DL E&C Offers Fixed Construction Cost, 150% LTV for Seoul’s Apgujeong 5 Redevelopment Bid DL E&C has unveiled its proposal for the Apgujeong District 5 redevelopment project in Seoul, pitching a fixed construction price and aggressive financing terms under its high-end ACRO brand as it steps up its bid to win the contract. The company said April 23 it is offering the “ACRO Apgujeong” plan for the project in Gangnam-gu. The complex would span six basement levels to 68 stories above ground across eight buildings, with 1,397 households. The site is considered the largest redevel April 23, 2026

South Korean Court Gives Suspended Sentence to Driver in Mokdong Market Crash That Killed 1, Hurt 11 A 76-year-old driver who plowed a car into the Kkaebi Market in Mokdong, Seoul, in 2024, leaving 12 people dead or injured, has been sentenced to a suspended jail term. On the 23rd, the Seoul Southern District Court’s Criminal Division 5, Judge Seo Ji-won presiding, sentenced Kim, 76, to two years in jail, suspended for three years, for causing death and injury under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents. According to the indictment, Kim was driving a April 23, 2026

KAIST-Linked Deep Tech Startup Point2 Closes $76M Series B Round The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said on the 23rd that Point2 Technology, a deep-tech startup co-founded by KAIST professor Bae Hyun-min and alumni, has secured an expanded Series B investment. The company closed the Series B round at about 100 billion won ($76 million). KAIST said it is the first Korea-based startup and the first among South Korean semiconductor companies to receive a strategic investment from Nvidia. KAIST cited Point2 Technology’s “e-Tube” techn April 23, 2026

Kakao Speeds Global Push With KakaoBank and KakaoPay, Linking AI and Payments Kakao Group is accelerating its global push by leaning on its financial affiliates as it moves to execute its next-generation finance strategy. Kakao said Wednesday that KakaoBank and KakaoPay are splitting roles overseas to strengthen the group’s financial competitiveness. The effort follows the “global fandom OS” strategy Jeong outlined earlier this year. The plan aims to expand Kakao’s global user base by combining agent artificial intelligence, entertainment intellectual property and April 23, 2026

Daejeon O-World Says It Will Pause Photos and Videos of Its Wolfdog Daejeon O-World said it will stop releasing photos and videos of its “wolfdog” for the time being. In a post on social media on the 23rd, O-World thanked the public for their concern and interest in the animal’s condition, saying the wolfdog “is quickly regaining stability.” The park said it decided to halt photo and video filming because the animal needs “a calm and quiet environment above all else” to fully recover. O-World said it will provide an update once the wolfdog is stable e April 23, 2026

Pulmuone Opens Hands-On Cooking School; BBQ Expands in Thailand; GS25 Meal Sales Hit 100M; Beef Fund Backs Farm Solar Pulmuone opens hands-on cooking school ‘Tasty Pulmuone’ Pulmuone said April 23 it has opened a cooking school, ‘Tasty Pulmuone,’ at its headquarters in Suseo, Seoul, and has begun full operations. The opening ceremony was held the previous day with board chair Lee Hyoyul and chief executive Lee Woobong among attendees. The program is designed as a hands-on platform where consumers cook for themselves while learning meal planning that considers health and the environment. It is built arou April 23, 2026

Korea FTC Vice Chair Urges Used-Goods Platforms to Meet E-Commerce Law Duties Nam Dong-il, vice chair of South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, said on the 23rd that used-goods trading platform operators should fully understand the procedures and obligations under new rules introduced through revisions to the E-Commerce Act and meet their social responsibilities. Speaking at a meeting with industry officials at the EL Tower in Seoul’s Yangjae-dong, Nam said used-goods platforms have become core trading infrastructure used routinely by most people, making it urgen April 23, 2026

KB Financial Q1 Net Profit Rises 11.5% to 1.8924 Trillion Won; Nonbank Share Hits 43% KB Financial Group reported near-record quarterly earnings and said it will cancel all treasury shares it currently holds, signaling a push to pair strong results with bigger shareholder returns. In a regulatory filing on Thursday, KB Financial said its 2026 first-quarter net profit totaled 1.8924 trillion won, up 11.5% from a year earlier and the highest level on record. Results were supported by solid net interest income of 3.3348 trillion won and a sharp rise in net fee income, which April 23, 2026

KB Financial, Shinhan post record Q1 profits on stock-market boom; step up shareholder returns KB Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea’s top two financial holding companies, posted record quarterly results, driven by steady net interest income and a surge in fee income tied to a strong stock market. Both groups also announced steps aimed at boosting shareholder value, including share cancellations and a new value-up plan. KB Financial said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that its first-quarter 2026 net profit rose 11.5% from a year earlier to 1.8924 trillio April 23, 2026

Special Prosecutor Raids Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Probe of Shim Woo-jung The second comprehensive special prosecutor team has launched a forced investigation into allegations that Shim Woo-jung, former prosecutor general, was involved in martial law-related actions. In a notice to the media on the 23rd, the team said it was conducting a search and seizure at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in connection with Shim, a suspect, on allegations of “participation in key duties of insurrection” and abuse of authority. It said the probe focuses on the dispatch of pros April 23, 2026