Reform Party floor leader proposes bill to exempt children's play noise from regulation Cheon Ha-ram, floor leader of the Reform Party, said Monday he has introduced amendments to the Noise and Vibration Control Act and the Minor Offenses Act that would, in principle, exclude sounds generated during child care, education and play from being treated as regulated noise. Cheon said the bills would exempt sounds from activities at day care centers, kindergartens, schools and children’s playgrounds from the scope of noise under the current Noise and Vibration Control Act and from “nearby disturbance” provisions under the Minor Offenses Act. “Children’s voices are not noise,” Cheon said. “Schools should not repeatedly end up closing their playgrounds because they feel pressured by complaints and reports.” He said lawmakers from five parties agreed to pursue legal safeguards so children can “run and laugh freely” on Children’s Day. Cheon previously released analysis saying there were 350 reports to the 112 emergency line related to school sports days in 2025, and that 345 of those led to police being dispatched. He also raised the issue during a National Assembly question-and-answer session last month on education, social and cultural affairs, pressing Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Interior and Safety Minister Yoon Ho-jung and Education Minister Choi Gyo-jin about noise complaints at schools and the need for outdoor activities for children and teenagers. At the time, Cheon said a small number of people who file excessive complaints were depriving children of the right to play. He questioned whether it was appropriate for police patrol cars to be sent to schools when noise-related reports are filed during sports days.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-05 12:00:16

Former South Korean prime minister Lee Hong-koo dies at 92 SEOUL, May 05 (AJP) - Former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hong-koo, a prominent scholar-statesman who led the government during the mid-1990s and managed critical diplomatic ties with the United States, died on May 5. He was 92. Lee served as a rare bridge between academia and high-level politics, holding senior positions under both conservative and liberal administrations. His career spanned several pivotal moments in modern South Korean history, including the 1997~1998 Asian financial crisis. Born in 1934, Lee graduated from the Seoul National University College of Law before pursuing further studies in the United States. He earned a doctorate in political science from Yale University and returned to South Korea in 1968 to serve as a professor at his alma mater. His transition to public service began in 1988 when he was appointed as the Minister of National Unification. He later served as a special advisor to the president and as the ambassador to the United Kingdom before being named the 28th prime minister in 1994 under President Kim Young-sam. In 1998, under the liberal Kim Dae-jung administration, Lee took the post of ambassador to the United States. He is credited with stabilizing the bilateral relationship during the height of the economic turmoil commonly referred to in South Korea as the IMF crisis. After returning from Washington in 2000, Lee joined the JoongAng Ilbo as an advisor. He remained an active public voice through a regular column where he provided insights on inter-Korean relations and domestic political affairs. Lee is survived by his wife, Park Han-ok, his son Lee Hyun-woo, and his daughters Lee So-young and Lee Min-young. The family includes daughter-in-law Hwang Ji-young and son-in-law Lee Kang-ho. A funeral service will be held at the Seoul Asan Hospital until May 8, followed by burial at the Cheonan Memorial Park. 2026-05-05 11:39:37

Korean Financial Groups Warn Inclusive Finance Could Strain Asset Quality Finance always speaks two languages: growth and risk. It helps companies expand, creates jobs and supports the broader economy. But it also measures and manages the losses that can come with that expansion. When those forces stay in balance, finance underpins society. When one side dominates, finance can become the starting point of a crisis. Recent signals from South Korea’s major financial holding companies to overseas investors suggest that balance is under pressure. KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group and Woori Financial Group have each said that expanding “productive finance” and inclusive finance could weigh on future soundness. They warned that a push to grow corporate lending can lead to bad loans, and that support for vulnerable borrowers carries a higher risk of delinquency. The fact that the firms formally disclosed such concerns to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is significant, indicating internal worries have become an external message. On its face, the message can sound odd. Finance is expected to support businesses and help people in difficulty. Why describe those roles as risks? The answer is that finance is not simply lending money; it is pricing risk. Lending means taking on the possibility of loss, and finance is sustainable only when returns match that risk. When that principle weakens, finance turns into a policy tool and ultimately erodes its own foundation. That is where inclusive finance creates tension. Its purpose is to provide funding to people who struggle to borrow under normal market rules. If risk is fully reflected in pricing, those borrowers face higher interest rates or exclusion from credit. Inclusive finance therefore adjusts market pricing by design, putting the principle of risk-based pricing in direct conflict with the policy goal of lowering costs. Resolving that conflict does not require abandoning principles, but redesigning the system. The core idea is to share the burden rather