Shinhan Bank, Andong City Sign Deal to Launch Public Delivery App Ttaenggyeoyo Shinhan Bank said April 2 it signed an agreement a day earlier with Andong in North Gyeongsang Province to introduce its public delivery app, Ttaenggyeoyo. The city is the first in the province to sign such a deal for a public delivery app. Ttaenggyeoyo, operated by Shinhan Bank, is billed as a shared-growth platform offering brokerage fees of about 2%, faster settlements and various discounts. Shinhan Bank has signed public delivery app agreements with 56 local governments nationwide, including Seoul. Under the agreement, Ttaenggyeoyo plans to add Andong's local currency payment function, provide subsidies to new participating merchants and roll out dedicated financial products. A Shinhan Bank official said the bank will continue expanding its role in working with local communities so the app can provide practical help to small business owners and the local economy. The official added that Shinhan Bank plans to broaden partnerships with both metropolitan and basic local governments to expand the app's benefits. Separately, Shinhan Bank is running a Ttaenggyeoyo payback event through April 30. Customers will receive a 4,000-won discount coupon if their cumulative order total in April increases by even 1 won from the previous month. The offer applies to all order types in the app, including delivery, takeout and dine-in.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-02 11:09:00

Actor Woo Seung, Former KNK Member, to Hold First Solo Fan Meeting in Osaka 그룹 크나큰(KNK) 출신 배우 우승이 일본에서 첫 단독 팬미팅을 연다. 우승은 오는 5월 8일과 10일 일본 오사카 플러스윈 홀 오사카에서 ‘2026 우승 퍼스트 팬미팅 인 오사카 : 메이 비’를 열고 현지 팬들과 만난다. 이번 행사는 우승이 배우 활동을 본격화한 이후 일본에서 처음 여는 단독 팬미팅이다. 그는 무대에서 그동안 보여주지 않았던 새로운 모습과 다양한 매력을 선보일 계획이다. 주최 측은 팬들과 가까이에서 소통할 수 있는 코너도 마련할 예정이라고 밝혔다. 팬미팅은 양일 오후 2시와 오후 6시, 총 4회 진행된다. 자세한 내용은 플러스윈 엔터테인먼트 홈페이지와 소속사 공식 사회관계망서비스(SNS) 채널에서 확인할 수 있다.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-02 10:57:15

Krafton launches 'Raon' AI brand, releases four open-source models SEOUL, April 02 (AJP) - South Korean game developer Krafton unveiled a new artificial intelligence model brand called "Raon", releasing four open-source models on global AI platform Hugging Face as the company moves to establish itself as a serious AI contender beyond gaming. The four models — Raon-Speech, Raon-SpeechChat, Raon-OpenTTS and Raon-VisionEncoder — span speech, voice and visual processing, reflecting Krafton's push into multimodal AI. The brand name draws from the native Korean word "라온," meaning joy, and is designed to capture what the company calls the essential pleasure of gaming through AI. Raon-Speech, a 9-billion-parameter voice language model, claimed the top global ranking among open speech-language models under 10 billion parameters in both English and Korean, assessed across seven core tasks and 40 benchmarks. Raon-SpeechChat, meanwhile, is the first real-time, full-duplex voice conversation model developed in South Korea, capable of interrupting and being interrupted mid-conversation. Raon-OpenTTS, trained entirely on publicly available voice data, ranked among the world's best in blind listening tests against research-grade text-to-speech systems built on proprietary datasets. Raon-VisionEncoder, the fourth model, outperformed Google's SigLIP2 in select visual recognition tasks and will be integrated into Krafton's broader independent AI foundation model project. "The release of the Raon model series marks an important milestone in building our AI capabilities," Chief AI Officer Lee Kang-wook said. "By open-sourcing large-scale training data and core models, we hope to contribute to the advancement of multimodal technology and the growth of South Korea's AI ecosystem." 2026-04-02 10:41:01

