Journalist
Lee Hugh
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Hana Financial’s ‘Hana Universe’ Tops 23 Million YouTube Views With Star Cast Hana Financial Group said its brand content series “Hana Universe,” released to mark the group’s 20th anniversary, has surpassed 23 million cumulative views on YouTube. The big-budget project, which brings together top names from film, sports and music, is drawing attention as a new approach to brand marketing in the financial sector. According to the financial industry on Monday, the main “Hana Universe” video posted April 10 on Hana Financial’s official YouTube channel, HanaTV, had nearly 13 million views as of 2 p.m. that day (12.96 million). Combined with the teaser and trailer (7.62 million), brand film (2.40 million) and production presentation (620,000), related videos totaled 23.60 million views. Short-form clips are also drawing hundreds of thousands of views each. “Hana Universe” departs from a standard ad format, presenting a nine-minute short film set inside an airplane cabin and built around director Ha Jung-woo’s comedic style. It features the group’s advertising models, including singer G-Dragon and Lim Young-woong, along with soccer player Son Heung-min, TV personality Kang Ho-dong and Ahn Yu-jin of IVE. Through a series of episodes, the film highlights key products and services, including the Hana Nara Sarang Card, Hana Gold Trust, Hana Pension Doctor, Hana The Next and Travelog. With a cast rarely seen in financial advertising and a movie-style storyline, the video spread quickly across online communities and social media after its release. Re-edited versions, including YouTube Shorts, have helped sustain word-of-mouth interest. Industry watchers say Hana Financial is shifting away from TV-centered advertising and putting more emphasis on digital content to build brand familiarity. Last year, it tested the mix of entertainment-style content and star marketing through “Hanappunin Mureupak Baksa,” hosted by Kang and featuring G-Dragon and Son. “Financial advertising used to focus on conveying trust and stability, but it is evolving into a way for people to experience brands through entertainment and buzz,” a financial industry official said. “After this success, competition in financial-sector content marketing is likely to intensify.” 2026-04-28 15:11:29 -
The young are not resting, but unfound: Job fair in Seoul SEOUL, April 28 (AJP)-The so-called "resting" young people under 30 numbered 402,000, and the unemployment rate of the young cohort hit 7.4 percent as of March even as the overall employment rate neared 70 percent in South Korea. The spring has failed to arrive for the young jobseekers. The government and business groups opened the 2026 Korea Win-Win Job Fair at aT Center in southern Seoul on Tuesday, hoping to provide some reprieve. The two-day event is hosted Ministry of Employment and Labor and business organizations including the Korea Enterprises Federation, the fair was organized as a follow-up measure to the Youth Jobs First Step Initiative announced in December last year. About 700 companies are taking part online and offline, including major conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group and LG Group, as well as mid-sized firms, small businesses, startups and foreign companies. More than 2,200 jobs are being offered. Candidates move booth to booth, repeating the same introduction, adjusting tone, refining answers — in real time. The effort is constant. The outcome uncertain. “Resting” suggests choice. What fills this hall suggests persistence. They are not outside the labor market. They are circling its edges. If the doorway narrows, the queue lengthens. If the queue lengthens, the pause grows. Folders go back into bags. Phones come out — checking, refreshing, waiting. They will apply again. They will return again. Spring, for them, is not here yet. 2026-04-28 15:11:11 -
Jipyeong, Criminal Procedure Law Society Hold Seminar on Attorney-Client Privilege and Corporate Legal Strategy Jipyeong Law Firm and the Korean Association of Criminal Procedure Law said April 28 they held an online and in-person seminar the previous day on corporate legal strategy in the “ACP era,” covering responses to investigations and global best practices. On Jan. 29, 2026, a revision to the Attorney-at-Law Act aimed at institutionally protecting confidential communications between lawyers and clients passed the National Assembly plenary session. It is set to take effect Feb. 20, 2027. The change is expected to codify attorney-client privilege, or ACP (Attorney-Client Privilege), which had previously been recognized only in limited circumstances through lower-court rulings. The organizers said the seminar was designed to review legal and practical issues tied to ACP’s introduction and to consider corporate response strategies. The program opened with remarks by Lim Seong-taek, managing partner at Jipyeong, and a congratulatory address by Lee