than pretend risk disappears. Parts the market cannot absorb can be offset externally, while financial institutions manage risk within reasonable limits. Examples include government interest subsidies or guarantee agencies absorbing part of the losses. In that sense, the central question is not whether to lower prices, but who pays the difference. Debate often stops at the idea of “spreading losses,” but that raises another question: Who ultimately bears them? If the government guarantees loans and injects fiscal resources, the cost eventually falls on taxpayers. If it is problematic to impose the burden on banks alone, it is also fair to ask whether shifting it to society as a whole is justified. The article argues the question cannot be avoided, even if the answer is not simple. Financial-crisis history shows that costs paid early can be far smaller than costs paid after a collapse. The U.S. financial crisis and Europe’s fiscal crisis followed a similar pattern: risks were left unchecked at first, then much larger public funds were deployed after problems erupted. The choice, it says, is whether to pay manageable costs now or face unmanageable costs later. What matters, then, is not whether costs are shared, but the conditions for doing so. It is not justified for taxpayers to absorb all risks. But in areas tied to overall stability, some shared burden may be unavoidable. That requires clear standards: who qualifies for support, how large programs should be, and how results will be evaluated. Without such rules, dispersing losses becomes a way to evade responsibility. Overseas cases illustrate the point. The 2008 global financial crisis is often labeled the “subprime mortgage” crisis. Under a policy goal of expanding homeownership among low-income households, lending increased, and those loans were packaged into complex financial products that spread worldwide. The article notes the collapse cannot be explained by a single cause; policy-driven credit expansion and excessive risk-taking by financial institutions combined to bring down the system. It was neither only a policy failure nor only a market failure. Europe, it says, left a similar lesson. Southern European countries expanded credit to boost growth and maintain social stability, but finance not linked to productivity eventually turned into bad debt. The result was fiscal stress and instability in the financial system. Finance can support policy, the article argues, but it cannot replace policy itself. South Korea has not reached that stage. Delinquency rates are rising but remain within a manageable range, and the financial system is stable. Still, the direction is clear, the article says: the pace of policy finance is beginning to outstrip the financial sector’s capacity. The task now is not simply to slow down, but to fix the structure. First, the roles of policy and finance should be separated. The government can set direction and goals, but it should not unilaterally shift costs onto financial institutions. Policy costs should be addressed with policy tools, including fiscal spending, guarantees and tax measures, in a structure that shares burdens. Second, financial institutions should keep to their principles. They can cooperate with policy, but should not loosen risk-management standards. Lowering standards for short-term results, the article warns, can produce larger long-term costs. Finance’s most important asset is trust, rooted in soundness. Third, transparency should be strengthened. The disclosures to overseas investors were more than routine filings, the article says; they were a warning about the current structure. Risks detected internally will eventually become visible externally, making management more important than concealment. Fourth, the pace should be managed. Finance is not a sprint. Rapid expansion is easy, but the aftereffects can last. The article calls for a step-by-step approach that checks policy results as programs grow. The article concludes that finance does not run on good intentions alone. Intent matters, but without a supporting structure, good intentions can quickly turn into bad loans. Inclusive finance is necessary, it says, but to be sustainable it needs clear rules on pace, costs and responsibility. The signal from the financial sector is straightforward: the direction may be right, but the design is lacking. If policymakers and markets do not absorb that warning together, the article says, South Korea could end up repeating a path other countries have already taken.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-05 11:18:21

Gunfire erupts near White House during Trump event, second shooting in 9 days U.S. Secret Service agents exchanged gunfire with an armed suspect near the White House complex on May 4 (local time), raising fresh security concerns around President Donald Trump as Washington has seen a second shooting in nine days. According to The Associated Press and other outlets, Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn said plainclothes agents spotted the man around 3:30 p.m. near the White House complex and saw what appeared to be a firearm on his body. Quinn said the agents followed the man briefly and relayed the information to uniformed officers. When uniformed officers approached, the unidentified man tried to flee and fired at agents, prompting them to return fire, Quinn said. The suspect was taken to a nearby hospital, and his condition was not immediately known, Quinn said. A minor wounded by gunfire was also taken to a hospital and was not in life-threatening condition. It was not confirmed whether the minor was hit by the suspect’s gunfire. Quinn said, “Medical personnel will determine that,” but added that investigators believe the minor was struck by the suspect’s shots. The Metropolitan Police Department will lead the investigation. The