Sanil Electric shares jump more than 20% on $33.9 million U.S. data center transformer deal Sanil Electric shares surged more than 20% after the company disclosed a large transformer supply contract with U.S. energy company Bloom Energy for data centers. According to the Korea Exchange, Sanil Electric was trading at 275,000 won as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday, up 54,000 won, or 24.43%, from the previous session. The stock rose as high as 281,500 won intraday, marking a record high. The rally followed a filing that Sanil Electric signed a 50.3 billion won contract at 12:50 p.m. to supply transformers for U.S. data centers. Buying accelerated immediately after the disclosure. The contract equals 10.02% of the company’s 2025 revenue of 501.9 billion won. The contract period runs from April 24 to March 29, 2027. The contract amount was listed as $33.875 million, converted using the exchange rate on the contract date of 1,484.20 won per dollar. Sanil Electric, founded in 1994, is a transformer specialist. Transformers and reactors accounted for 97.4% of its revenue last year. Lee Min-jae, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said demand for transformers is expected to rise as demand for renewable energy expands following the U.S.-Iran war. He said Sanil Electric has a product lineup capable of supplying transformers suited to all voltage levels in power grids built around renewable energy, and has secured a stable customer base and profitability, making profit growth possible as sales expand. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 14:18:31

South Korea Expands High-Fuel-Price Relief to All Gas Stations, Regardless of Sales 행정안전부는 30일 '고유가 피해지원금 범정부 TF' 제3차 회의를 열어 연 매출액이 30억원을 초과하는 주유소를 고유가 지원금 사용처로 추가하기로 했다고 밝혔다. 이번 조치는 서민경제 지원 등을 위해 마련한 '고유가 지원금'이 사용처 제한으로 전국 주유소 상당수에서 쓸 수 없다는 지적이 나온 데 따른 것이다. 전국 주유소의 약 58%가 연매출 30억원을 넘는 것으로 파악된 바 있다. 개선 조치에 따라 주유소에서는 연 매출액과 관계없이 고유가 지원금을 사용할 수 있게 된다. 신용·체크카드 및 선불카드로 지원금을 받은 경우 5월 1일부터 주소지 관할 지자체에 있는 주유소에서 연 매출액과 관계없이 지원금 사용이 가능하다. 다만 주유소와 인근 대형매장이 사업자등록번호를 공유하면서 같은 단말기를 사용하는 경우에는 해당 주유소가 사용처에 포함되지 않을 수 있다. 지역사랑상품권으로 지원금을 받은 경우 기존 지역사랑상품권 가맹점인 주유소와 고유가 지원금 사용을 위해 한시적으로 추가 등록된 주유소에서 연 매출액과 관계없이 지원금을 사용할 수 있다. 가맹점 등록 여부는 지방정부별로 다를 수 있어 지역사랑상품권 앱이나 지방정부 누리집 등에서 가맹점 목록을 미리 확인할 필요가 있다. 윤호중 행정안전부 장관은 “이번 조치를 통해 국민들의 유류비 등 가계비 부담이 완화되고, 보다 편리하게 고유가 피해지원금을 사용하실 수 있게 되길 바란다”며 “정부는 앞으로도 사용 과정에서 불편함이 없는지 세심히 살피고, 국민의 눈높이에서 제도를 운영해 나가도록 하겠다”고 말했다. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 14:15:33

