Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Ho-young rushed to hospital on 12th day of hunger strike Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Ho-young, who has been on a hunger strike for 12 days while alleging unfairness in the party’s North Jeolla governor primary, was rushed to an emergency room. Ahn entered the primary but lost to candidate Lee Won-taek. Since then, he has demanded a renewed inspection into allegations that Lee’s meal expenses were paid on his behalf. According to Ahn’s side, at about 1:40 p.m. on the 22nd he was transported by ambulance to Noksaek Hospital in Jungnang-gu, following recommendations from presidential political affairs aide Cho Jung-sik and medical staff. Earlier, senior party officials Lee Eon-ju and Kang Deuk-gu held an emergency news conference at the National Assembly urging Ahn to end the fast. Also present was North Jeolla Gov. Kim Kwan-young, who was expelled over allegations involving the distribution of cash-filled envelopes and was unable to take part in the primary. Kim has voiced support for Ahn’s protest. Lee Eon-ju said the party leadership held a heated debate after controversy involving Lee Won-taek surfaced but failed to push through a delay of the primary. “It hurt to see Ahn demanding a fair process through a hunger strike,” she said, adding that Ahn’s condition was not good. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik also visited Ahn’s tent protest site the previous day and urged him to stop fasting. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-22 14:15:18

LG Innotek hits record intraday high on expectations for strong substrate business growth LG Innotek set an intraday record high on expectations that a boom in its substrate business will lift earnings. As of 2 p.m. on Tuesday, LG Innotek was trading at 489,500 won, up 64,500 won, or 15.18%, from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. The stock rose as high as 505,000 won during the session, marking a new all-time high. Brokerages said market conditions are improving quickly for high value-added substrates such as multilayer boards (MLB) and flip-chip ball grid array (FCBGA). They said a trend of higher supply prices that began with FCBGA is spreading across the broader substrate lineup. U.S. big-tech customers are reported to be placing orders early and offering investment support to secure FCBGA supply. As global substrate makers focus on expanding FCBGA capacity and developing technology, supply of some lower-end substrates is becoming constrained, the report said. The supply limits are also spreading to other products, including system-in-package (SiP) substrates, adding to upward pressure on prices. The industry expects benefits to widen in stages, from high-layer FCBGA to general-purpose and low-priced FCBGA, and then to SiP substrates. Park Hyeong-woo, an analyst at SK Securities, said LG Innotek’s substrate division is expected to post about 1.4 trillion won in revenue and about 200 billion won in operating profit this year. He said the company’s current valuation is undervalued compared with domestic substrate makers with similar earnings scale. Park added that growth prospects for SiP substrates remain intact after FCBGA, and that considering the largest customer’s 2027 production expansion plan, year-on-year profit growth is likely to continue for six consecutive quarters. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-22 14:12:57

Aluminum Stocks Jump in South Korea on Fears U.S.-Iran Truce Talks Could Collapse Aluminum-related shares surged in South Korea on Tuesday, as concerns that U.S.-Iran truce talks could fall apart fueled expectations of supply disruptions and higher prices. According to the Korea Exchange, Sam-A Aluminum was up 23.08% at 72,000 won as of 1:56 p.m., from the previous session’s close. The stock rose as high as 76,000 won during the session. Other aluminum-linked shares also gained, including Choil Aluminum, up 12.94%, Namsun Aluminum, up 2.90%, and Aluko, up 2.53%. In a report Tuesday, Samsung Futures researcher Ok Ji-hoe cited global commodities broker Mercuria as saying the global aluminum market is facing a severe “black swan” risk this year due to the war in the Middle East. Mercuria estimated the aluminum market could face a supply shortfall of at least 2 million tons by the end of this year. The Middle East has about 7 million tons of annual aluminum smelting capacity, about 9% of expected global supply this year. Ok said the U.S. aluminum premium hit a record high of $2,521.5 per ton, while the European aluminum premium rose to $599 per ton, the highest in about four years.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-22 14:12:18

