South Korea’s Five Automakers to Offer Free Vehicle Inspections for Lunar New Year Holiday The Korea Automobile & Mobility Association (KAMA) said Wednesday it will run a “2026 Lunar New Year free vehicle inspection service” with five domestic automakers to help drivers travel safely during the holiday period. The inspections will be offered for three days, from 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 11 to 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 13, with Hyundai Motor, Kia, GM Korea, Renault Korea and KG Mobility (KGM) participating. Renault Korea will begin earlier, on Feb. 9. Hyundai will provide the service at 1, January 29, 2026

KSA Opens Korean Maritime History Museum, Unveils ‘Eight Pillars’ Exhibit South Korea’s shipping industry now has a new museum aimed at preserving its history and honoring maritime workers. KSA·Korea Shipping Association said it held an opening ceremony Wednesday afternoon for the Korean Maritime History Museum at its headquarters in Seoul’s Gangseo District, attended by political and government figures, heads of maritime groups and shipping company representatives. Attendees included Heo Man Wook, director general of the Shipping and Logistics Bureau January 29, 2026

Samsung Electronics Posts 333.6 Trillion Won in Annual Revenue as Memory Lifts Results Samsung Electronics said in a regulatory filing Thursday that its fourth-quarter consolidated revenue rose to 93.8374 trillion won and operating profit totaled 20.0737 trillion won. Operating profit surged 209.17% from a year earlier. For the year, revenue came to 333.6059 trillion won and operating profit reached 43.6011 trillion won. Samsung said results were driven by its Device Solutions (DS) division, citing expanded sales of high-margin products such as high-bandwidth memory (HB January 29, 2026

Samsung Electronics Reports 333.6059 Trillion Won in 2025 Revenue, Up 23.82% * This article has been translated by AI. January 29, 2026

Samsung Electronics Reports 43.6 Trillion Won in 2025 Operating Profit, Up 33% * This article has been translated by AI. January 29, 2026

Samsung Electronics reports 4Q revenue of 93.84 trillion won, up 23.8% * This article has been translated by AI. January 29, 2026

Samsung Electronics Reports 20 Trillion Won in Q4 Operating Profit, Up 209% * This article has been translated by AI. January 29, 2026

HiteJinro Sales and Operating Profit Fall as Alcohol Demand Slumps HiteJinro said weaker alcohol consumption pushed down both revenue and operating profit last year. According to a filing on the electronic disclosure system on Tuesday, the company’s consolidated operating profit fell 17.3% from a year earlier to 172.1 billion won, down from 208.1 billion won. Revenue slipped 3.9% to 2.4986 trillion won from 2.5992 trillion won. Net profit dropped 57.3% to 408.5 billion won from 957.4 billion won. HiteJinro said the overall alcohol market shrank and its January 28, 2026

Samsung Electro-Mechanics sets 2025 profit-sharing bonus at 5%-6% of salary as Samsung affiliates finalize payouts Samsung Electro-Mechanics has decided to pay an excess profit incentive (OPI) worth 5% to 6% of annual salary based on last year’s results, effectively wrapping up performance-bonus decisions across major Samsung electronics affiliates, including Samsung Electronics. According to the industry on Tuesday, Samsung Electro-Mechanics announced its 2025 OPI payout rates in an internal notice. The Component Business Division, which leads the multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) business, will January 28, 2026

VC Funding Shifts to Pre-IPO Mega-Rounds as Early-Stage Deals Slide Global venture capital investment is increasingly flowing to proven companies in a winner-take-most pattern, and the concentration is expected to sharpen this year around mega-rounds for firms nearing an initial public offering. According to VC analytics firm THE VC, investment in unlisted startups and small and midsize companies at the seed-to-Series A stage totaled 1.919 trillion won last year, down 41.17% from a year earlier. The number of deals fell even more sharply, down January 28, 2026