Secret Service urged the public to avoid the area as the response continued. Trump was holding an event related to small businesses at the White House at the time. After the shooting, the White House was temporarily locked down, and reporters outside were moved into the briefing room. Trump did not stop the event and continued with his schedule. The incident came after a May 25 case in which a suspect tried to force his way into the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner venue at the Washington Hilton Hotel while carrying a gun and a bladed weapon. The suspect, Cole Thomas Allen, was charged, including with using a firearm and assaulting a federal officer. In that case, one Secret Service agent avoided serious injury because the agent was wearing body armor. Quinn declined to speculate on whether the latest shooting was aimed at Trump. “I won’t speculate,” he said, adding that it is not yet known whether the president was the target but that it would be determined later. Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade was confirmed to have passed through the area shortly before the shooting, but there were no indications the suspect was targeting Vance. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-05 11:15:04

Coupang to Donate Up to 180,000 New Fashion Items to Vulnerable Children, Families Coupang is launching a large-scale giving campaign to support vulnerable groups, including underserved children, by donating new fashion items in proportion to what customers buy. According to the industry on the 5th, Coupang will run a promotion through the end of this month titled “One Piece of My Clothing That Becomes a Donation,” and plans to donate up to 180,000 fashion items to Good Neighbors, a global NGO specializing in children’s rights. The campaign is the company’s second relay-style giving effort this year, following a book-donation drive for children in underserved households held in March. It is designed as a “matching donation” program, linking everyday shopping directly to giving. Under the program, when customers purchase items in Coupang’s fashion category — including men’s and women’s apparel such as T-shirts, pants and dresses, as well as children’s clothing, underwear, shoes and bags — donation items are accumulated in the same quantity. To bolster transparency, real-time progress will be posted on the promotion page. Coupang said all donated items, up to 180,000, will be new products currently sold on its platform. More than 50,000 pieces are set aside for infants’ and children’s clothing, which the company said could provide practical help to low-income families where children quickly outgrow clothes. All accumulated items will be delivered through Good Neighbors to underserved children and local residents in South Korea and abroad immediately after the campaign ends. A Coupang official said the campaign was planned so customers can “naturally take part in giving through everyday shopping,” adding that the company will continue expanding social-contribution efforts that provide “practical help” to marginalized neighbors. Coupang has also been running other initiatives for vulnerable communities. On April 7, marking Health Day, it began operating “Coupang Ondongne Care,” a health screening project that visits residents in depopulating areas with limited medical infrastructure. The program was launched with the aim of building a health safety net by minimizing underserved areas in medical services, similar to Coupang’s logistics network, the company said. Coupang plans to visit township-level areas nationwide at least once a month, including regions in Jeolla, Gyeongsang, Gangwon and Chungcheong, focusing on communities with poor access to hospitals. The company said it will continue expanding Ondongne Care by touring medically underserved areas nationwide, starting with Jangsu County and holding the next program this month in Danyang, North Chungcheong Province.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-05 11:13:15

Inside a Seoul Hotel Remade as Youth Housing With AI Training and Coworking “Many residents work in AI, and after joining the community my portfolio really got stronger,” said Lim Ji-yoon, a resident at Eskis Gasan. “They recruited residents and even ran speech training. There were many chances to do productive things.” Lim, who moved into the complex through a special allocation for digital-industry workers, spoke during a visit on April 30 to Eskis Gasan in Seoul’s Geumcheon District. South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has begun expanding public rentals by remodeling nonresidential buildings. The program is part of a purchase-lease public rental housing initiative that buys vacant office and commercial properties and converts them into homes. The goal is to supply 2,000 units for young people and newly married couples near subway stations and university areas. Eskis Gasan is a converted former hotel, once called Haedamchae Hotel. A second-floor hotel office was turned into a study room, and the rooftop was remade into community space including a lounge. The building is about a six-minute walk from Gasan Digital Complex Station on Seoul Subway Lines 1 and 7. Designed as a “specialized” purchase-lease rental, it includes studios and meeting areas for digital-industry workers. A fitness room is on the second basement level, while the second floor has a coworking area set up like a shared office and a filming studio. “It’s not just a place to live,” Lee said. “We tried to preserve the hotel structure as much as possible while reworking the layout for what young residents need.” The complex also operates education programs alongside housing. It offers AI and startup-to-employment training for residents, with a curriculum designed using big-data analysis. Training can run up to 