Automakers to recall over 500,000 vehicles due to defective parts SEOUL, April 22 (AJP) - About half a million vehicles will be recalled due to defective parts, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on Wednesday. The country's largest automaker Hyundai Motor will recall about 239,683 units across four models including the Santa Fe sport utility vehicle (SUV), the Ioniq 6 electric sedan, as well as its luxury brand Genesis' G90. The recall, set to begin on June 4, follows a similar recall in the U.S. earlier this month affecting about 294,000 vehicles over the same issue, a defect that could cause seat belt anchors to detach, increasing the risk of injuries in a crash. Its affiliate Kia will also recall 220,059 units of its square-shaped Ray compact starting next week after a flaw was found in a software program that could cause the engine to shut off while driving. KG Mobility, formerly Ssangyong, has already begun recalling 51,535 units across six models including the Torres SUV earlier this week, while Japanese automaker Toyota is set to recall 2,132 vehicles including the Prius front-wheel-drive version due to faulty rear doors, starting Thursday. 2026-04-22 14:09:19

Samsung’s Harman Doubles Sales in a Decade, Expands Auto Tech and Audio Business Harman, acquired by Samsung Electronics, has become a core growth engine built around automotive electronics and audio over the past decade, with sales more than doubling since the deal.  Samsung said on April 22 that Harman posted record annual revenue and operating profit last year. Operating profit totaled 1.5311 trillion won, and the operating margin was 9.7%, close to 10%.  Harman first topped 10 trillion won in annual revenue in 2019, reaching 10.08 trillion won. Last year, revenue rose to 15.7833 trillion won. That is more than double the 7.1034 trillion won recorded in 2017, shortly after Samsung completed the acquisition.  Samsung announced the Harman deal in November 2016 and finalized the acquisition in March 2017. The purchase price was $8 billion, about 9.4 trillion won at the time, then the largest overseas merger and acquisition by a South Korean company. Samsung described the move as a push beyond smartphones and home appliances into automotive electronics, a key field for next-generation vehicles. Harman is now positioned as a major pillar of Samsung’s non-semiconductor growth. Samsung said Harman has maintained the No. 1 global position in digital cockpits and car audio as of last year, and more than half of its revenue is known to come from automotive electronics. As in-vehicle infotainment and connected-car markets expand, Samsung expects Harman’s role to grow. Samsung said collaboration has strengthened competitiveness by combining Harman’s automotive solutions with Samsung’s semiconductors, displays and 5G technology. The companies are expanding work in areas such as in-car digital cockpits, driver experience and online connectivity. Samsung said the partnership also supports expansion of its Exynos Auto chips and SmartThings platform. In audio, Harman holds brands including JBL, AKG, Mark Levinson and Lexicon. Last year it acquired Masimo’s audio business for 500 billion won, adding premium brands such as Bowers & Wilkins, Denon and Marantz. Samsung said the lineup now spans mass-market Bluetooth speakers to ultra-premium high-end audio. This year marks JBL’s 80th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of Samsung’s announcement of the Harman acquisition. JBL, founded in 1946, has been a leading brand across venues ranging from movie theaters and concert halls to home audio, the company said. Samsung said Harman grew into the world’s largest audio company and broadened its reach further after joining Samsung by adding automotive electronics. Harman is continuing investment aimed at long-term growth. Late last year, it acquired German supplier ZF’s advanced driver-assistance systems business for 1.5 billion euros, about 2.6 trillion won. It is also making additional investments in Hungary to expand autonomous-driving research and development and production bases, Samsung said, to strengthen sensor and camera capabilities. Samsung said it plans to continue research and development by combining Harman’s audio expertise with Samsung Electronics’ innovation capabilities so customers worldwide can enjoy high-quality sound in everyday life.  2026-04-22 14:06:18

