South Korean envoy meets Iran foreign minister, stresses importance of ties Jeong Byeong-ha, a special envoy of South Korea’s foreign minister, met with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said. According to the ministry, the meeting took place on the afternoon of April 22 local time. Jeong conveyed greetings from South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and said it was very important to strengthen South Korea-Iran relations. He also welcomed the ceasefire and said he hoped diplomatic efforts would bring a complete end to the war and help establish peace and stability in the region. Iran’s INSA news agency quoted Araghchi as saying Iran, as a coastal state of the Strait of Hormuz, had taken steps under international and domestic law to protect its national security and interests against what he called aggression and threats by the United States and Israel. He said responsibility for any consequences lay with the aggressors. Araghchi also stressed the importance of strengthening ties with South Korea and said Iran was ready to actively pursue cooperation, INSA reported. Jeong left for Iran on April 10 to discuss safety for South Korean ships and citizens stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as energy cooperation. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:05:28

South Korea Proposes Tax Breaks for National Growth Fund, Including 40% Deduction The government is moving to spell out tax support for a public-participation “National Growth Fund,” offering up to a 40% income deduction and a separate 9% low tax rate on eligible investments. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said on the 23rd it will issue a legislative notice for amendments to subordinate regulations, including the Enforcement Decree of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act, to introduce a tax preference for the fund. The notice period runs from April 24 to May 15. The ministry said the revisions are expected to be promulgated and take effect in May after the notice process and a Cabinet meeting. Under the proposal, tax benefits would apply when a resident age 19 or older — or age 15 or older with earned income — invests through a dedicated account in the National Growth Fund for at least three years. Eligible investments would receive an income deduction of up to 40% and be subject to separate taxation at about 9%. The fund is designed as a publicly offered fund-of-funds with private-fund features that restrict redemptions. It would invest in stocks, equity stakes and bonds of companies in advanced strategic industries and related firms. At least 60% of total assets must be invested in those areas, and the allocation must be met within 30 months. Investments would be made through a dedicated account. Contributions could be withdrawn early, and the contribution limit would be restored after a withdrawal. Workers age 15 or older would have to submit documents proving earned income, such as an income amount certificate. If an investor redeems or transfers the investment before completing the mandatory three-year holding period, the tax benefits would be clawed back. Exceptions would be allowed for unavoidable reasons such as retirement, business closure or illness. The ministry also said it will issue a legislative notice the same day for amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act to require submission of documentation for the National Growth Fund income deduction. Under the change, related savings products would be added to the list of items required to submit deduction-supporting data to the National Tax Service. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:04:45

Kyobo heir Shin Joong-hyun moves to SBI Savings Bank, faces leadership test Kyobo Life Insurance’s third-generation owner family member, Shin Joong-hyun, has moved from Kyobo Lifeplanet to SBI Savings Bank, putting his management credentials under closer scrutiny as the group pursues a shift toward a financial holding company structure. According to the financial industry on Wednesday, Kyobo Lifeplanet has posted a cumulative net loss of 219.2 billion won from its 2013 launch through last year, after piling up annual losses of more than 10 billion won. Kyobo Life Chairman Shin Chang-jae in 2020 gave his second son, Shin Joong-hyun, the key task of leading Lifeplanet’s digital business. While the unit’s weak results cannot be attributed solely to Shin, critics note that Lifeplanet sells policies only through online channels without agents, making digital strategy central to performance. From product planning and marketing to conversion-rate management, user experience design and data-driven risk management, the business runs on a digital platform, leaving the executive overseeing it difficult to separate from accountability. Growth indicators also weakened. Lifeplanet’s new policy sales totaled 1.4086 trillion won last year, down 9.7% from 1.5606 trillion won a year earlier. Among 22 life insurers, only Chubb Life Insurance Korea, which focuses on dental coverage, recorded a smaller amount at 312.9 billion won. As of the end of last year, Lifeplanet’s cumulative in-force policies stood at 7.7347 trillion won, just 0.3% of the combined total of 2,308 trillion won for the 22 companies. Against that backdrop, Kyobo Life has faced criticism for injecting billions of won into what some described as a bottomless pit. Industry watchers say early losses can be unavoidable for digital insurance, but more than a decade of accumulated losses and a recent trend of widening deficits are hard to dismiss as routine growing pains. An official in the life insurance industry said, “Internet insurance can be seen as an investment for the future, but with losses expanding, management will need to make important decisions.” Shin moved to SBI Savings Bank without closing out a turnaround at Lifeplanet. He will remain at Lifeplanet as an adviser and lead the synergy team under a newly created management strategy division at SBI Savings Bank. A plan to appoint him as one of the bank’s co-CEOs was reportedly considered, but he ultimately took a team leader-level role. SBI Savings Bank is seen as a key pillar in Kyobo Life’s strategy to broaden its portfolio and transition to a financial holding company, combining lending-based businesses with digital finance capabilities to complement insurance-heavy earnings. Some in the industry interpret Shin’s placement in another major post as also reflecting succession considerations. A business group official said, “Kyobo Life will use SBI Savings Bank as a foothold to lay out its plan for a transition to a financial holding company,” adding that moving an owner’s child who did not deliver results at a previous affiliate to a core unit appears to go beyond management training and take succession into account." 2026-04-23 14:04:03