From "I'll do it later" to "doing now": why "admin night" catches on in Korea SEOUL, April 01 (AJP) - “No talking for the next two hours.” At a café in Seoul’s Gwanak District, participants briefly declare their goals using nicknames — then fall into silence. Laptops open, keyboards click, and each person dives into their own task. Among Gen Z, “admin night” is emerging as a new evening ritual — an alcohol-free alternative to after-work drinks, focused on getting things done. The appeal lies in being together without interaction. Participants say the subtle feeling of being watched helps them stay focused, and why? The purpose is simple from “I’ll do it later” to doing it now. A lighter form of connection, with fewer emotional demands — a quiet shift in how young people work, gather and unwind. 2026-04-02 10:27:14

Super Junior’s Donghae Reveals Track List for First Full-Length Album ‘ALIVE’ Super Junior member Donghae has released the track list for his first full-length album, “ALIVE.” Donghae posted the track list at midnight Thursday on his official social media channels. The album will feature double title tracks “Good Day (Feat. Jay Park, 1iL)” and “Haetteotne,” along with “ALIVE,” “EAST COAST,” “RACE,” and “HELP.” Also included are “ROCKET,” “Goodbye (Feat. TABLO),” “TOO LATE,” “FLOWER,” “To You(),” “HBD,” and “BEAUTIFUL,” for a total of 13 tracks spanning multiple genres, according to the posted list. The album includes guest appearances by Jay Park on “Good Day” and Epik High’s Tablo on “Goodbye.” The agency said Donghae took a leading role in writing and composing most of the songs, filling out the credits and shaping the album’s overall sound and mood. It is his first full-length album since debut. The release follows a previously announced timetable and news that all seats for his solo tour stop in Seoul sold out. The album’s music will be released April 20 at 6 p.m. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-02 09:36:51

Actor Kim Hong-pyo Becomes a Father at 52, Welcomes Daughter Actor Kim Hong-pyo has become a father at 52. In a social media post on April 1, Kim said, "I became a dad on April 1," adding, "Both my daughter and my wife are healthy." "Now that my time as a father is beginning, my mindset is different," he wrote, thanking those who supported him. He also noted that the parents' combined ages are "100" under Korea's age-counting system, and offered encouragement to others preparing for parenthood. Kim married a non-celebrity woman six years younger than him in 2021. He debuted in 1995 as part of SBS' fifth class of publicly recruited TV actors and has appeared in dramas including "Im Kkeok-jeong," "The Immortal Yi Sun-sin," "Yeon Gaesomun," "Temptation of Wife" and "Amor Fati: Love Now." He has also worked in film, theater and musicals. 2026-04-02 09:36:06

South Korea Drops to No. 25 in FIFA Rankings After Two Losses in March Friendlies South Korea fell three places to No. 25 in the latest FIFA men’s world rankings after losing both of its March internationals. FIFA announced the updated standings on April 1 (Korea time). South Korea had been No. 22 in the first rankings release of the year in January. The national team coached by Hong Myung-bo was routed 4-0 by Ivory Coast on March 28 and then lost 1-0 to Austria on April 1, results that contributed to the drop. Japan, the highest-ranked Asian team, moved up one spot to No. 18 from No. 19 after 1-0 wins over Scotland and England during the same international window. Mexico, which will face South Korea in Group A of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America, rose one place to No. 15. Mexico drew 0-0 with Portugal and 1-1 with Belgium. The Czech Republic, which reached the World Cup finals for the first time in 20 years by advancing through the UEFA playoffs, climbed two places to No. 41. It beat Ireland and Denmark on penalty shootouts. South Africa, the lowest-ranked team in Group A, stayed at No. 60 after a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 loss in two matches against Panama in March. At the top, France moved from third to first after beating Colombia 3-1, while Spain, the previous No. 1, drew Egypt 0-0 and slipped to second. Argentina is third.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-02 09:30:46