Memorial Marks 4th Anniversary of Human Rights Lawyer Han Seung-heon’s Death April 20, 2026, marked the fourth anniversary of the death of Han Seung-heon, a figure remembered not only in mourning but as a measure of conscience for his era. His guiding line was simple: “Even if you can’t live proudly, don’t live in shame.” Supporters said it was not a slogan but a way of life. Han was wary even of the label “human rights lawyer,” saying, “All lawyers are human rights lawyers.” Those who knew him said he treated the law not as a tool for the powerful but as a last safeguard for the vulnerable. He was also known for humor that colleagues described as a form of resistance. When someone at a gathering asked for a show of hands from people defended by Han who had not gone to prison, he replied: “That’s right — but raise your hand if you went to prison and didn’t say goodbye to me.” He also joked, “Prosecutors call me anti-American, but I only drink Americanos.” In the last year of his life, he continued to share poetry and laughter, and died at Woosuk University Hospital in his hometown of Jeonju, the article said. A memorial service held at Chinsu Hall at Jeonbuk National University, led by President Yang Oh-bong, brought together people who said Han devoted his life to the weak and persecuted, lived with integrity, and defended human dignity. Attendees included Kwon Noh-kap, chairman of the Kim Dae-jung Foundation; Father Song Gi-in; and singer Jang Sa-ik. Speakers also recalled that while his arguments could sound effortless, he repeatedly revised his work and prepared meticulously. Han’s pen name, “Sanmin,” was described as meaning heavy like a mountain and humble like the people. The article said he understood it as a call to stay with ordinary people, choosing the margins of suffering over the center of power. His courtroom, it said, was “always the place of the weak,” and his advocacy “the voice of conscience.” The article described three pillars of his life as self-discipline, autonomy and self-reliance, citing passages from the I Ching, the moral autonomy associated with Immanuel Kant, a Confucian ideal of following one’s heart without breaking rules, and a Zen teaching about being one’s own master wherever one stands. Han was described as a rare figure in Korea’s judicial history to have served as a prosecutor and a lawyer and to have experienced the system as a suspect, a witness and a law professor. During military rule, the article said, he served as defense counsel in many political and conscience-prisoner cases and in cases involving torture victims. It said he challenged the logic of power in major cases including the Kim Dae-jung “insurrection conspiracy” case, and faced detention and repression but did not retreat. At the memorial, his poem “My Path” was read, including the line, “I will go my way in silence.” Another poem included the vow to “become a single candle and light the darkness,” the article said. The article also recounted an anecdote in which a journalist expressed surprise that Han was not a Seoul National University law graduate but a Jeonbuk National University law graduate, prompting a senior journalist to respond: “Throw away the two dogs called prejudice and preconception.” The article added that Han graduated first in his class at Jeonju High School and judged people not by labels but by how they lived. Looking at today’s legal profession, the article said, large law firms, capital and the pursuit of material success risk turning law into technique and making justice seem relative. It argued that Han held to a basic principle: the law must exist for people. It concluded by returning to his line — “Don’t live in shame” — as a question it said today’s legal community must face. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-22 13:58:44

NH-Amundi Asset Management Outlines Five Physical AI Investment Themes NH-Amundi Asset Management, which launched what it described as South Korea’s first active exchange-traded fund focused on physical artificial intelligence, on Tuesday laid out its investment strategy for the physical AI era. The firm said companies that use AI effectively are likely to be bigger beneficiaries than those that primarily build AI, and it presented themes spanning the AI value chain, including energy, optical communications infrastructure and semiconductors. The company held a “Physical AI Investment Strategy” briefing in Seoul’s Yeouido district and named five themes to watch in the physical AI value chain: energy, optical communications infrastructure, semiconductors, AI models and applications. “Physical AI doesn’t take a single form. Humanoids and autonomous driving are only the beginning,” said Choi Dong-geun, head of the firm’s ETF management team. He said physical AI is already spreading into advanced manufacturing processes, intelligent logistics systems, automated ports and precision surgical robots, changing how industries operate, including agriculture and health care. “The imperfections of the real world created by humans are, in fact, an opportunity for AI,” he added. Choi said market leadership in the AI investment cycle has shifted in sequence from GPUs to power, high-bandwidth memory, storage and optical communications infrastructure, and he stressed the importance of identifying companies that can relieve the next bottleneck. In energy, he pointed to surging electricity demand from AI computing. “The most expensive part of implementing AI is electricity,” Choi said, adding that the ability to secure power supply and energy infrastructure is becoming a competitive advantage. He said optical communications