LG Electronics CEO Ryu Jae-cheol vows push into global robot actuator market Ryu Jae-cheol, CEO of LG Electronics, said the company will accelerate efforts to secure an early lead in the actuator market, a key component that functions as a robot’s joints. In a social media post on the 23rd, Ryu said, “This year, we plan to complete the buildout of a mass-production system for actuators and apply them directly to the intelligent home robot ‘LG Cloi.’” He added, “Next year, we will supply key components to global partners and move in earnest into external markets,” and said LG aims to expand “to the industrial high-torque segment by 2030” to position the company as a “global total actuator solution provider.” Ryu previously stressed at last month’s regular shareholders meeting that LG would move fully into actuator design and production. At the time, he said the company would establish a mass-production system within the year based on “Axiom,” the actuator brand introduced at CES 2026 in January. LG’s robot business is one of the CEO’s four key priorities, along with AI data center (AIDC) cooling solutions, smart factories and AI home initiatives. LG has designed and produced motors in-house since 1962 and has infrastructure to manufacture 45 million motors a year across seven production sites in five countries. Ryu said that scale allows LG to offer durability, reliability and price competitiveness that rivals find difficult to copy. He said the company has internalized both design and production of motors and drivers and is continuing to strengthen in-house capabilities in reducers.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:03:15

Shinhan Financial Q1 Net Profit Rises 9% to 1.62 Trillion Won on Strong Non-Interest Income Shinhan Financial Group posted another record quarterly result, reporting first-quarter net profit of more than 1.6 trillion won as strong brokerage performance and a sharp rise in non-interest income lifted earnings. In a regulatory filing Thursday, Shinhan Financial said first-quarter net profit rose 9.0% from a year earlier to 1.6226 trillion won. Operating profit increased as net interest income stayed solid and non-interest income, led by securities, improved markedly. Net interest income rose 5.9% to 3.0241 trillion won. The group’s net interest margin, a key profitability gauge, increased 3 basis points to 1.93%. Non-interest income climbed 26.5% to 1.1882 trillion won as fee income, gains related to securities and insurance income all grew. Non-operating income added 66.9 billion won, up 276.5 billion won from the previous quarter as one-off costs such as bank penalties and contributions to the New Leap Fund fell away. Loan-loss provisions increased 17.5% from a year earlier, reflecting higher credit costs tied to expanded sales and write-offs at the bank. Shinhan said its credit cost ratio was 0.46%, within its plan for the year. As of the end of March, the group’s preliminary BIS capital ratio was 15.72% and its common equity Tier 1 ratio was 13.19%, maintaining stable capital levels. By unit, Shinhan Bank posted first-quarter net profit of 1.1571 trillion won, up 2.6% from a year earlier. Non-interest income fell due to weaker securities-related results amid greater market volatility, but solid net interest income supported operating profit. Shinhan Card’s net profit fell 14.9% to 115.4 billion won after recognizing costs for a voluntary retirement program. Shinhan Investment Corp. reported net profit of 288.4 billion won, up 167.4%, as a stronger stock market boosted trading value. Shinhan Life posted 103.1 billion won in net profit, down 37.6%, hit by weaker insurance profit due to a wider gap between expected and actual claims and lower financial profit amid rising market rates. Separately, Shinhan Financial said its board approved a new corporate value plan, dubbed “Shinhan Value-Up 2.0.” The plan centers on managing an appropriate CET1 ratio while introducing a new shareholder return target that links return on equity and growth, with the payout ratio rising as growth increases. The group also said it will pursue tax-free dividends for the next three years and aim to raise dividends per share by at least 10% annually, using remaining resources for share buybacks and cancellations to add consistency and flexibility to shareholder returns. For the first quarter, Shinhan resolved a dividend of 740 won per share and said it is proceeding with a planned 700 billion won share buyback program scheduled to run through July.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:01:42