HappyTalk Named No. 1 AI Customer Service Platform for Brand Loyalty for Second Straight Year Blumn AI, an AI customer communications solutions company led by co-CEOs Kim Beom-su and Park Jin-young, said on the 30th that its AI chatbot and live-chat platform HappyTalk was selected No. 1 in the AI customer service platform category of the “2026 Brand Customer Loyalty Awards.” It ranked first in the same category for a second consecutive year. The Brand Customer Loyalty Awards are run jointly by the Korea Consumer Forum and U.S. brand evaluation firm Brand Keys. Winners are chosen by category based on measures including consumers’ emotional attachment to a brand, intent to repurchase and willingness to recommend. This year’s survey drew 380,000 participants and more than 1.96 million responses. HappyTalk is an AI-based customer service platform that supports corporate contact center operations. It allows companies to manage multiple inquiry channels in one place, including KakaoTalk, Naver TalkTalk and web chat, and offers real-time agent support, chatbot auto-replies, AI-generated consultation summaries and other tools to assist agents. Blumn AI said it has been upgrading HappyTalk’s AI capabilities as demand grows for generative AI in customer service. Beyond FAQ-based chatbots, the company has strengthened an AI assistant that supports agents and AI agent functions designed to handle inquiries in line with a company’s policies and workflows. The HappyTalk AI agent is built as a hybrid that combines scripted scenarios with AI decision-making, the company said. It is designed to identify customer intent and, using a prebuilt knowledge base and links to external systems, handle repetitive tasks such as order lookups, reservation checks and information guidance. The company attributed its two-year top ranking to a steady base of repeat users, stable service operations and continued upgrades to AI counseling functions. It said automation and agent-support features usable in real service settings helped raise client satisfaction. “Being selected No. 1 for two consecutive years in a survey with more than 380,000 consumers is the market’s assessment of our customer-centered technology innovation,” Park said. “We will continue advancing our AI technology to help improve operational efficiency for corporate customers and the user communication experience.” Blumn AI said it also plans to accelerate work on an open, integrated AI customer service infrastructure that lets companies choose and use AI technologies suited to their needs. The company said it aims to provide a “BYOA” environment that enables customers to connect external AI models with its solutions, including HappyTalk and CallBridge. BYOA stands for “Bring Your Own AI,” meaning a company links its own or preferred AI models to its business systems. Blumn AI operates HappyTalk, the AI phone counseling platform CallBridge and CRM marketing solutions, and is expanding an AI-based SaaS business aimed at integrating customer communications.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 14:12:33

Seoul Apartment Prices Rise 0.14%; Seocho Joins Songpa in Turning Up High-end apartment districts in Seoul saw their declines ease, while gains also cooled in areas dominated by mid- to lower-priced homes. After Songpa-gu turned positive a week earlier, Seocho-gu also shifted to gains, as bargain listings dried up following the end of a suspension of heavier capital gains taxes on multiple-home sellers. According to the Korea Real Estate Board’s weekly apartment price trend report released Thursday for the fourth week of April, Seoul’s weekly apartment sale prices rose 0.14%. In northern Seoul, gains slowed in districts including Dongdaemun, Gangbuk and Nowon. The 14 districts in the area rose 0.15% from a week earlier. Dongdaemun-gu increased 0.21%, down from 0.25% the previous week. Gangbuk-gu slowed to 0.16% from 0.24%, Nowon-gu to 0.18% from 0.22%, and Seongbuk-gu to 0.21% from 0.27%. Yongsan-gu was the only district in the area to fall, slipping 0.03%, a move attributed to a short-term surge that tightened listings and pushed end-users to the sidelines. In southern Seoul, the 11 districts rose 0.13% in the fourth week of April, narrowing the gap with the north. Seocho-gu edged up 0.01% from a week earlier, ending a slide that had continued since the last week of February. Songpa-gu, which turned positive at 0.07% the previous week, rose 0.13%. Gangnam-gu fell 0.02%, but the decline narrowed from -0.06%. Nam Hyuk-woo, a real estate researcher at Woori Bank, said a series of transactions in discounted listings that began in Songpa-gu has continued steadily into Gangnam and Seocho, and that slightly higher asking prices have been reflected in some price movements. He said, however, that major variables remain — including a second-half tax overhaul plan and the possibility of renewed rate hikes amid inflation — and that prices could stay range-bound for the time being. Gyeonggi Province rose 0.06%, easing from 0.07% a week earlier. Gwangmyeong climbed 0.31%, led by large complexes in Cheolsan and Haan; Guri rose 0.29%, driven by smaller units in Inchang and Gyomun; and Anyang’s Dongan district gained 0.22%, centered on Pyeongchon and Hogye. Nationwide, weekly apartment sale prices rose 0.03% in the fourth week of April. The five major metropolitan cities fell 0.02%, and Sejong fell 0.05%. Eight provinces that had been flat for two straight weeks posted a slight 0.01% increase. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 14:08:50

