Iran’s Infighting Deepens Over Whether to Negotiate Nuclear Program With U.S. Iran’s internal rifts have flared again over whether to negotiate with the United States, including on its nuclear program, raising fresh signs of political division, the Financial Times reported. The newspaper said Iranian factions that had rallied around the government during airstrikes have begun to fracture again since a cease-fire, with disputes widening over whether to pursue talks with Washington. According to the report, political forces closed ranks during the strikes to confro April 29, 2026

UAE’s OPEC Exit May Not Break Supply Coordination, but Could Shift Oil Market After War The United Arab Emirates’ decision to leave OPEC has exposed new strains inside the group, but it is too soon to read it as a sign of collapse or a wave of departures. The main force shaking the oil market is not output levels but war-related shipping disruptions and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In that sense, the UAE move points less to an immediate supply shock than to the risk that OPEC’s ability to steer the market could weaken after the war. According to Reuters, CN April 29, 2026

Naver Cloud CEO named co-chair of South Korea’s K-AI Partnership Kim You-won, CEO of Naver Cloud, has been appointed co-chair of the government-led K-AI Partnership, taking a leading role in building South Korea’s AI cooperation ecosystem and supporting global expansion. Naver Cloud said Tuesday it was selected as a co-chair organization of the K-AI Partnership alongside the Korea Association of AI and Software Industry (KOSA). Launched under the leadership of the Ministry of Science and ICT, the K-AI Partnership is described as the country’s first in April 29, 2026

S-Oil Jumps Nearly 12% as Crude Prices Surge on Stalled U.S.-Iran Talks International oil prices surged, lifting S-Oil shares by nearly 12%. According to the Korea Exchange, as of 2:22 p.m. on the 29th, S-Oil was trading at 132,900 won, up 14,200 won (11.96%) from the previous session. At the same time, SK Innovation was up 11,900 won (8.95%) at 144,900 won. Refining stocks were seen gaining as crude prices rose after U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks remained deadlocked, despite reports that the United Arab Emirates would leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exp April 29, 2026

LG Electronics posts record first-quarter revenue; home appliances and vehicle parts top 10 trillion won LG Electronics said improved performance in its core home appliance and vehicle components businesses pushed their combined quarterly revenue above 10 trillion won for the first time. In its finalized earnings released Tuesday, LG Electronics reported first-quarter operating profit of 1.6737 trillion won, up 32.9% from a year earlier. Revenue rose 4.3% to 23.7272 trillion won. It was the company’s highest first-quarter revenue on record and its third-highest first-quarter operating profi April 29, 2026

Loa&Co Holdings to Buy Aloys Stake, Take Control and Expand AI Media Platform Plans Loa&Co Holdings said it has agreed to acquire control of KOSDAQ-listed Aloys, a company focused on media platforms, as the Loa&Co group seeks new growth engines. The company said April 29 that it signed a share purchase agreement to buy a combined 6,994,990 common shares, or 20.20%, held by Aloys CEO Shin Jeong-gwan, the company’s largest shareholder, and research director Lee Si-young. The total purchase price is 11.2 billion won, or 1,600 won per share. Once the deal is compl April 29, 2026

UAE’s Planned OPEC Exit Signals Shift in Oil Market, Opens Door for Korea-UAE Cooperation OPEC, long a central force in global energy markets, is facing what the article describes as its biggest crisis in its 66-year history after the United Arab Emirates, the group’s third-largest producer, declared it will leave effective May 1. The move is being read as more than a single member’s departure, raising questions about a Saudi-led cartel structure that has anchored OPEC for decades. The UAE’s decision follows economic and human losses tied to the recent Iran war and the closu April 29, 2026

Hanwha Aerospace Unveils Plan to Develop Korea’s ‘Meteor’-Class Missile Engine to Boost KF-21 Exports Hanwha Aerospace said it is laying groundwork to export Korean-made air-launched weapons by developing a homegrown counterpart to the propulsion technology used in Europe’s Meteor long-range air-to-air missile. The company said it aims to reduce heavy reliance on overseas suppliers in air-weapon technologies, strengthen South Korea’s self-reliant defense capabilities and improve export competitiveness for domestically developed fighters such as the KF-21. Hanwha Aerospace on April 29 h April 29, 2026

Korea’s SME Divide Widens as Exports Hold Up but Domestic Sectors Struggle Exports led by semiconductors, autos and shipbuilding have continued to recover, but domestic-facing industries such as real estate leasing, construction and wholesale and retail are seeing worsening cash conditions amid high interest rates and weak consumption. According to the financial sector on the 29th, the Industrial Bank of Korea said its delinquency rate for small and medium-sized enterprises in real estate and leasing stood at 1.28% at the end of the first quarter, based on April 29, 2026

Inside Korea’s Curated Singles Parties: Dating as Risk Management “Even in a crowd, there’s one person who stands out. Here, that feeling can even lead to marriage.” “I hesitated at first, but now it feels like I’ve walked onto a TV set. I’ve already sent a ‘signal’ to two people.” Lines that sound like they belong on a hit dating show were heard one April afternoon at a lounge party in Seoul’s Samseong-dong. In a room where dozens of men and women circulated, one couple said a few words we April 29, 2026