Hyundai Motor Group Tops Volkswagen in Operating Profit, Ranks No. 2 Globally Hyundai Motor Group posted last year’s operating profit high enough to overtake Germany’s Volkswagen Group, marking its first entry into the global top two automakers by profitability, industry data showed. Despite the impact of U.S. auto tariffs, the group was seen as protecting margins through steps such as adjusting local production volumes, diversifying markets and moving quickly to reduce inventories. According to the industry on Tuesday, Hyundai Motor Group — Hyundai Motor, Kia and March 11, 2026

Naver Pay Partners With Retail & Insight to Roll Out Npay Connect at 4,000 Supermarkets Naver Pay said Wednesday it signed a business agreement with cloud-based retail tech company Retail & Insight to support digital innovation in South Korea’s retail distribution market. Under the agreement, the offline integrated payment terminal “Npay Connect” is set to be adopted as the standard device at about 4,000 small and midsize supermarkets nationwide that have merchant contracts with Retail & Insight. Retail & Insight provides integrated systems for neighborhood marke March 11, 2026

Innocean Breaks Into Ad Age’s 2026 A-List Top 10 in the U.S. Hyundai Motor Group’s advertising agency Innocean has been named one of the top 10 marketing companies in the United States, the first South Korean ad company to make the list. Innocean said Wednesday that it was selected for the top 10 of the “2026 A-List” released by marketing trade publication Ad Age. The company called it its biggest achievement since establishing its U.S. subsidiary 18 years ago. Ad Age compiles the annual list by evaluating agencies active in the U.S. market on cr March 11, 2026

ENHYPEN’s Heeseung to leave group, pursue solo career, agency says Heeseung of the K-pop group ENHYPEN is leaving the team to pursue a solo career. Belift Lab said on the fan platform Weverse on Monday that “Heeseung will become independent from ENHYPEN,” adding that the group will continue activities as six members starting with its upcoming official schedule. The agency said the members held in-depth talks about their individual futures and the group’s direction, and confirmed that Heeseung has a clear musical vision. “We decided to respect that,” it s March 11, 2026

BLACKPINK’s ‘GO’ Enters Billboard Hot 100, Setting K-Pop Girl Group Record BLACKPINK is drawing attention for extending K-pop records on major U.S. and U.K. charts, including Billboard and the Official Charts. According to Billboard’s latest rankings released on March 9 (local time), “GO,” the title track from the group’s third mini album, “DEADLINE,” debuted at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100. It marked BLACKPINK’s 11th career Hot 100 entry, the most ever for a K-pop female artist. The group also placed No. 13 on Billboard Global (Excl. U.S.). “D March 11, 2026

Samsung Biologics, Eli Lilly to open Lilly Gateway Labs hub in Songdo Samsung Biologics said it will partner with U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. to establish a South Korea hub for Lilly Gateway Labs (LGL), an open-innovation program designed to select and nurture promising biotech startups. The company said Monday it signed an open-innovation partnership agreement with Lilly at its headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, aimed at supporting high-potential Korean biotechs. Under the agreement, a new LGL site will be created inside Samsung Biologics’ second Bio March 11, 2026

‘The Man Who Lives With the King’ Tops 10 Million Viewers, Reviving Korea’s Theaters A straightforward, traditional historical drama has become Korea’s latest 10 million-admissions hit. Director Jang Hang-jun’s film “The Man Who Lives With the King” crossed the milestone, becoming the first Korean movie in about two years to do so and giving a lift to a theater industry that has struggled to regain momentum. According to the Korean Film Council’s integrated box office database on Monday, the film drew 203,027 viewers the previous day to remain No. 1. Its cumulative audie March 11, 2026

Yeocheon NCC Weighs Halting Butadiene Unit as Naphtha Supply Tightens Yeocheon NCC, which declared force majeure after disruptions in raw-material supplies linked to U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, may halt its butadiene (BD) production facilities at its Yeosu No. 2 plant, industry sources said. With the Strait of Hormuz blocked and Middle East naphtha supplies disrupted, the company is expected to suspend output first for products with weaker customer demand. The move could push already strained operating rates — which had fallen below 70% due to supply u March 10, 2026

Naphtha Surge Triggers Negative Margins for South Korea Petrochemical Makers in Rare Price Inversion Rising naphtha prices driven by Middle East geopolitical risks have pushed South Korea’s petrochemical industry into a “negative margin shock,” with feedstock costs overtaking product prices and losses mounting the more companies produce. The price inversion — naphtha above ethylene — is the first since the oil shocks of the 1970s. Industry officials said naphtha has climbed sharply since the Iran situation. Based on Japan’s import price on a C&F basis, a key benchmark for dom March 10, 2026

South Korea Moves L-SAM Into Mass Production as Middle East Air Defense Demand Rises Demand for air defense networks is rising in the Middle East following the war involving the United States and Israel and Iran. After the midrange Cheongung-II was deployed in combat, South Korea has moved its long-range surface-to-air missile system, L-SAM — often described domestically as a “Korean-style THAAD” — into mass production. The rollout of new Korean air defense systems is expected to speed efforts to target the Middle East arms market. According to the defense industry on Mon March 10, 2026