LG Chem swings to Q1 operating loss amid EV slowdown, chemical headwinds SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - LG Chem, South Korea's largest chemical maker, reported a first-quarter operating loss of 49.7 billion won ($33.4 million), swinging from a profit a year earlier, as weakening demand across its core businesses and raw material cost volatility eroded margins. The company posted consolidated revenue of 12.25 trillion won for the January-March period, down 2.6 percent from a year ago, but up 6.2 percent from the preceding quarter, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday. "Despite uncertainties stemming from raw material supply instability, profitability improved quarter-on-quarter thanks to positive inventory lagging effects from rising feedstock prices and one-off revenue recognition in the petrochemical segment," CFO Cha Dong-seok said. Cha added that LG Chem would accelerate its pivot toward high-value, high-margin businesses to build a more resilient structure against volatile economic cycles. The petrochemical division, long the company's cash cow, recorded revenue of 4.47 trillion won and operating profit of 164.8 billion won, with the European tariff refund and naphtha lagging effects bolstering an otherwise tepid quarter. The advanced materials segment posted revenue of 843.1 billion won and an operating loss of 43.3 billion won, though the deficit narrowed as cathode material shipments grew and new semiconductor materials began contributing to sales. The life sciences division brought in revenue of 312.6 billion won and operating profit of 33.7 billion won, with lower research and marketing expenses offsetting a dip in export shipment timing. Its subsidiary LG Energy Solution, the nation's largest battery maker, logged revenue of 6.56 trillion won but posted an operating loss of 207.8 billion won, dragged down by ramp-up costs at new ESS production facilities and a weaker product mix from declining North American EV pouch cell volumes. Shares of LG Chem traded at 397,000 won per stock at 1:49 p.m., 2.58 percent lower than the day before. 2026-04-30 14:08:43

Lee Jae-myung calls for tough punishment for fake news, abusive comments President Lee Jae-myung said on the 30th that “fake news that shows a complete lack of humanity, and insulting comments, deserve severe punishment.” Lee wrote the message on X (formerly Twitter) after linking a news report that police had arrested a man in his 50s accused of repeatedly posting online content that disparaged the Sewol ferry disaster, the Itaewon crowd crush and the victims’ families. He warned that “police task forces will respond strictly in the future as well to fake news and comments that amount to secondary harm.” The National Office of Investigation at the National Police Agency said it arrested the man for repeatedly posting, over a long period, about 70 online items that spread false information and defamed victims and bereaved families of the Sewol and Itaewon disasters. The man is accused of continuously posting false claims and disparaging content about the Sewol and Itaewon disasters from 2021 to 2024 using platforms in and outside South Korea, police said. Police said he circulated photos of bereaved families while repeatedly mocking them with claims such as, “Sewol bereaved families were recycled as Itaewon bereaved families.” The case is the second arrest since the National Police Agency launched its unit to investigate crimes involving secondary harm in July last year.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 14:07:41

Apartment Fire in Uiwang Kills Couple, Injures 6 A fire broke out at an apartment building in Naeson-dong, Uiwang, south of Seoul, killing a couple in their 60s and injuring six other residents, Yonhap News Agency reported Thursday. The fire started about 10:30 a.m. on the 14th floor of a 20-story building, officials said. A man in his 60s who lived in the unit where the fire began died after falling, and his wife, in her 50s, was found dead inside the apartment. Six residents suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation, and were taken to hospitals for treatment. The man was initially believed to have fallen while evacuating. However, the first 119 emergency call included a report that “there was a fire on an upper floor of the apartment and someone fell,” suggesting he fell early in the fire or just before it started. Fire authorities issued a Level 1 response at 10:45 a.m., deploying about 30 pieces of equipment, including pump trucks, and about 110 firefighters. They brought the main flames under control at 11:21 a.m., lifted the emergency order after a situation assessment meeting at 12:26 p.m., and fully extinguished the fire at 12:35 p.m., about two hours after it began. Police and fire officials plan to conduct an on-site inspection to determine the extent of the damage and the cause of the fire. The building has 20 floors above ground and one basement level, with a total floor area of about 8,800 square meters and 78 households.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 14:06:28