17 sessions, and some participants can be linked to startups or jobs. The layout is intended to encourage resident study groups and networking. Lim said her monthly rent and maintenance costs are lower than when she lived in a one-room studio apartment, making her finances “much more stable.” She called access to study rooms and shared spaces the biggest advantage for continuing self-development. Another resident said information-sharing is active because people with similar interests live in the same building. Rents were set to reduce housing costs. For a 16-square-meter unit, the deposit is 7.4 million won with monthly rent of 190,000 to 230,000 won. For units of 20 square meters or more, the deposit can be as high as 12.28 million won, with monthly rent around 330,000 won. The Korea Land and Housing Corp., or LH, expanded eligible purchases to buildings up to 30 years old across Seoul and key parts of the greater capital area, widening participation from the previous 10- to 15-year range. Eligible properties include neighborhood commercial facilities, office buildings and lodging facilities. LH plans to speed the program by using both direct implementation and private purchase-agreement methods. Officials said a one-size-fits-all approach is difficult because whether a building can be converted depends on its structure and ownership. In buildings with divided ownership, securing consent can be challenging. The principle is to buy entire buildings when possible, while seeking owner consent in other cases. Purchase prices will be set by weighing the applicant’s proposed price, appraised value and remodeling costs. A down payment is made when the sales contract is signed, and the balance is paid after rights issues are cleared and safety inspections are confirmed. The direct-implementation method was introduced in April, and a notice for the private purchase-agreement method is planned for next month, with purchases expected to begin in earnest in the second half of the year. 2026-05-05 11:07:16

KB Financial Sees Housing Market Stabilizing; Tax Policy a Key Variable Tighter household lending, expanded supply plans, designation of regulated zones and heavier tax burdens are beginning to show effects, and could cool this year’s rise in home prices, KB Financial Group’s research arm said. It cited tax issues — including heavier capital gains taxes on multi-homeowners and higher property holding taxes — as the biggest variable for the housing market this year. The KB Financial Group Management Research Institute released its “2026 KB Real Estate Report” on May 5. The report reflects survey results and field feedback from about 700 people, including real estate experts, licensed brokers and private bankers, based on two rounds of polling conducted in January and April. The report said last year’s sharp price gains centered on Seoul and parts of the greater capital area have begun to ease this year. As government measures are more fully reflected in the market, listings are increasing and the number of areas seeing price declines could expand, it said. As of April 10, apartment listings in Seoul were up 33% from the end of last year, more than triple the national average increase of 9%, the report said. In Seoul’s Gangnam District, apartment sale prices have fallen for six straight weeks since March. Apartment prices in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province — which posted large gains last year — have also turned down. In Seoul’s Songpa, Seongdong and Gwangjin districts, price changes from January through April slowed sharply to 4%, 6% and 4.1%, respectively. Market views are also shifting quickly. In the January survey, 81% of experts and 76% of brokers expected home prices to rise. In April, experts still leaned toward gains at 56%, but brokers were more likely to forecast declines, at 54%, showing a widening gap that the institute said reflects stronger regulatory effects in the field. The report pointed to government policy as the key driver this year, saying buyer sentiment and price trends could swing depending on supply measures in the capital region, financial regulations and tax changes. Asked which policy would most affect the housing market in the second half, 27% of experts and 33% of brokers ranked the implementation of heavier capital gains taxes on multi-homeowners as the top factor, the institute said. For would-be buyers, the report said interest rates are likely to be the critical variable, noting that mortgage rates have continued to rise even as the benchmark rate has been held steady. As of last month, five-year fixed mortgage rates at the five major banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup — ranged from 4.2% to 6.8% annually, with the upper end nearing the 7% range. Kang Min-seok, a researcher at the KB Management Research Institute, said regional polarization remains while risks such as supply shortages and rising construction costs still linger. “Government policy will be the major variable that determines the market’s direction going forward,” he said. 2026-05-05 11:06:15

