Journalist
Lee Hugh
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Korean won opens weaker near 1,480 per dollar on prolonged Middle East supply fears The South Korean won opened weaker against the U.S. dollar on worries that energy supply disruptions tied to the Middle East could last longer than expected. As of 9:31 a.m. on April 30, the won was trading at 1,484.6 per dollar. It opened at 1,486.5, up 7.5 won from the previous session’s close. The move was attributed to rising demand for safe-haven assets as ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran remained stalled, fueling concerns over prolonged supply turmoil. Overnight, ICE Futures Europe said June Brent crude settled at $118.03 a barrel, up 6.1% from the prior session. Brent climbed as high as $119.76 intraday, its highest level since June 2022, about four years ago. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, June West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $106.88 a barrel, up 6.95%. U.S. stocks finished mixed as expectations for big tech earnings offset supply concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 280.12 points, or 0.57%, to 48,861.81. The S&P 500 slipped 2.85 points, or 0.04%, to 7,135.95, while the Nasdaq composite rose 9.44 points, or 0.04%, to 24,673.24. Min Kyung-won, an economist at Woori Bank, said the won-dollar rate was likely to rise around 1,490 as higher oil prices and weaker risk appetite follow difficulties in U.S.-Iran negotiations. With WTI above $100 a barrel, he said, oil prices are a direct burden on the won.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:50:28 -
KB Kookmin Bank, SSG.com Launch ‘Ssg KB Bank’ Financial Services in Shopping App KB Kookmin Bank and SSG.com are expanding cooperation by rolling out a “bank in platform” service that lets users access banking within the shopping app. KB Kookmin Bank said on the 30th it launched “Ssg KB Bank,” a comprehensive financial service designed for everyday use. In April last year, the Financial Services Commission designated SSG.com as an innovative financial service, allowing the nonfinancial platform to advertise and broker financial products. With the launch, customers can use KB Kookmin Bank services through SSG.com’s “Bank in Platform” financial section without switching to a separate app. The partners also introduced products tailored to shoppers. The “Ssg Money KB Account” offers an interest rate of up to 4.0% a year on balances up to 2 million won. When registered with SSGPAY, it automatically links as a “Ssg KB Money” payment method. Users can pay without separate top-ups and receive an additional 2% SSG Money accrual benefit. The “Ssg KB Shopping Savings” plan applies preferential rates based on shopping performance, offering rates from 2.0% to 5.0% a year before tax. Separate services were prepared for merchants on the platform. In a “merchant-only financial section,” the bank offers the “KB Boss Parking Account,” a demand deposit product, and a savings product. The parking account applies an interest rate of up to 2.5% a year before tax on balances up to 10 million won, while the savings product offers up to 6.0% a year before tax. Consulting services for small business owners are also provided. A KB Kookmin Bank official said the service was designed so customers can use shopping and financial services conveniently on a single platform, adding that the bank will continue expanding financial services that fit naturally into customers’ daily lives.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:44:57 -
South Korea Foreign Ministry Replaces Senior Embassy Posts in Washington The Foreign Ministry on the 29th announced personnel changes affecting its North America line, including the head of its North American Affairs Bureau. In the reshuffle of some mission chiefs and director-general-level posts, the ministry appointed Lee Won-woo, currently a senior official in the North American Affairs Bureau, as the new director-general. Officials said the embassy in Washington is also expected to replace its minister-level economic and public diplomacy posts in the near future. Kim Sun-young, director-general for Bilateral Economic Diplomacy, is expected to take over as minister for economic affairs, and Yoon Ju-seok, director-general for Consular Affairs and Safety, as minister for public diplomacy. Both are expected to assume their posts next month, according to officials. The current officeholders, Ahn Se-ryeong and Kim Hak-jo, are expected to return to Seoul to work at ministry headquarters. The changes drew attention as sensitive issues between South Korea and the United States continue, including limits on sharing information related to North Korea and a dispute involving Coupang. A ministry official said the reshuffle included people who had served for a considerable period and reflected a routine personnel cycle. Some of those affected were appointed under the previous government and, due to fallout from martial law and other factors, had served well beyond typical terms, officials said. Observers said delayed personnel moves were carried out belatedly in this round. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:44:07 -
