Seoul city to bring books outdoors with libraries on lawns next week SEOUL, April 13 (AJP) - With the return of balmy weather, several spaces in central Seoul will be transformed into outdoor libraries starting next week, where Seoulites can read books on the lawn in front of City Hall, at Gwanghwamun Square, or along Cheonggye Stream. These open-air libraries, part of the city government's annual summer events, are scheduled to open next Thursday and will feature bookshelves with more than 12,000 books, as well as bean bags, mats, and parasols, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said on Monday. Seoul residents and visitors are welcome to read free of charge, meditate, or enjoy side events such as performances, hands-on activities, lectures, and exhibitions, with each space offering its own distinct vibe and atmosphere. In cooperation with foreign embassies in Seoul, the city will also launch a weekly walking tour program for foreign tourists this year, scheduled to run 20 sessions between May and June and September and October. It will offer a chance to explore different cultures through books and engage with local communities. "Through these events, we want to promote Seoul as a city where reading is part of everyday life," said Kim Tae-hee, a Seoul city official. 2026-04-13 16:19:17

Shinhan Bank CEO Jeong Sang-hyeok Joins SOL Mate Trusts to Boost Senior Wealth Services Shinhan Bank CEO Jeong Sang-hyeok has moved to strengthen the bank’s competitiveness in senior wealth management. Shinhan Bank said April 13 it held a pledge ceremony for executives to enroll in its Shinhan SOL Mate will-substitute trust and dementia-care trust. Jeong and 21 executives took part. The bank said the campaign was designed to have management consider the purpose and need for specialized trust products from a customer’s perspective. The Shinhan SOL Mate will-substitute trust allows customers to manage their assets during their lifetime while designating beneficiaries in advance when needed. The Shinhan SOL Mate dementia-care trust is intended to help customers plan asset management in advance in case of dementia or other health issues. A Shinhan Bank official said the campaign reflects the bank’s commitment to supporting senior customers’ stable retirement and the transfer of assets. The official said the bank will continue expanding senior-focused financial services that closely address customers’ needs across their lives.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-13 16:09:00

TXT Returns With 8th EP After Renewing Contract, Shifts to More Personal Stories TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) returned with a new album that the group said reflects their own stories more directly, after passing a major career milestone: renewing their contracts seven years after debut. A showcase for the group’s eighth EP, “7TH YEAR: When the Wind Paused Briefly in the Thornbush,” was held Sunday afternoon at Korea University’s Hwajeong Gymnasium in Seoul. The release is TXT’s first since all five members renewed their contracts with BigHit Music in August 2025. The group said the album compares the anxiety and uncertainty they felt over the past seven years to “thorns,” and looks back on that period while committing to a new start. Leader Soobin said, “We’re greeting you with our eighth EP. It feels new because it’s our first album after renewing our contracts. We’ll show you a great side of ourselves.” Hueningkai said the group “put a range of emotions into the music.” Beomgyu added, “We came back with a heartbreaking love story. It’s already our eighth year, and time feels like it flew by. Thank you for being with us as we grew.” Yeonjun said the group prepared “with the mindset of debuting” because it is their first comeback after renewing. Taehyun said, “As always over the past seven years, we’ll work hard.” The group also spoke about moving smoothly through what is often called the “seven-year hurdle” in K-pop, when many groups face difficult contract talks. Taehyun said aligning the members’ views “didn’t even take an hour.” “We wanted to keep promoting as a team, and we wanted to keep promoting with our fans, so it was like, ‘Of course we’re doing this, right?’” he said. He added that the group wanted to reassure fans quickly, and said they sought advice from BTS member RM, who “warmly” congratulated them and reviewed documents with care. Soobin said people told them coordinating among members can be harder than negotiating with the company, but the group reached agreement quickly. He said the company talks took longer than the members’ discussion, but he later learned the process was still considered early and that cases like theirs are rare. The members said the album marks a shift away from a “persona” toward more personal material. Taehyun said the group held long interviews with the production team and found their thinking was similar as they looked for “the most honest story” they could tell at this point. He said the change also raised questions about how to keep the work truthful when drawing from real life. Beomgyu said that while there were many happy moments, there were also periods of anxiety and worry, and he wanted to capture those feelings honestly. Yeonjun said that even after renewing and entering their eighth year, the experience is not “only glamorous,” and he still feels a desire to go higher. He said he once thought debuting would automatically make them global stars, but reality was different, and the process helped him learn and grow. Yeonjun also said he experienced a severe burnout during preparations, while also working on a solo album. “It was a meaningful time,” he said, adding that what he wants at the end of that process is “the team.” He said he hopes to keep the group together “as long as possible” and promote happily with the members. Soobin said discussing their seventh anniversary contract made the members feel especially precious to him. He recalled that the group struggled after COVID-19 hit about a year after debut, cutting off many experiences they expected to have, but said the members matured mentally and became closer through what they went through. The title track, “7TH YEAR: When the Wind Paused Briefly in the Thornbush,” continues TXT’s pattern of long song titles. Hueningkai said people see the long title and say it feels like a TXT song, calling it part of the group’s identity. Soobin said he was glad to have a Korean-language title again, and that fans saying it reminds them of the group’s early days felt like a compliment because TXT prepared with a debut-like mindset. Yeonjun said he suggested a hand-tutting move in the chorus and said the choreography turned out well. The EP includes six tracks: “Bed of Thorns,” “Stick With You,” “Take Me to Nirvana,” “So What,” “21st Century Romance” and “Next of Next.” Taehyun said that while achievements such as Billboard rankings matter, the group’s top priority is staying healthy and happy, and that the process should be enjoyable. “If we need something measurable, I want to be No. 1 on Billboard,” he said. TXT’s eighth EP, “7TH YEAR: When the Wind Paused Briefly in the Thornbush,” will be released worldwide at 6 p.m. Sunday. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-13 16:03:25

