Journalist
Lee Hugh
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Democratic Party’s Cheon Jun-ho Vows to Pursue Probe Into Alleged Prosecutorial Abuse Cheon Jun-ho, acting floor leader of South Korea’s Democratic Party, said April 28 that his party will “dig to the end” into what it calls state violence uncovered through a National Assembly special committee investigating allegations of politically motivated, fabricated indictments under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. He also criticized the People Power Party’s decision to nominate Rep. Choo Kyung-ho as its Daegu mayoral candidate as a “Yoon-again nomination.” Speaking at a Democratic Party floor leadership meeting at the National Assembly, Cheon said the committee’s work was nearing its final stage and that the probe had revealed “the reality of state violence” by what he called the “Yoon Suk Yeol prosecution-led administration.” He said signs of fabrication were found without exception in cases including the Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea, Daejang-dong, the Wirye new town development, the killing of a South Korean public official in the West Sea, and alleged statistics manipulation. Cheon said “fabricated indictments, sentence deals and manipulated recordings” were used for media campaigns that affected even the last presidential election. He said the Democratic Party would pursue accountability for what he described as abuses of state power to eliminate political opponents, adding that such acts trampled the Constitution and human rights. Cheon also pointed to the People Power Party’s April 26 nomination of Choo for the June 3 local elections, calling it “a clear Yoon-again nomination.” He said Choo is a defendant on trial on charges of playing an important role in an insurrection and is accused of obstructing a vote to lift martial law at the time. Cheon said the nomination made the People Power Party’s character clear and urged it to stop what he called “Yoon-again nominations.” He added that South Korea would overcome insurrection and move forward.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 10:15:18 -
Patriots Ministry Standardizes Gen. Hong Beom-do’s Birthplace and Birth Date as Pyongyang, Aug. 27, 1868 Different government and related institutions have used varying information for Gen. Hong Beom-do’s birthplace and birth date, but those details have now been standardized. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, led by Minister Kwon O-eul, said on 28 it will unify Hong’s birthplace and birth date based on expert advice and consultations with relevant organizations and will notify related institutions of the updated information. The ministry said there have been no definitive records such as a family register transcript or court ruling. After South Korea established diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union and its constituent republics in 1990 and new materials such as Hong’s diary and survey forms became known, institutions began using slightly different entries. After consulting historians, gathering views from the Hong Beom-do Memorial Foundation and the War Memorial of Korea, and coordinating with the Independence Hall of Korea and the National Memorial Museum of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, the ministry concluded it is most reliable and reasonable to list Hong’s birthplace as Pyongyang, South Pyongan Province, and his birth date as Aug. 27, 1868. The ministry said it will share the findings with related bodies, including the Defense Ministry and the Korea Military Academy, as well as the War Memorial of Korea and the Independence Hall of Korea, and guide them on making corrections. Kwon said correcting records related to Hong “clarifies historical facts and, at the same time, sets right the basic national respect owed to an independence hero.” He added that the government will continue careful verification of records on independence patriots so the public can fully remember their lives and achievements. The ministry also operates the “Gonghun Electronic Archives” to provide information on state honors for independence patriots, their merits and the “Independence Activist of the Month,” and it includes details on Hong’s contributions. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 10:14:26 -
LS Eco Advanced Materials Wins First Robot Winding Supply Deal With Global Parts Maker LS Eco Advanced Materials said April 28 it has won an order to supply robot motor windings to a global robot parts company, marking its first deal in the robotics sector. The company said the contract is its first step in expanding beyond its electric-vehicle-focused portfolio. It plans to begin deliveries this month and supply windings for thousands of actuators through the end of this year. LS Eco Advanced Materials said demand for actuator windings is expected to grow to more than about 1 million units a year by 2030, noting that a single robot can use dozens of actuators. An actuator is a drive system combining a motor, reducer and control unit that converts electrical signals into movement. Windings used in motors are a key component that converts electricity into force and affects output and precision. LS Eco Advanced Materials has supplied EV windings to