Survey: More South Korean men say men are socially disadvantaged than say women are A new survey shows South Koreans sharply divided over how gender affects social standing. According to the “2026 Gender Perception Survey” released on the 29th by Korea Research, based on 1,000 adults nationwide ages 18 and older, 23% of men said women are socially disadvantaged — less than one in four. By contrast, 33% of men said men are socially disadvantaged. That was about three times the share of women who agreed with the same statement (11%). Views on whether society favors one gender also shifted. Overall, 34% said South Korea is a good place for women to live, compared with 29% who said it is more favorable to men. The survey said this was the first time perceptions of a women-friendly society exceeded perceptions of a men-friendly one. The gender gap in responses remained wide, especially among younger people, where gender conflict is more visible. Among women ages 18 to 29, 68% described South Korean society as “male-friendly.” Among men in their 40s and younger, more than 40% said society is “female-friendly,” more than 20 percentage points higher than women in the same age groups. Across all respondents, 37% said there is no difference between genders. Korea Research said the results make it difficult to conclude that one gender is overwhelmingly advantaged in society. Overall, the survey suggests that men and women experience and interpret gender realities differently in South Korea, with the divide most pronounced among younger generations.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:43:15 -
Big Tech Stocks Diverge as AI Spending Lifts Alphabet, Amazon and Weighs on Meta Global Big Tech companies broadly posted higher results, but investors reacted differently. Alphabet and Amazon gained on signs of continued cloud and advertising momentum, while Meta’s heavier investment plans drew more attention. According to company announcements on April 29 (local time), Google parent Alphabet reported first-quarter revenue of $109.9 billion, up 22% from a year earlier. Google Cloud revenue rose 63% to $20.0 billion. Shares climbed more than 6% in after-hours trading following the report. Alphabet projected annual capital expenditures of up to $190 billion. Alphabet’s results most clearly highlighted the payoff from AI spending. CEO Sundar Pichai said, “Sales of enterprise AI products became a key driver of cloud growth.” Amazon also reported solid results. First-quarter revenue totaled $181.5 billion. Amazon Web Services revenue increased 28% to $37.6 billion, and advertising revenue rose 24% to $17.2 billion. First-quarter capital expenditures jumped 76% from a year earlier to $44.2 billion. After the company confirmed it would keep its annual investment plan at about $200 billion, the stock rose nearly 4% in after-hours trading. Microsoft extended its growth streak. Quarterly revenue rose 18% from a year earlier to $82.9 billion. Microsoft cloud revenue increased 29% to $54.5 billion, and cloud services revenue including Azure rose 40%. But with Azure growth not far above market expectations and a $190 billion capital spending plan also in focus, the stock weakened in after-hours trading before recovering to around flat. Meta also beat market expectations. First-quarter revenue rose 33% to $56.31 billion, and net profit jumped 61% to $26.77 billion. It forecast second-quarter revenue of $58.0 billion to $61.0 billion. However, after raising its full-year capital expenditure outlook to $125 billion to $145 billion, Meta shares fell more than 6% in after-hours trading.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:42:03 -