Rory McIlroy Wins Masters Again, Holds Off Scottie Scheffler by 1 Shot Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland delivered a commanding performance to win the Masters Tournament, which had a total purse of $22.5 million. McIlroy shot a 1-under 71 in the final round Sunday (Korean time) at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, with five birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey. He finished at 12-under 276, holding off Scottie Scheffler of the United States by one shot to earn the $4.5 million winner’s check (about 6.6 billion won). Augusta National is known for making title defenses difficult. McIlroy’s victory marked the fourth successful title defense in Masters history, following Jack Nicklaus (1965-1966), Nick Faldo (1989-1990) and Tiger Woods (2001-2002). McIlroy became the first player since Woods to win back-to-back green jackets, ending a 24-year gap. He also led from the opening round without surrendering the top spot, completing a wire-to-wire win. Over the past 45 years, only three others have done that at the Masters: Trevor Immelman in 2008, Jordan Spieth in 2015 and Dustin Johnson in 2020. The win was McIlroy’s first of the season and the 30th of his PGA Tour career. The repeat win also added to McIlroy’s major championship record. After capturing his first major at the 2011 U.S. Open, he won the PGA Championship in 2012 and then the Open Championship and PGA Championship in 2014. The Masters had long eluded him, but he finally won the green jacket last year to become the sixth player in golf history to complete the career Grand Slam. With this victory, his major total rose to six. McIlroy said the challenge felt different this year. "Last year, I thought this tournament was especially hard because I had to complete the career Grand Slam at the Masters," he said at a news conference. "But this year I realized the Masters itself is an incredibly hard tournament to win." He added, "Last year my parents couldn’t come, and I thought about it several times during the round. But I kept telling myself, ‘Not yet.’ This year I persuaded them to come, and I’m happy we could share this joy." McIlroy credited mental toughness under pressure and a shift in strategy, particularly on the demanding stretch known as Amen Corner, holes 11 through 13. "In the past I played defensively at Amen Corner and failed, but this time I played aggressively and it worked," he said. After losing three shots there in the third round, he steadied himself with a par at No. 11 in the final round, then made back-to-back birdies at Nos. 12 and 13 to regain momentum. The closing hole provided the most tense moment. Leading by two, McIlroy drove into the woods at the par-4 18th. He recovered with a calm bunker save and a bogey putt to protect the title. "After I hit the tee shot on 18, the process of finding the ball was the most nerve-racking," he said. "When the par putt stopped right next to the hole, I saw my family behind the green. I thought, ‘I did it again.’ I didn’t feel as emotional as last year, but I felt even happier." The win also eased concerns about his health. McIlroy withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational with back pain after tying for second at the Genesis Invitational in February. He then finished tied for 46th at The Players Championship. He said he built his form for the Masters with careful preparation and advice from Nicklaus. "I talk a lot with Jack Nicklaus every year," McIlroy said. "Nicklaus advised that for majors, it’s important to arrive early and not just look around the course, but go out with one ball and actually play and practice scoring." McIlroy said he practiced for four days using only one ball while keeping score. Even after the milestone, McIlroy said he is not finished. "Last year I thought completing the Grand Slam was the end of the goal, but now it feels like part of the journey," he said. "I still have goals I want to achieve. It feels different from last year. I don’t have a specific goal set, but I don’t want to stop here."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-13 15:48:00