Geun-woo, president of the association, followed by three presentations and a panel discussion. In the first session, Jang Pum, a partner at Jipyeong, spoke on preparations for ACP, reviewing shifts reflected in recent court decisions and outlining key requirements for privilege to be recognized. In the second, Park Seung-dae, also a Jipyeong partner, discussed response strategies for investigative and oversight agencies, offering approaches for handling disputes over whether materials qualify for ACP protection. In the third, Kim Jin-hee, a senior foreign attorney at Jipyeong, presented on overseas examples and best practices, stressing the need for Korean companies to build global-standard practices for documents, investigations and the use of AI on the premise that ACP applies. The panel discussion was moderated by Lee Sang-won, professor emeritus at Seoul National University, with participants including Lee Geun-woo, a professor at Gachon University; Park Jun-yeon, an attorney at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer; and Kim Ga-yeon, an executive at X (formerly Twitter) Korea. “An important task is to use ACP as an opportunity to advance corporate compliance management and risk-control systems and, through that, strengthen competitiveness,” Lim said. He added that Jipyeong will continue providing practical advice so companies can respond proactively to ACP legislation, including by refining internal standards and building systems to respond to investigations and probes. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 15:07:17 -
South Korea Assembly Passes Election Law to Add 3 Incheon District Council Seats Ruling and opposition parties on the 28th approved revisions to the Public Official Election Act to adjust the number of basic local council members in Incheon ahead of an administrative system overhaul. Under the bill, Incheon’s total will increase by three seats, to 128 from 125. The National Assembly passed the measure at an afternoon plenary session, revising the number of basic local council seats for the June 3 local elections. Of 246 lawmakers present, 234 voted in favor and 12 abstained. Rep. Bae Jun-young of the People Power Party, explaining the proposal, said the administrative overhaul set to take effect in July revealed that some districts would lose seats under current constituency lines. He said the outcome failed to reflect population growth and changes from the reorganization. Bae said the Assembly’s special committee on political reform concluded additional seats were needed to ensure resident representation and equal voting value. He said the plan would also raise the nationwide total number of district and county council members from 3,003 to 3,006. The bill is a follow-up to a version introduced and processed at a plenary session on the 18th, after lawmakers argued the earlier draft did not fully reflect the administrative overhaul that adds Yeongjong-gu in Incheon and that the council-seat count needed adjustment. Also at the plenary session, the People Power Party delivered a floor statement on a motion recommending the dismissal of Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young, after controversy over his remarks mentioning a uranium enrichment facility in North Korea’s Kangsong city. Rep. Kim Geon said Jeong, since those remarks, had continued to make what he called uncoordinated, unilateral statements on diplomacy and security policy, creating discord with the president, the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry and causing friction with ally the United States. Kim criticized Jeong for not issuing an official apology or presenting steps to prevent a recurrence despite what he described as diplomatic risks between South Korea and the United States. Kim said Jeong had publicly referred in the Assembly to a South Korea-U.S. intelligence matter, creating diplomatic and security risks, and that afterward even information sharing on North Korea had been halted, raising concerns about alliance trust and security coordination. He said Jeong was shifting blame outward rather than offering an apology and prevention measures. Kim urged that the dismissal motion not be treated lightly and called for a plenary session vote, saying, “There is no ruling or opposition party when it comes to national security.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 15:06:07 -
