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  South Korea’s Big Five Banks See Household Loans Fall in March on Tighter Rules, High Rates Major commercial banks’ household loan balances fell last month for the first time in two months, as stricter lending rules and high interest rates drove a sharp decline in mortgage lending. According to the financial sector on Tuesday, the combined household loan balance at the five largest banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — stood at 765.729 trillion won at the end of last month, down 136.4 billion won from a month earlier. After falling in December and January, t April 1, 2026
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  Toss CEO floats April Fools’ pledge to sell his home to cover rent for 100 staff Lee Seung-geon, CEO of Viva Republica, operator of the finance app Toss, said he plans to sell the home he lives in under his own name and use the profit to cover the full rent and loan interest for 100 Toss employees for life. With Lee known for making bold April Fools’ Day pledges in the past, attention is focused on whether he will follow through this time. According to the industry on Tuesday, Lee wrote on an internal messenger that he would "sell the home I currently live in that I ow April 1, 2026
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  SK Biopharmaceuticals Files FDA Application for Cenobamate Oral Suspension for Epilepsy SK Biopharmaceuticals said April 1 it has submitted a new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an oral suspension formulation of its epilepsy drug cenobamate. The filing seeks approval of an additional formulation following the existing tablet version, for adults with partial-onset seizures. The company said the liquid oral suspension is expected to improve convenience for patients who have difficulty swallowing tablets and allow more flexible dosing depending o April 1, 2026
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  ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Team Returns to Seoul After Winning Two Oscars K-pop’s “K-hunters” returned home with Oscar trophies, as a small story rooted in a Korean diaspora identity and a sincere focus on Korean culture made history for K-content. On the afternoon of April 1, a press conference marking the Academy Awards win for Netflix’s animated film “K-Pop Demon Hunters” was held at CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall in Seoul’s Yongsan district. Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans attended with composer EJAE (Lee Jae) and the producing team IDO (Lee Yoo-han, Kw April 1, 2026
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  Kim Hyo-joo Chases Third Straight LPGA Win at Aramco Championship 최근 절정의 샷감을 이어가고 있는 김효주가 3주 연속 미국여자프로골프(LPGA) 투어 우승에 도전한다. 김효주는 오는 3일(이하 한국시간)부터 6일까지 나흘간 미국 네바다주 라스베이거스의 섀도 크리크 골프코스(파72)에서 열리는 LPGA 투어 아람코 챔피언십(총상금 400만 달러)에 출전한다. Kim has been in top form. At the Fortinet Founders Cup, held March 20-23, she finished at 16-under 272 to edge Nelly Korda of the United States by one stroke for her eighth career LPGA title. She followed that by winning April 1, 2026
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  Toss Bank Confirms CEO Lee Eun-mi for Second Term Through March 2028 Toss Bank said Tuesday it approved the reappointment of CEO Lee Eun-mi as originally proposed, after holding its sixth annual shareholders meeting and a board meeting Monday at its headquarters on Teheran-ro in Seoul’s Gangnam district. Her term will run through March 31, 2028. Lee took office in March 2024 and has focused on strengthening the fundamentals so the startup bank can continue what it calls “sustainable innovation.” The bank said she has built a sustainable management base arou April 1, 2026
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  Tiger Woods Says He Will Step Away From Golf After DUI Arrest Tiger Woods, the American golfer known as the "golf emperor," said he will suspend his activities and focus on treatment after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and later released on bail. In a message posted to social media on April 1 (Korean time), Woods said he understood "the seriousness" of his situation and would step away for a while to receive treatment and focus on recovering his health. He said he would take enough time to return "hea April 1, 2026
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  Samsung Biologics Completes Purchase of Rockville Biologics Plant From GSK Samsung Biologics said it has completed its acquisition of a manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland, adding 60,000 liters of production capacity. The company said Tuesday it finalized the purchase of the biopharmaceutical plant from GlaxoSmithKline on March 31 (local time), about three months after signing the deal in December. The buyer was its U.S. subsidiary, Samsung Biologics America. The Rockville site is a 60,000-liter drug substance (DS) plant made up of two manufacturing April 1, 2026
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  Lotte Biologics Signs CDMO Deal With U.S. Cancer Biotech for Antibody Drug Substance Lotte Biologics said Wednesday it has signed a contract manufacturing and development (CDMO) agreement with a U.S.-based biotech company specializing in cancer to produce antibody drug substance and develop related processes. Under the deal, Lotte Biologics will produce antibody samples needed for global late-stage clinical trials and optimize large-scale processes, supported by its Syracuse Bio Campus in New York. The company said the project is designed with follow-on clinical work a April 1, 2026
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  HYBE Adds Isaac Lee and Kevin Mayer to Board to Boost Global Strategy HYBE has appointed platform and media specialists to its board as it seeks to strengthen expertise for its global business. The company said it held its annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday and appointed Isaac Lee, chairman and CEO of HYBE America, as an inside director, and Kevin Mayer, a former senior vice president at The Walt Disney Co., as an outside nonexecutive director. Lee currently oversees HYBE’s business across the United States and Latin America. HYBE said the appointment April 1, 2026