South Korea Says No Supply Disruptions Yet for Health, High-Tech Materials; Backup Imports Ready The South Korean government said key industries have not yet seen disruptions in supplies of critical raw materials despite growing concerns that a prolonged war in the Middle East could rattle global supply chains for health care, medical and advanced industries. Officials said they will move quickly to secure alternative import sources if problems emerge. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it reviewed supply conditions by sector during a “Middle East war response headquarte April 23, 2026

Seoul Expands Floor-Area Ratio Relief to Station-Area Long-Term Lease Housing Redevelopment Seoul is expanding its policy to ease baseline floor-area ratio limits to include station-area long-term lease housing projects, raising expectations that redevelopment zones with approved plans can improve feasibility by reducing required rental housing shares. The city said April 23 that station-area long-term lease housing sites already designated as redevelopment zones and with plans finalized will apply the eased baseline floor-area ratio at the later integrated review stage. Under April 23, 2026

South Korea Parliament Approves Expansion of Fair Trade Commission to 11 Members South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission will expand its roster of commissioners from nine to 11 for the first time in 30 years. The commission said on the 23rd that the National Assembly passed revisions to the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act to increase the number of members. Under the amendment, the commission will add one standing commissioner and one nonstanding commissioner, raising the total to 11 from the current nine. The new lineup will be six standing commissioners and fiv April 23, 2026

Korea Activates Emergency Import Financing to Secure Naphtha Supplies Middle East instability has heightened uncertainty over naphtha supplies, prompting South Korea’s financial sector to activate an emergency financing support system for the petrochemical industry. The goal is to quickly raise import letter of credit (L/C) limits to prevent disruptions in raw material imports. The Financial Services Commission said on the 23rd it has set up a joint financial-sector support framework for naphtha imports linked to the Middle East situation. The move follows April 23, 2026

Budget Planning Minister Park Hong-geun Pledges Stronger Role for Cooperatives in Public Services Park Hong-geun, minister of the Office of Planning and Budget, said he will actively support cooperatives so they can strengthen essential parts of people’s lives and play an integrated role linking local economies with welfare and care services. On the 23rd, Park visited the Salim Medical-Welfare Social Cooperative to review how cooperatives in the medical and care sectors are operating and to hold a policy meeting with cooperative officials. Participants included local council repres April 23, 2026

South Korea to Tax and Regulate Synthetic-Nicotine E-Cigarette Liquids as Tobacco Starting April 24 Starting on the 24th, liquid e-cigarettes made with synthetic nicotine will be officially recognized as “tobacco,” bringing them under full taxation and distribution and health regulations. The government said it aims to close a legal loophole by bringing the products into the regulatory system to improve tax fairness and strengthen public health protections. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said on the 23rd that, under the revised Tobacco Business Act, the legal definition of tobacco April 23, 2026

Seoul Homebuyers Shift to Smaller Units as New-Home Prices Surge With Seoul’s new-apartment presale prices in the mid-50 million won range per 3.3 square meters, the subscription market is shifting quickly. As construction costs jump and loan rules tighten, buyers are increasingly turning away from the standard 84-square-meter unit and concentrating on smaller homes. According to the redevelopment industry on April 23, the winning score cutoff for the 84-square-meter units at “Ra Clache Zide Fine,” recently offered in Seoul’s Dongjak district, was 62 April 23, 2026

Seoul Apartment Prices Rise 0.15% as Outer Districts Lead Gains; Songpa Turns Up Seoul apartment prices rose 0.15% from a week earlier, led by continued strength in midpriced districts such as Seongbuk, Dongdaemun, Gangbuk and Gangseo, where such housing is concentrated. According to the Korea Real Estate Board’s weekly apartment price trend report released on the third week of April (as of the 20th), Seoul’s sales prices increased 0.15%, accelerating from a 0.10% rise the previous week. Outer districts with relatively affordable apartments drove the gain April 23, 2026

Yuripibu Revamps Bifida Deep Cleansing Oil, Targets Family Month Gift Demand Yuripibu, a skincare brand, has released a revamped version of its “Bifida Deep Cleansing Oil,” saying it strengthened the product’s ability to support skin condition after cleansing as well as remove impurities. Cleansing oils are widely used as a first-step wash to dissolve makeup and sebum, but they have often been treated as separate from moisturizing or barrier care. Yuripibu said it updated the formula to focus on protecting and hydrating skin during cleansing. The renewed product a April 23, 2026

Philippine Airlines Fuel Surcharge Raised Near Cap for April 16-30 The Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) raised the benchmark used for airlines’ passenger fuel surcharges to “Level 19,” near the ceiling, for the April 16-30 period. For passenger flights, the surcharge for international routes will range from 2,070.77 to 15,397.15 pesos depending on the destination, while domestic routes will be charged 627 to 1,834 pesos. That is about 2.5 times higher than the April 1-15 period. The CAB sets fuel-surcharge benchmarks on a Level 0-20 scale. It ha April 23, 2026