Journalist
Lee Hugh
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Samsung Electro-Mechanics Ends 11-Session Rally, Falls 5% on Profit-Taking Samsung Electro-Mechanics ended an 11-session winning streak and turned lower, as investors locked in gains after a sharp run-up, analysts said. As of 2:29 p.m., the stock was down 44,000 won, or 5.42%, at 768,000 won, according to the Korea Exchange. The shares had risen for 11 straight sessions from April 8 through April 22, surging from 514,000 won to 812,000 won and setting fresh record highs along the way. The rally reflected expectations that demand for electronic components would improve as artificial intelligence use spreads. Investors also focused on anticipated growth in demand for package substrates used in AI servers and multilayer ceramic capacitors, or MLCCs. Brokerages have also raised their price targets. Daishin Securities lifted its target to 920,000 won, citing expectations for an industry upturn. It forecast structurally tight MLCC supply and expanding demand led by AI and automotive electronics. The shift is expected to support broader profitability gains. The company is seen maintaining high utilization in its FC-BGA and MLCC businesses while improving its product mix by increasing the share of higher value-added products. Some in the market expect results to come in above existing forecasts. From the second quarter of 2026, operating profit is expected to top the market consensus in an earnings surprise. While the stock has jumped 66.2% over the past month, adding to near-term 부담, analysts said the pace of earnings improvement suggests further upside may still be possible. Still, the heavy short-term gains appeared to spur profit-taking on the day, pushing the shares lower.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:42:17 -
South Korea Adds 50 Billion Won to Expand Farm Product Discounts, Including Melons and Tomatoes South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Thursday it will put 50 billion won in supplementary budget funds into a discount program for agricultural and livestock products to counter rising prices driven by high oil prices and a weaker won linked to the war in the Middle East. With the added funding, the program’s total budget will rise to 158 billion won from 108 billion won. The government said it aims to ease household grocery costs while also boosting consumption. It plans to expand discounted items from five — including carrots, cabbage and onions — to nine in May by adding greenhouse-grown vegetables such as Korean melons, tomatoes and bell peppers. Discount support will continue for chicken and eggs, where prices have kept climbing. Separate discount events for Korean beef and pork will be held using industry-funded promotion money. To improve distribution and access, the ministry said it will raise the share of support going to smaller retail channels — including traditional markets, small and midsize supermarkets and local-food direct sales outlets — to 58% from 55%. The ministry also said it will broaden where government-backed farm discount vouchers can be used, expanding beyond traditional markets to include specialty farm-product retailers. The discount rate, however, will be lowered to 20% from 30% to prevent excessive demand from concentrating in a single channel. Suh Jun-han, the ministry’s director general for distribution and consumer policy, said, “In an unstable environment due to the war in the Middle East and other factors, we will further strengthen discount support for agricultural and livestock products so that this supplementary budget can help ease consumers’ burden from rising prices.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:38:19 -
Korea Expressway Corp., ChildFund Korea Launch Run-to-Donate Drive for Caregiving Children Korea Expressway Corp. said Thursday it signed an agreement with ChildFund Korea to run the “2026 Run-to-Donate Challenge” to support children in North Gyeongsang Province who are in caregiving blind spots. Under the deal, the company will raise donations through the campaign, and ChildFund Korea will work to ensure the funds are used transparently for living, education and medical needs for 50 households of children who provide family care. The Run-to-Donate Challenge is a public participation social contribution campaign that links running with giving. Participants can apply through the “Runner PICK! Challenge of the Month” on the running app Runday. The program supports smartwatch syncing, allowing participation without carrying a phone. Donations accrue at 1,000 won per cumulative kilometer, with up to 50 million won raised if the group reaches a 50,000-kilometer goal. “Each person’s steps come together to brighten the world,” said Oh Hun-gyo, head of public relations at Korea Expressway Corp. “We hope the 50,000 kilometers driven by the public becomes a path to health and sharing.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:35:04 -
South Korea, Vietnam Sign MOU to Expand Food and Drug Regulatory Cooperation South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said April 23 it signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam’s Ministry of Health on April 22 (local time) to strengthen cooperation on the safety of food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices. The signing took place with President Lee Jae-myung and Vietnam’s Party chief and state president, To Lam, in attendance, the ministry said. The MOU calls for exchanging information on laws, approvals, technology and supply chains, and for cooperation in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, digital technology and biohealth. It also includes steps to promote access to medical products and regulatory trust, and to hold high-level meetings. MFDS Commissioner Oh Yu-kyoung met with Vietnamese Health Minister Dao Hong Lan and discussed the importance of safety cooperation and specific ways to work together, the ministry said. The MFDS introduced South Korea’s food management systems, including HACCP and its SAFE-i 24 electronic import safety review platform. It also asked Vietnam to designate South Korea as a reference country to speed approvals of Korean pharmaceuticals recognized through the World Health Organization’s listing of the country as a stringent regulatory authority. If South Korea is recognized as a reference country, the MFDS said, access could expand to Vietnam’s imported drug market worth about $4.3 billion (about 6.4 trillion won), with an expected annual increase of about 100 billion won in exports of Korean pharmaceuticals. “This MOU will further maximize the outcomes of Korea-Vietnam summit diplomacy through cooperation in safety regulation for food and pharmaceuticals,” Oh said. “We will continue to actively support our companies’ overseas expansion based on regulatory cooperation.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:34:32 -
