Japan Urges MBK to Halt Makino Machine Tool Deal, Citing National Security Private equity firm MBK Partners, which previously drew concerns in South Korea over potential leaks of national core technologies through overseas sales, has now been urged by the Japanese government to stop a planned acquisition on similar grounds. The move is expected to affect the outlook for the ongoing management control dispute at Korea Zinc involving MBK and Young Poong. According to the Nikkei newspaper on the 23rd, the Japanese government issued a recommendation to halt MBK’s pl April 23, 2026

South Korea passes cornerstone investor rules to curb IPO sell-offs South Korea’s financial authorities are moving to address recurring post-IPO short-term selling and sharp price drops by overhauling rules aimed at making IPO pricing more rational and expanding medium- to long-term investment. The Financial Services Commission said April 23 that amendments to the Capital Markets and Financial Investment Services Act, including the introduction of a cornerstone investor system, passed the National Assembly plenary session the previous day. The April 23, 2026

NH Investment & Securities posts record quarterly profit as net income jumps 128.5% NH Investment & Securities said in a regulatory filing on the 23rd that its first-quarter operating profit rose 120.3% from a year earlier to 636.7 billion won. Net income climbed 128.5% to 475.7 billion won, the company’s highest quarterly result on record. Annualized return on equity was 19.6%. Brokerage and financial products led the gains. Brokerage benefited from a surge in trading on South Korea’s stock market. First-quarter brokerage commission revenue jumped 57.4% from the pre April 23, 2026

Democratic Party Names Song Young-gil, Kim Nam-jun as Incheon Strategic Candidates The Democratic Party said it will make strategic nominations in Incheon for the by-elections being held alongside the June 3 local elections, naming Song Young-gil for Yeonsu A and Kim Nam-jun for Gyeyang B. The party’s Strategic Nomination Management Committee made the decision at a meeting held Thursday afternoon at the National Assembly. Senior spokesperson Kang Jun-hyeon told reporters after the meeting, “The committee decided to strategically nominate former party leader Song Young- April 23, 2026

Shinhan Card Says 2,600 Merchant Records Confirmed as Credit Data Leak in 2025 Breach Shinhan Card said Wednesday that a financial regulator’s investigation found about 2,600 cases within a merchant data breach disclosed in December 2025 also involved leaked credit information. In a notice posted on its website, the company said the findings relate to a personal data leak that occurred on Dec. 23, 2025, and that the regulator confirmed additional exposure of credit information. Shinhan Card said it cannot individually notify 52 of the roughly 2,600 affected cases because April 23, 2026

Kakao Pay Securities Says Client Deposits Top 15 Trillion Won, Up 31% YTD Kakao Pay Securities said on April 23 that its client deposit assets topped 15 trillion won as of April 17, up 31.2% from the start of the year. The company cited strong inflows. Net inflows in the first quarter totaled 3.668 trillion won. Growth was led by Korean stocks: related assets rose 94% to 6.5323 trillion won from the point when they first exceeded 10 trillion won. The share of Korean stocks in total deposits increased to 44.2% as of April from 33.6% over the same period. Tax-ad April 23, 2026

Korea’s ‘Million-Won’ Stocks Jump to 9 as KOSPI Rally Lifts High-Priced Shares A new era of so-called “million-won stocks” is taking shape in South Korea as a market rally pushes more shares above 1 million won. In less than five months, the number of such stocks has grown to nine from four, and the pipeline of potential newcomers is also expanding. The Korea Exchange said the KOSPI closed Thursday up 57.88 points, or 0.90%, at 6,475.81, extending its run of three straight record closes. The index briefly topped 6,500 in intraday trading. The gains came despite exte April 23, 2026

KB Securities Q1 Operating Profit Jumps 101.7% to 453.1 Billion Won KB Securities said Wednesday that its first-quarter operating profit rose 101.7% from a year earlier to 453.1 billion won, based on preliminary results. Revenue climbed 179.5% to 8.3509 trillion won, and net profit increased 92.8% to 350.2 billion won. The company said market volatility has persisted as domestic and overseas uncertainties have increased, but it has continued to lead the market on the back of steady performance centered on investment banking. It said its competitiv April 23, 2026

Friday Forecast: Highs Near 77 Degrees, Big Day-Night Temperature Swings Friday the 24th is expected to be mostly sunny nationwide, with daytime temperatures rising to around 25 degrees Celsius, bringing a taste of early summer. The Korea Meteorological Administration said Thursday that morning lows will range from 4 to 11 degrees Celsius, with daytime highs of 15 to 25 degrees. That is similar to, or slightly higher than, seasonal averages of 5 to 11 degrees for lows and 18 to 22 degrees for highs. Forecast morning lows by major city are: Seoul 8C, Incheon April 23, 2026

Celltrion Starts Patient Dosing for Three ADC Cancer Drug Candidates Celltrion begins patient dosing for all three ADC cancer drug candidates Celltrion said April 23 that all three of its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)-based cancer drug candidates have entered the patient-dosing stage. The candidates now being dosed are CT‑P70, CT‑P71 and CT‑P73. All three received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval last year for investigational new drug (IND) applications for Phase 1 trials, the company said. Patient dosing for CT‑P70 and CT‑P71 began in the secon April 23, 2026