Hanwha’s Noh Si-hwan Signs 11-Year, 30.7 Billion Won Deal, Tops SSG’s Choi Jeong Total Hanwha Eagles infielder Noh Si-hwan has landed a record-setting payday. The question now is whether he can deliver the kind of long-term value associated with SSG Landers star Choi Jeong. Hanwha announced on the 23rd that it signed Noh to a multiyear contract before he reaches free agency. The deal runs 11 years and is worth 30.7 billion won ($30.7 billion won) including incentives, the longest and largest contract in KBO League history across both free-agent and non-free-agent agreemen February 24, 2026

KAI Board to Review Kim Jong-chul as New CEO After 8-Month Vacancy Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) will hold a board meeting on Feb. 25 to select a new CEO, a post that has been vacant for eight months. Kim Jong-chul, who previously led the Drone Program Division at South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration, is considered the leading candidate. Industry officials said Feb. 24 that KAI’s board will review an agenda item at its Feb. 25 morning meeting to appoint Kim as CEO. If approved, the company would fill the vacancy about eight months a February 24, 2026

LG Energy Solution Steps Up Push Into Battery Recycling and Reuse LG Energy Solution said Monday it is focusing on expanding battery recycling and reuse, aiming to build a circular resource system from raw-material production through use and disposal while pursuing future growth through new businesses. In June last year, the company announced it would set up a recycling joint venture, GMBI, with Toyota Tsusho Corp., a Toyota Group company, in North Carolina. The venture will have a maximum annual processing capacity of 13,500 tons, enough to handle used February 24, 2026

Celltrion Advances Dual-Track Obesity Drug Program; Lunit Starts Direct Sales in Japan Celltrion: Developing dual-track obesity drugs, including four-target injectable Celltrion said on Feb. 24 it is developing obesity drugs on two tracks: a four-target injectable candidate (CT-G32) and a multi-target oral drug. The company said CT-G32 is designed to act on four targets at once, going beyond GLP-1-based dual- and triple-acting drugs that currently lead the obesity treatment market. Celltrion said it aims to reduce differences in effectiveness among patients and side effect February 24, 2026

OK Records CEO Min Hee-jin to Hold Emergency News Conference After Trial Court Ruling OK Records CEO Min Hee-jin will hold an emergency news conference on the 25th to present her position on a recently issued trial court ruling and outline her next steps. OK Records said on the 24th that Min is convening the event to personally explain the significance of the first-instance decision and her plans for future operations. Earlier, the Seoul Central District Court on the 12th dismissed a lawsuit filed by HYBE against Min and others seeking confirmation that a shareholder agre February 24, 2026

Hyundai Motor executive urges fast passage of Korea bill backing $350B U.S. investment plan Sung Kim, president of Hyundai Motor Group, urged swift passage of legislation needed to carry out a $350 billion (about 506 trillion won) U.S. investment package. According to Reuters on Monday, Kim made the remarks at a breakfast meeting at the National Assembly on a proposed ruling People Power Party bill related to U.S. investment. He said that even if reciprocal tariffs are nullified, pressure could intensify to raise tariffs on automobiles. “As reciprocal tariffs are rendered inva February 24, 2026

Lee Jae-myung Calls for Reforms to Ensure Public Access to Olympic Broadcasts President Lee Jae-myung said Feb. 24 that South Korea needs institutional reforms to broadly guarantee public access to broadcasts of major international sporting events, including the Olympics and FIFA World Cup, amid ongoing disputes over media rights. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting he chaired at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee cited the results of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, which ended Feb. 23, saying he regretted that public enthusiasm did not build enough compared with the past despite February 24, 2026

New Musical 'Jeokto' Recasts Romance of the Three Kingdoms Through a Warhorse’s Eyes “It’s not a familiar hero tale. It’s the story of the warhorses that carried those heroes,” lyricist and playwright Han Areum said Monday at a news conference at Daehakro Arts Theater in Seoul. “It starts with Jeokto’s birth, follows its life as a warhorse on the battlefield, and shows it growing through brutal reality and coming to understand life.” The original musical ‘Jeokto_History of the Reins and Saddle’ (3.7.~3.29. SH Art Hal February 24, 2026

Kim Tae-heon Elected Head of Korea Publishers Association, Pledges Book Fair Transparency Kim Tae-heon, CEO of Hanbit Media Co., was elected the 52nd president of the Korean Publishers Association. The association held its 82nd regular general meeting at 2 p.m. on Feb. 24 at the Korea Press Center International Conference Hall and elected Kim to a three-year term. Kim won the most votes among 351 member companies that cast ballots, out of 519 eligible voting members. His pledges include strengthening publisher-led policy capacity, rebuilding cooperation with the public sec February 24, 2026

Actor Lee Jong-hyuk’s Son Lee Jun-su Enters Chung-Ang University Actor Lee Jong-hyuk’s second son, Lee Jun-su, has entered Chung-Ang University. Lee posted photos on social media on the 24th from the “2026 academic year Chung-Ang University College of Arts freshman entrance ceremony,” along with an image of the campus. He previously was accepted through early admissions to several programs, including the acting major in the Department of Performing Arts at Seoul Institute of the Arts — Lee Jong-hyuk’s alma mater — as well as the theater (acting) majo February 24, 2026