Dalba Global Shares Rise Nearly 8% on Buyback Plan and Strong Q1 Outlook Dalba Global shares climbed in intraday trading on April 23, buoyed by expectations that a planned share buyback and cancellation will boost shareholder value and by forecasts of strong first-quarter results. According to the Korea Exchange, Dalba Global was trading at 230,000 won as of 1:47 p.m., up 17,000 won, or 7.98%, from the previous session. The company said the previous day it will acquire about 20 billion won worth of its own shares through a trust contract to enhance shareholder value and fund stock compensation for employees. Investor expectations for first-quarter earnings also supported the stock. In a recent report, Shinyoung Securities analyst Lee Gyo-seok said sales in North America and Europe are expected to rise 200% from a year earlier, driving results. He forecast domestic sales would increase 15% year over year to 57.7 billion won, citing a more diversified channel mix including Olive Young, home shopping and Naver Smart Store. Lee said the company has continued double-digit domestic growth even as competition has intensified and growth has slowed for other major indie brands, adding that expanded sales of multi balm and double cream products, which are less affected by seasonality, could further improve performance. Shinyoung expects first-quarter revenue to rise 46% from a year earlier to 166.4 billion won and operating profit to increase 29% to 38.8 billion won, for an operating margin of 23.3%. The brokerage raised its target price to 240,000 won from 200,000 won.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:00:54

Iran Releases Video of Ship Seizure in Strait of Hormuz, Masked Troops Board by Ladder As tensions rose after a second round of cease-fire talks between the United States and Iran collapsed, Iran released video showing its forces detaining ships in the Strait of Hormuz, stepping up a public messaging campaign. ABC News reported on the 22nd (local time) that Iranian state television aired footage showing Iranian forces approaching and taking control of a commercial vessel. The video shows masked troops carrying rifles speeding toward a ship in fast boats, then climbing a ladder to board the deck. In a statement, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had secured two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and moved them into Iranian territorial waters. The IRGC claimed the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas tried to leave the strait without Iran’s permission. It said it plans to inspect the ships’ cargo and related documents. The IRGC said it would “continuously monitor” any actions that obstruct Iran’s enforcement of laws governing passage through the “strategic waterway” or run counter to safe navigation, and would take “firm and legal measures” against violations. The detentions came after U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally declared an extension of a “two-week truce” with Iran, one day before it was set to expire. Iran has continued shows of force in the Strait of Hormuz in response to the United States’ stance that it will maintain a maritime blockade.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 14:00:20

SK hynix redefines chip profit with 72% margin on HBM supremacy SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) -Regardless of the headline figures, SK hynix reigns as the most profitable chipmaker in the world and will likely stay so through the year as it consolidates leadership in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) critical to the AI transition through aggressive spending from its enhanced firepower. The Korean pure-play memory maker will test upgraded HBM4E prototypes in the second half for potential rollout next year depending on client demand, according to executives during a conference call Thursday. “The base die for HBM4E is progressing smoothly, using optimal technology to meet customer performance requirements,” the company said. “The core die is being designed on a sixth-generation 10-nanometer-class (1c) process to address increasingly demanding performance needs.” The company added that its 1c process has already reached mature yield levels ahead of mass production starting later this year, enabling it to deliver HBM4E with “stable performance and supply capacity.” SK hynix, which pioneered HBM critical to Nvidia’s breakout AI chips, remains unrivaled in the premium segment, supported by overwhelming demand and long-term supply arrangements with hyperscale customers. Its record first-quarter results underscore its edge from a high concentration of HBM products. The company posted an operating margin of 72 percent, surpassing its previous high of 58 percent and outpacing TSMC’s roughly 58 percent and Samsung Electronics’ estimated 43 percent over the same period. The earnings surge reflects a structural shift in the memory market. DRAM supply growth is projected to slow to the mid-teens in 2026, well below the historical norm of 20–30 percent, while NAND supply growth is also moderating. At the same time, data center demand is rapidly absorbing supply, with its share of DRAM consumption expected to approach 70 percent this year, up sharply from about 35 percent in 2024. HBM’s revenue share is also expanding quickly, estimated to reach nearly 40 percent of total DRAM this year, underscoring its central role in profitability. The strong earnings were driven by surging demand for HBM — a key component in AI accelerators — alongside sharp price increases in conventional DRAM and NAND amid tight supply. Industry data show DRAM contract prices jumped more than 90 percent on quarter in the first three months of the year, reflecting a supplier-driven market that has significantly boosted profitability. The extraordinary dynamics in favor of the supply side will likely continue for some time, according to SK hynix. “This increase in memory prices is not the result of a temporary supply-demand imbalance, but rather a structural shift in the market,” the company said, noting that AI demand is fundamentally reshaping pricing dynamics. HBM accounted for around 30 percent of SK hynix’s DRAM shipments, with the remainder coming from conventional products such as DDR5 and LPDDR5X, which also benefited from the pricing upcycle. Samsung Electronics is also seeing strong gains from memory, with analysts estimating its memory division posted operating margins of 60 to 70 percent. However, its overall profitability remains lower due to weaker performance in other business segments, including foundry and consumer electronics. The shift is being reinforced by a rapid reallocation of manufacturing capacity toward AI infrastructure. Hyperscale cloud providers such as Meta, Google, Microsoft and Amazon have secured long-term supply agreements, effectively locking in production at premium prices. “Customers are prioritizing securing supply over price, and the growing importance of memory in AI computing is increasingly reflected in pricing,” the company said. As a result, even as overall memory output grows, supply available for consumer devices continues to shrink, contributing to a tightening cycle that is expected to persist. The scale of AI demand is further amplifying the imbalance. Nvidia’s latest AI systems consume hundreds of DRAM dies per unit, with a single rack requiring memory equivalent to that used in roughly 1,000 high-end smartphones. SK hynix said it is accelerating investment to meet demand but warned that supply expansion will take time. “Even under current strong demand conditions, there are clear limits to how quickly production capacity can be meaningfully expanded,” the company said, citing constraints from prior investment cuts and limited cleanroom availability. The company plans to expand capital expenditure this year, including ramping up its Cheongju M15X facility and advancing the Yongin semiconductor cluster, while securing critical equipment to support long-term capacity to maintain its comfortable lead in the premium HBM market. The red-hot earnings streak has bolstered its cashable assets by 19.4 trillion won from December to 54.3 trillion won as of March while debt was reduced to 19.3 trillion, translating into a net cash reserve of 35 trillion won. Despite geopolitical risks from the Gulf crisis, SK hynix said its production outlook remains largely unaffected. “We have already secured countermeasures against raw material and energy supply risks, and the impact on production is expected to be very limited,” the company said, citing diversified sourcing and long-term LNG contracts. Shares of SK hynix fell 1.27 percent to 1,207,000 won on profit-taking from recent rally as of 1:40 p.m. 2026-04-23 13:52:04

