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  Korean Banks’ BIS Capital Ratios Edge Down on Bigger Dividends, Weaker Won At the end of last year, South Korean banks’ capital ratios under the Bank for International Settlements framework slipped slightly from the previous quarter, reflecting larger dividends tied to expanded shareholder returns and the impact of a weaker currency. The Financial Supervisory Service said on Monday that banks’ total capital ratio stood at 15.83% at the end of 2025, down 0.09 percentage point from the end of the previous quarter. The common equity Tier 1 ratio was 13.51% and t March 31, 2026
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  Korea to Provide 69 Billion Won in New Loan Guarantees for K-Content Firms Korea Creative Content Agency and the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund said they signed separate financial support agreements on the 30th with NH Bank and Hana Bank to ease funding strains and support growth for K-content companies. The agreements will provide a total of 69 billion won in new guarantees. Under the deals, NH Bank will make a special contribution of 2 billion won. Hana Bank will contribute 700 million won and separately provide 300 million won to support guarantee fees. Based o March 31, 2026
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  BTS’ ‘SWIM’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100, Marking Group’s Seventh Top Spot BTS has taken the top spot on Billboard’s main singles chart, the Hot 100, following its No. 1 showing on the Billboard 200 with its fifth album, “ARIRANG.” Billboard said in a chart preview article on March 30 (local time) that the album’s title track, “SWIM,” rose to No. 1 on the Hot 100, beating Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” and Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need,” among others. It is BTS’ seventh time at No. 1 on the Hot 100. The group first topped the chart in 2020 with “Dynamite,” the fi March 31, 2026
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  National Institute of Korean Language releases six datasets to boost AI Korean understanding The National Institute of Korean Language said on the 31st it has released six language resources on “Everyone’s Corpus” that can be used for artificial intelligence development and language research. The newly released materials include four datasets: an “argumentative writing summary corpus” that summarizes newspaper editorials; a “collaborative dialogue summary corpus” that summarizes conversations; and separate evaluation corpora for each set of summaries. The institute also released March 31, 2026
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  BTS’ ‘SWIM’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 as ‘ARIRANG’ Tops Billboard 200 BTS swept Billboard’s two main charts, with its fifth full-length album, ‘ARIRANG,’ reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and its title track, ‘SWIM,’ debuting atop the Hot 100. Billboard said in a chart preview posted on its website on March 31 that ‘SWIM’ is No. 1 on the April 4-dated Hot 100. It is the group’s seventh Hot 100 leader, following ‘Dynamite,’ ‘Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat) (BTS Remix),’ ‘Life Goes On,’ ‘Butter,’ ‘Permission to Dance’ and ‘My Universe.’ Billboard said ‘SW March 31, 2026
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  Hana Bank Partners With Public Delivery App Meokkabi, Plans Card and Low-Rate Loans Hana Bank is entering the food delivery app market through a partnership with the public delivery app Meokkabi. According to the financial industry on the 30th, Hana Bank signed a strategic alliance with Meokkabi and agreed to pursue joint projects. Meokkabi promotes what it calls the industry’s lowest commission rate, about 1.5%. It charges no advertising, exposure or fixed fees. Some delivery apps charge brokerage commissions of about 9% to 10% and add advertising fees. Rather than op March 30, 2026
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  GC Pharma Earns MSCI ESG Rating Upgrade to AA for Third Straight Year GC Pharma said Monday it received an "AA" rating in the latest environmental, social and governance assessment released by Morgan Stanley Capital International, or MSCI. MSCI has evaluated key ESG issues for about 8,500 listed companies worldwide each year since 1999, assigning ratings on a seven-step scale from AAA to CCC. In this year’s review, GC Pharma was rated above industry peers in environmental impact management, corporate ethics, and product quality and safety management, lifti March 30, 2026
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  Korea University Medical Center Plans 700-Bed AI-Driven Hospital in Dongtan by 2035 “Once a patient is admitted, artificial intelligence immediately matches and assigns a room and medical staff.” That is the vision Korea University Medical Center laid out for its planned “Dongtan Fourth Korea University Hospital,” which it aims to open in 2035. The center said the new facility will build on strengths of its hospitals in Anam, Guro and Ansan while moving beyond limits in integration and expansion, creating a new model: a smart, future hospital powered by autonomous AI. March 30, 2026
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  Callaway Golf Korea Launches X Forged 26 Irons and Wedges Callaway Golf Korea said Monday it is officially launching its X Forged 26 (X Forged 26) iron and wedge lineup in South Korea, aiming to boost the performance of traditional forged clubs through new materials and refined design. The company said the new lineup targets skilled golfers seeking improved feel, control and consistency. The X Forged 26 irons are Callaway’s first irons made with S15C forged mild steel. Callaway said the lower carbon content compared with the S20C used in the X F March 30, 2026
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  Netflix’s April Lineup: 7 New Releases From “Bloodhounds 2” to “Man on Fire” Netflix is expanding its April lineup with seven releases, led by returning series, a franchise spinoff and new genre titles. Early in the month brings a light romance and a Korean action series, followed midmonth by the return of an Emmy-winning show. The back half includes an animated “Stranger Things” spinoff, Netflix’s first Korean YA horror series, a star-driven survival thriller and an action-thriller series to close the month. First up is “XO, Kitty” Season 3, arriving April 2. Th March 30, 2026