South Korea Tax Agency: 13.33 Million Must File May Income Tax Returns; 2.65 Million Get Automatic Extension The National Tax Service said Tuesday that May is the month to file and pay comprehensive income tax and local income tax, and that individuals with comprehensive income in 2025 must report and pay by May 1. The agency said 13.33 million people are required to file this year. Since April 25, it has been sending filing notices by mobile message, including KakaoTalk, Naver electronic documents and text messages. The filing period runs from May 1 to June 1. Taxpayers subject to the “faithfu April 29, 2026

Unpaid Housework Valued at 582 Trillion Won in 2024, Women Contribute 2.7 Times Men Unpaid domestic work such as preparing meals, caring for children and cleaning was worth more than 580 trillion won last year, equivalent to about 23% of nominal gross domestic product, data showed. According to the National Data Agency’s “Household Production Satellite Account” released on the 29th, the value of unpaid domestic work in 2024 was estimated at 582.4 trillion won. That was up 96.9 trillion won, or 20.0%, from five years earlier. Total household production activity was value April 29, 2026

South Korea books 16 in alleged smuggling of banned Chinese apple seedlings South Korea’s Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency said Tuesday it has booked 16 people on suspicion of illegally importing large quantities of banned Chinese apple seedlings and other plant materials, in violation of the Plant Protection Act. The agency said it launched a planned investigation ahead of the spring season, when demand for seedlings typically rises. Investigators said the suspects — including seedling producers, importers, brokers and logistics operators — allegedly split April 29, 2026

South Korea’s Private Sector Meets Disability Hiring Quota for First Time Thirty-five years after South Korea introduced its mandatory disability employment system, private companies have met the legally required hiring rate for the first time. However, hiring remains relatively low among civil servants and companies with fewer than 100 employees, indicating continued need for improvement. The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Tuesday released its “2025 Status of Mandatory Disability Employment.” The system requires the state and local governments and 33,452 w April 29, 2026

Garlic Planting Area Rises 5.3% on Higher Prices; Onion Area Slips 0.4% Garlic planting area has increased for the first time in three years as prices rose, while onion acreage edged down slightly. According to the National Data Agency’s “2026 Garlic and Onion Planting Area Survey” released on the 29th, this year’s garlic planting area totaled 24,170 hectares, up 5.3% (1,223 hectares) from 22,947 hectares a year earlier. Garlic acreage had been declining since 2023, but rebounded this year, a shift the agency attributed to last year’s price gai April 29, 2026

Korea’s ICT R&D Spending Jumps 13.8% to 64.6 Trillion Won, Driven by Private Sector Korean information and communications technology (ICT) companies sharply increased research and development spending last year, led by semiconductors and artificial intelligence, government data showed. The gains, however, were concentrated in private funding while government and public support remained flat. According to the “2024 ICT Corporate R&D Statistics” released Tuesday by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning &a April 29, 2026

South Korea Proposes Five-Tier Public EV Charging Rates, Sets 391.9 Won for 200 kW+ The government is moving to break public electric-vehicle charging fees into five tiers from the current two, lowering rates for slower charging while raising ultra-fast rates to better reflect cost differences by charging speed. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said April 29 it will issue an administrative notice on a revised fee system and unit prices for public EV charging stations from April 30 through May 19. The ministry also said it will begin a separate legislati April 29, 2026

South Korea Launches 3,600-Ton Frigate Jeju, Delivery to Navy Set for June 2027 The South Korean Navy and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration held a launching ceremony Tuesday for the frigate Jeju at SK Oceanplant in Goseong, South Gyeongsang Province. The 3,600-ton ship is the fourth Ulsan-class Batch-III frigate and is intended to replace older frigates (FF) and patrol combat corvettes (PCC) now in service, officials said. After sea trials, Jeju is to be delivered to the Navy in June 2027 and then deployed following its commissioning process. Abou April 29, 2026

Japan-Style Math App Mathmaji Launches Pilot Program at Indonesian Islamic Private School Mathmaji, which develops the Japan-style global math learning app “Mathmaji,” said on the 28th it will start a pilot program at an Islamic private school in Indonesia. It is the first time the app will be used at an elementary education facility in the country. The app will be introduced at Sekolah Qur'an Savaty in Makassar, South Sulawesi, which provides integrated education from daycare and kindergarten through elementary school. Students learn math through an original curriculum based April 29, 2026

Korea Customs Hosts Asia-Pacific Anti-Drug Enforcement Workshop With WCO The Korea Customs Service said Tuesday it is holding an Asia-Pacific drug enforcement experts workshop with the World Customs Organization through April 30 to strengthen international coordination against drug crime. Experts from customs authorities across the region, including Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, are taking part, along with international organizations and European customs attachés based in China, the agency said. Participants will discuss ways to deepen cooperation by shari April 29, 2026