Trump Warns Iran After Clash in Strait of Hormuz: Target U.S. Ships and Your Military Will Vanish The United States and Iran resumed armed clashes about a month after a ceasefire, and U.S. President Donald Trump issued another sharp warning to Tehran. Trump said in a Fox News interview on May 4, according to The Guardian and other outlets, that if Iran tries to target U.S. ships during the “Project Freedom” operation to help commercial vessels trapped in the Strait of Hormuz escape, “Iran’s military will disappear from the face of the Earth.” Earlier that day, U.S. Central Command said Iran attacked U.S. ships in the Strait of Hormuz using cruise missiles, drones and small boats. The U.S. military said it intercepted the attacks using helicopters and other assets and that there was no damage to U.S. vessels. Trump also wrote on Truth Social that U.S. forces sank seven small boats and that, so far, there had been no damage to ships transiting the strait “except for a South Korean vessel.” He urged South Korea to join the Project Freedom operation. Iran denied that its boats were sunk and appeared to reaffirm moves to maintain a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global trade. More than 800 ships and about 20,000 crew members are currently stuck in the area. The renewed clashes come after the U.S. and Iran tried to negotiate through mediators during the ceasefire but failed to reach common ground. Since the ceasefire, Trump has sought leverage by tightening economic pressure through a maritime blockade. In the interview, Trump called the U.S. Navy’s operation to block Iranian ports “one of the greatest military operations ever carried out,” and said Iran had become far more flexible in negotiations. He said the next steps were either reaching an agreement through “good-faith negotiations” or resuming military operations. Addressing concerns about U.S. weapons stockpiles, Trump said the United States has “much higher” levels of weapons and ammunition than before, with top-tier equipment and sufficient supplies stored at bases worldwide, adding that the U.S. would use them if needed. Trump’s remark about Iran’s military “disappearing from the face of the Earth” echoed his warning on April 7, ahead of the end of a negotiation deadline he set, that “an entire civilization” could vanish and never return. That earlier comment drew strong backlash in and outside the United States. The Guardian said Trump’s latest statement also raises questions about the durability of the ceasefire reached last month with Pakistani mediation. The truce paused fighting but failed to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s crude oil supply passes.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-05 11:00:15

South Korea Defense Ministry Dismisses 3 Officers, Removes 1 Over Troop Deployment to Parliament The Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday it has imposed severe disciplinary measures on four senior and field-grade officers indicted for alleged involvement in the “12·3 emergency martial law,” citing violations of the duty to comply with laws and the duty of faithful service. Three officers were dismissed from service, according to reports: Kim Jeong-geun, then commander of the Army Special Warfare Command’s 3rd Airborne Brigade (brigadier general); Ahn Mu-seong, then commander of the 9th Airborne Brigade (a brigadier general select); and Kim Se-un, then commander of the Special Operations Aviation Group (colonel), who allegedly transported troops to the National Assembly. Kim Sang-yong, then deputy head of the Defense Ministry Investigation Headquarters (colonel), was removed from service, reports said, for alleged involvement in forming arrest teams targeting key figures including politicians. Kim Jeong-geun is accused of dispatching troops to the National Election Commission during the emergency martial law, acting on orders from then Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-geun. The ministry said it convened a disciplinary committee for the four on April 15. Dismissal is the most severe punishment in the military, stripping a service member of status and cutting pension benefits in half. Removal is one level lower. Earlier, the Defense Ministry’s special investigation unit indicted eight people, including the four, on charges including performing key duties in an insurrection and abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights. In earlier disciplinary proceedings, Koo Sam-hoe, then commander of the Army’s 2nd Armored Brigade; Jeong Seong-woo, then head of the 1st Directorate at the Defense Security Command; and Kim Chang-hak, then head of the military police unit at the Capital Defense Command, were dismissed. Bang Jeong-hwan, then director general for defense innovation planning, was removed. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-05 10:51:15

INTERVIEW: Chip czar rides AI chip boom to challenge political Goliath for Gyeonggi governorship SEOUL, May 05 (AJP) - Bidding for the gubernatorial post that birthed the current president — whose approval rating is nearing 60 percent — while facing a ruling-party heavyweight known for colliding head-on with disgraced former president Yoon Suk Yeol would not be an easy race for most politicians. But for Yang Hyang-ja, the determination appears rooted in something deeper than party politics: an almost singular devotion to semiconductors, the industry responsible for roughly a quarter of South Korea’s exports and much of the country’s AI-driven market boom. That commitment to chips also shaped her political realignment. Yang was effectively disowned by the Democratic Party of Korea following a sexual harassment scandal involving her aide, a political rupture that deepened her frustration over what she viewed as the party’s reluctance to aggressively back the semiconductor industry through measures similar to the U.S. CHIPS Act. She later joined the conservative bloc and spearheaded the so-called “K-Chips Act,” aimed at expanding tax credits for facility investments in semiconductors and other national strategic industries. The bill passed the National Assembly in March 2023. “People in semiconductors prepare a future that arrives first,” Yang said in an interview with AJP. “We make things that do not exist in the world. We make possible what others say is impossible.” That obsession has become both her greatest political strength and a potential limitation. Yang, the People Power Party candidate for Gyeonggi governor, built her reputation not through elite legal or activist circles but inside the