Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol urges firms to keep innovating after Q1 GDP jump Koo Yoon-cheol, deputy prime minister and minister of finance and economy, met on April 24 with executives from major South Korean companies and said the corporate sector made a major contribution to the improvement in gross domestic product in the first quarter. The meeting at the Government Complex Seoul included executives from Samsung, LG and Hyundai Motor, among others. Koo said that despite a worsening external environment, including the war in the Middle East, the economy was suppo April 24, 2026

South Korea, Poland Discuss Stronger Economic Ties and Supply Chain Cooperation South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Trade Vice Minister Park Jeong-seong met Thursday in Seoul with Michal Jaros, a deputy minister at Poland’s Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation and expand collaboration in supply chains and advanced industries. The ministry said the talks followed a recent summit between the two countries’ leaders and were intended to sustain momentum from that meeting through April 24, 2026

South Korea Steelmakers Hold Up in Q1 as Hyundai Steel Returns to Profit Hyundai Steel returned to profit this year, but the rebound was limited by higher raw-material costs and currency headwinds. Dongkuk Steel Group improved profitability on stronger exports. In a regulatory filing Thursday, Hyundai Steel said first-quarter consolidated revenue rose to 5.7397 trillion won ($5.7397 trillion won) and operating profit totaled 15.7 billion won. It swung from an operating loss of 19.0 billion won a year earlier. Operating profit, however, fell 63.7% from the pr April 24, 2026

Hana Securities Q1 Net Profit Rises 37.1% to 103.3 Billion Won Hana Securities said on Thursday it posted first-quarter consolidated operating profit of 141.6 billion won and net profit of 103.3 billion won. Operating profit rose 47.9% from a year earlier, and net profit increased 37.1%. The company said it sustained strong earnings by responding quickly across business lines despite a volatile market environment. In wealth management, it cited higher fee income amid a strong stock market and increased revenue from financial products as it expanded April 24, 2026

TSMC Says It Will Begin Mass Production of A13 Chip Process in 2029 The world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., said it plans to begin mass production of its A13 advanced manufacturing process in 2029. TSMC made the announcement at its North America Technology Symposium, which opened April 22 in Santa Clara, California. The company described A13 as an improved version of A14, its next-generation process technology now under development. TSMC previously unveiled A14 in 2025 as the successor to the current leading-edge April 24, 2026

Samsung Card Q1 Net Profit Falls 15.3% to 156.3 Billion Won Samsung Card said Friday its first-quarter results fell from a year earlier as credit-loss provisions and selling and administrative expenses increased.  The company reported net profit of 156.3 billion won for the January-March period, down 15.3% from a year earlier.  Revenue rose as spending and card receivables increased across all business segments, but financing costs, credit-loss expenses and selling and administrative costs also climbed. Total transaction volume in the quarter ro April 24, 2026

Blue House: No Decision Yet on Long-Term Capital Gains Deduction for Nonresident Single-Homeowners The Blue House said Thursday that the government is discussing whether to apply a long-term capital gains deduction to nonresident single-homeowners, but that nothing has been decided. A Blue House official told reporters at the Chunchugwan press briefing room that officials are hearing a range of views and that more discussion is needed. The long-term holding special deduction reduces capital gains tax by up to 40% based on how long a property is held and up to 40% based on how long t April 24, 2026

NH NongHyup Financial Q1 Net Profit Rises 21.7% to 868.8 Billion Won on Strong Fee Income NH NongHyup Financial Group said Thursday it posted first-quarter net profit of 868.8 billion won, up 21.7% from a year earlier.  The group attributed the gain to balanced growth in both interest and noninterest income.  Interest income rose 7.3% to 2.1143 trillion won, helped by a larger core deposit base and a corporate-loan-focused portfolio that improved net interest margin. The combined bank and card NIM increased to 1.75% in March from 1.67% in December.  Noninterest income climbe April 24, 2026

Hana Financial posts record Q1 net profit of 1.21 trillion won on stronger fee income Hana Financial Group said it posted its highest-ever first-quarter net profit despite external headwinds such as exchange-rate volatility. The company said April 24 that first-quarter net profit totaled 1.21 trillion won, up 7.3% from a year earlier. Hana Financial said the results were notable because they came after absorbing one-off costs, including 82.3 billion won in foreign-exchange translation losses tied to a weaker won. Net interest income rose 10.2% from a year earlier to 2.50 April 24, 2026

TotalEnergies ENEOS Signs 15-Year Solar Power Purchase Deal With Thailand’s Jintana French energy company TotalEnergies and Japanese petroleum distributor ENEOS said their joint venture, TotalEnergies ENEOS Renewables Distributed Generation Asia Pte. Ltd., signed a 15-year power purchase agreement on the 22nd with Thai apparel manufacturer Jintana Intertrade. Under the deal, Jintana will install a 650-kilowatt-peak rooftop solar system at its factory in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeastern Thailand. About 1,000 panels are expected to generate 1,000 megawatt-hours o April 24, 2026