South Korea’s Capital Gains Tax Surcharge Returns, but Many Landlords Hold On With the end of South Korea’s temporary suspension of heavier capital gains taxes just 10 days away, analysts say the market is tilting toward holding rather than selling. With tax burdens expected to approach an effective top rate of 80%, many multiple-home owners are seen choosing gifts to family members or long-term holding instead of listing properties. Government officials have signaled additional steps, including changes to the long-term holding deduction and a broader overhaul of p April 29, 2026

Nvidia Executive Visits Doosan Robotics to Discuss Industrial Humanoid Commercialization Doosan Robotics and Nvidia are teaming up to prepare for the next phase of humanoid robotics. Doosan Group said on the 29th that Madison Hwang, Nvidia’s senior director for Omniverse and robotics product marketing, visited the Doosan Robotics Innovation Center in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, and met with Doosan Robotics CEO Kim Min-pyo to discuss technical cooperation between the two companies. The visit was arranged to explore how Nvidia’s AI and robotics ecosystem could be applied to Doosan Ro April 29, 2026

Philip Morris Korea Names Heated-Tobacco Specialist Lee Hong-seok as New CEO Philip Morris Korea has appointed an internal marketing and strategy executive to lead its push for a “smoke-free future,” naming Lee Hong-seok, head of its smoke-free products business, as its next chief executive. The company said Tuesday that Lee, currently director in charge of smoke-free products, will become CEO effective May 1. Lee joined Philip Morris Korea in 1999 and has spent more than 25 years across key roles, the company said, earning recognition for results in domestic April 29, 2026

Japan Pushes Defense Spending Hike While Pursuing Tax Cuts, Subsidies Japan is pursuing an unusual fiscal course: sharply increasing defense spending while also pushing consumption-tax cuts and continuing subsidies, according to a report by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, or Nikkei, on April 28. With the Donald Trump administration pressing allies to spend more on defense, many major countries are seeking new revenue or cutting other outlays to pay for it. Japan, by contrast, is trying to do both — fund “guns” and “butter” at the same time, the report said. A April 29, 2026

EcoPro BM Q1 Operating Profit Jumps 823% as ESS Cathode Sales Rise EcoPro BM said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it posted first-quarter consolidated revenue of 605.4 billion won and operating profit of 20.9 billion won. Revenue fell 3.9% from a year earlier, while operating profit surged 822.6%. The company attributed the results to increased cathode material supply for electric vehicles in Europe and rising global demand for energy storage systems driven by the spread of AI infrastructure. Sales of cathode materials for ESS used to provide st April 29, 2026

Blue House Unveils Plan to Strengthen Civil Service, Including Fast-Track Promotions The Blue House said April 29 it will pursue a broad overhaul to strengthen the civil service, including training specialist officials, revamping promotion systems and expanding recruitment from the private sector. Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik told a briefing at the Blue House press center that the government needs stronger expertise and skills among public officials “not only to overcome emergency situations, but to turn crises into opportunities and make a leap forward.” April 29, 2026

Rep. Park Hyeong-su urges balanced expansion of renewables and nuclear power Rep. Park Hyeong-su of the People Power Party said South Korea needs a major shift to an “energy mix” that can deliver both stable power supplies and carbon reductions, calling for balanced expansion of renewable energy and nuclear power. In written remarks for the “2026 Ajunews Energy Forum” held Tuesday at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul, Park said the country should not repeat “past mistakes” of concentrating national capacity on a single energy source based on ideology or bloc April 29, 2026

Budget Minister Park Hong-geun Pledges Constant Dialogue With Private Fiscal Advisers Park Hong-geun, minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget, said on the 29th that he will strengthen communication between the government and the private sector by building a standing communication system for the Fiscal Policy Advisory Council. Park held a luncheon meeting that day with the council’s private-sector members to discuss policy issues broadly. He shared key points from a town hall meeting held the previous day and stressed the importance of government-private sector commu April 29, 2026

Daehan Cable Posts Record Q1 Results on Strong High-Voltage Cable Demand Daehan Cable said it posted its best-ever quarterly results, citing expanding global investment in power grids and rising demand for extra-high-voltage cables. In a preliminary earnings filing on Tuesday, the company said consolidated first-quarter revenue totaled 1.0834 trillion won ($1.0834 trillion won), with operating profit of 60.4 billion won. Revenue rose 26.6% from a year earlier and operating profit jumped 122.9%. The company said the figures were the highest since it began comp April 29, 2026

KB Kookmin Card Issues $500 Million Overseas Social ABS, Citing Inclusive Finance Push KB Kookmin Card said Tuesday it successfully issued $500 million (about 7.4 trillion won) in social asset-backed securities in overseas capital markets. The deal was jointly arranged by HSBC Hong Kong and ING. It was split into two tranches with an average maturity of two years: $250 million with a two-year tenor and the equivalent of $250 million in euros with a three-year tenor. The company said it used a cross-currency interest rate swap to hedge exchange-rate and interest-rate risks in April 29, 2026