared. In the Han River belt and outer districts, bargain-priced homes are being snapped up by end users, while transactions in the Gangnam area have largely stalled. According to the real estate big-data platform Asil, Seoul had 72,699 apartment listings as of the previous day. That is do April 29, 2026

DL E&C Stake in X-energy Jumps After Nasdaq IPO, Nearly Sixfold in Three Years DL E&C said its stake in U.S. small modular reactor developer X-energy has surged in value after the company’s successful Nasdaq listing, rising nearly sixfold in about three years. DL E&C said Tuesday that the value of its holdings increased to about 172 billion won after X-energy’s initial public offering. The stake was worth $20 million (about 30 billion won) when DL E&C joined X-energy’s Series C round in January 2023, meaning the value has grown about 5.7 times. The gain followed April 29, 2026

Korea’s Completed Unsold Homes Top 30,000 as Mid- to Large-Size Units Pile Up Outside Seoul Completed but unsold homes nationwide — often called “distressed” inventory — have topped 30,000 units, with unsold stock rising fastest in non-capital regions and in mid- to large-size housing, deepening structural imbalances in the market. An analysis of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s unsold-housing data for the past five years showed that as of February, completed but unsold homes stood at 31,307 units, setting a record high for the sixth straight month. Their sha April 29, 2026