Hyundai Motor and General Motors, among others, and said it has moved early to secure the market. The product to be supplied is a high-performance winding made with fine wire that the company said can deliver higher output and efficiency in motors of the same size. It said the technology is used in future mobility industries such as robots, EVs and urban air mobility. In South Korea, LS Cable & System first developed the product and has expanded competitiveness after entering a market previously dominated by Japanese and European companies, it said. The company said the expansion is expected to create synergies with LS Eco Energy’s rare-earth metals business. If mass production of rare-earth metals ramps up, it said, the group would be positioned to secure a non-China supply chain for key robot components at the same time. Hong Young-ho, CEO of LS Eco Advanced Materials, said the company will respond to expanded mass production “based on quality tailored to customer needs and stable supply capabilities,” and will “continue to expand global supply, centered on North America.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 10:13:41 -
NH NongHyup Bank Launches First Transition Loan to Back Low-Carbon Upgrades NH NongHyup Bank said Tuesday it has executed its first transition loan, financing environmental improvement investments for companies that need to shift to lower-carbon operations. The bank said the case shows how financial support can help fund equipment investments that improve environmental performance in the real economy. It plans to keep expanding green and transition lending in line with the group’s transition finance strategy. The loan supported funds to install a wastewater treatment facility at a livestock products distribution company in Goseong County, South Gyeongsang Province. The company will use the project to reduce pollution and move to more environmentally friendly facilities. NH NongHyup Bank said the loan was handled as transition lending after a suitability review under Korea’s green taxonomy, known as the K-Taxonomy, aimed at supporting a practical low-carbon shift. The bank has also moved to broaden climate finance, including signing a business agreement Monday with the Korea Technology Finance Corp. on an evaluation project based on the K-Taxonomy. It said it plans to expand support to transition finance and continue strengthening low-carbon transition and ESG-related financial support for companies.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 10:09:16 -
LG 2026 OLED TVs win Carbon Trust carbon footprint certification for sixth straight year LG Electronics said Tuesday that its 2026 TV lineup has received three ESG-related certifications in areas including carbon reduction, reduced plastic use and the use of recycled materials. The company said its 2026 OLED TVs recently earned a “carbon footprint” certification from the U.K.-based nonprofit Carbon Trust. LG said it has received the certification for six consecutive years since 2021. Carbon Trust evaluates a product’s carbon dioxide emissions and environmental impact across its full life cycle, from production and distribution to use and disposal, before granting the certification. It also awards a separate “carbon reduction” certification to products that cut emissions compared with previous models in the same class. LG said its 2026 OLED TV G6 models in 83-, 77- and 65-inch sizes received the carbon reduction certification. LG said all of its new OLED models released this year — W6, G6, C6 and B6 — also earned Intertek’s “resource efficiency” certification, which the company said supports the products’ sustainability claims. To receive the certification, products must pass strict reviews covering material-use efficiency — including design for recycling, reduced hazardous substances and ease of repair — as well as energy efficiency and the use of recycled materials, LG said. LG said OLED TVs require fewer parts than LCD TVs because they do not use a separate backlight. By applying lightweight composite fiber materials, LG said it reduced plastic use to about 40% of that used in major-brand LCD TVs of the same size. The company estimated that, for an equivalent number of units, plastic used to make the new OLED TVs would be about 15,000 tons less than for LCD TVs. LG said its premium LCD TV, Micro RGB Evo, also received the resource efficiency certification, citing its energy-efficient design. Lee Choong-hwan, head of LG Electronics’ Display Business Unit and a vice president, said, “LG OLED TVs will focus not only on outstanding picture quality and convenient AI features, but also on innovation from an ESG perspective, to build a sustainable future together with customers.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 10:05:07 -