South Korea’s Content Industry Revenue Hits 161 Trillion Won in 2025, Up 2.6% South Korea’s content industry posted 161 trillion won in revenue last year, with growth led by music, knowledge information, comics and animation. According to the “2025 Q4 and Annual Content Industry Trends Analysis Report” published on the 30th by the Korea Creative Content Agency, 2025 annual revenue for the domestic content industry rose 2.6% from a year earlier to 161.4839 trillion won. By genre, music grew 15.8%, knowledge information 7.8%, comics 7.4% and animation 6.8%, the report said. The report analyzed 11 content genres, combining business surveys, management data from listed companies and basic industry statistics to outline changes in revenue, exports and employment. Exports in 2025 climbed 5.9% from the previous year to $14.90582 billion. Music (32.4%), film (19.9%) and character content (12.8%) led the increase. The music sector recorded strong growth on expanded overseas performances and wider global activity by K-pop artists. Film exports benefited from strong results for highly anticipated releases, while character content gained from rising overseas demand for Korean characters. By contrast, content solutions (down 10.3%), animation (down 7.6%) and publishing (down 3.1%) declined amid slower conditions in some overseas markets. Content companies also reported broad use of generative artificial intelligence. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the adoption rate was 32.1%, meaning about one in three companies used the technology. Among 810 adopters, 66.2% introduced it in some departments, while 33.8% deployed it companywide. By sector, adoption was highest in games (70.0%), followed by animation (51.6%), advertising (40.9%), knowledge information (33.7%), and broadcasting and video (31.9%). The most common use was content production (62.7%), followed by business planning (43.7%) and content creation (32.8%). Among companies that had not adopted generative AI, 16.6% said they plan to do so, suggesting further expansion. The report also covers genre-by-genre trends, listed-company performance, business sentiment among content firms and the broader macroeconomic environment. It is available on the agency’s website. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:41:07 -
Doosan Robotics shares jump 14% on expectations of Nvidia collaboration Doosan Robotics surged more than 14% in early trading on Thursday as investors bet on potential cooperation with Nvidia. According to the Korea Exchange, shares of Doosan Robotics were trading at 116,600 won as of 9:15 a.m., up 14,400 won, or 14.09%, from the previous session. The rally appeared to be driven by news that Madison Huang, senior director of product marketing for Omniverse · Robotics and the eldest daughter of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, visited Doosan Robotics’ Innovation Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, the previous day. The two sides discussed technology cooperation in so-called physical artificial intelligence. Madison Huang met with Doosan Robotics CEO Kim Min-pyo to explore ways to integrate Nvidia’s AI and robotics ecosystem into intelligent robot solutions and the development of industrial humanoids. They also discussed linking Doosan Robotics’ robot execution software under development, the ‘agentic robot operating system,’ with Nvidia’s AI and robotics simulation and training infrastructure. The companies said they plan to pursue a robot execution platform that can be deployed at industrial sites. Doosan Robotics said its agentic robot operating system is designed to let AI recognize work environments, optimize movement paths and support precise tasks. The company is working to advance the system by building robot-AI interfaces, developing standard robot-control protocols, connecting specialized task models and applying technical guardrails for safety control. The company plans to roll out intelligent robot solutions using the agentic robot operating system in 2027, followed by an industrial humanoid product in 2028. It is also considering unveiling collaboration results with Nvidia at major exhibitions, including CES in 2027. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:37:42 -
Bank of Korea Warns of Rising Uncertainty in Fed Policy Path, Vows Timely Response The Bank of Korea said uncertainty over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path has increased, prompting closer monitoring of financial markets. The central bank held a “market situation review meeting” on Thursday morning chaired by Senior Deputy Gov. Yoo Sang-dae to assess the latest Federal Open Market Committee outcome and developments tied to the Middle East war. “After last night’s FOMC meeting, views within the Fed were sharply divided, and inflation driven by higher oil prices was emphasized, further increasing uncertainty over the U.S. monetary policy path after the next Fed chair takes office,” Yoo said. He added that concerns are growing the Middle East war could be prolonged as U.S.-Iran talks face difficulties. “We will closely monitor how domestic and external risk factors develop and their impact on finance and the economy, and respond in a timely manner if necessary,” he said. The Fed said in a statement on April 29 (local time) that it decided, as markets expected, to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%. Eight members supported the decision and four dissented, the statement said. The Fed raised its assessment of inflation and said uncertainty around the economic outlook had increased due to the Middle East situation. Chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference that signs of labor-market stabilization are spreading, but warned that inflation pressures have risen in the near term due to higher energy prices. In international financial markets, oil prices surged on concerns about the possibility of a prolonged U.S. blockade at sea against Iran. With the FOMC outcome viewed as hawkish, U.S. Treasury yields rose sharply and the dollar strengthened.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:36:47 -