Korea Financial Investment Association Launches Mandatory Online Course for Single-Stock Leveraged, Inverse Products The Korea Financial Investment Association has created a mandatory pre-trade education course for investors seeking to trade single-stock leveraged and inverse exchange-listed products, strengthening investor protections for high-risk instruments. The association’s Financial Investment Education Institute said on the 28th that it opened an online course titled “Pre-Trade Education for Single-Stock Leveraged and Inverse Exchange-Listed Product Trading.” The requirement was introduced ahead of the May 22 launch of single-stock leveraged (±2x) products based on leading South Korean shares. Completion is required for anyone who wants to invest in single-stock leveraged or inverse products. Investors must register the completion number issued after finishing the course in their brokerage system before they can place trades. The curriculum focuses on how leveraged products work and the risks involved, including concepts such as negative compounding effects and leverage. It also includes quizzes and a pre-investment checklist to test understanding. Investors must choose the appropriate course depending on what they plan to trade. A combined program covering single-stock leveraged and inverse products totals two hours (one hour basic plus one hour advanced). Those investing only in single-stock products can take a separate one-hour advanced course. Existing investors in leveraged ETFs and ETNs are also subject to the same pre-trade education requirement. The association said the training will help investors better understand the products and improve their ability to make rational investment decisions. The course has been available since 10 a.m. that day and can be accessed by applying through the Financial Investment Education Institute’s website. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 15:05:17 -
Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol Meets AMCHAM Chief to Discuss Korea’s Global Finance Hub Push Koo Yun-cheol, deputy prime minister and minister of finance and economy, met Monday with James Kim, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, to discuss policy directions for South Korea’s push to become a global financial hub. The meeting at the Government Complex Seoul included Koo and the ministry’s international economic affairs chief. AMCHAM attendees included Jeffrey Jones, chairman of the Future of Korea Partnership Foundation, among others. Kim said that as Singapore and Hong Kong strengthen their competitiveness as financial centers, South Korea also needs to bolster the competitiveness of its financial industry to further expand the foundation for attracting global investment. He said he hopes to work closely with the ministry to strengthen market competitiveness and improve the investment environment. Kim also presented Koo with AMCHAM’s recently published report, “Strategy for Advancing Korea as a Financial Hub.” The report includes recommendations for South Korea’s bid to become a global financial hub, including creating a regulatory environment aligned with global standards and building a predictable supervisory system to help expand investment by global companies. Koo said the report contains a range of policy recommendations to strengthen the competitiveness of South Korea’s financial industry and would be a useful reference. He said the government is continuing efforts to advance capital markets, improve the structure of the foreign exchange market and innovate financial regulation. “The Korean government is making an all-out effort to position the capital market as a core platform for economic growth and to modernize it in line with global standards,” Koo said. He added that the government will steadily carry out tasks in the previously announced MSCI roadmap so South Korea’s capital market can be recognized with a fair “Korea premium.” Koo said the government will closely consult with relevant agencies on views raised during the meeting and actively reflect needed items in future institutional improvements. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 15:04:28 -
South Korea, Singapore Launch Talks to Upgrade FTA, Focus on Supply Chains The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said April 28 that South Korea and Singapore have launched negotiations to upgrade their free trade agreement, prompted by Trade Minister Yeo Han-ku’s visit to Singapore. The ministry said the two countries’ chief negotiators signed negotiating rules in the presence of Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and Yeo. The signing followed a March summit agreement to begin talks on improving the FTA. After the signing, South Korea held the first round of negotiations with relevant ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Talks were conducted in four working groups: supply chains, the green economy, aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, and trade facilitation. Yeo also held a series of meetings with Gan; Tan See Leng, minister in charge of digital, supply chain and energy; and Grace Fu, minister in charge of World Trade Organization and multilateral trade issues. The ministry said they discussed ways to speed up upgrade talks on the Korea-ASEAN FTA and the Korea-Singapore FTA, strengthen the foundation for economic cooperation with New Southern Policy countries, and bolster minilateral cooperation. Separately, Yeo met in relay talks with energy trading firms and commodity information and analysis organizations alongside