• 
  Turkish police neutralize three gunmen as Istanbul attack targets financial district SEOUL, April 07 (AJP) - Turkish security forces killed three gunmen in a high-stakes shootout outside Yapi Kredi Plaza in Istanbul, on Tuesday, thwarting what authorities described as a treacherous assault on the heart of the metropolitan commercial district. The engagement, which left two officers with minor injuries, marks the most direct threat to the financial hub of Besiktas since the regional security environment fractured in late February. This disruption of the status quo on April 7, 2026
• 
  LG Energy Solution sinks deeper into red with second straight quarterly loss SEOUL, April 07 (AJP) - LG Energy Solution posted a widening operating loss for the first quarter of 2026, marking its second consecutive quarterly deficit as a prolonged slump in global electric vehicle demand and a sharp drop in U.S. tax credits eroded profitability at the world's No. 2 battery maker. The company said in a preliminary regulatory filing on Tuesday that it logged a consolidated operating loss of 207.8 billion won ($138.7 million) for the January to March period, April 7, 2026
• 
  Lee urges bipartisan unity, defends extra budget in meeting with party leaders SEOUL, April 7 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung met with leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties on Tuesday, urging bipartisan cooperation and national unity as South Korea faces a major crisis amid the prolonged conflit in the Middle East. At a luncheon meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul, Lee said, "Internal unity is especially important when a country faces a crisis." He added that South Korea is in a "major crisis" caused by external factor April 7, 2026
• 
  Asian stocks edge up as markets brace for Trump's Iran deadline SEOUL, April 07 (AJP) - Asian equities ended mostly higher Tuesday, though gains were limited as investors held back ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s self-imposed nighttime deadline for Iran. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI rose 0.82 percent to 5,494.78 after swinging between gains and losses through the session. The rebound was helped by renewed foreign buying following Samsung Electronics’ blockbuster first-quarter earnings, which placed it among the world& April 7, 2026
• 
  Samsung vaults into global top tier as AI-driven memory boom turbocharges profits SEOUL, April 07 (AJP) - Its record-smashing first-quarter earnings that nearly matched the full-year income of its previous peak in 2018 place Samsung Electronics among the world’s top five big tech firms and suggest it could even challenge Nvidia in operating profit if the memory supercycle extends into next year. The company on Tuesday estimated its first-quarter operating profit at 57.2 trillion won ($38.0 billion), nearly tripling its previous quarterly high in the Octo April 7, 2026
• 
  Another bio boom burst looms over KOSDAQ SEOUL, April 07 (AJP) - Boom-and-bust cycles have long defined Korea’s bio stocks, and the latest episode has unfolded around generic and specialty drugmaker Sam Chun Dang Pharm. Sam Chun Dang closed Tuesday at 519,000 won ($345), down 16.02 percent on the day. From its closing high of 1.184 million won on March 30, the stock has plunged more than 56 percent — a sharp reversal after an earlier surge of nearly 400 percent from around 270,000 won at the start of the ye April 7, 2026
• 
  I tried outdoor yoga — it was freezing, but strangely refreshing SEOUL, April 07 (AJP) - The latest global trend to land in a traditional Korean setting — after BTS turned Gwanghwamun into a stage — is yoga. I had imagined something serene: quiet breathing, sun-drenched calm, flowers in bloom, and that cinematic kind of spring healing. So I signed up for an outdoor yoga session at Namsangol Hanok Village in downtown Seoul on Tuesday morning. Instead, I got windburn. A stubborn cold snap had dragged April 7, 2026
• 
  Actor Hyun Bin chosen as face of South Korea's spy agency SEOUL, April 7 (AJP) - Heartthrob actor Hyun Bin will take on the unlikely task of serving as the face of South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), the spy agency said Tuesday. The NIS said the star has been appointed to carry out promotional activities to raise awareness of the agency's broader role in protecting the country from various security threats, rather than its traditional Cold War–era focus on tracking down North Korean spies, amid an evolving secu April 7, 2026
• 
  NK holds photo exhibition to mark 114th Anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birth PYONGYANG, April 07 (AJP) - A central photo exhibition commemorating the 114th anniversary of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's birth (April 15) opened up to the public at the People's Palace of Culture in Pyongyang on April 6, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Monday. April 7, 2026
• 
  Naver partners with EBS to build trusted knowledge video content SEOUL, April 07 (AJP) - Naver and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly produce large-scale knowledge and educational video content, the companies said. Under the agreement, inked at Naver's headquarters on Tuesday in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, the two sides will co-produce content spanning health, finance and economics as well as material aligned with South Korea's elementary, middle and high school curricula. T April 7, 2026