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  Samsung Elec flags prolonged AI-driven memory crunch as orders stretch to 2027 SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics said surging artificial intelligence demand is likely to keep memory markets exceptionally tight well into next year, with orders now extending as far as 2027, underscoring the depth of the current supply squeeze. The company, already swamped with orders stretching into next year, said the extraordinary tightness will persist and that production will remain unaffected even if labor action proceeds. “Our capacity far lags behind April 30, 2026
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  HMM reaches labor-management deal to move HQ to Busan SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - South Korea’s HMM, the world’s eighth-largest shipping company, said Friday that its labor and management have reached an agreement to relocate the company’s headquarters to the southern port city of Busan, the country’s main maritime gateway, resolving a long-standing dispute that had raised concerns over labor strikes and disruptions to global logistics. Busan, home to South Korea’s largest port, has been positioning itself April 30, 2026
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  Hanwha Aerospace posts solid Q1 earnings, record-high order backlog SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - Hanwha Aerospace reported solid first-quarter earnings on the back of improved performance in its aerospace division and key subsidiaries, while its order backlog reached a record high amid steady growth in overseas contracts. The company said Thursday that its consolidated revenue rose 5 percent year-on-year to 5.751 trillion won ($3.9 billion) in the January–March period, while operating profit climbed 21 percent to 638.9 billion won. By segment, t April 30, 2026
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  Krafton posts record Q1 on surging PUBG franchise revenue SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - Krafton, the South Korean gaming giant behind the PUBG franchise, posted record first-quarter results as its flagship battle royale series and a newly consolidated advertising subsidiary propelled revenue to all-time highs. The company reported through regulatory filings Thursday consolidated revenue of 1.37 trillion won ($924 million) and operating profit of 561.6 billion won for the three months ended March, up 56.9 percent and 22.8 percent from a year earl April 30, 2026
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  Credit card spending rises in Q1 despite weak consumer sentiment SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - Credit card spending rose despite weakening customer sentiment due to the prolonged conflict in the Middle East. According to data compiled by the Credit Finance Association of Korea on Thursday, people went plastic with 322 trillion won (about US$220 billion) worth of purchases, or 7.2 billion transactions, in the first quarter, up 7.2 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Personal card spending rose 6.8 percent to April 30, 2026
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  Scent of soil and legacy at the 40th Icheon ceramic festival SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - The air at the festival entrance is thick with the scent of wet soil and fresh grass. Families, elderly couples, and travelers with cameras walk together along a 900-meter stretch of workshops. The most significant change to the Icheon ceramic festival this year is the expansion of space. The three villages of Ye’s Park are now connected into a single route. Visitors wander through the entire village as part of a stay-and-experience cultural model. April 30, 2026
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  At War 60 Days: Trump again crying wolf? Seoul dismisses US troop pullout worries SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - Washington has hardly been shy about prioritizing a home-first defense strategy over the Indo-Pacific, with repeated signals of potential rollbacks in U.S. force deployments in both Europe and South Korea — a direction embedded in its National Defense Strategy. Those warnings have only grown louder as allies have shown limited appetite to back Washington in its confrontation with Iran. Seoul, however, is drawing a firm line against speculation. Sout April 30, 2026
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  BTS Busan concert sells out in presale as global tour demand surges SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - BTS’ upcoming Busan concert has sold out during the fan club presale, highlighting strong demand for the group’s global tour, BigHit Music said Thursday. Tickets for the BTS Busan concert, part of the “BTS World Tour ‘Arirang’ in Busan,” scheduled for June 12 and 13 at Busan Asiad Main Stadium, were fully sold out during the membership presale, which opened on Thursday via NOL Ticket, South Korea's popular onlin April 30, 2026
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  At War 60 Days: Korea learns to wean off Gulf crude and naphtha SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - A return to unfettered access through the Strait of Hormuz — and to the cartel-defined Gulf order that once governed energy flows — is increasingly unlikely, even if Middle East tensions ease. For South Korea and other import-dependent economies, the emerging reality is one where security premiums outweigh the old calculus of cost and efficiency. Seoul is already adapting. South Korea has secured 74.62 million barrels of crude for May, roughly April 30, 2026
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  Top court upholds guilty verdicts for all protesters in violent court intrusion case SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - Some 18 die-hard supporters of disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol including far-right YouTubers, were handed prison terms or suspended sentences on Thursday, as the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's rulings on charges of trespassing, causing a disturbance, and other offences. Some 59 people were convicted after breaking into the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo in January last year in a protest against Yoon's arrest over his botched mar April 30, 2026