TXT Says All Members Renewed Contracts After Advice From BTS' RM TOMORROW X TOGETHER said all members have renewed their contracts. The group made the announcement Sunday at a showcase for its new album, “Seven Year (7TH YEAR): When the Wind Briefly Stopped in the Thornbush,” held at Korea University’s Hwajeong Gymnasium in Seoul’s Seongbuk district. Taehyun said it took “less than an hour” for the members to agree. “We wanted to keep promoting as a team, and we also wanted to stay with our fans, so it came together naturally,” he said. He added that the group wanted to share the news sooner rather than make fans wait until the seven-year mark. Taehyun said he sought advice from BTS, including RM. “He spoke to me very thoughtfully, checked things one by one, and warmly told me it’s already been seven years and that we’ve worked hard,” Taehyun said. Soobin said others had told him aligning views among members can be harder than negotiating with a company, but TXT reached agreement within an hour. He said talks with the company took some time by the group’s standards, but he later heard it was still relatively quick. “I heard cases like this are rare, and thankfully it seems to have worked out well,” he said. The album’s title track, “One More Day a Day (Stick With You),” portrays the longing to hold on to a love that appears to be nearing its end, singing from the perspective of someone who cannot let go while the other person prepares for a breakup. TXT is set to hold a comeback showcase at 8 p.m. Sunday at the same venue to meet fans.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-13 15:36:54

Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival spotlights young Mozart-era prodigies Classical music prodigies will take the spotlight in Seoul this spring, performing works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — often cited as history’s greatest child prodigy — alongside older, established musicians. Violin prodigy Kim Yeon-a, 11, spoke at a news conference April 13 at the Yun Posun House in Seoul for the 21st Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival, known as SSF. “I’m so excited and nervous — and happy,” she said. Kim, a widely watched young violinist whose YouTube videos have surpassed 160 million views, called the violin “a lovely friend that listens to the sound of my heart.” She said she hopes the festival will help her learn chamber music by “breathing together, listening to other people’s sound, and learning how to do chamber music.” SSF is regarded as a launching pad for rising musicians. Performers now active on international stages — including Cho Seong-jin, Sunwoo Yekwon, Kim Sunwook and Son Yeol-eum — also appeared at the festival when they were young. Artistic director Kang Dong-suk, who has led the festival for 21 years, is also a former prodigy who won the top prize at the Dong-A Music Competition at age 12. Marking the 270th anniversary of Mozart’s birth, SSF is putting “prodigies” at the center of this year’s programming. Under the theme “Mozart and Prodigies,” the festival will run from April 21 to May 31 with 13 performances featuring works by Mozart as well as other early-blooming composers, including Camille Saint-Saens — sometimes called “the Mozart of France” — and Claude Debussy, who entered the Paris Conservatory at age 10. The lineup also includes works by later-blooming masters such as Joseph Haydn and Antonin Dvorak. A May 2 program titled “Family Concert: Prodigies” will feature Kim along with other young performers — Kim Jeong-a, Lee Do-young, the Appassionato Trio (Jeong Hyeon-jun, Jeon Seo-woo and Kim Ju-ho), and Lee Ju-eon — with an average age of 15, performing with senior musicians. The festival said the young artists were recommended by institutions including the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts and the Kumho Foundation. Kang said the festival will also introduce short pieces Mozart wrote at ages 5 and 6. “When you listen, you’ll feel, ‘He really was a genius,’” Kang said. He added that chamber music can teach young musicians about life and how to see “the overall flow of music,” and he hopes SSF will help them grow. Kim said she hopes to become a world-class violinist like Chung Kyung-wha and Kang. “Someday I want to play on the world stage with a Stradivarius, release recordings, and become a violinist who gives people comfort and happiness,” she said. Kim said applause helps her onstage. “It doesn’t matter if there are many people or not, but when there are more people, I actually don’t get as nervous,” she said. “If you clap a lot, I relax.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-13 15:21:20

