Kim Gyeong-bae Named President of Korea Craft and Design Foundation Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young appointed Kim Gyeong-bae, a professor at Kyonggi University’s Graduate School of Hallyu Culture, as president of the Korea Craft · Design Culture Promotion Agency, effective April 30, and presented him with a letter of appointment. Kim’s term is three years. Kim earned a master’s degree in industrial design from the Royal College of Art in the United Kingdom and has built more than 30 years of experience in the convergence of design and cultural content, the ministry said. He previously led Design Icon and served as executive vice president overseeing design at Inno Design Co., developing his own design philosophy while building practical expertise and management experience in industry. He is currently a professor at Kyonggi University, working to expand the cultural content industry and train talent for K-culture convergence. Choi called Kim “an expert in the convergence of design and cultural content,” and said he expects Kim to drive innovation to expand the use and industrialization of crafts, traditional culture and public design — and to help them enter global markets — based on his experience leading projects spanning design, technology and culture. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 15:28:20

Krafton posts record Q1 on surging PUBG franchise revenue SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - Krafton, the South Korean gaming giant behind the PUBG franchise, posted record first-quarter results as its flagship battle royale series and a newly consolidated advertising subsidiary propelled revenue to all-time highs. The company reported through regulatory filings Thursday consolidated revenue of 1.37 trillion won ($924 million) and operating profit of 561.6 billion won for the three months ended March, up 56.9 percent and 22.8 percent from a year earlier, respectively. First-quarter operating profit alone accounted for 53 percent of Krafton's full-year 2025 earnings, underscoring the pace of the company's momentum. The PUBG intellectual property franchise was the principal engine of growth, with quarterly revenue surpassing the 1 trillion won threshold for the first time, a 24 percent jump from the year-ago period. On PC, the ninth-anniversary Aston Martin collaboration drove strong sales, while PUBG Mobile benefited from a premium tie-up with German hypercar maker Apollo Automobil. Battlegrounds Mobile India saw a 17 percent year-on-year rise in paying users following server expansion investments. Krafton said it would continue scaling up inZOI, its life simulation title launched in early access last year, through content upgrades, console porting and AI-powered modding tools aimed at transforming it into a platform-driven franchise. The company also flagged the upcoming early access launch of open-world survival game Subnautica 2. "We are accelerating our 'AI for Game' strategy," the company said, adding that it plans to deploy its Raon multimodal AI models across titles and introduce PUBG Ally, a co-playable AI character, in a beta service for Battlegrounds Arcade later this year. Shares of Krafton were trading at 263,500 won per stock, 5.05 percent lower than the day before. 2026-04-30 15:27:32

South Korea Welcomed 4.74 Million Visitors in Q1, Up 123% From 2019; China Led South Korea drew 4.74 million foreign visitors in the first quarter, surpassing pre-COVID-19 levels, with arrivals surging in March as inbound tourism continued to rebound. ◆ Q1 visitors hit 4.74 million; Chinese tourists lead at 1.42 million According to Korea Tourism Organization statistics, cumulative inbound visitors from January to March totaled 4.74 million, up 22.6% from a year earlier. The figure represents a 123.4% recovery compared with the same period in 2019, exceeding pre-pandemic demand. China ranked first in visitor numbers, with 1.42 million arrivals in the quarter. Japan followed with 940,000, then Taiwan with 540,000, the United States with 310,000 and the Philippines with 150,000. ◆ March alone jumps to 2.05 million; sharp growth in the Americas and Southeast Asia The monthly rise was steeper in March, when arrivals reached 2,045,992, up 26.7% from 1,614,596 a year earlier. That was 133.2% of the March 2019 level. By country in March, China led with 501,000 visitors, followed by Japan with 482,000, Taiwan with 192,000, the United States with 152,000 and Vietnam with 75,000. Compared with March 2019, China and Japan reached 102.8% and 128.4%, respectively. Taiwan (195.0%), the United States (180.9%) and Vietnam (159.3%) were near double their pre-pandemic levels. By region, the Asia-Middle East market recovered to 141.2% of 2019 levels, while Europe and the Americas reached 169.2%, pointing to broad-based growth beyond Asia. ◆ Q1 outbound Koreans total 8.33 million; market recovers to 106% Outbound travel by South Koreans also climbed. From January to March, the number of Korean overseas travelers totaled 8.33 million, or 105.9% of the first quarter of 2019, indicating a full return to pre-pandemic activity. In March alone, outbound travelers totaled 2,293,716, up 4.4% from 2,197,971 a year earlier and recovering to 98.3% of the March 2019 level.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 15:27:17