Korea inflation hits 3-month high March on oil shock from Middle East conflict SEOUL, April 2 (AJP) — South Korea's consumer prices accelerated at their fastest pace in three months in March on surging oil prices in the first month of the Middle East conflict, as the crippling of a key shipping waterway for energy supplies followed U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, government data showed Thursday. The consumer price index for March rose 2.2 percent from a year earlier, the fastest since a 2.3 percent increase in December, driven by higher transportation and utility costs linked to a spike in fuel imports, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. Oil prices have surged amid tensions around the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG trade — exposing South Korea’s deep reliance on imported energy. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of Middle East energy supplies passes, has remained effectively constrained since the outbreak of the conflict. South Korea relies on the Gulf for about 71 percent of its crude imports, 20 percent of LNG and around 77 percent of naphtha used in a wide range of industrial production, from plastics to paints. The Korean won has visited the lows of 2009 crisis period against the U.S. dollar, adding to import price pressure. Petroleum prices jumped 10.4 percent from February and 9.9 percent from a year earlier, the primary driver behind a 1.5 percent on-month and 2.7 percent on-year rise in industrial goods prices, contributing 0.9 percentage point to the headline inflation increase. Transportation costs rose 4.3 percent from a year earlier, while utility charges, including electricity, gas and water, climbed 3.1 percent, reflecting the pass-through of higher global energy prices. Among key items, gasoline prices surged 8 percent on year and diesel rose 17 percent. The government has imposed a temporary cap on gas-pump prices, helping to contain further rise. Service prices rose 2.4 percent on year, with dining-out costs up 2.8 percent and personal services gaining 3.2 percent. Agricultural, livestock and fishery products eased 1.9 percent on month and 0.6 percent from a year earlier, with fresh food prices falling 2.7 percent on month and 6.6 percent on year to cap broader inflation. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 2.1 percent on-year, remaining relatively stable and suggesting limited demand-driven pressure. The livelihood price index rose 2.3 percent, accelerated from 1.8 percent. 2026-04-02 09:07:16

KB Kookmin Bank Expands QR Payments Across Indonesia in KB Star Banking App KB Kookmin Bank said April 2 it has expanded its cross-border QR payment service, “KB Star Banking Overseas Payment Service,” to cover all of Indonesia. The service, operated through the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute, links Korean financial firms with overseas payment institutions so users can make QR payments abroad through their home-country banking apps. KB Kookmin Bank said it now offers the service in 12 countries and regions, including Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan and Hawaii. With the expansion, customers can pay using QR codes in the KB Star Banking app at more than 32 million merchants across Indonesia. The bank said it is the first in South Korea to directly connect, using the institute’s payment infrastructure, to Indonesia’s national QR network, QRIS, enabling payments in local currency without double currency conversion. “This expansion improves access and convenience so customers can pay overseas in a familiar way,” a KB Kookmin Bank official said. The official added the bank will continue expanding its global payment infrastructure to provide financial services that fit naturally into customers’ daily lives.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-02 08:54:00

Korea to Recruit 300 Trainees for 2026 Creative Content Mentoring Program The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency said Thursday they will recruit 300 trainees through April 15 for the 2026 Creative Content Talent Companion Program. Now in its 15th year, the program is a flagship effort to develop talent across the content industry. Past graduates include Hong Bichira, creator of the webtoon “Severe Trauma Center: Golden Hour,” director Jang Jae-hyun of the film “Exhuma,” and writer Moon Ji-won of the drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” KOCCA said it selected 15 platform partner organizations in March, centered on four areas: video and animation, webtoons and story, games, and music and performance. It said this year’s support system covers a wider range of content, including dramas, variety shows, documentaries, films, animation, webtoons, comics, games (analog and digital), K-pop and musicals. Each platform partner will select trainees tailored to its field and provide close mentoring from planning through production. KOCCA said the mentor pool includes 150 experts such as producer Kim Se-hoon (“Master of the World”), variety writer Shin Yeo-jin (“Heart Signal”), producer Han Kyung-soo (the documentary “My Love, Don’t Cross That River”), Redice Studio CEO Jang Jeong-sook (producer of the webtoon “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint”), and producer Kim Do-hoon, a hit songwriter for BTS and Hwasa. KOCCA also said it will run follow-up support for projects by graduates from the past five years. Five organizations in video, webtoons and story, and games are expected to select and support about 30 projects. Details and application instructions are available on KOCCA’s website. Applicants can apply online through each platform partner’s recruitment page through April 15. 2026-04-02 08:45:17