KOSPI Jumps More Than 2% to Top 6,370 on Foreign and Institutional Buying South Korea’s KOSPI surged more than 2% in intraday trading, breaking past its previous high. Shares rose, led by semiconductors, on expectations for the upcoming earnings season despite concerns about volatility tied to the Middle East. According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI was up 150.91 points, or 2.43%, at 6,370.00 as of 1:48 p.m. The index opened up 83.45 points, or 1.34%, at 6,302.54 and extended gains on foreign buying. In the main market, foreigners and institutions were net April 21, 2026

Trump Revives ‘Midnight Hammer,’ Says Iran Nuclear Program Won’t Be Easy to Rebuild President Donald Trump has again pointed to last year’s U.S. airstrike operation against Iran, dubbed “Midnight Hammer,” reiterating his claim that Iran’s nuclear program will not be easily rebuilt. In a post Sunday on his Truth Social account, Trump said the operation “completely and totally destroyed” Iran’s nuclear-related targets and that recovering buried nuclear material “will require a long and difficult process.” He also criticized CNN and other outlets, saying they were diminish April 21, 2026

Trump Invokes Defense Production Act to Fund Energy Projects Amid Oil Price Pressure President Donald Trump, facing rising oil-price pressure tied to the Iran war, on Sunday issued measures allowing federal funding for energy-sector projects. Bloomberg News and other outlets reported that Trump released five presidential memorandums invoking the Defense Production Act, targeting U.S. oil production and refining, coal supply chains, natural gas transportation and power-grid infrastructure. The actions allow the Energy Department to direct federal funds to those areas. A W April 21, 2026

‘Wild Thing’ Releases ‘Love Is’ Music Video for Film’s Fictional Co-Ed Group Triangle The film ‘Wild Thing’ has released the track and music video for ‘Love Is,’ the signature song of the fictional co-ed group Triangle featured in the movie. ‘Wild Thing’ is a comedy about Triangle, a three-member co-ed dance group that once dominated the music scene but disbanded overnight after an unexpected incident. The story follows the group as it takes on a reckless challenge to seize a comeback opportunity that arrives 20 years later. ‘Love Is’ is Triangle’s debut and 대표 s April 21, 2026

Cho Kwang-han Drops Out of PPP Gyeonggi Governor Primary, Backs Lee Seong-bae Cho Kwang-han, a People Power Party supreme council member who had been running for the party’s nomination for Gyeonggi governor, announced Tuesday that he is ending his bid and backing Lee Seong-bae, a former announcer. The move sets up a three-way primary contest among Supreme Council member Yang Hyang-ja, former lawmaker Ham Jin-gyu and Lee.  Cho told a news conference at the National Assembly that he would step down as a candidate in the party’s Gyeonggi governor primary. “For the pa April 21, 2026

SK Telecom to Revamp Job Grades, Create CEO-Led B2B Task Force Under CEO Jeong Jae-heon SK Telecom said April 21 that it will overhaul its job-grade system and set up a CEO-led task force to strengthen its business-to-business competitiveness, announcing the plans through its newsroom as CEO Jeong Jae-heon marked six months in the role.  Jeong, speaking at a town hall meeting at the company’s headquarters in Seoul’s Euljiro area, stressed the need for customer-centered change. “In a sense of crisis that the company could collapse, the core is ultimately the ‘customer,’” he s April 21, 2026

Rents Surge in Seoul’s Nowon-Dobong-Gangbuk as 1 Million Won Leases Jump As ultra-high monthly rents expand, prices are also rising sharply in Seoul’s outer districts, according to an analysis of new apartment lease contracts. In the so-called “Nowon-Dobong-Gangbuk” area — long seen as a last affordable option for working-class residents — the share of contracts with monthly rent of 1 million won or more jumped over the past year, adding to concerns that housing costs are reaching a breaking point. An analysis of new monthly-rent contracts for Seoul apartm April 21, 2026

Ultra-High Monthly Rents Surge in Seoul as Wealthy Rent Instead of Buy Seoul’s average apartment rent has entered the 1.5 million won-a-month range for the first time, and the market for ultra-high monthly rents is expanding quickly this year, led by wealthy tenants. As the tax burden tied to owning expensive homes grows, more affluent households are opting to pay steep rents rather than buy, signaling a shift toward “occupying” prime housing without ownership. According to transaction data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Seoul re April 21, 2026

Amazon’s New Anthropic Commitment Sharpens Split Market View Ahead of IPOs Market sentiment is sharply diverging over two AI giants expected to pursue IPOs, a split underscored by Amazon’s latest move involving Anthropic. Amazon has agreed to a conditional commitment of up to $25 billion in additional investment in Anthropic, according to the IT industry on Monday. The amount is more than triple Amazon’s existing $8 billion investment, but it is not a finalized disbursement. Investor demand for Anthropic has already become visible. In February, the company r April 21, 2026

Lotte Chilsung Says It Cut Plastic Use by About 3,000 Tons Last Year Lotte Chilsung Beverage said Tuesday it reduced plastic emissions by about 3,000 tons last year by lowering the environmental impact of packaging across its production process under its ESG (environmental, social and governance) management approach. The company said its main strategy was to make containers lighter and expand the use of recycled materials. For bottled water, it introduced an ET-CAP with a lower bottle-neck height, cutting container weight by up to 12% and saving about 810 April 21, 2026