clean rooms and research culture of Samsung Electronics. Rising from a teenage research assistant who cleaned desks and copied technical papers to become Samsung’s first female executive from a commercial high school background, her life story carries an unusual degree of industrial credibility in South Korean politics. “Gyeonggi Province is the heart of South Korea’s semiconductor industry,” Yang said. “The person who understands semiconductors should be the one to lead Gyeonggi.” Her rise inside Samsung has long bordered on corporate legend. After repeatedly being rejected from Samsung’s internal semiconductor engineering college because there was “no precedent” for a female commercial high school graduate entering the program, Yang reportedly challenged the company’s own rules and insisted she would become the precedent herself. “I have created roads where none existed,” Yang said. “There is no such thing as no road. There is only no will.” The phrase captures the core of Yang’s political identity: relentless self-construction through technical mastery and persistence. Her early years inside Samsung reflected the rigid hierarchies of industrial Korea at the time. She recalled being treated as a replaceable assistant whose role was limited to copying documents and running errands. “At that time, I was like a stone mixed into rice,” Yang said. “I could not even dream of a future. I felt a sense of inferiority.” The turning point came while copying Japanese semiconductor papers. Having studied Japanese at Gwangju Girls’ Commercial High School, Yang began annotating technical documents for engineers who could not read them. The researchers who had once called her “Miss Yang” began addressing her respectfully as “Yang Hyang-ja ssi.” “That was the moment I found my name,” she said. “I learned what it means to be recognized.” Yang later graduated with honors from Samsung’s semiconductor engineering program, accumulated dozens of semiconductor-related patents and climbed through SRAM, DRAM and flash memory divisions over three decades. When Samsung promoted her to executive director in 2013, Yang said the announcement coincided with the anniversary of her father’s death. “It felt as if every condensed part of my life burst open like popcorn,” she said. “I felt that the world’s standard for looking at me had changed.” That persistence — combined with firsthand experience in one of the world’s most strategically important industries — gives Yang a profile rare among South Korean politicians. She speaks less like a conventional campaigner than like a semiconductor executive explaining long-cycle investment logic. That industrial mindset is central to her pitch for Gyeonggi Province, home to the country’s largest semiconductor clusters including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Yang argues that the province should be governed not merely as an administrative region but as the command center of South Korea’s next industrial leap. Her strengths are obvious. Few politicians possess comparable understanding of semiconductors, AI infrastructure and manufacturing ecosystems at a time when technological supremacy increasingly overlaps with national security. Her life story also resonates in a country where younger generations often feel trapped by rigid educational and class hierarchies. Yet the same qualities that make Yang distinctive also raise questions about the breadth of her political vision. Nearly every major policy proposal in her campaign eventually returns to semiconductors. Her blueprint for economic growth, AI competitiveness, foreign investment and geopolitical leverage places chips at the center. “Taiwan can stand freely amid U.S.-China rivalry because TSMC influences the whole world,” Yang said. “South Korea has become a hegemonic power in memory semiconductors through Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.” That focus reflects economic reality. But critics may question whether Gyeonggi — a province of more than 14 million residents grappling with housing shortages, transportation congestion, welfare demands and regional inequality — can be governed primarily through the prism of semiconductor expansion. There is also the issue of Samsung’s overwhelming presence in her political identity. Although Yang references broader industrial ecosystems and repeatedly mentions SK hynix, Samsung remains the emotional and symbolic anchor of her worldview. Her personal narrative, political language and conception of national competitiveness are deeply intertwined with the company that shaped her life. Supporters see proof of execution and industrial realism. Critics may see over-identification with chaebol-centered growth at a moment when South Korea is debating economic concentration and overdependence on a handful of conglomerates. Yang rejects the idea that ideology or party affiliation should define provincial governance. “The central value of moderates is the courage to set aside faction, party and ideology for the country and the people,” Yang said. “Gyeonggi has collective intelligence. I trust that collective intelligence.” Her political path itself has been unusually fluid. Recruited into politics by former president Moon Jae-in, later estranged from the Democratic Party, founder of a third party and now standard-bearer for conservatives, Yang has repeatedly crossed ideological boundaries while insisting she belongs above factional politics. Still, Yang’s candidacy reflects a broader shift underway in Korean politics itself. As AI, semiconductors and supply-chain rivalry increasingly define economic survival and geopolitical power, industrial technocrats are beginning to acquire political weight once reserved for prosecutors, activists and career lawmakers. Few embody that transformation more sharply than Yang Hyang-ja. 2026-05-05 10:47:54