Lotte Cinema Unveils February Exclusive “Lottepick” Animation Lineup Lotte Cinema has announced its February lineup for “Lottepick,” a series of exclusive theatrical releases. With animation emerging as a major draw at the box office, the chain said it curated three themed titles aimed at both families on school break and dedicated animation fans. “I Am Star! X Pripara The Movie -Miracle of Encounter!-,” a collaboration marking the 10th anniversary of “I Am Star!” and “Pripara,” will open exclusively on Feb. 4. The two franchises are long-running staples of girls’ animation, and the film brings to theaters a crossover project fans have sought for years. The children’s series “Octonauts” returns with a new season, “Land Creature Rescue Operation,” opening Feb. 12. Lotte Cinema described it as an adventure education animation in which the Octonauts and their agents set out to rescue land animals, expanding their missions beyond the sea to land and sky. “Baby Tyranno Devo: It’s OK to Be a Herbivore!” opens Feb. 25. The coming-of-age adventure follows Devo, a baby carnivorous dinosaur raised among a herd of herbivores, as he navigates mishaps and friendships. Set in the Cretaceous period, the film features Devo, his family and a range of colorful dinosaur characters. Lotte Cinema said, “To match the school vacation season and holidays, we selected three animated films that all generations can enjoy together. We will continue to introduce outstanding content across genres each month through ‘Lottepick.’”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 16:36:21

SK hynix posts record annual operating profit of 47.2 trillion won SK hynix reported an annual operating profit of 47.2 trillion won, its highest on record. 2026-01-28 16:36:18

Former first lady sentenced to 20 months in prison for bribery charges SEOUL, January 28 (AJP) - Former first lady Kim Keon Hee was sentenced on Wednesday to one year and eight months in prison for accepting bribes, one of multiple allegations against her. In a televised verdict, the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul found her guilty of accepting luxury handbags and jewelry in return for favors from secretive religious sect Unification Church, better known as the Moonies. However, it dismissed charges that she was allegedly involved in a stock manipulation scheme and in interfering with candidate nominations during the 2022 by-elections. The sentence was far shorter than the 15-year prison term prosecutors had sought last month. The court also ordered Kim to forfeit 12.8 million won (US$8,988). With Wednesday's ruling, Kim and her husband, who was sentenced to five years in prison earlier this month over one of several charges related to his botched Dec. 3 martial law debacle in 2024, became the country's first former presidential couple to both be imprisoned on criminal convictions. Meanwhile, later in the day, Kweon Seong-dong, the former leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), was sentenced to two years in prison for receiving 100 million won in political funds from the church in 2022. 2026-01-28 16:35:33

South Korea to End Capital-Area Commuter Buses Run by Relocated Public Agencies Public agencies that relocated outside the Seoul metropolitan area will be required to stop operating chartered commuter buses to and from the capital region, a move aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of the relocation policy. The government said it will also prepare measures to improve living conditions in innovation cities. According to the government on Tuesday, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport sent official notices to public agencies on Monday and Tuesday instructing them to wind down capital-area charter commuter bus operations run by agencies moved to innovation cities. The guidance calls for ending operations within three months, and completing all terminations within six months if contract cancellations trigger penalties. The step follows comments by President Lee Jae Myung at a New Year’s news conference on Jan. 21, when he said there is no relocation effect if agencies move to the regions but still run charter buses for commuting to the capital. A ministry survey found that, as of the end of last year, 47 of 149 relocated public agencies were operating charter commuter buses to the capital region. The buses operate from eight innovation cities, excluding Busan and Jeju, with about 22 billion won spent annually. In North Chungcheong Province, 10 of 11 agencies run weekday commuter buses to the capital region; in Gangwon Province, six of 11 do. Commuter buses for civil servants traveling between the capital region and the Government Complex Sejong were fully suspended in December 2021. The ministry said that more than a decade after the relocations, some agencies are still running commuter buses for employees traveling to the capital rather than supporting local settlement. It said the practice undermines regional economic contributions and efforts to revitalize innovation cities, and that the decision was made after interagency discussions. Separately, the ministry said it plans to speed up work to improve living conditions in innovation cities. It said ministries are identifying short-term tasks with their affiliated agencies and will also work with local governments to develop measures to improve conditions in innovation cities during a second phase of public agency relocations. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 16:30:25