infrastructure is emerging as a key way to ease data bottlenecks. As inference-based AI services expand and data volumes jump, network bandwidth is becoming a new constraint, he said, arguing that optical networks that can replace the limits of copper-based systems could lead the next supercycle. Choi said semiconductors should remain attractive as benefits spread beyond memory to central processing units, analog chips and power semiconductors, while hyperscalers continue to increase capital spending. He also cited Nvidia’s next-generation AI platform adopting a high-voltage direct-connection approach as another reason the importance of power semiconductors is rising. He also highlighted AI models and applications, saying AI is evolving from simple question-and-answer tools into agents that can judge and act, increasing the value of companies that apply AI in real workplaces to lift productivity and profitability. In applications, Choi said traditional manufacturers could be re-rated. He said industrial companies with strong capabilities in hydraulics, bearings, fuel control and precision control could be reborn as key component suppliers in the physical AI era. He urged investors to focus on “AI hyper-adopters” that make AI a core business tool and significantly improve profitability. The briefing also highlighted performance of the firm’s “HANARO Global Physical AI Active ETF.” As of April 20, about a year after listing, it had returned more than 127%, outperforming the Nasdaq 100 by about 78 percentage points over the same period. Kwon Yong-min, head of the ETF Product Research Team, said the fund initially searched for beneficiaries across five areas — infrastructure, robots, autonomous driving, edge AI and applications — and later increased exposure after identifying network speed and cost-efficient AI infrastructure sectors early. He said the performance gap widened in the second half as the fund added memory semiconductors, optical communications infrastructure and beneficiaries in traditional industries.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-22 13:53:25

Trump Weighs Extending Jones Act Waiver as Iran War Pressures Oil Prices President Donald Trump is considering extending a shipping-regulation waiver introduced after the Iran war pushed up fuel prices, Axios reported. Axios, citing a Trump ally, said the president is weighing an extension of a waiver of the 1920 Jones Act. The law requires cargo shipped between U.S. ports to travel on U.S.-flagged vessels, a rule long criticized for driving up transportation costs. “The president is happy with where things are,” the ally said. Trump wants to keep the waiver in place “for as long as needed” as long as Iran continues to pose a threat and lift oil prices, the person said. Trump waived the law for 60 days on March 18 after fuel prices rose following the Iran war. The move allowed foreign-flagged tankers to operate domestically, and officials have said it improved conditions for moving crude. White House data show about 40 tankers have carried crude between major ports including California, Texas, Florida and Alaska since the waiver took effect. The administration said the waiver effectively expanded available vessel capacity by about 70% and helped cut shipping costs. It said about 9 million barrels of crude have been transported so far. The administration said the impact was especially noticeable in Alaska. Jet fuel brought in under the waiver amounted to about half of the region’s average monthly consumption, it said. The waiver has also renewed debate over the Jones Act. Protectionist advocates warn that allowing foreign ships into the market could hurt U.S. shipping and shipbuilding and cost jobs. Free-market advocates argue the law is outdated and raises costs, and they have called for repeal. The conservative Hudson Institute said waiving the Jones Act could allow ships built overseas, including in China, to take U.S. jobs and could harm tens of thousands of American workers and investments worth tens of billions of dollars. The libertarian Cato Institute called the Jones Act an anachronistic and burdensome regulation that has lasted for nearly a century and urged its repeal. The White House said no final decision has been made on whether to extend the waiver. Spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the administration has taken steps to address rising costs and that data show more goods are reaching U.S. ports faster.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-22 13:52:38