South Korea to Revamp Training for New Labor Inspectors as Workforce Expands South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor said it will overhaul training for newly hired labor inspectors to focus on handling real cases, as it moves to sharply expand the inspector workforce through 2028. The ministry said the shift is aimed at strengthening on-the-job response skills, moving away from theory-heavy instruction. The ministry held a public briefing on Thursday at Seoul Community Masil to present its training reform plan and gather feedback, citing structural changes in the labor inspection system. The ministry is pursuing a plan to increase the combined central and regional inspector workforce to 8,000 by 2028, from 3,000. It said building inspectors’ capabilities is critical for new policies to work in the field. Training will be organized around field cases. The ministry said it launched a task force of veteran inspectors in February and analyzed 3.16 million complaint-case records from 2017 to 2025, along with representative cases handled by current inspectors. New inspectors will learn the redesigned curriculum in stages through a basic school and an investigation school. The basic course covers theory by case type and the workflow and processing structure. The investigation course uses scenario-based mock cases, repeatedly training inspectors to handle a case from start to finish on their own. Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said, “The success or failure of labor inspection innovation depends on the capabilities of each inspector, completed through training.” He added that the ministry will pursue capacity-building more fundamentally by establishing a specialized training institution for labor inspectors. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 13:51:22

U.S. Senate Again Blocks Bid to Limit Trump’s Authority for Military Action Against Iran The U.S. Senate again blocked an effort to limit President Donald Trump’s authority to take military action against Iran, rejecting a Democratic push to require congressional approval for any additional action. CBS and The Wall Street Journal reported that on April 22 (local time), the Senate voted down a motion to advance the war powers resolution to the floor, 51-46. The vote marked the fifth attempt in the Senate tied to limiting authority related to the Iran war. Republican Sen. Rand Paul voted in favor, while Democratic Sen. John Fetterman voted against. Sen. Ed Markey’s office said in a statement the same day that Markey supported the resolution introduced by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, but it failed on the 51-46 vote. Democrats argue that Trump is expanding the scope of the war without congressional approval and say Congress should strengthen oversight under the War Powers Act. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has indicated he would keep forcing votes on the issue on a weekly basis. Republicans have maintained their opposition, citing self-defense and the president’s authority as commander in chief. Reuters previously reported that on April 15 the Senate blocked a similar effort, 52-47. With the April 22 vote, the pattern of the Senate repeatedly turning back attempts to curb Trump’s authority over the Iran war became clearer.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 13:48:16