Divorce Becomes Variety-TV Material in South Korea, Drawing Mixed Reactions Celebrity divorces have become a staple of variety shows and YouTube content, turning what was once treated cautiously as private life into material for jokes and talk. Public reaction, however, remains divided. The debate resurfaced after comments by actor Ahn Jae-hyun. On April 28, a video titled “Crossing the line Son Byung-ho game. Kang So-ra shares her 15-day proposal story. Alddalcham Season 2 EP.5” was posted on the YouTube channel ‘Alttalttalhan Chamgyeon.’ The cast played the “Son Byung-ho game,” folding down fingers if a prompt applied. Comedian Heo Kyung-hwan said, “I’ve never had a wedding,” and Ahn immediately folded a finger. When others looked briefly startled, Ahn explained, “I didn’t have a wedding.” Ahn married actor Ku Hye-sun in 2016 but did not hold a separate wedding ceremony and donated the cost. The two later divorced in 2020. Since returning to TV after his divorce, Ahn has repeatedly faced on-air situations that evoke his marriage and divorce across variety shows and YouTube. Ku said on social media last year that she was uncomfortable with the divorce process being repeatedly revived through entertainment programs and headlines. “Continual and indirect references are a cowardly thing,” she wrote, warning that repeated consumption of a divorce can hurt those involved. A similar dispute has followed talk about baseball player Hwang Jae-gyun remarrying. In an episode of MBN and Channel S’ “Jun Hyun-moo Plan 3” airing May 1, Jun Hyun-moo, KwakTube and Hwang are shown on a food trip to Mungyeong. In footage released ahead of the broadcast, Jun tells Hwang, “You have to meet another woman,” raising the topic of remarriage, and Hwang appears flustered. Hwang married Jiyeon, formerly of the group T-ara, in December 2022, but their divorce mediation was finalized at the Seoul Family Court on Nov. 20, 2024. Hwang has expanded his public profile through entertainment shows after announcing he would retire as an active player at the end of the 2025 season. But as dating and remarriage are repeatedly raised whenever he appears after the divorce, some viewers have criticized what they see as a lack of consideration for the other party. Divorce may be one person’s present and past, they argue, but it is also another person’s private life. The trend extends beyond any one celebrity. In recent years, broadcasters have increasingly used divorce as a variety-show hook. SBS’ “Shoes Off, Dolsing Fourmen” centered talk by divorced male cast members including Tak Jae-hoon, Im Won-hee, Lee Sang-min and Kim Jun-ho. Premiering in July 2021, it made “dolsing” — a Korean term for divorced people — its core concept and ran for more than four years until ending with Episode 213 in December 2025. TV Chosun’s “We Got Divorced,” first aired in 2020, is also cited as a landmark in popularizing divorce-themed entertainment. It drew attention by reuniting divorced couples and having them spend time together, posting strong ratings from its debut and turning post-divorce relationships into observational TV. MBN’s “Divorced Singles” has continued for multiple seasons, focusing on dating and cohabitation among divorced men and women. Programs observing life after divorce have also emerged. TV Chosun’s “Now I’m Alone” follows the daily lives of people who have experienced divorce or are going through the process, including Jeon No-min, Jo Yoon-hee, Choi Dong-seok and Lee Yoon-jin. Producers said the aim was to focus not on the reasons or process, but on life after becoming single again and starting over. More recently, TV Chosun launched “X’s Private Life.” First aired March 17, it is a reality observation show in which one divorced spouse watches the other’s current daily life and new relationships. While the program says it aims to look at life after divorce and the process of moving on, the format — observing an ex-spouse’s private life — has raised questions about how far divorce entertainment can go without becoming exploitative. A shifting social climate has also helped divorce become a broader TV theme. According to the National Data Center’s “2025 Marriage and Divorce Statistics,” South Korea recorded 88,130 divorces in 2025, down 3.3% from the previous year. Divorce is no longer viewed as an extremely rare event, and patterns have diversified, including the highest share coming from couples married 30 years or more. That context helps explain the split in public response. Some say divorce is part of a person’s life experience and not something that must be hidden, and that more candid conversations are now possible. Others argue divorce is being consumed too casually, especially when an ex-spouse works in the same industry or the breakup involved public conflict, because a single remark can quickly revive the other person’s name and past events. The issue is not whether divorce can be discussed, but how — and how far. Turning one’s experience into humor is different from repeatedly exposing private life in a way that pulls in the other party. Broadcasters may be moving away from treating divorce as taboo, but if that shift works mainly by reopening someone’s wounds, discomfort is likely to persist.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 14:04:52