South Korea to Launch Public Growth Fund in June, Begins Design Talks South Korea’s Public Participation Growth Fund is expected to be launched and sold around June. The Financial Services Commission said it held its first task force meeting on Tuesday to discuss the fund’s product structure and management plan. The policy fund is designed to let ordinary investors make long-term investments in advanced strategic industries through a publicly offered fund. The public fund will spread money across multiple sub-funds managed by private investment professionals. Key targets are expected to include companies tied to advanced strategic industries such as semiconductors and secondary batteries, as well as related infrastructure firms. The goal is to raise 600 billion won a year, totaling 3 trillion won over five years. Participants agreed the tax benefits are more generous than those offered by existing policy funds, including an income deduction of up to 40% depending on the investment amount and a separate 9% tax rate on dividend income. They also said product design should balance the policy goal of long-term investment in advanced strategic industries with fund returns. The task force plans further talks on the main investment targets and allocation ratios, incentives and performance reviews to encourage managers to run the fund in line with its purpose, and criteria for selecting sub-fund managers. The commission said it plans to finalize and announce the product structure in March, then select managers for the public fund and sub-funds before launching the product for retail investors around June.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 16:30:19

SK hynix to Cancel 12.24 Trillion Won in Treasury Shares * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 16:27:26

Ruling, opposition parties agree to pass 90 noncontroversial bills; filibuster dropped The ruling and opposition parties agreed to pass 90 noncontroversial livelihood-related bills at Wednesday’s plenary session. The People Power Party said it will withdraw its filibusters on those bills. Cheon Jun-ho, floor operations deputy chief of the Democratic Party, and Yoo Sang-bum, floor operations deputy chief of the People Power Party, said they reached the deal Tuesday during talks at the National Assembly on the plenary agenda. Cheon said that of 175 bills slated for the plenary session, the parties agreed to prioritize urgent livelihood measures and pass 90 of them. He said a revision to the National Assembly Act needs further discussion and is expected to be finalized through additional talks between the floor leaders. Yoo said the parties agreed to pass the bills included in the deal by withdrawing the filibusters that had been requested. The parties’ floor leaders are set to meet later Tuesday afternoon to continue final talks on the National Assembly Act revision. 2026-01-28 16:27:18

ADOR Says Min Hee Jin’s NewJeans Tampering Claims Should Be Settled in Court ADOR distanced itself from a news conference held by former CEO Min Hee Jin’s side over allegations of “tampering” involving K-pop group NewJeans. After the news conference on Tuesday, ADOR said, “If they have claims, it’s something to be argued in court.” Earlier Tuesday, a news conference titled “The truth about tampering by former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin and the Dabolink stock price manipulation case” was held at the Kyowon Jonggak Building in Seoul’s Jongno district. Kim Sun Woong, an attorney at law firm Jiam representing Min, attended. Min did not. Kim said the event was meant to “set the record straight” on the “NewJeans tampering allegations” raised during ADOR’s damages lawsuit and in contract termination and damages suits involving some NewJeans members. Min’s side argued the tampering allegations were orchestrated by a stock price manipulation group and were unrelated to her. They also raised the possibility of involvement by members’ families and a specific businessman, and claimed there were signs ADOR’s management and its largest shareholder knew of it but sought to use it in legal disputes.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 16:27:00

