Oticon Unveils 2026 Government-Subsidy Hearing Aid Lineup With More Options Denmark-based hearing solutions company Oticon has unveiled a lineup of hearing aids designed to meet South Korea’s 2026 government subsidy standards. The lineup includes open-fit, in-the-ear and behind-the-ear styles and expands the range of rechargeable models, the company said, giving users more choices. South Korea’s hearing aid support program provides a set subsidy to people registered with hearing disabilities, reflecting both price and performance standards. Industry officials v April 24, 2026

PPP Floor Leader Song Eon-seok Slams Democrats’ Proposed Special Counsel as ‘Prejudged’ Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized the Democratic Party on April 24 for pushing what it calls a special counsel probe into “fabricated indictments” under the Yoon Suk Yeol government, calling it “another prejudged special counsel” following what he described as a prejudged parliamentary investigation. Speaking at a party meeting at the National Assembly on Friday morning, Song said, “It looks like the next step has begun to withdraw President Lee Jae-myung’s April 24, 2026

Justice Ministry Releases Official Stats on Foreign Residents’ Moves and Inflows The Justice Ministry on Thursday released new official statistics that track where foreign residents in South Korea move and how many newly enter or leave the country. The ministry said two datasets — “foreign residents’ domestic movement statistics” and “foreign residents’ new inflow and outflow statistics” — were newly designated as nationally approved statistics after review by the National Data Policy Committee. Nationally approved statistics are government-certified data intended April 24, 2026

Jung Cheong-rae Calls KOSPI’s 6,500 Breakthrough ‘Remarkable,’ Sees Room for 8,000 Jung Cheong-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, called the KOSPI’s move above the 6,500 mark “remarkable” and said the benchmark could keep climbing. Speaking at an on-site Supreme Council meeting in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, on April 24, Jung said South Korea is entering an era in which “Korea risk” has been removed and the country can enjoy a “Korea premium.” The KOSPI on the previous day broke above 6,500 intraday for the first time. Citing price-to-book ratio levels that he sai April 24, 2026

Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol to Unveil Green Consumption, Tourism Boost Plan Next Week Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yoon-cheol said April 24 the government will announce a plan next week to spur “eco-friendly green consumption and tourism,” aiming to respond preemptively to concerns about weakening consumer sentiment. Speaking at the Government Complex Seoul during a meeting of the emergency economic headquarters and the National Entrepreneurship Era Strategy Meeting, Koo said the government would closely monitor the Middle East war and res April 24, 2026

Hanwha Galleria hits limit-up on expectations for governance overhaul, new holding company Hanwha Galleria hit the daily trading limit on expectations tied to a group governance overhaul and a planned new company. According to the Korea Exchange, Hanwha Galleria was trading at 3,340 won as of 9:53 a.m. on April 24 on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, up 770 won, or 29.96%, from the previous session, reaching the price limit. A day earlier, the Korea Exchange confirmed a positive preliminary review for the relisting of shares in Hanwha Machinery & Service Hol April 24, 2026

Daegwallyeong Sky Ranch to Hold Children’s Day ‘Sky Picnic’ on May 5 Gangwon’s Daegwallyeong Sky Ranch, located on the high plateau around Daegwallyeong, will run hands-on programs for families to mark Children’s Day. The ranch said it will hold its “Children’s Day Sky Picnic” on May 5. The event period runs from May 1 to May 10, and children 12 and under will be admitted free during that time. Sky Ranch is a grassland ranch built at an elevation of about 1,000 meters or higher. It is known as a tourist ranch with relatively flexible visitor routes among April 24, 2026

Rapper Woody Gochild Shares Update After Fall: “I Missed Making Music” Rapper Woody Gochild has shared an update on his recovery after a fall. Woody Gochild appeared as a guest alongside rappers pH-1, Lil Boi and Big Naughty on the SBS PowerFM radio show “12 o’clock is Joo Hyun-young,” which aired on the 23rd. When DJ Joo Hyun-young asked how he had been since the accident, Woody Gochild said he went through a period when he could not make music. “As that time got longer, I missed music so much,” he said. He added that the experience made h April 24, 2026

CNBC poll: 58% disapprove of Trump as Iran war drags on and economic worries rise President Donald Trump’s job approval has slipped further, with 58% of Americans saying they disapprove, according to a CNBC survey. The poll points to mounting public fatigue over the prolonged Iran war, higher oil prices and rising cost-of-living pressures. Weakness is also emerging on the economy, long viewed as one of Trump’s strengths. In CNBC’s All-America Economic Survey released Thursday, 40% said they approve of Trump’s performance and 58% said they disapprove, for a net rating o April 24, 2026

SK Signs Two MOUs With Vietnam to Support AI Ecosystem and Infrastructure SK is moving to cooperate with Vietnam on building an AI industry ecosystem and core AI infrastructure. SK said April 24 that it signed two memorandums of understanding a day earlier in Hanoi at the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum — one with the government of Nghe An province and another with Vietnam’s National Innovation Center (NIC) — to support the creation of an AI ecosystem. The signing ceremony was attended by Kim Jung-kwan, South Korea’s minister of trade, industry and energy, and N April 24, 2026