Democratic Party Picks Ha Jeong-woo, Jeon Eun-su for June 3 By-Elections The Democratic Party on the 30th made strategic nominations of Ha Jeong-woo, a former senior presidential secretary for AI Future Planning, in Busan’s Buk-gu Gap district and Jeon Eun-su, a former presidential spokesperson, in South Chungcheong Province’s Asan Eul district for the June 3 by-elections. Senior party spokesperson Kang Jun-hyeon told reporters at the National Assembly that Ha is a Busan native who spent his school years there, calling him the right person to carry on the constituency of Jeon Jae-su, the party’s Busan mayoral candidate. Ha and Jeon are high school alumni, with Ha the junior. Kang added that the party expects Ha to help address pressing issues in Busan and to “raise the level of AI legislation by one step” in the National Assembly. On Jeon, Kang said Asan, home to many large companies, draws voters with varied local ties, making careful education and child care policies essential. He said Jeon, a former teacher, is expected to show strong expertise in those areas. The party held a welcome event the previous day for Ha and Jeon and had signaled their nominations. 2026-04-30 15:24:18

Credit card spending rises in Q1 despite weak consumer sentiment SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - Credit card spending rose despite weakening customer sentiment due to the prolonged conflict in the Middle East. According to data compiled by the Credit Finance Association of Korea on Thursday, people went plastic with 322 trillion won (about US$220 billion) worth of purchases, or 7.2 billion transactions, in the first quarter, up 7.2 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Personal card spending rose 6.8 percent to 264.4 trillion won while corporate card spending climbed 8.7 percent to 57.8 trillion won. Online shopping remained strong, rising 8.5 percent from a year earlier to 46.7 trillion won, largely driven by food delivery and travel bookings. A rebound in travel demand also boosted card spending, with the number of air passengers rising 12.6 percent in the first three months of this year, while spending by foreign tourists surged 37.1 percent. The association also cited higher oil prices in March, which drove up spending on fuel. 2026-04-30 15:20:33

Gwangju to Cover Vacation Fund Share for Small-Firm Workers, a First in South Korea Gwangju Metropolitan City will become the first local government in South Korea to use its own budget to directly subsidize vacation funds for workers at small and midsize companies in the city. The Korea Tourism Organization said it signed a business agreement on Wednesday with the Gwangju city government and the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the “Vacation Plus” program for small-company workers in the region. The program will cover 350 manufacturing workers in Gwangju. Under the existing Worker Vacation Support Program, a total of 400,000 won is saved, with workers contributing 200,000 won, their companies 100,000 won and the government 100,000 won. Under the new agreement, Gwangju will pay the full worker share (200,000 won) and half of the company share (50,000 won). As a result, workers can secure 400,000 won in vacation funds with no out-of-pocket spending. Kim Seok, head of the KTO’s National Tourism Office, said the partners plan to expand the cooperation model to other regions in the second half of this year. Jeon Eun-young, a director at the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the effort is the first attempt to strengthen worker welfare through cooperation between a local government and a regional economic group, and is expected to improve the quality of life for manufacturing workers. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 15:20:00

Business groups say raising retirement age to 65 must include wage system overhaul The government is accelerating plans to raise the mandatory retirement age to 65, and business groups are urging that wage adjustments for workers 60 and older be recognized as an exception to age-discrimination rules. The government says it plans to submit legislation in the first half of the year, but no agreement has been reached on wages or employment arrangements. On the 30th, the Democratic Party’s special committee on extending the retirement age held a meeting with business representatives from large and small companies to discuss directions for overhauling wage systems. Business groups say they can accept a higher retirement age, but only if wage systems are restructured. The Korea Employers Federation said it recently interviewed many Japanese companies, where continued employment after age 60 has been established earlier than in South Korea, to review how the policy was introduced and how it operates in practice. The federation is calling for a compromise that allows voluntary implementation reflecting each company’s personnel system. It also wants to ease the added labor-cost burden of keeping older workers by shifting to job- and performance-based pay. A uniform wage cut, it argues, could weaken motivation and reduce productivity, so compensation should be differentiated based on expertise and results. According to the federation, Japan shares the social costs of extending older-worker employment among labor, management and government. Companies employ all applicants, but wages upon rehire are adjusted to about 20% to 30% below previous levels, with the government covering a substantial portion. Japan keeps the legal retirement age at 60 but requires measures to secure employment through 65. Companies choose one of three options: rehiring, extending retirement, or abolishing retirement. Japan has also reduced corporate burdens by allowing changes to work rules deemed socially reasonable without going through labor-management agreement procedures. Nissan Motor, for example, provides differentiated incentives to workers over 60 who deliver performance or have strong technical skills. Lee Dong-geun, vice chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, told Aju Business that because Japan’s industry and employment structure are similar, “the most desirable approach is a company-choice model following Japan’s precedent.” He added that if the retirement age is extended, “the wage system must also be reformed” to address concerns about reduced youth hiring. Shin Chang-hoon, a managing director at Lotte Holdings, said problems tied to seniority-based pay are serious, adding that if flexibility in seniority and employment is secured, extending the retirement age “would not be a big issue.” An industry official said no agreement was reached at the meeting. “It was simply a chance to hear companies’ situations,” the official said, adding that discussions would likely become more substantive after local elections. With labor and management far apart on wage cuts, conflict is expected to continue during the legislative process. Participants included the Korea Employers Federation, the Korea Federation of SMEs, Samsung Global Research, Hyundai Motor, SK Supex Council, LG Electronics and Lotte Holdings.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 15:18:19

