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  AI enters Korean legislature, but humans remain in charge SEOUL, April 15 (AJP) - The National Assembly of South Korea said Tuesday it has launched an AI-powered legislative support platform in collaboration with Samsung SDS, an ICT company affiliated with Samsung Group. The system — a generative AI tailored for legislative use — integrates internal legislative records with external public and academic data to support document search, analysis, and drafting. About 5,000 users, including lawmakers and their aides, are expected April 15, 2026
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  Following the tracks, following the taste (Gangneung) -2 In quiet courtyards once lived Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon, siblings whose words outlived their time. His Hong Gildong — often called Korea's first novel written in Hangul— still echoes in the air. Here, Gangneung reveals another layer: not just a place to visit, but a place that remembers. The past does not interrupt the present; it settles into it, like a quiet undertone. By the time you reach April 15, 2026
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  Record 34 listed firms post over 1 trillion won in operating profit last year, report finds SEOUL, April 15 (AJP) - South Korea's top 1,000 listed companies saw their operating profits increase sharply last year, reaching the highest level since 2000, according to a report released by the Korea CXO Institute on Wednesday. Their combined operating profit stood at 189.23 trillion Korean won (about US$126.15 billion), up more than 40 trillion won or 27.7 percent, from 148.28 trillion won a year earlier, as the number of companies posting over 1 trillion won in operating April 15, 2026
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  IAEA urges safeguard on Korea's nuclear submarine plan, verification on Iran SEOUL, April 15 (AJP) - South Korea must enter into a special safeguards arrangement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if it proceeds with nuclear-powered submarines to ensure that nuclear material is not diverted from propulsion use, its director general said Wednesday. “The use of nuclear technology to power submarines has a number of very important technical implications,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said at a press briefing in Seoul, describi April 15, 2026
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  South Korea secures additional crude oil, naphtha through alternative routes SEOUL, April 15 (AJP) - South Korea has secured 273 million barrels of crude oil by the end of this year, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said on Wednesday. At a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Kang, who just returned from a weeklong trip to Kazakhstan, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, said the country has reached a deal to secure additional crude oil, including up to 2.1 million tons of naphtha, by the end of this year. "Compared to consumption levels l April 15, 2026
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  Double tariff whammy hits Korean steel as EU barriers pile on top of U.S. tariffs SEOUL, April 15 (AJP) - When it rains, it pours for South Korean steelmakers as they face collateral damage from higher trade tariffs in Europe on top of U.S. duties aimed at curbing cheap Chinese imports. The European Parliament and the Council of the EU hammered out a deal on Monday (local time) after late-night negotiations, setting tariff-free quotas at 18.3 million tons per year — nearly halved from about 35 million tons permitted under the current safeguard regime. Impo April 15, 2026
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  American YouTuber gets 6 months in prison over multiple bizarre offenses SEOUL, April 15 (AJP) - American YouTuber Johnny Somali, who stirred controversy with a series of bizarre behaviors including insulting a statue in central Seoul symbolizing victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, was sentenced to a prison term on Tuesday. The Seoul Western District Court handed down a six-month prison term along with 20 days of detention to Somali, whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, on charges including obstruction of business and the distribution of April 15, 2026
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  OPINION: Set aside the ghost whispers — it is time for Iran and Israel to speak directly Wars in the Middle East are often described in terms of missiles, airstrikes and troop movements. Yet much of the region’s conflict unfolds elsewhere — in the shadows of diplomacy, through intermediaries, and in signals that are never formally acknowledged. This quieter dimension might be called “ghost whispering”: the informal, deniable channels through which states exert pressure, shape perceptions and influence outcomes without direct confrontation. April 15, 2026
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  First meeting on next year's minimum wage to be held next week SEOUL, April 15 (AJP) - This year's first meeting of a committee responsible for setting next year's minimum wage is scheduled to be held next week. The committee, consisting of members from labor, employer and government representatives under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, will gather for talks at the government complex in the administrative city of Sejong on April 21. With the committee's chair remaining vacant, members in attendance are expected to elect April 15, 2026
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  KOSPI tops 6,100; Asian markets rise on renewed U.S.-Iran talks hopes SEOUL, April 15 (AJP) - South Korea’s KOSPI climbed above the 6,100 level on Wednesday, as the benchmark index rode easing war concerns to resume its record-breaking rally that had been disrupted by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. The main index rose 2.96 percent to 6,144.26, while the KOSDAQ gained 1.93 percent to 1,143.49 as of 10:29 a.m. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.15 percent to 58,542.14. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.00 percent to April 15, 2026