U.S. Treasury chief: No trade deal with South Korea until National Assembly approves U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there will be no trade agreement with South Korea until its National Assembly approves it. Bessent made the remarks in a CNBC interview on Tuesday local time when asked whether President Donald Trump was raising tariffs on South Korea because it had not approved a trade deal. His comments came as Trump has warned he could restore higher tariffs, citing delays in the National Assembly’s passage of a “special law on investment in the United Stat January 29, 2026

Dispute Grows Over Proposed South Jeolla-Gwangju Administrative Merger Controversy over a proposed administrative merger between South Jeolla Province and the city of Gwangju is spreading across the region. The Samhyang-eup Council of Local Institutions and Social Groups in Muan County said the recent merger agreement between the provincial government and Gwangju was “a rushed deal” that “gave up South Jeolla’s interests.” In a statement released Jan. 28, the council criticized an announcement that South Jeolla Gov. Kim Young Rok and Gwangju Mayor Kang Ki January 29, 2026

Hyundai Motor Breaks Ground on Immersive Safety Experience Center at Ulsan Plant Hyundai Motor has broken ground on an immersive safety experience center to be built at its Ulsan plant. The automaker said Wednesday it held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday at the Ulsan plant with about 200 labor and management representatives in attendance, including Choi Young Il, head of domestic production and chief safety and health officer; Jung Won Dae, vice president in charge of production support; and union leaders Lee Jong Cheol and Lee Chang Min. Set to open in the second h January 29, 2026

South Korean Investor Deposits Top 100 Trillion Won for First Time as Stocks Rally South Korea’s stock market surge has pushed investor deposits above 100 trillion won for the first time. The Korea Financial Investment Association said investor deposits totaled 100.2826 trillion won as of Jan. 27. That is up 12.4535 trillion won from 87.8291 trillion won at the end of last year. Investor deposits are funds clients keep at brokerage firms to trade stocks, funds and other investment products. Because the money can move into the market at any time, it is treated as stan January 29, 2026

Hanwha Systems’ AI Smart Warship Design Wins Lloyd’s Register Approval in South Korea First Hanwha Systems said Wednesday it became the first company in South Korea to receive an approval in principle for a “smart multipurpose combat ship” concept design from Lloyd’s Register (LR), one of the world’s three major classification societies. Lloyd’s Register is considered one of the top three classification societies, along with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and DNV of Norway. It operates naval shipbuilding rules aligned with NATO standards and is widely trusted by naval cus January 29, 2026

LS Electric Deploys Smart Outage Management System for Distributed Power Grids LS Electric said it has commercialized a smart distribution solution designed to help manage distributed power grids more reliably, stepping up its push into the fast-growing market. The company said on Jan. 29 that it recently completed installation of its self-developed Outage Management System (OMS) at a district electricity business office in the Hakha district of Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, operated by CNCITY Energy. The OMS digitizes the status and condition of power equipment to support January 29, 2026

Heungkuk Securities Raises Hyundai Mobis Target on Electronics, Robotics Shift Heungkuk Securities said Wednesday that Hyundai Mobis’ fourth-quarter results met market expectations and that recovering tariff-related costs has reduced uncertainty, while its business shift toward automotive electronics and robotics continues. The brokerage raised its target price to 540,000 won from 500,000 won and kept its “buy” rating. Hyundai Mobis posted fourth-quarter revenue of 15.4 trillion won and operating profit of 930.5 billion won. Revenue rose 4.7% from a year earlier, w January 29, 2026

Samsung defends record results for 2025, but falls behind local rival in chip profitability *Updated with additional earnings details and stock quote SEOUL, January 29 (AJP)-Samsung Electronics, South Korea's No. 1 tech behemoth, raked in strong operating income and record sales in the final quarter and full year of 2025, but fell short of expectations and in the memory race versus local rival SK hynix, which shifted faster toward an AI-centric architecture and client base. According to its finalized results disclosed Thursday, for the quarter ended December the com January 29, 2026

Hanwha Investment Keeps Hold on LG H&H, Cuts Target Price to 230,000 Won Hanwha Investment & Securities on Wednesday advised a cautious approach to LG Household & Health Care until its sales decline reverses, keeping its “hold” rating. It cut its target price to 230,000 won from 300,000 won. Analyst Han Yu Jeong said the company’s consolidated operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2025 was minus 72.7 billion won, far below the consensus estimate of 4.2 billion won, citing weakness across its Beauty, HDB and Refreshment divisions. On news of LG H& January 29, 2026

KAIST researchers develop high-efficiency red micro-LED for realistic virtual reality displays SEOUL, January 29 (AJP) - Researchers have overcome a major technical hurdle in micro-LED technology by developing a high-efficiency red micro-LED that enables ultra-high-resolution imagery for virtual and augmented reality devices. The new technology significantly improves power efficiency and achieves a pixel density of 1,700 pixels per inch, bringing wearable displays closer to mimicking real-world visual clarity. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) a January 29, 2026