Court Dismisses Damages Suit Against Young Poong Executives Over Environment Ministry Penalty Young Poong said Thursday it welcomed a first-instance court ruling dismissing a damages lawsuit filed against its current and former executives based on an Environment Ministry penalty. In November 2024, the Good Corporate Governance Research Institute and the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice filed the suit, arguing that the executives violated duties under the Commercial Act — including the duty of care and oversight — and caused losses to the company, citing the ministry’s imposition of a penalty. The Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 30 rejected the plaintiffs’ claims and dismissed the case in full. The court said the plaintiffs failed to specify concrete illegal acts by Young Poong or its executives. It also found that the penalty alone was insufficient to establish liability for damages and that it was not adequately proven the company suffered actual losses. Young Poong said it has pursued improvements across water, air and soil at its Seokpo smelter since establishing an “environmental improvement innovation plan” in 2019. It said it invested about 540 billion won through the end of last year and plans additional investment. The company also noted it was found not guilty in both the first and second trials in a Water Environment Conservation Act case brought by the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office in 2022, and the rulings became final after prosecutors did not appeal. The court said at the time it was difficult to conclude the defendants intentionally allowed cadmium to leak, and that they appeared to have worked step by step during their terms to improve smelter facilities and the surrounding environment. A Young Poong official said the ruling again confirmed that some claims the company neglected water pollution or failed to pursue environmental improvements were “groundless speculation.” The official said the company would continue “thorough monitoring and proactive responses” to build a sustainable, eco-friendly workplace for more than 100 years.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:33:48 -
Korea’s Insurance Industry Cuts Power Use, Limits Driving Amid Energy Supply Concerns The insurance industry has moved into a companywide conservation mode as energy supplies have become less stable due to the prolonged situation in the Middle East. Measures described as emergency steps are spreading across the sector, from limits on vehicle use to tighter controls on office electricity consumption. The Korea Life Insurance Association and the General Insurance Association of Korea said on the 23rd that insurers are actively joining energy-saving efforts in response to the energy crisis tied to the extended Middle East situation. The associations and insurers are pursuing voluntary reduction plans tailored to each workplace, in line with the government’s emergency energy response stance. With a “caution” alert issued over a resource security risk stemming from unstable crude oil supplies, insurers are implementing a five-day vehicle rotation system alongside public institutions. Some insurers have expanded the policy to an even-odd driving system depending on conditions. They are also encouraging public transit and using staggered work hours and remote work to spread out commuting demand. Insurers are also cutting energy use inside offices. They are turning off lights in shared areas after hours and emphasizing routine steps such as shutting down PCs when leaving work. To improve heating and cooling efficiency, they are maintaining recommended indoor temperatures and reducing unnecessary equipment operation to minimize waste across day-to-day operations. Additional steps are being expanded, including adjusting elevator operating hours and outdoor sign lighting times and improving lighting efficiency. Some insurers are running internal power-saving campaigns to encourage employee participation. 2026-04-23 14:33:18 -
South Korea labor ministry cites early Friday leave, flexible hours as workplace innovation wins The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday it held a workplace innovation forum to share examples of positive results. The ministry and the Korea Labor Foundation hosted the first "2026 Workplace Innovation Case-Sharing Forum" at 2 p.m. in an event hall at POSCO Tower Yeoksam in Seoul's Gangnam district. Company labor and management representatives, academic experts and consultants attended to discuss ways to advance workplace innovation. The forum series is scheduled to run eight times from April through November, with different themes, and is open to the public. At the first session, the ministry introduced the case of advertising agency MTRE INC, which adopted a policy allowing employees to leave work two hours early every Friday and cut its turnover rate to 11% from 63%. It also shared the case of Kolon Biotech, which increased its workforce by 13% after introducing flexible work arrangements tailored by job type, including a selective working-hours system. Cho Chung-hyun, the ministry's director general for labor-management cooperation policy, said the cases showed that "when labor and management put their heads together and join innovation, they can turn a crisis into an opportunity." He said the government will continue supporting companies so a culture of labor-management cooperation and workplace innovation can take root across workplaces.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:32:15 -