Rep. Lee Eon-ju, chair of the Korea-Singapore parliamentary friendship association and a lawmaker from the Democratic Party. The ministry said meetings with Vitol, Trafigura and S&P Global were used to share outlooks for global energy markets and explore response options. Yeo also held a meeting with South Korea’s four refiners operating locally to review crude oil and naphtha supply and demand conditions and hear difficulties faced by companies. The ministry said Yeo carried out outreach to expand Singapore investment in South Korea’s advanced industries and broaden exports of Korean consumer goods. He visited Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek and stressed the need for sustained investment cooperation. He also met with Shopee, Southeast Asia’s largest e-commerce company, to discuss a dedicated section for Korean products, as well as cooperation on certification and logistics to help South Korean small and medium-sized companies expand in Southeast Asia. Yeo visited the Hyundai Motor Group Singapore Global Innovation Center, described as Singapore’s advanced manufacturing innovation hub, and PSA, a global port operator, to review on-site artificial intelligence for next-generation manufacturing and the status of logistics automation technology. “Following up on the March summit, we launched FTA upgrade talks and discussed key economic cooperation issues including supply chain stabilization, investment attraction and boosting cross-border online shopping,” Yeo said. “We will work to ensure this visit leads to tangible outcomes that help our companies.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 15:03:21 -
Songwon Industrial Shares Jump to 52-Week High After Q1 Preliminary Results Songwon Industrial shares surged after the company released preliminary first-quarter results, hitting a new 52-week high. As of 2:40 p.m., the stock was trading at 14,270 won, up 3,070 won (27.41%) from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. Shares jumped after the results were disclosed at 12:55 p.m., and rose as high as 14,560 won during the session, marking a 52-week high. On a consolidated basis, Songwon Industrial posted preliminary net profit of 18.091 billion won for the first quarter, up 272.5% from a year earlier. It swung to profit from a net loss of 2.736 billion won in the fourth quarter of last year. Operating profit came to 26.558 billion won, up 142.8% from a year earlier. Songwon Industrial supplies additives and raw materials to manufacturers in petrochemicals and PVC processing, synthetic leather and coatings. About 85% of its revenue comes from overseas markets, including Europe and North and South America. The company previously attributed last year’s weak performance to worsening market conditions, saying “continued demand slowdown, ongoing margin pressure in key regions, and exchange-rate fluctuations negatively affected results across business divisions.” It added that in the fourth quarter, “oversupply in the market, weakened consumer sentiment, and intensified price competition compounded the difficulties.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 14:58:04 -
Seoul court cancels most of Netflix Korea’s corporate tax bill, citing lack of clear tax avoidance Netflix won a sweeping victory in a first-round court fight with South Korea’s tax authorities over corporate taxes. The Seoul Administrative Court’s Administrative Division 6, led by Presiding Judge Na Jin-i, ruled on Monday that 68.7 billion won of the roughly 76.2 billion won in corporate tax assessed against Netflix Services Korea should be canceled. The decision effectively found about 90% of the assessment legally unjustified. The dispute centered on large payments Netflix Services Korea made to a Netherlands-based affiliate, Netflix International B.V. (NIBV). In a 2021 tax audit, the National Tax Service said it found Netflix had sent more than 80% of its revenue earned in South Korea to its overseas headquarters as management advisory fees and content usage fees. The agency viewed that as tax avoidance that shifted domestic income abroad and reduced reported profit. Tax authorities argued Netflix Services Korea effectively exercised content copyrights, making the payments royalties subject to withholding tax. The court disagreed. It said core functions such as storing and transmitting content to South Korean consumers are carried out through a service architecture managed by NIBV. Netflix Services Korea, the court said, performs only ancillary work such as platform operations and marketing, making it difficult to view the Korean unit as the entity that directly uses copyrights to generate revenue. Based on that, the court classified the payments not as copyright royalties but as business income paid for streaming services provided by the overseas entity. Under the Korea-Netherlands tax treaty, the court noted, South Korea cannot tax such business income unless the foreign company has a fixed place of business