South Korean Banks’ 2025 Net Profit Hits Record 24.1 Trillion Won; Interest Income Tops 60 Trillion South Korean banks posted a record annual net profit of more than 24 trillion won last year, with interest income topping 60 trillion won for the first time. According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s preliminary report on 2025 operating results released on the 19th, domestic banks’ net profit totaled 24.1 trillion won, up 1.8 trillion won, or 8.2%, from 22.2 trillion won a year earlier. Net profit at commercial banks came to 16.2 trillion won. City banks increased profit by 1.3 March 19, 2026

Hyundai Veteran Han Ji-hyeong Built A2Z Into a Top-11 Autonomous Driving Firm Han Ji-hyeong, CEO of A2Z, is a hands-on engineer who spent more than a decade at Hyundai Motor Co. working on autonomous driving technology. He was an early member of Hyundai’s self-driving effort, beginning research before the technology was widely commercialized, and worked on the autonomous Nexo that President Moon Jae-in rode during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. At the time, Hyundai developed autonomous driving through partnerships with outside companies. Han said he believe March 19, 2026

GS Caltex Launches CCU~S Carbon-Reduction Education Campaign, Unveils Hands-On Kit GS Caltex said on the 19th it is launching the “CCU~S (Kkuus) Campaign,” a carbon-reduction education initiative for future generations, and unveiling an educational creative teaching tool called the “Kkuus Kit (CCUS KIT).” The kit, the centerpiece of the campaign, is designed to make CCUS — carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage — easier for children to understand by reinterpreting the concept at their level. The GS Caltex kit uses a playful, child-friendly theme, comparing “far March 19, 2026

LIG Donates 70 Million Won to Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital LIG said it donated 70 million won to Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital on March 18 to support medically vulnerable people. The company has run the donation program since 2021, marking its sixth year, and has given a total of 330 million won. LIG said the latest donation will be used to help cover treatment costs for low-income patients who fall through gaps in support. Lee Seong-jin, head of Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, said, "We are grateful for the warm interest and March 19, 2026

BTS Comeback Show Nears as Fans Pack Seoul’s Gwanghwamun for Photos and Video “I took photos and videos to send to friends and family.” Fans crowded the Sejong-daero area near Seoul’s Gwanghwamun on March 17, gathering for souvenir photos ahead of BTS’ comeback performance. As ad videos promoting “BTS Comeback Live: Arirang (ARIRANG)” played on major building screens, fans kept stopping to film and pose. Across from the KT Gwanghwamun building’s display, small groups lined the boulevard recording the footage. Yang, a 32-year-old Chinese nati March 19, 2026

A2Z CEO Han Ji-hyeong says fully driverless tech is inevitable, pushes exports to Japan and Middle East "To achieve 100% driverless autonomous driving, we have the full lineup of technologies needed — from software to vehicle hardware, control systems and external infrastructure. Based on that, we will expand exports to Japan, the Middle East and beyond and reach our goal of 30 billion won in annual revenue," Han Ji-hyeong, CEO of Autonomous A2Z, said in an interview on Tuesday at the company’s research center in Anyang. Han said autonomous driving can reshape urban transportati March 19, 2026

South Korea women routed 4-1 by Japan in AFC Asian Cup semifinals South Korea’s first bid to reach the top of Asia ended against Japan. The South Korea women’s national team, coached by Shin Sang-woo, lost 4-1 to Japan on March 18 in the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup semifinal at Stadium Australia in Sydney, despite a goal by Kang Chae-rim of Montreal. South Korea’s best finish at the tournament remains runner-up at the 2022 edition in India. Japan, ranked No. 8 in the world by FIFA and the highest-ranked team in Asia, outcl March 18, 2026

KAI Names Kim Jong-chul CEO as Export Push and Leadership Scrutiny Grow Kim Jong-chul, former head of the Defense Technology Protection Bureau at South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration, has been confirmed as the new CEO of Korea Aerospace Industries. Attention is focused on whether he can overcome recurring criticism over military-linked appointments and deliver on urgent tasks, including expanding exports of key weapons systems such as the domestically developed KF-21 supersonic fighter.  KAI said it held an extraordinary shareholders meetin March 18, 2026

Woori Bank Expands AI Banker, Turns Unstructured Data Into Usable Assets Woori Financial Group is accelerating its push to embed artificial intelligence across management and operations as part of its AI transformation, known as AX. Woori Bank said it is the first in South Korea’s financial sector to pursue “assetization” of unstructured data. The bank holds large volumes of unstructured information — including financial product materials, work rules, official notices and reports — that has been difficult to use systematically. By collecting, refining and stru March 18, 2026

Hana Bank Automates Marketing and FX Reviews to Boost Efficiency Hana Bank said it is expanding the use of artificial intelligence across operations, from branch sales to customer service. To raise marketing productivity for branch staff, the bank introduced an AutoML (Auto Machine Learning)-based service that recommends marketing targets. It goes beyond product suggestions by analyzing each customer’s preferences and financial usage patterns to propose the most effective marketing approach. The bank is also applying AI to foreign exchange work. It March 18, 2026