HK inno.N Joins “Just Dream” Program to Support Vulnerable Households HK inno.N said Wednesday it will join “Just Dream,” a government-backed program that provides food and daily necessities to vulnerable households, run with the Export-Import Bank of Korea. Just Dream is a support initiative the Ministry of Health and Welfare has been piloting since December last year. Anyone facing livelihood hardship can receive assistance with food and essential goods. HK inno.N signed a four-party agreement Tuesday at the Korea National Council on Social Welfare in Seoul’s Mapo district with the ministry, the Export-Import Bank of Korea and the council. Attendees included Kim Gi-ho, executive director of HK inno.N’s Strategic Support Office; Eun Seong-ho, director-general for Population and Social Service Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare; Shin Yu-geun, executive vice president of the Export-Import Bank of Korea’s Management Planning Group; and Cho Nam-kwon, secretary general of the council. The partnership will use a matching-donation structure to create joint funding. HK inno.N will provide about 120,000 bottles of its “Saessakbori” beverage, valued at 300 million won, and the Export-Import Bank of Korea will donate 200 million won, for total support worth 500 million won.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:31:44 -
Prosecutors Indict 4 Corn Syrup Makers, 25 Employees in $10B Price-Fixing Case Prosecutors said they uncovered long-running price-fixing in South Korea’s corn syrup industry, a market they said generates sales in the tens of trillions of won, and indicted dozens of company officials. Investigators said the alleged collusion extended beyond the main product to byproducts, forming what they described as an organized scheme. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office Fair Trade Investigation Division, led by Chief Prosecutor Na Hui-seok, said on the 23rd it indicted four manufacturers and 25 executives and employees without detention for alleged violations of the Fair Trade Act. Prosecutors said the defendants are accused of agreeing in advance on when and how much to raise prices for corn syrup and related byproducts from July 2017 through October last year, restricting competition. The suspected collusion involved about 10.152 trillion won in transactions, prosecutors said. The case is notable, prosecutors said, because the companies allegedly aligned prices not only for corn syrup but also for byproducts. They said they view it as “structural collusion,” alleging that firms shared information and reached prior agreements across the process, from buying corn to setting product prices. Prosecutors said the companies moved quickly to raise prices when raw material costs rose, but limited price cuts when costs fell, repeatedly coordinating the timing and level of increases in advance. They said consumers bore higher costs: During the alleged collusion period, prices of major corn syrup items rose by as much as 73.4% compared with before the scheme, exceeding the consumer inflation rate. Prosecutors also said the four companies’ sales increased by an average of about 24.5% during the period, indicating that the price hikes were reflected in business results. Investigators said they identified how the alleged scheme operated: Sales departments shared pricing information, coordinated responses by customer, and effectively ran a joint pricing policy. They added that byproduct prices generated during corn syrup production also appeared to have been fixed in tandem with corn syrup prices, limiting price competition across the market for years. “Through this investigation, we identified the reality of collusion across the corn syrup industry,” prosecutors said, adding they will continue to respond strictly to price-fixing in everyday goods that affect household finances.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:30:27 -
Callaway Golf Korea Launches Odyssey S2S Tri Hot SB Zero-Torque Heel-Shaft Putter Callaway Golf Korea said Wednesday it is officially launching the Odyssey “S2S (Square 2 Square) Tri Hot SB (Single Bend)” putter in South Korea, combining a heel-shaft structure with zero-torque technology. The company said the model targets golfers who feel uncomfortable with center-shaft, zero-torque putters. By using a familiar heel-shaft setup, it aims to keep a comfortable look at address while delivering the stability and consistency associated with zero-torque designs. The putter pairs a single-bend shaft with Odyssey’s Tri Hot multi-material construction. The shaft is positioned toward the heel to support intuitive alignment. The head uses aluminum and steel, along with more than 140 grams of tungsten placed strategically. Callaway said more than 80% of the overall weight is concentrated below the topline to create an ideal center of gravity and reduce unwanted head movement during the stroke. The face features an AI-designed “Ai-DUAL insert,” with a firm inner core and a softer outer layer intended to produce consistent ball speed and a softer feel. It also uses new “FRD (Forward Roll Design)” grooves tilted at 19 degrees to improve straight-line roll immediately after impact. Callaway said it incorporated feedback from tour players, fitting a black PVD-finished SL120 shaft to add weight compared with previous versions and applying a newly designed Pistol Plus grip for a more natural fit in the hands. The lineup includes four mallet models: Rossie, #7, Jailbird and #7 Cruiser. Standard lengths run from 33 to 35 inches, with a 38-inch Cruiser option. The Cruiser model comes with an SL140 shaft and an oversized grip, aimed at golfers who prefer a heavier, more stable putting feel. A Callaway Golf Korea official said the S2S Tri Hot SB “delivers both the comfort of a heel-shaft putter and the stability of a zero-torque putter,” adding that it offers an alternative for golfers uneasy with center-shaft models and is designed to provide more consistent putting performance.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:29:41