in the country. The court also cited Netflix’s revenue-sharing structure. Netflix Services Korea is guaranteed a set operating profit margin after costs are deducted from subscription revenue, and it remits the remaining amount to headquarters. If the Korean unit posts a loss, headquarters may cover it. While tax authorities saw that structure as a way to artificially lower profits in South Korea, the court said the pricing method supports the view that the plaintiff does not independently use copyrights. The court added that even if the overseas entity had provided services directly to South Korean consumers without an intermediary, the income would still be business income outside South Korea’s taxing rights. It said it was hard to conclude that placing Netflix Services Korea in the middle was a tax-avoidance scheme designed to circumvent domestic law. Netflix did not win on every point. The court upheld corporate tax tied to Netflix’s OCA (its own cache servers) installed on domestic internet service provider networks. Netflix argued in earlier hearings that it bought the OCA equipment and transferred it to ISPs free of charge, so it should be treated as a consumable expense. The court found, however, that the OCA is used solely to provide Netflix services smoothly and remains an asset over which Netflix exercises practical control. It concluded that taxing the portion treated as an expense rather than booked as an asset was lawful. The ruling is expected to slow the tax agency’s efforts to tighten enforcement on global big tech companies. The article said Netflix generates revenue in the hundreds of billions of won in South Korea while paying corporate tax of only about 0.2% of sales, in the 3 billion won range, and that imbalance is likely to persist for now. Tax authorities said they will review the written decision closely before deciding whether to appeal. The court also expressed concern about limits in the current legal framework. In its decision, it wrote that even if low domestically realized income produces an unreasonable outcome, the issue should be addressed through arm’s-length adjustments under transfer pricing rules or through legislation. The ruling could affect tax litigation involving other global IT companies such as Google and Apple. With debate in the National Assembly active over introducing a digital tax often called a “Google tax,” civic groups are expected to keep pressing for legislative changes that redefine the concept of a fixed place of business for the digital environment.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 14:57:09 -
550,000 Apply on Day 1 for First Round of High Fuel Price Relief; 316 Billion Won Paid About 550,000 people applied on the first day of applications for the first round of the government’s “high fuel price relief payment,” with 316 billion won paid out, officials said. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said April 28 that applications opened at 9 a.m. the previous day and totaled 552,900 as of midnight. That equals 17.1% of the 3,227,785 people eligible for the first round. By method, 198,572 applicants chose credit or debit cards. For local gift certificates, 92,739 applied via mobile and 31,763 for paper vouchers. Another 229,826 applied for prepaid cards. In July last year, credit and debit cards accounted for 76% of applications on the first day of the first round of “livelihood recovery” consumption coupons. The first-day application rate for those coupons was lower, at 13.8%. By region, Seoul recorded the most applicants with 86,418, followed by Gyeonggi with 86,368. Next were Busan (50,173), South Jeolla (45,550), South Gyeongsang (41,179), North Jeolla (39,537), North Gyeongsang (35,924) and Incheon (29,992). The relief payment was created to ease household burdens that have grown with higher oil prices and inflation tied to the war in the Middle East. Payments vary by income level and place of residence, with additional support for non-capital areas and regions facing population decline. The first round is being issued first to basic livelihood recipients, near-poverty households and single-parent families. Basic livelihood recipients receive 550,000 won, while near-poverty households and single-parent families receive 450,000 won. Residents in non-capital areas and population-decline regions receive an additional 50,000 won each. To reduce congestion in the first week, applications follow a day-of-week schedule based on the last digit of an applicant’s birth year. Those ending in 1 or 6 applied April 27; 2 or 7 on April 28; 3 or 8 on April 29; and 4 or 9 and 5 or 0 on April 30. The schedule will be lifted afterward. Vulnerable people who miss the first-round window (April 27 to May 8) can apply during the second-round payment period (May 18 to July 3), which covers 70% of the population. The relief payment must be used by Aug. 31, and any unused amount will expire.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 14:51:19