Samsung Electro-Mechanics tops 3 trillion won in quarterly sales for first time, sees Q2 growth Samsung Electro-Mechanics said it surpassed 3 trillion won in quarterly revenue for the first time, driven by a surge in artificial intelligence-related demand that lifted sales of high-value products for industrial and automotive uses. The company said the growth trend is expected to continue in the second quarter as well. In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, Samsung Electro-Mechanics reported first-quarter consolidated revenue of 3.2091 trillion won and operating profit of 280.6 billion won. Revenue rose 470.5 billion won, or 17%, from a year earlier, while operating profit increased 80.1 billion won, or 40%. The company said results improved as it expanded supply of products such as multilayer ceramic capacitors, or MLCCs, for AI servers and advanced driver-assistance systems, and flip-chip ball grid array, or FC-BGA, substrates, supported by solid demand for high-value industrial and automotive components. It said demand strength is expected to persist for high-value MLCCs and FC-BGA products used in AI servers and data centers, citing upgrades to data center infrastructure and rising power consumption by AI servers. On FC-BGA, the company said demand for high-performance semiconductors is surging as adoption of agentic AI spreads. It said existing customers are asking for more supply and that overall demand exceeds the company’s production capacity. Samsung Electro-Mechanics said it is discussing price increases with major customers to reflect higher raw material prices and supply conditions for materials such as gold and copper. It said its full-year outlook remains cautious given external variables, but added that the FC-BGA business could post a sharp revenue increase on rising demand tied to expanded AI investment by big tech companies. MLCC demand is also surging, the company said, with a growing trend toward long-term supply contracts. It said second-quarter MLCC demand is expected to grow from the first quarter across all applications. The company said it has launched new products with twice the capacity for graphics processing units and power modules as power consumption rises on next-generation AI server platforms, and that customers have responded positively. It added it is pursuing long-term contracts to ensure stable supply. The company said it is also expanding MLCC sales into the aerospace sector. For ground terminals, it said, similar products to those used for AI servers — including small, high-temperature and high-capacity MLCCs — are used, and the company is participating as a key supplier. It said it is doing business with leading global customers and aims to secure an early position in the growing aerospace MLCC market and strengthen its mid- to long-term growth base. Looking ahead, Samsung Electro-Mechanics said it expects performance growth in the second quarter from both the previous quarter and a year earlier. It said AI data center investment is expected to continue in the second half and automotive demand to remain steady, which could lead to a larger expansion in results. The company also said it plans to supply camera modules for robotaxis and humanoid robots. It said it will expand its lineup for high-resolution sensing based on its camera technology for IT devices and its capabilities to internalize key components, and will further develop specialized technologies such as all-weather camera products. It said it plans to supply new camera module products for robotaxis in the second quarter and for humanoids in the second half. It added it plans to secure new solutions for next-generation physical AI in a timely manner to respond proactively to new product needs and future markets. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 15:16:38

