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  More tax incentives for butane to support small businesses amid surging global prices SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) - Tax cuts on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) butane products will be raised to 25 percent from around 10 percent to ease fuel costs for small trucks and other commercial vehicles, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said on Thursday. According to the ministry, the cut will take effect on May 1 and run through the end of June, lowering butane prices by about 51 won per liter from previous levels. Butane is widely used by freight and commercial vehicles, meanin April 23, 2026
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  SK hynix redefines chip profit with 72% margin on HBM supremacy SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) -Regardless of the headline figures, SK hynix reigns as the most profitable chipmaker in the world and will likely stay so through the year as it consolidates leadership in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) critical to the AI transition through aggressive spending from its enhanced firepower. The Korean pure-play memory maker will test upgraded HBM4E prototypes in the second half for potential rollout next year depending on client demand, according to executives du April 23, 2026
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  KOSPI extends record rally past 6,500, driven by semiconductor momentum SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) - Seoul benchmark KOSPI set new milestone Thursday, decoupled from the broad sidelined sentiment across Asia amid Gulf uncertainties, as stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP and SK hynix earnings underscored the depth of South Korea's chip power. The main index rose 2.1 percent to a new intraday high of 6,551.3 in morning trade after opening at 6,488.83, with advances led by large-cap chipmakers following robust earnings from SK hynix. The undeter April 23, 2026
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  Pyongyang labels Japanese drone units a threat as military tensions rise SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) - Pyongyang slammed on Thursday Japan’s move to establish dedicated drone units within its Ground Self-Defense Force, calling the restructuring a "reckless" step toward reviving the country’s past imperial ambitions. State media reported that the modernization of Tokyo’s unmanned capabilities, paired with its recent acquisition of long-range strike weapons, has pushed the region into a dangerous new phase of military escalation. Th April 23, 2026
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  Lee set to meet Vietnamese PM, discuss ways to boost trade SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung, on a state visit to Hanoi, is set to hold a series of meetings on Thursday with senior Vietnamese officials including Prime Minister Lu Minh Hung to expand bilateral cooperation. Lee's meeting with Hung comes after his summit the previous day with Vietnamese President Tô Lâm, who also serves as general secretary of the Communist Party. During the meeting, the two leaders agreed to cooperate across various sectors, in April 23, 2026
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  More homeowners in Seoul opt to pass down properties to avoid heavier taxes SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) - More people opted to pass down their apartments, condominiums, and other multi-unit housing properties to family members last month instead of selling them, with such transfers reaching their highest monthly level in over three years and three months. According to Supreme Court registry data, some 1,387 such transactions were made in Seoul last month, up 53.6 percent from 903 the previous month and the highest level since December 2022 when the figure rea April 23, 2026
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  Korea's 'Haegung' naval missile secures first export deal with Malaysia SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) - South Korea’s domestically developed naval missile “Haegung” has been exported for the first time, with a supply contract signed with Malaysia worth about $94 million. LIG D&A said Wednesday it had signed the deal with Malaysia’s defense ministry on the sidelines of the DSA 2026 defense exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, as Malaysia’s navy moves forward with modernization efforts, opening new opportunities in the Southeast Asian mar April 23, 2026
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  Naver to auto-disable comments on articles with high toxic content rates SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) - South Korea's dominant internet portal Naver announced it will automatically disable comment sections on news articles where its artificial intelligence moderation system detects an unusually high volume of malicious posts, in the latest effort by the company to clean up its online commentary environment. Starting Thursday, Naver's AI-based detection system will scan articles across all news sections — including politics and elections — an April 23, 2026
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  INTERVIEW: Malaysia has a key role in Korea's post-Gulf energy redesign: envoy SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) - The Global South is moving to the center of South Korea’s strategic calculus, underscored by this week’s presidential visits to India and Vietnam, as Malaysia seeks to harness the momentum to leverage complementary strengths — not just to mitigate Gulf-driven disruptions, but also to redesign energy security, its top envoy to Seoul said. Energy security will serve as the starting point for deeper alignment, with Malaysia’s LNG export April 23, 2026
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  UPDATE: Korea's Q1 GDP strongest in more than five years on hot chip demand *Updated with additional information and market response SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) — South Korea’s economy grew at the fastest pace in more than five years in the first quarter, rebounding sharply from a contraction in the previous three-month period, as feverish demand for semiconductors powering the artificial intelligence boom fueled exports and investment. According to the Bank of Korea, gross domestic product expanded 1.7 percent on quarter in the January–March April 23, 2026