Global Military Spending Rises for 11th Year, Setting New Record Led by Europe and Asia Last year, global military spending rose for an 11th straight year, setting a new record.  According to the Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI, which released its “2025 Trends in World Military Expenditure” report on April 26 (local time), worldwide military spending totaled $2.887 trillion (about 4,250 trillion won) last year. Spending rose 2.9% from a year earlier, slowing from 2024’s 9.7% increase. Still, the share of global gross domestic pro April 27, 2026

Yoon Suk Yeol’s Appeal Trial Opens; Court Says Constitutional Challenge Won’t Halt Proceedings Yoon Suk Yeol, who was sentenced to life in prison in a first trial on charges of leading an insurrection after declaring the Dec. 3 martial law, began his appeal in earnest along with other key defendants tied to the decree. On Monday at 2 p.m., the Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 12-1, with Judges Lee Seung-cheol, Cho Jin-gu and Kim Min-a, held the first pretrial hearing in the second trial for Yoon and seven senior military and police officials involved at the time of the martial l April 27, 2026

DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis Visits South Korea, Meets Samsung, SK hynix and Hyundai on AI Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind and a key architect of Google’s artificial intelligence strategy, has visited South Korea for the first time in 10 years. During the trip, he is set to meet executives from major South Korean companies including Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Hyundai Motor, drawing industry attention a decade after the 2016 match between AlphaGo and Lee Sedol. Industry officials said Hassabis will hold closed-door meetings on the 28th with senior figures from Sam April 27, 2026

People Power Party Picks Kim Young-hwan as North Chungcheong Governor Candidate Kim Young-hwan, the North Chungcheong governor who was once cut from the People Power Party’s nomination race but returned after a court granted an injunction, was selected as the party’s final candidate for governor in the June 3 local elections. He will face Shin Yong-han, the Democratic Party’s candidate, in the general election. Park Deok-heum, chair of the party’s Nominations Management Committee, told reporters after a committee meeting at party headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Se April 27, 2026

Genosys AI Healthcare, JG Group Sign 5 Billion Won Strategic Investment, Partnership Deal Genosys AI Healthcare has signed a 5 billion won strategic investment and broad business partnership agreement with JG Group. Genosys AI Healthcare Co. (CEO Lee Hee-won, Genosys) said it signed the deal on April 24 with investment firm JG Group Co. (Chairman Lee Jae-gu, JG Group). Under the agreement, the companies will jointly pursue an AI healthcare platform based on a Human Digital Twin (HDT) and a business to produce and distribute genome-based personalized health supplements. The total in April 27, 2026

Korail to Run One-Day Gyeonggi DMZ Train Trip Linking Security Tours and Local Markets Korail Tourism Development will run a special, one-day “Gyeonggi-do DMZ Train” on May 2, aiming to pair security-focused tourism in the northern Gyeonggi Province Demilitarized Zone with support for local businesses. The trip is marketed as a value rail package in the 30,000-won range that links local festivals and traditional markets. The product was jointly planned with the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization and the Gyeonggi Northern Regional Headquarters of the Small Enterprise and Market Se April 27, 2026

Industry Minister Urges Mature Talks as Samsung Electronics Union Plans Strike Kim Jeong-gwan the minister of trade, industry and energy, on April 27 urged labor and management at Samsung Electronics to reach a “mature” decision as the company’s union has warned it may strike. “The semiconductor industry is the only industry in our country that is still maintaining competitiveness, and the gap is steadily narrowing,” Kim told reporters at the Government Complex Sejong. “Since workers clearly have a share, I urge both sides to fully consider the various conditions and April 27, 2026

South Korea Finance Ministry Awards 30 Million Won in Special Bonuses to 24 Officials The government awarded special bonuses totaling 30 million won to Ministry of Finance and Economy officials credited with key achievements, including responses to the Middle East war and efforts to secure inclusion in the World Government Bond Index, or WGBI. The ministry said it held its first special performance awards ceremony on the 27th during an expanded senior staff meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol. It selected 24 employees for raising t April 27, 2026

Korean Retail Investors Sell Overseas Stocks as RIA Accounts Draw Money Back Home Korean retail investors have been selling across major overseas stock markets at the same time, and attention is turning to whether that money will flow back into domestic shares. Data from the Korea Securities Depository’s Seibro portal show that from April 1 to 24, Korean individual investors were net sellers of U.S. stocks worth $1.28555 billion (about 1.8915 trillion won). Over the same period, they were net sellers of Japanese stocks worth $9.48 million (about 14 billion won), Hong April 27, 2026

South Korea, Google DeepMind Expand K-Moonshot AI Partnership, Plan Gangnam AI Hub South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT said it will expand cooperation with Google DeepMind as it pushes the “K-Moonshot” project, a national strategy to apply artificial intelligence across research and development to tackle major science and technology challenges. The ministry said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Google DeepMind on April 27 at the Four Seasons Hotel in central Seoul. The agreement focuses on joint AI research, talent development and the spread of April 27, 2026