China Expects 1.52 Billion Trips Over May Day Holiday, Boosting Hopes for Consumption China is bracing for a surge in travel during the five-day May Day holiday from May 1 to May 5, with expectations that the rush will help revive domestic demand. The Ministry of Transport said at a recent briefing it expects total passenger movement during the holiday to reach a record 1.52 billion trips. Average daily travel is projected at 304 million trips, up 4% from a year earlier and a new high. On May 1, the first day of the break, travel is expected to hit 344 million trips. Road travel is expected to dominate. An average of 64 million vehicles a day are forecast to be on the roads, and more than 90% of travelers are expected to use highways. Rail and air travel are estimated at more than 107 million and more than 219 million trips, respectively. The travel rush could exceed forecasts as schools in many areas begin spring break from late April to early May, effectively extending the holiday for some families. A shift from overseas trips to domestic travel is also emerging. China Daily, a state-run English-language newspaper, said the outbreak of war in Iran has pushed up jet fuel prices and increased uncertainty for international flights, strengthening preferences for domestic travel. Online travel agency Qunar said bookings for domestic long-distance trips of more than 800 kilometers rose more than 30% from a year earlier, while Spring Tour said reservations for domestic travel products increased about 20%. Wang Feng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that with a longer break, both passenger transport and tourist numbers are expected to exceed last year’s levels. He said the holiday could produce broad-based gains across dining, lodging, transportation and retail. The government is also moving to spur spending. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said it will hold about 13,700 cultural and tourism events during a “May Day cultural and tourism consumption week” and distribute consumption coupons and subsidies totaling 284 million yuan (about 61.6 billion won). Last year’s May Day holiday saw domestic tourist trips rise 6.4% from a year earlier to 314 million, while tourism spending increased 8% to 180.269 billion yuan. China’s economy grew 5% in the first quarter, but the recovery in domestic demand has been slower, with retail sales growth in March remaining in the 1% range. Expectations are high that this year’s May Day holiday will help lift consumer sentiment and add momentum to spending. At a Chinese Communist Party Politburo meeting on the 28th, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need to make full use of domestic demand potential. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 14:03:22

SK Square Hits 52-Week High on SK Hynix Rally SK Square rose to an intraday 52-week high on Wednesday, lifted by strength in shares of chipmaker SK Hynix. According to the Korea Exchange, SK Square was trading at 845,000 won as of 1:39 p.m., up 15,000 won, or 1.81%, from the previous session. The stock climbed as high as 877,000 won during the session, setting a new 52-week high. The move was widely seen as reflecting expectations that SK Square’s stake value will rise as SK Hynix shares advance. SK Square is SK Hynix’s largest shareholder with a 20.5% stake and is a holding company focused on investments in information and communications technology, artificial intelligence and semiconductors. Brokerage optimism also continued. NH Investment & Securities said in a report Wednesday that it raised its target price for SK Square to 1.10 million won from 740,000 won, citing a strong semiconductor cycle and what it described as a virtuous cycle of shareholder returns. It maintained a “buy” rating. Ahn Jaemin, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said SK Hynix — which accounts for an “absolute” share of SK Square’s net asset value — has continued a steep rise on the back of favorable semiconductor conditions, adding that SK Square’s corporate value has been rising in tandem. Ahn said the stock’s high sensitivity reflects expectations that business expansion, including additional mergers and acquisitions within the semiconductor value chain, could emerge around SK Square. He also cited an active shareholder-return policy, including annual share buybacks and cancellations. He added that the company plans a 200 billion won cash dividend this year and said SK Square’s relatively smaller market-cap weight than SK Hynix offers a supply-and-demand advantage for benchmark-tracking institutional investors seeking to increase exposure. Ahn also said the semiconductor industry is undergoing structural change as diversified memory is adopted in line with a trend he called “layering of computation,” arguing that demand is unlikely to fade quickly. He said that supports expectations for further gains in SK Hynix shares and, in turn, SK Square’s corporate value.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-30 13:56:03