South Korea’s Blue House Says U.S. Complaints Stem From Legislative Delays

Breaking: The Blue House said U.S. dissatisfaction is “100%” due to delays in legislation and said it will explain its efforts to move the bills forward.* This article has been translated by AI.

January 28, 2026

South Korean Lawmakers Clash Over Trump’s Proposed Tariff Hike and Ratification Claims

Lawmakers traded blame Wednesday over President Donald Trump’s sudden plan to raise tariffs on South Korea, with the People Power Party arguing the government failed to secure National Assembly approval for follow-up steps in U.S. tariff negotiations after Prime Minister Kim Min Seok’s trip to Washington. The Democratic Party countered that Trump’s approach to diplomacy and trade is unconventional and said a unified political response is needed to strengthen South Korea’s negotiating pos

January 28, 2026

Court Convicts Kim Keon Hee of Influence-Peddling, Acquits Her in Stock Manipulation Case

A South Korean court on Tuesday said it recognized Kim Keon Hee’s political influence but ruled that her status alone could not expand criminal liability. The court found her partly guilty over receiving money and valuables linked to the Unification Church, but acquitted her of conspiracy allegations tied to the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case and an opinion-poll controversy involving Myung Tae-kyun, citing insufficient evidence. The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Divisio

January 28, 2026

SK hynix best-yet Q4 and 2025 income, beating consensus and Samsung Elec

SEOUL, January 28 (AJP) -SK hynix, leveraging its dominant lead in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) powering hyperscalers and AI accelerators, delivered its strongest-yet quarterly and annual results and expects further gains this year as global memory revenue approaches $1 trillion. According to a regulatory filing Tuesday, operating income for the quarter ended December surged to 19.17 trillion won ($13.5 billion), up 68 percent from the previous quarter and 137 percent from a year

January 28, 2026

Rubio Warns U.S. Could Use Force in Venezuela if Other Options Fail

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to warn that the Trump administration could take additional military action if Venezuela’s transitional government fails to meet U.S. expectations. According to The Associated Press, Rubio said in prepared remarks released by the State Department ahead of a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Venezuela scheduled for Tuesday that the United States is “prepared to use force to secure maximum cooperation if other methods fail.” “I hope it

January 28, 2026

South Korean lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong sentenced to 2 years for illegal political funds

People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong, who was arrested and indicted on charges of receiving illegal political funds from the Unification Church, was sentenced in a first trial to two years in prison. The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 27, led by Presiding Judge Woo In-sung, held a sentencing hearing at 4 p.m. on Tuesday for Kwon on charges of violating the Political Funds Act. The court also ordered forfeiture of 100 million won. Kwon was accused of taking 100 mi

January 28, 2026

Kim Keon Hee Gets 1 Year, 8 Months in Trial; Key Issues for Appeal

A special prosecutor who sought a 15-year prison term for Kim Keon Hee ended up with a first-trial sentence of 1 year, 8 months. The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 27 found Kim not guilty of violating the Capital Markets Act (alleged conspiracy in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case) and the Political Funds Act, and convicted her only in part on charges of receiving money or valuables in return for influence under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Cr

January 28, 2026

Vietnam Streamlines Rail Approval Process to Speed Infrastructure Projects

Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction has abolished and adjusted some administrative procedures in the rail sector to speed up rail infrastructure development. Vietnam’s government website reported on Jan. 22 that the ministry eliminated several rail-related procedures effective Jan. 1. The changes follow Decision No. 2,267 (2,267/QD-BXD), announced by the ministry on Dec. 10. Under the decision, the ministry’s approval process for commercialization policy for rail line-connection project

January 28, 2026

Ruling, opposition parties agree to pass 90 noncontroversial bills; filibuster dropped

The ruling and opposition parties agreed to pass 90 noncontroversial livelihood-related bills at Wednesday’s plenary session. The People Power Party said it will withdraw its filibusters on those bills. Cheon Jun-ho, floor operations deputy chief of the Democratic Party, and Yoo Sang-bum, floor operations deputy chief of the People Power Party, said they reached the deal Tuesday during talks at the National Assembly on the plenary agenda. Cheon said that of 175 bills slated for the plena

January 28, 2026

Lotte Cinema Unveils February Exclusive “Lottepick” Animation Lineup

Lotte Cinema has announced its February lineup for “Lottepick,” a series of exclusive theatrical releases. With animation emerging as a major draw at the box office, the chain said it curated three themed titles aimed at both families on school break and dedicated animation fans. “I Am Star! X Pripara The Movie -Miracle of Encounter!-,” a collaboration marking the 10th anniversary of “I Am Star!” and “Pripara,” will open exclusively on Feb. 4. The two franchises are long-running staples

January 28, 2026