Korea Private Equity Council Chief Backs Tighter Rules, Warns Against Disadvantaging Local Firms Public sentiment toward private equity funds, or PEFs, has turned sharply negative since last year, with criticism increasingly framing them as “predatory capital.” The Homeplus controversy has added to the backlash, and the government has moved to tighten regulation of the sector. Industry officials warn that rules could undermine the foundation Korea’s PEF market has built over two decades. Others say the sector must strengthen accountability and rebuild trust to ensure its role in corporate restructuring and industrial reorganization is properly recognized. Park Byeong-geon, chairman of the Private Equity Fund Council and CEO of Daishin Private Equity, met with Aju Economic Daily on the 20th. He said he broadly agrees with tougher oversight but warned against regulatory imbalance with foreign managers, while urging socially responsible investing, or SRI, to support long-term returns and restore confidence. “I agree with tighter rules, but there must be no reverse discrimination” Park said he shares “consensus” with the government and ruling party’s push to strengthen PEF regulation “in the big picture,” but added that the industry needs to weigh in on details. “The most important principle is that there should be no reverse discrimination compared with foreign managers,” he said, stressing that the goal is not to block competition but to ensure “fair competition under the same rules.” He said regulation could curb investment activity by domestic managers if it ends up favoring overseas firms. “In the process of applying certain regulations to the market, a structure could form in which domestic managers are disadvantaged and foreign managers gain a windfall,” Park said, calling that an outcome that could run counter to policy intent. Park also warned that if compliance requires excessive disclosure of trade secrets, local firms could lose competitiveness. He said disclosure of key information during fund operations could put domestic managers at a disadvantage in bidding for deals or lead to talent losses to foreign rivals. He said Korea’s PEF market was formed in the mid-2000s under government leadership, as concerns grew about protecting domestic investors and preventing an outflow of national wealth amid rising foreign capital inflows. Since then, he said, a local ecosystem has taken root, supported by domestic institutional investors such as the National Pension Service and mutual aid associations. “PEFs backed by domestic capital have a structure that must consider domestic stakeholders such as pension funds, while managers centered on foreign capital inevitably prioritize the interests of their home-country investors,” Park said. “If homegrown PEFs grow properly, positive effects can flow back to domestic investors and the broader industrial base.” “PEFs will be a key pillar of the National Growth Fund” Park said that despite the poor public perception, domestic PEFs have played a meaningful role and that leveraging those strengths can help Korea’s industrial development. He said domestic PEFs can also work effectively with policy finance initiatives the current government is emphasizing. “Policy funds such as the National Growth Fund require venture capital and PEFs to play roles together,” Park said. “If venture firms identify early-stage companies, PEFs should supply large-scale capital at the growth stage to support scale-ups.” He said some promising startups, including in AI, seek overseas funding at the scale-up stage because of a domestic investment gap. That, he said, can increase financing burdens and lead to growth and returns flowing abroad. Park said PEFs, with experience executing large investments, can play a central role in the National Growth Fund. He said about 70% of PEF investment goes to small and midsize companies, and 40% to 50% to technology companies, adding that the industry will mobilize its capabilities accordingly. He said the National Growth Fund is expected to channel capital across key national industries including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotech, aerospace and defense. If such an investment ecosystem takes hold, he said, it could become an important foundation for Korea’s push to join the ranks of advanced economies. “The National Growth Fund is not simply a supply of capital, but a policy to strengthen the entire growth stage of Korean industry,” Park said, adding that the PEF industry is ready to contribute. “Social responsibility is performance” Park emphasized the need for socially responsible investing to restore long-term trust after major controversies in the private equity industry. He also argued that SRI can support returns. “Comparing the returns of general funds and funds that consider ESG, the performance of funds that consider ESG is actually higher,” Park said. “The existing perception that social responsibility conflicts with profitability needs to be reconsidered.” He said overseas markets, including Europe, already show data supporting the performance of responsible investing, and predicted a similar trend could emerge in Korea within three to five years given private equity’s long-term investment horizon. “Socially responsible investing is morally right, but it does