Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon calls AI a social infrastructure at SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon, speaking at the global tech conference SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 in Tokyo, said artificial intelligence is evolving into “social infrastructure” and outlined the company’s vision for future cities. Naver said Monday that Choi joined Naver Labs CEO Seok Sang-ok and Naver Cloud Director Kim Ju-hee in a main-session discussion titled “From AI to Society: Designing AI as Social Infrastructure.” The speakers said AI is moving beyond a standalone technology to become essen April 27, 2026

KB Goodjob Job Fair Draws Crowds as Young Koreans Face AI-Era Hiring Squeeze “Even when job postings go up these days, most are for experienced hires. Companies don’t hire many entry-level workers, so I’m trying anything I can. AI makes me uneasy, but I have to work to become someone who can keep up with it.” Jeong Mi-ju, 26, said that Monday at the “2026 First KB Goodjob Excellent Companies Job Fair” at COEX in Seoul’s Gangnam district. Dressed for an interview, she carried a backpack filled with resumes and a portfolio. Preparing since January for an IT job, Je April 27, 2026

Defense Vice Minister Lee Doo-hee Pledges Major Upgrades to Navy Shipboard Living Conditions “To ensure sustained operational capability in wartime and peacetime, it is important to quickly relieve crews’ operational fatigue. We will make major improvements to shipboard living conditions,” Defense Vice Minister Lee Doo-hee said. Lee visited the Navy’s 2nd Fleet Command on April 27 to inspect shipboard living conditions and barracks facilities for sailors and to encourage service members, the Ministry of National Defense said. The on-site inspection wa April 27, 2026

South Korea Expands ‘Half-Price Vacation’ Program to 145,000, Adds Extra Aid for Regional Workers The South Korean government is sharply expanding eligibility for its “half-price vacation” support program to mark Labor Day, newly designated as a legal public holiday. The program, initially set for 100,000 people, will grow to 145,000 with funding from a supplementary budget. Officials said the move is aimed at easing workers’ travel costs amid high prices and boosting sluggish regional tourism. Regional workers will receive an additional 20,000 won in government support to encourage a v April 27, 2026

BYD Korea Opens Pohang Service Center to Expand Access on South Korea’s East Coast BYD Korea said Sunday it has officially opened the “BYD Auto Pohang Service Center” in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. The Pohang facility is BYD Korea’s 18th service center for its passenger-car business and will operate as an integrated hub combined with the BYD Auto Pohang showroom that opened late last year. The center offers one-stop service covering vehicle consultation and test experiences, contracts, maintenance and accident repairs. It includes service lines that can handl April 27, 2026

Korea Exchange to Hold Regional Briefings on Corporate Governance Report Disclosures The Korea Exchange said it will hold a relay series of regional briefings this month in four cities — Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon — for disclosure officers and others at KOSPI-listed companies on how to file corporate governance reports. The exchange said on the 27th the program was planned to help regional listed firms make smooth disclosures after the corporate governance report filing requirement was expanded this year to all KOSPI-listed companies. The sessions will explain the April 27, 2026

Taiwan court sentences ex-Tokyo Electron engineer to 10 years for TSMC trade secret theft Taiwan’s court specializing in intellectual property and commercial cases has sentenced a former employee of Japanese chip-equipment maker Tokyo Electron (TEL) to 10 years in prison for stealing confidential data from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker. Bloomberg News and other outlets reported on the 27th that the Taiwan Intellectual Property and Commercial Court sentenced engineer Chen Li-ming, who previously worked at Tokyo Electron, to 10 yea April 27, 2026

Non-Apartment Housing Supply Shrinks as Korea’s Market Tilts to Apartments Apartment-focused supply policy and market preferences are rapidly squeezing non-apartment housing on both the supply and demand sides. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 27th, nationwide housing permits totaled 379,000 units last year. Of those, non-apartment homes accounted for just 8.7%, or 33,061 units. Seoul had the highest non-apartment share at 15.5%, but of its 6,442 permitted units, multi-family homes made up 5,108, or 79%. The decline reflec April 27, 2026

Korail to Add Train Service for Buddha’s Birthday Holiday in May Korea Railroad Corp., known as Korail, said Monday it will expand train service by adding special trains for the Buddha’s Birthday holiday period in May. Korail will operate 38 additional KTX and conventional train services on four routes nationwide, including the Gyeongbu and Honam lines, from May 23 through the substitute holiday on May 25. The added runs will increase capacity by about 19,000 seats. Korail will also add three early-morning KTX services on May 26, the day after the April 27, 2026

Samsung SDS, LG CNS Sign Reseller Deals for OpenAI’s ChatGPT Edu in Korea Samsung SDS and LG CNS have each signed reseller partner agreements for OpenAI’s education-focused service, ChatGPT Edu, stepping up competition to secure an early lead in the education AI transformation market. The two companies said on the 27th that they secured the right to supply ChatGPT Edu on the same day and will ramp up sales to South Korean universities and other educational institutions. ChatGPT Edu is designed for educational institutions, supporting tasks such as generati April 27, 2026