South Korea to Issue 200 Billion Won in Retail Treasury Bonds in May The Ministry of Economy and Finance said April 28 it plans to issue 200 billion won ($200 billion won) in retail Treasury bonds in May. By maturity, the ministry will offer 5 billion won each in three-year coupon bonds and three-year compound-interest bonds. It will also supply 50 billion won in five-year bonds, 110 billion won in 10-year bonds and 30 billion won in 20-year bonds. Coupon rates will be based on the winning yields for government bonds of the same maturities sold in April. The three-year bond will carry a 3.450% coupon rate, the five-year 3.530%, the 10-year 3.715% and the 20-year 3.610%. Additional rates will be added to the five-year (0.3 percentage points), 10-year (1.05 percentage points) and 20-year (1.3 percentage points) bonds. No additional rate will be applied to the three-year bond, citing recent rate increases and returns on financial products. If held to maturity, the pretax return is expected to be about 10% for the three-year coupon bond and about 11% for the three-year compound-interest bond, about 21% for the five-year bond, about 59% for the 10-year bond and about 161% for the 20-year bond. Subscriptions will run from May 11 to May 15. Individual investors can apply in person or online through Mirae Asset Securities, the selling agent. The minimum subscription is 100,000 won, and the annual purchase limit is 200 million won per person. If total subscriptions are within the issuance cap, investors will receive full allocations. If subscriptions exceed the cap, up to 3 million won will be allocated equally, with the remaining amount distributed in proportion to subscription size. Allocation results will be provided on the next business day after the subscription period ends. In May, investors will also be able to redeem early retail Treasury bonds issued from June 2024 through April 2025. In that case, they will receive only principal and interest based on the coupon rate applied at purchase, and will not receive compound interest including the additional rate or benefits such as separate taxation on interest income.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 10:04:04 -
LG Sangrok Foundation to Host Three-Generation Family Walk at Hwadam Forest The LG Sangrok Foundation said April 28 it will host a family invitation event next month, themed “Hwadam Forest Walk for Three Generations,” on May 11 to mark Family Month. The foundation said the program is designed to help families spend time together in nature and talk while walking. “Hwadam” is also the pen name of the late Koo Bon-moo, who created the forest. Hwadam Forest has barrier-free deck paths with gentle slopes across the entire route, allowing access for strollers and wheelchairs, the foundation said. A monorail also operates to help visitors reach areas that are harder to walk. Participating families will be able to visit “Hwadamchae,” a cultural complex featuring exhibits on the forest’s nature and philosophy, take family photos with the forest as a backdrop, and attend an hourly “forest concert,” it said. The event will be free for up to 2,500 people from three-generation families who apply through advance reservations. “Hwadam Forest has aimed to be more than a place to view nature — a place where people stay together and communicate in nature,” an LG Sangrok Foundation official said. The official added the foundation hopes the event will give families “from grandparents to grandchildren” time to walk together and build memories.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 10:03:17 -
VietJet Moves to Expand Long-Haul Service, Eyes Europe as It Seeks Multinational Group Status Vietnamese low-cost carrier VietJet is stepping up plans to enter European routes and says it aims to grow into a “multinational aviation group,” moving beyond its short-haul budget roots. Vietnamese media including Cheongnyeon Sinmun reported on April 28 (local time) that South Koreans were the second-largest group of foreign visitors to Vietnam in the first quarter, totaling 1,326,425. VietJet, well known to Korean travelers for low fares, has now outlined a shift in strategy: paying shareholders stock dividends instead of cash and raising large sums externally to open long-haul routes to Europe and the Americas. At its annual shareholders meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on April 24, VietJet approved a 30% stock dividend, corporate bond issuance and a plan to issue new shares worth up to $300 million (about 440 billion won). The package signaled a preference to reinvest rather than distribute cash, and shareholders backed the move. The company pointed to strong results last year. Revenue rose about 13% and pretax profit climbed 41%. VietJet carried 28.2 million passengers, added 22 aircraft and expanded its fleet to 101 planes. It logged more than 150,000 flights for the year, averaging more than 400 a day. VietJet said the funds will go to additional wide-body aircraft, new international routes, expanded maintenance facilities and workforce training. It has already drawn attention at the Paris Air Show by ordering 100 Airbus A321neo jets and 20 long-haul A330neo wide-body aircraft. Its Thailand unit plans to expand routes to 53 next year, and its Kazakhstan unit, long in the red, has turned profitable. VietJet said transaction volume on its in-house payment service, Galaxy Pay, has topped 15 trillion dong (about 840 billion won), and membership has surpassed 2 million. Europe is the centerpiece of the expansion plan. Vice President Jay Lingeswara said at an aviation conference this month that “the market we are watching most is Europe,” and that VietJet will launch one-stop service linking Vietnam to Europe via Kazakhstan. “We have always entered markets others avoid first and grown them — that is our formula,” he said. Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, VietJet’s founder and widely known as Vietnam’s first female billionaire, told the shareholders meeting that VietJet is “not simply a company that carries passengers,” but one that connects “the economy, dreams and the future.” Independent director Philipp Roessler, described in the report as a former German vice chancellor, said VietJet has been preparing for European expansion for a long time. The airline also flagged risks. It said intensified conflict in the Middle East in March pushed jet fuel prices to around $200 a barrel, a major concern for airlines. VietJet said it slightly lowered its targets for this year and will spend only where necessary. For Korean travelers, VietJet Thailand said last year it would gradually expand medium-haul routes toward South Korea, Japan, China and India. That could add options beyond direct flights to Vietnamese resort destinations such as Da Nang and Phu Quoc, including connections via Bangkok. The report noted, however, that frequent delays remain a challenge for VietJet as it expands.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 09:58:15 -
Han Dong-hoon Criticizes Ha Jung-woo’s Possible Busan By-Election Run as ‘Proxy Fight’ Han Dong-hoon, former leader of the People Power Party, criticized Ha Jung-woo, senior presidential secretary for AI future planning, over Ha’s suggestion that he may run in the Busan Buk-gu Gap parliamentary by-election to be held alongside the June 3 local elections. Speaking on BBS Radio’s “Geum Tae-seop’s Morning Journal” on Monday, Han said Ha appeared to be entering the race not by his own decision but to “fight a proxy battle” for President Lee Jae-myung. Han said Ha had stated that he would need President Lee’s permission to run and would not do so without it. Han also accused Ha of neglecting AI policy while weighing a bid for the by-election. “AI is extremely important and we’re in a golden time,” Han said, adding that Ha spent about a month wavering over whether to run and that “AI was pushed to the back burner.” Han added, “He hasn’t done anything for 10 months.” Han said he would use the election to reflect public sentiment, arguing that the People Power Party’s leadership has damaged the party and failed to effectively check the Lee administration. On criticism from Park Min-sik, a former minister of patriots and veterans affairs who has also signaled interest in running in Busan Buk-gu Gap, Han said Park has not been nominated and that he saw no need to respond. Han added that he understood why Park’s remarks were becoming harsher ahead of the election, describing Park as someone who “hurt” the district and left. Asked about the possibility of unifying conservative candidates in what is expected to be a three-way race, Han said such a move was only a dependent variable compared with the broader push to rebuild conservatism and local hopes for development. He said there was no reason for him to propose unification first and that there was no need to cite political calculations.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 09:55:48 -
Hyundai Engineering & Construction Ranks No. 1 Globally in S&P Global ESG Construction Review Hyundai Engineering & Construction said April 28 it ranked No. 1 worldwide in the construction sector in S&P Global’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment, part of the Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index (DJ BIC), announced the previous day. DJ BIC is a revamped version of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. S&P Global selects the top 10% for sustainability among the world’s 2,500 largest companies by market capitalization. The company said it is the only South Korean builder to be included for 16 consecutive years across all index categories—World, Asia Pacific and Korea. It also said it was named to the “Yearbook 2026” Top 10%, S&P Global’s list of leading companies in the assessment. Hyundai Engineering & Construction attributed the result to steps including a management framework for other indirect emissions (Scope 3), building a companywide ESG IT system, strengthening internal sustainability controls, and disclosing information that includes ESG data from subsidiaries. The company said its ESG performance has also been recognized by major rating organizations at home and abroad. It said it has maintained an integrated A rating for eight straight years from the Korea ESG Standards Institute (KCGS), and earned A ratings from MSCI’s ESG assessment and the Carbon Disclosure Project, receiving strong marks across environmental, social and governance areas. Hyundai Engineering & Construction said it plans to further build trust with global investors and stakeholders by accelerating its shift to renewable energy, developing eco-friendly technologies and strengthening ESG management across its supply chain. A company official said the ranking reflects companywide efforts on climate-change response, safety management and transparent governance, adding that the company will work toward carbon neutrality and creating social value as a global construction leader. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-28 09:55:08