South Korea Food Safety Agency Cites 21 Firms for Misleading Albumin Food Ads South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Monday it cited 21 businesses after inspecting sellers of albumin-labeled foods from March 20 to April 3. The ministry said nine companies violated labeling and advertising rules, and 12 violated the Food Sanitation Act and the Health Functional Foods Act. At a briefing at the Seoul Regional MFDS office, the agency’s Emergency Response Team for Unfair Food Practices said it found nine firms that sold about 1.8 billion won worth of products by running online ads that could lead consumers to mistake albumin foods for health functional foods. The ministry said seven firms used phrases such as “fatigue relief,” “helps maintain liver function,” “albumin supplement” and “amino acid supplement,” which could mislead consumers into thinking the products had approved health claims. It also said two firms promoted ingredient-related effects as if they were proven benefits of the foods, including claims that “albumin helps maintain osmotic pressure in blood vessels” and that low albumin levels “can cause dizziness, edema and ascites.” The ministry urged consumers not to equate egg-white albumin used as a food ingredient with serum albumin, a medicine. Serum albumin is a protein that performs specific physiological functions in the blood and is a prescription drug injected, under a doctor’s order, into patients such as those with liver cirrhosis. Egg-white albumin, by contrast, is a food protein derived from egg whites and serves only as a source of nutrients when consumed. Baek Nam-i, head of the Emergency Response Team for Unfair Food Practices, said the ministry would continue to quickly block the creation and spread of illegal or misleading ads and respond strictly to violations.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-13 15:03:00

South Korea, Poland agree to further deepen ties beyond defense cooperation SEOUL, April 13 (AJP) - South Korea and Poland on Monday agreed to upgrade their bilateral relationship to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" and pledged to expand cooperation in the defense industry and other areas. "South Korea has global competitiveness across a range of industries, while Poland is strong in basic science and technology and has geographic advantages and a skilled workforce. If these strengths are combined in a mutually beneficial way, a new horizon for bilateral cooperation will open," Lee said during a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Monday. Lee then said the two countries' defense ties have deepened enough to sign a massive deal worth US$44.2 billion in 2022. Citing South Korea's homegrown weapons such as K2 battle tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, FA-50 light attack aircraft, and Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers, Lee said they are helping protect Poland's territory and people. But he said, "Defense cooperation between the two countries does not mean simple purchase deals of weapons," adding that the two leaders vowed to broaden cooperation beyond defense to include exchanges in various sectors including advanced industries, science and technology, space, energy, and infrastructure. Economic and industrial cooperation is already expanding, with South Korean battery companies operating in Poland now pursuing entry into the energy storage system market as they diversify their businesses there. The two sides also agreed to expand joint research, exchanges and government-level support in areas including hydrogen, nanomaterials and space, as well as major infrastructure projects such as a new airport link and the replacement of Warsaw's tram system. Lee and Tusk also affirmed their resolve to work together for global peace and prosperity, addressing that security on the Korean Peninsula and in Europe is closely linked, and agreed to continue cooperation to cope with supply chain disruptions caused by the prolonged conflict in the Middle East. Monday's meeting marks the first visit by a Polish leader to South Korea in 27 years and Tusk's first trip to a non-European country since taking office in December 2023. Lee said Tusk's visit is a "new milestone" in bilateral ties since South Korea and Poland established diplomatic relations in 1989. After the summit, Lee and Tusk attended a luncheon that also included key business leaders from the defense sector, such as Lee Yong-bae, CEO of Hyundai Rotem; Son Jae-il, CEO of Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Systems; and Kim Jong-chul, CEO of Korea Aerospace Industries. 2026-04-13 15:01:49