Actor Kim Jeong-tae Says He Had Liver Cancer Surgery, With 30% of Liver Removed Actor Kim Jeong-tae has disclosed that he underwent surgery for liver cancer. On a TV Chosun episode of "Dad and Me" that aired on the 29th, Kim was shown visiting a university hospital. "Liver problems run in my family, so I had liver cancer surgery," Kim said. He said the illness developed around October 2018 and that he had surgery in November. He said he was filming a drama at the time but felt something was wrong and took a blood test. "Normal liver numbers are between 30 and 40, but mine were over 900," he said, adding that he turned pale. Kim said the operation was difficult. He said it was expected to take three hours but lasted nearly eight, and that family members outside were distraught, recalling that his mother-in-law lay down on the floor in shock. Kim's wife said he appeared to have had about 30% of his liver removed. She said the tumor's location was "too bad," and that he stopped all work to focus on recovery. She also said he is a hepatitis B carrier through his mother's side of the family and that there is no cure. "He always has the virus that can cause liver cancer, so it's not an illness that can be completely cured," she said, adding that he is being monitored to prevent it from worsening. The attending doctor also urged regular follow-up, saying there is no way to prevent it and that it is best not to go more than six months between tests.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:35:58 -
South Korea’s Kospi Extends Gains, Briefly Tops 6,750 Ahead of Holiday South Korea’s Kospi extended its advance on April 30, briefly topping the 6,750 level ahead of a holiday. As of 9:05 a.m., the Kospi was up 51.16 points, or 0.76%, at 6,742.06, according to the Korea Exchange. It opened up 48.49 points, or 0.72%, at 6,739.39 and climbed as high as 6,750 during early trading. Overnight, U.S. stocks finished mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.57% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.04%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.04%. Oil prices jumped. ICE June Brent crude rose 6.1% to $118.03 a barrel and touched $119.76 intraday, the highest since June 2022. NYMEX June WTI surged 6.95% to $106.88 a barrel. Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said U.S. stocks opened lower after oil spiked, with WTI moving above $107 a barrel, following comments by President Donald Trump that he would not lift a maritime blockade against Iran. He said semiconductor companies showed resilience after earnings reports, but the impact was limited as investors waited for results from major technology firms. In the Kospi market, foreigners were net buyers of 379.6 billion won, while individuals and institutions sold a net 184.1 billion won and 191.4 billion won, respectively. Among heavyweight shares, Samsung Electronics rose 1.55%, SK hynix gained 2.09%, Hyundai Motor added 0.27%, SK Square climbed 3.01%, Hanwha Aerospace rose 0.21% and Samsung Biologics advanced 0.41%. LG Energy Solution fell 1.48%, Doosan Enerbility slipped 0.77% and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries lost 0.43%. The Kosdaq was down 0.54 point, or 0.04%, at 1,219.72. It opened at 1,224.75 but gave up gains and turned lower. On the Kosdaq, individuals bought a net 266.6 billion won, while foreigners and institutions sold a net 178.3 billion won and 57.2 billion won, respectively. Rainbow Robotics rose 3.16% and Lino Industrial gained 4.01%. EcoPro fell 1.19%, EcoPro BM slipped 0.47%, Alteogen lost 1.18%, Samchundang Pharm dropped 3.16%, Kolon TissueGene fell 2.51%, HLB slipped 0.63%, ABL Bio lost 2.23% and LigaChem Biosciences fell 2.11%. Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said local stocks were likely to see a split market between semiconductors and other sectors as investors weigh mixed factors, including the burden of higher oil prices, an April Federal Open Market Committee decision that held rates steady with a hawkish tone, after-hours strength in hyperscaler shares and a roughly 16% after-hours jump in Qualcomm.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 09:34:34