not necessarily move in inverse proportion to profitability,” he said, adding that the industry will continue to strengthen such investment. Industry data in Korea also point in that direction, he said. According to the industry, employment at companies backed by PEFs rose an average 9.1% a year, well above the overall market average in the 4% range. Wages increased an average 9.3% a year, above the national average in the 3% range, and the share of regular workers was about 94%, indicating stronger job stability. Park attributed the trend to policy and market shifts. He said government regulation is also providing incentives that consider environmental and social factors, and consumers are increasingly assigning higher brand value to companies that demonstrate responsibility, which he said can support corporate value and returns over the long term. Park said 251 institutions in Korea participate in the stewardship code, including 75 PEFs, the largest participation by sector. He said that reflects continued emphasis by major institutional investors, including the National Pension Service, on responsible investment and stewardship code implementation. He added that the industry plans to further strengthen self-regulation and responsible investment in line with efforts to advance the code, including what he described as “Stewardship Code Season 2” presented by National Pension Service Chairman Kim Seong-ju. “There will be no repeat of the Homeplus incident” Park also underscored private equity’s economic role. He said PEFs account for more than half of Korea’s M&A market, and annual investment totals about 30 trillion won, far exceeding venture investment. He said the industry has invested a cumulative roughly $57 billion in high-risk, high-growth sectors such as AI, semiconductors and renewable energy, serving as a “risk absorber” in areas difficult to fund with public resources alone. He added that research and development investment and capital expenditures have increased an average 16% and 10% a year, respectively, strengthening long-term growth foundations. Park said self-regulation and greater transparency are needed. “Ultimately, the goal is to compete on equal terms with foreign managers while establishing ourselves as responsible investors that contribute to the Korean economy,” he said. “We must ensure something like Homeplus never happens again,” Park said. “In particular, homegrown PEFs have a very strong will to prevent any recurrence.” 2026-04-22 13:47:25

PEF Council Chair Park Byeong-geon Says Group Aims to Launch Industry Association in Second Half The private equity fund (PEF) industry’s biggest issue this year is launching an industry association. The sector is working to convert the existing PEF council into a formal association, with a target of launching in the second half of the year. The move is aimed at unifying the industry’s policy-response channel as financial authorities tighten regulation. Park Byeong-geon, chairman of the private equity council, said he is confident the association can be launched within the year. “Views cannot match 100% on the transition, but a large number of member firms agree with the purpose,” he said. Park said an association would have broad impact across the industry by strengthening its role as a single window for conveying the sector’s views to policymakers. He said the group would speak up “so that reverse discrimination does not occur” against domestic managers compared with overseas firms during the process of introducing new rules. He also cited stronger self-regulation as a reason for the push. “The industry’s own self-regulation must also go hand in hand,” Park said, adding that firms should strengthen internal controls and help establish sound market order to prevent a repeat of cases such as the Homeplus incident. Park said the association would also seek to improve the industry’s image. He said perceptions of private equity have been shaped more negatively than warranted and that its positive roles — including corporate restructuring, growth support and industrial reorganization — have not been sufficiently recognized. He added that buying struggling companies, improving their fundamentals and transferring them to more suitable investors can play a meaningful economic role and should be properly evaluated. Park said the group also plans to more actively publicize results related to expanding socially responsible investment. “The PEF industry is already carrying out various socially responsible investment activities, but they tend to be undervalued,” he said, adding that the industry will use related data to more clearly communicate its contributions. “We will work to launch the association within the second half of this year,” Park said. “We will strive for private equity to take root as a sound member of the Korean economy.” * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-22 13:46:32