BOK nominee Shin claims he shed foreign assets ahead of hearing SEOUL, April 13 (AJP) — Shin Hyun-song, nominee for governor of the Bank of Korea, defended the central bank’s interventionist stance to curb excessive dollar strength against the won, describing the country’s foreign exchange buffers as “robust” against external shocks. In a written response released Monday ahead of his parliamentary confirmation hearing, Shin warned that a sharp rise in the dollar-won rate fuels inflationary pressure while increasing the burden on non-export firms and households. He pledged to closely monitor currency movements, noting that the won’s postwar depreciation has been steeper than that of peer currencies and remains highly volatile. The Korean won rebounded 1.8 percent to 1,482.5 per dollar last Friday from 1,505.2 a week earlier, but is still down 3.1 percent from end-2025 levels. While foreign exchange reserves have declined by $7.1 billion from since the intervention - from $430.7 billion as of November last year to $423.6 billion in March - Shin said they remain sufficient to serve as a buffer against external shocks. Shin attributed the decline to temporary factors, including measures to mitigate volatility in the spot exchange market, changes in the U.S. dollar-converted value of assets held in other currencies, fluctuations in foreign currency deposits at financial institutions, and the foreign exchange swap with the National Pension Service (NPS). Addressing concerns over his personal finances, Shin said he has already begun reducing his foreign-currency holdings, which previously made up the bulk of his portfolio, in a move aimed at easing conflict-of-interest concerns. “I have already disposed of a significant portion of my foreign-denominated financial assets,” he said in response to a query from Park Soo-young of the People Power Party. According to his asset disclosure, 4.57 billion won ($3.1 million)—or 56 percent of his family’s total wealth of 8.24 billion won—is held in foreign currencies including the U.S. dollar, British pound and Swiss franc. Within his financial assets, nearly 98 percent were denominated in foreign currencies. Critics argue such a portfolio—one that benefits from a weaker won—is inappropriate for a central bank chief expected to act as a “firefighter” in currency markets. Shin said he plans to “sequentially reduce” his foreign asset exposure, while also selling about 300 million won worth of domestic stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to avoid potential conflicts of interest. Responding to allegations that he purchased a London-listed ETF tracking the Korean market—“Franklin FTSE Korea”—shortly before his nomination, Shin said the investment was made “for portfolio management purposes.” On property-related concerns, Shin said he has put two of his three homes—including properties in Seoul’s Gangnam and Jongno districts—up for sale, as part of efforts to comply with public service standards. The move comes as the government prepares to tighten regulations on multi-homeowners from May, including raising capital gains tax rates by at least 20 percentage points for those owning two or more homes. Shin faces a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly on Wednesday. 2026-04-13 14:57:53

Yuhan wins FDA orphan drug tag for Gaucher disease candidate SEOUL, April 13 (AJP) - South Korean drugmaker Yuhan said its experimental Gaucher disease therapy YH35995 has received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), unlocking a suite of regulatory and commercial incentives as the company pushes into rare disease treatment. The FDA's orphan drug program is designed to spur development of therapies targeting conditions affecting small patient populations with limited treatment options. Designated drugs are eligible for clinical trial tax credits, waived FDA review fees and up to seven years of market exclusivity upon approval. Gaucher disease is a hereditary lysosomal storage disorder caused by a specific enzyme deficiency, triggering abnormal metabolic buildup that can cause enlarged liver and spleen, anaemia, low platelet counts and skeletal complications. Type 3 Gaucher disease, the form Yuhan is targeting, also carries neurological symptoms for which treatment options remain scarce. YH35995 is an oral small-molecule glucosylceramide synthase inhibitor — a substrate reduction therapy that works by lowering the production of glucosylceramide, or GL1. In preclinical studies, the compound showed a tendency to cross the blood-brain barrier and sustain GL1 suppression in the brain, raising hopes it could address the neurological dimension of the disease. Substrate reduction therapy works by limiting the amount of a fatty substance that accumulates in cells when the body lacks the enzyme needed to break it down — an approach that sidesteps the need to replace the defective enzyme directly. Yuhan said the compound has already received approval for a Phase 1 clinical trial in South Korea. 2026-04-13 14:52:53