South Korea Sets 30 Million Won Reward for Itaewon Disaster Truth-Finding, Extends Healing Leave to 1 Year The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Tuesday that a partial revision to the enforcement decree of the special law on protecting victims’ rights, determining the truth and preventing a recurrence of the Oct. 29 Itaewon disaster was approved at a Cabinet meeting and will take effect May 11. The revision sets detailed standards for paying rewards to people who contribute to truth-finding and clarifies requirements for victims seeking to extend healing leave. Under the decree, a tot April 28, 2026

SEMAS Wins Top Grade in 2025 Public Agency Shared Growth Evaluation The Small Enterprise and Market Service said on April 28 it received the highest rating, “Top,” in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ 2025 public agency shared growth evaluation. It was the first time SEMAS earned the top grade in the assessment. Over the past five years, its results were: 2020 (Needs Improvement), 2021 (Average), 2022 (Good), 2023 (Excellent) and 2024 (Excellent). The evaluation reflects public agencies’ shared-growth performance and surveys of how partner small and mid April 28, 2026

Lotte Energy Materials to Invest 50 Billion Won to Expand Iksan Circuit Foil Plant Lotte Energy Materials said Monday it will invest about 50 billion won to expand its Iksan plant, the country’s only production base for circuit foil, as it seeks to complete its materials value chain (Elecfoil-CCL-PCB-Module). The company said it decided on the investment to secure future competitiveness even as the electric-vehicle market, including the copper-foil sector, faces headwinds due to a demand slowdown. It cited rapid growth in artificial intelligence data centers as driving a April 28, 2026

KEPCO Signs 765kV Transmission Technology Cooperation Deal With PSEG Korea Electric Power Corp. said it has partnered with U.S. energy company Public Service Enterprise Group, or PSEG, as it moves to expand into the U.S. extra-high-voltage transmission market. KEPCO said it signed the agreement on April 28 at its Art Center in Seoul’s Yangjae-dong to cooperate on 765-kilovolt transmission projects. The utility said the deal is significant because it represents formal recognition overseas of KEPCO’s capabilities in engineering, procurement and constructio April 28, 2026

TY Life, Hyundai Marine & Fire and My Financial Partner sign MOU to expand insurance-linked lifecare TY Life (Taeyang Life), Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance and My Financial Partner have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at expanding insurance-linked lifecare services, the companies said. They described the deal as a structural cooperation model that goes beyond a simple partnership, seeking to combine each firm’s customer touchpoints and product strengths into an integrated service system spanning a customer’s life cycle. The companies said the agreement centers on expandin April 28, 2026

Iran Nears Oil Storage Limit Under U.S. Pressure, May Face More Output Cuts Iran is rapidly running out of crude oil storage capacity under U.S. economic pressure, raising the likelihood of additional production cuts, analysts said. Bloomberg reported on April 27, citing commodities analytics firm Kpler, that Iran has only about 12 to 22 days of usable crude storage remaining. Kpler said shrinking storage could push Iran to cut output by as much as 1.5 million barrels a day by mid-May. Goldman Sachs has previously assessed that Iran has already reduced crude pr April 28, 2026

BR Korea Names Cho Yoon-sang CEO BR Korea, which operates Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin, said April 28 it has appointed Cho Yoon-sang as its new CEO. Cho is a management specialist with 27 years of experience in marketing and digital strategy at major companies in South Korea and abroad. He previously led the marketing communications group at LG Electronics and served as marketing director at YUM! Global, a global franchise operator of Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell, overseeing assessments of brands’ digital competitiveness, o April 28, 2026

Kim Seong-tae denies alleged 'salmon and drinking party,' says he did not drink Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of Ssangbangwool, on April 28 denied allegations that he held a so-called “salmon and drinking party,” saying he did not drink and urging people to stop focusing on what he ate. He also rejected suspicions of stock manipulation involving the company. Appearing as a witness at a National Assembly hearing for a special committee investigating alleged fabricated indictments, Kim said, “I have never had a drink. I didn’t drink, so I’m saying I didn’t.” He added, April 28, 2026

South Korea launches nationwide carbon-neutral action campaign, forms preparatory committee The government is moving to step up a nationwide public action campaign aimed at carbon neutrality and a major shift in energy use. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said it will hold a launch ceremony Monday afternoon at Korea House in Jung-gu, Seoul, for the “Republic of Korea Climate Action Preparatory Committee for Carbon Neutrality and the Energy Transition.” At the event, the committee will declare this year the “first year of Republic of Korea climate action” and di April 28, 2026

AI Policy Continuity in Question as Presidential AI Aide Resigns to Run for Parliament Ha Jung-woo, the presidential office’s senior secretary for AI future planning, has offered to resign and is moving toward a run in the parliamentary by-election in Busan’s Buk-gu Gap district. The Democratic Party is reviewing a strategic nomination process, and the district has emerged as a battleground expected to draw major candidates from the ruling and opposition parties as well as independents. Ha has been regarded as an expert with experience across the private AI sector and academia. April 28, 2026