POSCO Holdings posts Q1 operating profit of 707 billion won; POSCO Future M turns profitable POSCO Holdings said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that it posted first-quarter consolidated revenue of 17.876 trillion won, operating profit of 707 billion won and net profit of 543 billion won. The company said revenue and profit rose from a year earlier despite heightened uncertainty in energy supply chains and financial markets stemming from the war between the United States and Iran. It said losses in its lithium business narrowed sharply as POSCO Argentina began full-scale commercial production. In steel, POSCO said profit fell even as sales volume increased, citing higher raw material costs driven by a weaker currency. It said overall steel-segment profit increased on stronger sales at overseas steel units and cost cuts. In battery materials, POSCO Future M returned to profit on expanded sales of cathode materials in new markets and higher sales of value-added products. POSCO Argentina and POSCO Pilbara Lithium Solution also reduced losses on higher output and rising lithium prices, the company said. POSCO Argentina recorded its first monthly profit in March as output and selling prices continued to rise, and the company said it expects its first quarterly profit in the second quarter. POSCO HY Clean Metal posted its first quarterly operating profit on sustained high utilization and cost reductions, it said. In infrastructure, POSCO International maintained solid profit on broadly strong sales across its businesses including gas and energy, the company said. POSCO E&C returned to profit as one-off costs were resolved. POSCO Holdings also announced a midterm shareholder return policy for 2026 through 2028. It said it previously paid dividends based on free cash flow after investments, but will adopt a performance-linked policy based on adjusted controlling net income starting this year, reflecting plans for intensive investment in future growth areas such as steel and energy materials. The company set a shareholder return ratio of 35% to 40% and said it will adjust valuation gains and losses that are unrelated to operating performance or are one-time items to support dividend stability. It said it plans to balance investment for future growth with stable dividends and new share buybacks and cancellations. POSCO Holdings also outlined progress on its “complete localization” strategy for steel and investment tied to its decarbonization transition, which Chairman Chang In-hwa highlighted in a New Year’s address. The company said it signed a joint venture agreement on the 20th with India’s top steelmaker, JSW Steel, and plans to build an integrated production system in India with crude steel capacity of 6 million tons to secure a stable profit base in a growth market. In South Korea, it said a March approval by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to change plans for the Pohang National Industrial Complex made it possible to prepare a site for hydrogen-based steelmaking, known as HyREX. It also said it will start operating a new electric arc furnace in Gwangyang with annual capacity of 2.5 million tons in June, and will use profits generated in global markets to fund domestic decarbonization investments while strengthening mid- to long-term competitiveness.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 15:15:21

Kiwoom Securities Nears Launch of Retirement Pension Business Kiwoom Securities is preparing to enter South Korea’s retirement pension business, with market watchers saying its large base of individual investors could help it build a stronger presence in the pension market. Attention is also focused on whether a new player could accelerate a so-called “money move” — a shift of retirement pension assets toward securities firms — in a market that has grown to about 500 trillion won. According to the financial investment industry on Wednesday, Kiwoom completed registration with the Financial Services Commission earlier this month as a retirement pension provider and is preparing to launch services in June. The firm is building systems and refining its product lineup ahead of a full market entry. Kiwoom has also reorganized internally, forming a pension business team of about 30 people within its wealth management division. The team is led by Managing Director Pyo Young-dae, a retirement pension specialist who worked more than 15 years at Mirae Asset Securities and has led preparations since a task force was created in 2024. Kiwoom’s goal is to break into the top five by market share. As of the end of the first quarter, retirement pension assets at securities firms were led by Mirae Asset Securities with 42.4411 trillion won, followed by Samsung Securities (23.2681 trillion won), Korea Investment & Securities (22.5945 trillion won), Hyundai Motor Securities (18.8552 trillion won), NH Investment & Securities (10.7541 trillion won) and KB Securities (8.8981 trillion won). Reaching the top five would require securing at least 10 trillion won in assets. The market widely cites Kiwoom’s retail strength as its biggest advantage. The firm has held the No. 1 retail market share for 21 consecutive years and is seen as competitive in digital platforms centered on its mobile trading system. Analysts also say cost efficiency and pricing competitiveness through non-face-to-face channels could help it attract customers early. But the firm also faces clear constraints. The retirement pension market still relies heavily on corporate contracts and in-person sales. With a limited offline sales network, Kiwoom could be at a disadvantage versus larger rivals in defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plans. Taking that structure into account, Kiwoom plans to focus first on individual retirement pensions, or IRPs. The strategy is to quickly expand contact with individual customers through IRPs, then gradually broaden into DC and DB offerings while building an integrated pension solution. Its product approach also emphasizes online distribution. Kiwoom plans to offer online-only products at low cost to reduce fee burdens and strengthen a structure that allows customers to select and manage products on its platform. It also aims to build an integrated wealth management platform linking retirement pensions with pension savings and individual savings accounts, or ISAs, providing services across the life cycle from contributions and management to withdrawals. Some in the market expect Kiwoom’s entry to speed up the shift of assets from banks to securities firms. According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s Integrated Pension Portal, total retirement pension assets stood at 501.4 trillion won at the end of last year, up 16.1% from 431.7 trillion won a year earlier. Over the same period, the securities industry’s share rose to 26.5% from 24.3%, while banks’ share edged down to 52.4% from 52.9%. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 15:13:28