Kia Says U.S. Tariffs Cut Profit; Bets on Hybrids and EVs to Rebound Kia said U.S. tariffs pushed its operating profit below 10 trillion won for the first time in three years, and it expects its annual tariff bill to remain above 3 trillion won despite a lower rate. The automaker said it plans to expand sales in major markets including the United States, Europe and India and step up cost-cutting to restore operating profit to 10 trillion won this year. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Kia reported 114.1409 trillion won in revenue last year and 9.0781 trillion won in operating profit. Revenue rose 6.2% from a year earlier, while operating profit fell 28.3%. On an earnings conference call, Kia said U.S. tariffs cut operating profit by 1.022 trillion won in the fourth quarter. For the full year, the impact totaled about 3.093 trillion won. Kia forecast this year’s tariff burden at 3.3 trillion won to 3.5 trillion won, higher than last year. Although South Korea and the United States agreed to cut the tariff rate to 15% from 25%, Kia said it effectively began paying the tariff in May last year, while it expects to bear the impact for the full year in 2026. Even with uncertainty from U.S. tariffs and rising incentives amid tougher competition, Kia said it will pursue growth by expanding sales of hybrids and electric vehicles. Kim Seung-jun, executive vice president and head of Kia’s finance division, said the company views the third quarter of last year as its low point and said it saw a partial turnaround in the fourth quarter. He said the 15% tariff rate took effect Nov. 1, but “purely” applying the 15% rate did not happen until late November because of inventory at its U.S. sales unit. He said Kia expects improved results starting in the first quarter. For 2026, Kia projected sales of 3.35 million vehicles, revenue of 122.3 trillion won, operating profit of 10.2 trillion won and an operating margin of 8.3%. The company said wholesale volume would rise 6.8% from last year and revenue would increase 7.2%. In the United States, Kia plans to drive growth centered on SUVs and hybrids, citing the Telluride, a new Seltos and additional hybrid models. In Europe, it plans to launch the EV2 early this year and complete a mass-market EV lineup spanning the EV3, EV4 and EV5 to strengthen its EV leadership. In India, it plans to target premium SUV buyers with launches including a new Seltos to bolster its market position. In Europe, Kia set a sales target of 594,000 vehicles, up 11.1% from a year earlier, despite intensifying competition from Chinese and European companies. Kia said that in the fourth quarter, EV sales in Europe surpassed gasoline vehicles for the first time. It said the 11% growth target reflects its expanded EV lineup launched since the second half of last year and higher incentives. Kia said incentives in Europe rose about 10% last year and are expected to increase by a similar pace this year. In the United States, Kia set a target of 892,000 vehicles, up 5% from a year earlier, saying internal combustion engine vehicles and hybrids are replacing EVs as EV subsidies end and environmental regulations ease. It said it plans to increase output of ICE and hybrid models. 2026-01-28 16:24:20

South Korea Probes Firm Sanctioned by U.S. Over Nonproliferation Law Allegations South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that relevant authorities are investigating a South Korean company after the United States added it to a sanctions list over alleged violations of laws aimed at preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction and missile technology. The ministry said South Korea and the United States have been in ongoing communication and that Seoul was aware of the move in advance. It added that the government has joined international efforts to prevent transfers of materials that could contribute to WMD development and said it will continue those efforts while staying in close contact with the United States. The U.S. State Department said Tuesday, local time, that it designated six individuals and entities for sanctions over alleged illegal trade in WMD- and missile-related technology or items with North Korea or Iran and Syria, among others. Those designated include South Korean company JS Research, North Korean national Choe Chol Min and the Foreign Affairs Bureau of North Korea’s Second Academy of Natural Sciences (SANS FAB). Companies from China, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates were also listed. Under the sanctions, the targets are barred from U.S. government procurement contracts for goods and services. They also face limits on participation in U.S. government assistance programs and on transactions involving items listed on the U.S. Munitions List. They also cannot obtain new licenses to receive export-controlled items under the Export Control Reform Act, and all existing licenses are suspended. The sanctions took effect Jan. 22 and will remain in place for two years.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 16:21:48