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

IBK Industrial Bank Expands AI Use, Automates Guaranteed-Loan Reviews IBK Industrial Bank of Korea is expanding its use of artificial intelligence by rolling out an in-house system across frontline operations. The bank said it built an AI model called ‘IBK GenAI’ to boost efficiency and productivity across the organization and is applying it broadly to day-to-day work. IBK GenAI is an internal large language model trained on the bank’s own data. It provides tailored AI environments by department and can instantly search and answer from 12 March 18, 2026

NH NongHyup Bank Launches AI Service to Automatically Request Loan Rate Cuts NH NongHyup Bank said it has launched and is operating an artificial intelligence-based service that automatically applies for loan rate reductions on behalf of customers, allowing financial consumers to exercise their right to request a lower rate without a separate application process. The bank said its "AI Loan Rate Care" service uses AI to submit requests to cut interest rates for customers who hold loans. The right to request a rate cut allows borrowers to ask for a lower loan rate March 18, 2026

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun’s 2025 Pay Totaled 17.46 Billion Won, Up 51.6% Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun received total compensation of 17.461 billion won last year, the company disclosed.  According to Hyundai Motor’s annual business report filed on Tuesday, Chung received 9.001 billion won from Hyundai Motor, including 4.5 billion won in salary and 4.501 billion won in bonuses and other income. That was up 1.914 billion won, or 27.0%, from 7.087 billion won a year earlier. Chung also received 5.4 billion won from affiliate Kia and 3.06 billion won March 18, 2026