South Korea says Trump tariff remarks tied to delay in U.S.-investment bill Cheong Wa Dae said it views President Donald Trump’s remarks about raising tariffs as stemming from U.S. dissatisfaction over delays in passing a “special act for strategic investment management” with the United States, and said it will explain to Washington that parliamentary procedures are required. Kim Yong Bum, Cheong Wa Dae’s senior presidential secretary for policy, told a briefing at Chunchugwan on Monday that Trump’s comments could be interpreted as frustration that implementatio 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

SK hynix to set up U.S. AI solutions unit, overhaul Solidigm to merge NAND and AI SK hynix plans to establish a U.S.-based artificial intelligence solutions company tentatively named “AI Company,” while significantly restructuring its local NAND business. The company will reposition its subsidiary Solidigm as a holding entity for AI solutions and create a new “AI NAND solutions” operating unit under Solidigm to run NAND operations jointly with SK hynix. SK hynix said in a statement posted to its newsroom on Tuesday that it is pursuing a plan to reorganize Solidigm — wh January 28, 2026

South Korea Launches Public-Private Task Force to Draft K-GX Green Transition Strategy The South Korean government on Tuesday launched a public-private task force to draft its K-GX (green transition) strategy, bringing together relevant ministries and major industry associations at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The task force was formed to steer policy discussions as South Korea works to implement its 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution, or NDC, and to turn those efforts into growth opportunities while strengthening coordination between the public and priv January 28, 2026

Trump admin pressures Seoul over "unfulfilled" trade commitments SEOUL, January 28 (AJP) - U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer told Fox Business on Tuesday that South Korea had yet to honor commitments made under last summer’s “framework agreement,” including a planned 350-billion-dollar investment in the U.S. over three years and steps to open its market to more American automobiles and agricultural products. “We showed good faith by lowering our tariff rate on Korea from 25 percent to 15 percent,” Greer said. January 28, 2026

Kim Keon Hee Says She Accepts Court’s Criticism After 1st Trial Sentence Kim Keon Hee said she would “humbly accept” the court’s stern criticism after she was sentenced to 1 year and 8 months in prison in a first trial on Tuesday. Her legal team said in a notice to reporters that attorneys met with Kim at Nambu Detention Center after the ruling and relayed her statement. “Today, I humbly accept the court’s stern criticism, and I will not take its weight lightly,” Kim said during the meeting. “Once again, I am sorry to everyone for causing concern because of m January 28, 2026

SK hynix plans U.S. AI solutions unit to expand role in AI data centers SK hynix said Tuesday it is pushing ahead with plans to set up an AI solutions company in the United States, tentatively named “AI Company,” or AI Co. The company said it aims to move beyond being a memory chip maker and become a key partner in the AI data center ecosystem, building on its competitiveness in AI memory technologies such as high-bandwidth memory, or HBM. It said it will pursue strategic investments and partnerships with companies that have AI capabilities, strengthen its me January 28, 2026

South Korean equities log rare double win as decoupling fears grow SEOUL, January 28 (AJP) - South Korean equities are logging a rare double win, with both the main KOSPI and the tech-heavy KOSDAQ hitting historic highs, but the synchronized rally is increasingly stirring anxiety that markets are pulling away from economic reality. The benchmark KOSPI climbed to 5,170.81 on Wednesday, setting a fresh record, while the KOSDAQ advanced to 1,133.52. Both indices are up about 20 percent so far this year, extending last year’s outsized gains of January 28, 2026

PPP leader Jang Dong Hyuk says expulsion case against Han Dong Hoon will follow procedure Jang Dong Hyuk, leader of South Korea’s People Power Party, said Tuesday that disciplinary proceedings seeking to expel Han Dong Hoon, the party’s former leader, would move forward “according to procedure,” signaling expulsion remains possible. Speaking to reporters after an on-site meeting on price trends at the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. (aT) center in Seoul’s Seocho district, Jang avoided a direct answer on Han’s case, saying, “What matters now is people’s lives and l January 28, 2026

Assets in ETFs Tracking FnGuide Indexes Top 40 Trillion Won Financial data firm FnGuide said Tuesday that total net assets in exchange-traded funds based on indexes it developed have surpassed 40 trillion won. The total topped 30 trillion won about three months ago. Over that period, net assets in the KODEX AI Semiconductor ETF rose about 310%, to 2.1 trillion won from roughly 500 billion won. TIGER Semiconductor TOP10 climbed about 190%, to about 4.1 trillion won from 1.4 trillion won. FnGuide said the gains reflect concentrated demand for relat January 28, 2026