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  NC AI Unveils Beta of Varco Sound, an AI Audio Generation Service NC AI, an artificial intelligence company, said Wednesday it has released a beta version of Varco Sound, a sound-generation AI service designed to create multiple sounds needed for a single scene at once and allow users to split the output by element for editing. Varco Sound accepts images and video as well as text. Users can describe a situation in a sentence — such as “water droplets in a dark cave” — or upload a forest photo or battle footage, and the service analyzes the scene’s conte January 29, 2026
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  Air Busan to Add Four Seasonal Charter Routes Ahead of Summer Peak Air Busan is expanding its flight offerings with four seasonal charter routes ahead of the summer peak travel season. The airline said Wednesday it will operate charter flights for the 2026 summer season on two routes from Busan — Shizuoka and Takamatsu — and two from Incheon — Hong Kong and Chiang Mai. Air Busan said the added flights are aimed at giving passengers more choices, expanding service from Busan to smaller Japanese cities and launching new routes from Incheon. Flights from B January 29, 2026
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  Samsung Electronics posts record Q4 revenue of 93.8 trillion won, operating profit 20.1 trillion Samsung Electronics said a boom in its memory business drove record quarterly results in the fourth quarter of 2025, with consolidated revenue of 93.8 trillion won and operating profit of 20.1 trillion won. It said the quarter marked the first time a South Korean company has posted more than 20 trillion won in operating profit in a single quarter. In an earnings filing on Wednesday, Samsung reported fourth-quarter consolidated revenue of 93.8374 trillion won and operating profit of 20.073 January 29, 2026
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  Korea Rural Economic Institute Announces New Appointments ◇Korea Rural Economic Institute △Appointments ▷Seo Dae Seok, head of the Agribusiness Innovation Research Division ▷Kook Seung Yong, head of the Agricultural Finance and Fiscal Policy Research Office under the Macroeconomic Agricultural Policy Research Division ▷Seong Jae Hoon, head of the AI Agricultural Policy Research Team * This article has been translated by AI. January 29, 2026
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  Hana Securities raises Kia target price 40% to 210,000 won on earnings outlook, SDV and robotics Hana Securities on Wednesday raised its target price for Kia by 40% to 210,000 won from 150,000 won, citing higher earnings estimates, improved readiness in software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and robotics, and a higher valuation multiple for its auto business. It kept its rating at buy. Analyst Song Sun-jae said the firm lifted its 2026 operating profit estimate by 3% to reflect new-model launches and foreign-exchange effects, adding that the expected dividend yield is 4.5%. He sai January 29, 2026
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  Hanwha Aerospace Seen as Front-Runner for Norway’s Chunmoo Rocket Deal Hanwha Aerospace is widely being cited as a leading contender to supply Norway’s multiple rocket launcher program, with analysts pointing to fast delivery and strong performance as key advantages. According to local media reports on Thursday, Norway’s parliament gave final approval to a US$2 billion plan to procure a long-range artillery system. The export contract is believed to include 16 Chunmoo launchers and related equipment. Industry watchers say Norway is likely to choose Hanwha Ae January 29, 2026
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  Autonomous A2Z posts record revenue on growth in self-driving projects Autonomous A2Z said Wednesday it set a record for annual revenue last year. The company reported about 16 billion won in revenue on a preliminary basis, up about 50% from 10.7 billion won a year earlier. It attributed the increase, ahead of full commercialization of autonomous driving services, to winning central and local government research and development projects, field tests and contract work. Autonomous A2Z said it has posted more than 10 billion won in revenue for a second straight January 29, 2026
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  South Korea to Allow High-Risk Single-Stock Leveraged ETFs; KOSPI Rally Continues ◆Aju Economy top stories ▷If high-risk leveraged ETFs are introduced, “Korea’s market will heat up even more” -Last year in Hong Kong and the U.S., leveraged and inverse ETFs tracking individual stocks at 2x or -2x became widely used. In South Korea, regulations have blocked such launches, and they have been cited as a factor behind outflows by retail investors buying overseas assets. -The government plans to allow high-risk, high-multiple ETFs in South Korea to boost the domestic market a January 29, 2026
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  Samsung Electronics to Pay 1.3 Trillion Won Special Dividend for Q4 2025 Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it will pay a 1.3 trillion won special dividend tied to its 2025 fourth-quarter results. Under its 2024-2026 shareholder-return policy, Samsung Electronics has been paying about 2.45 trillion won in cash dividends each quarter, or 9.8 trillion won a year. Including the 1.3 trillion won special dividend for the fourth quarter, the quarterly payout will rise to about 3.75 trillion won, bringing total annual dividends to 11.1 trillion won. The dividen January 29, 2026
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  Wall Street Ends Mixed After Fed Holds Rates; S&P 500 Briefly Tops 7,000 The three major U.S. stock indexes finished mixed as the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and investors waited for earnings from major Big Tech companies. Strength in technology and semiconductor shares pushed the S&P 500 above 7,000 for the first time intraday, though it later gave back gains. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12.19 points, or 0.02%, to 49,015.60. The S&P 500 slipped 0.57 points, or 0.01%, to 6,978.03. The Nasdaq composite gained 40.35 p January 29, 2026