Stories from South Korea

Gyeonggi Province has announced the officially assessed individual land prices for 4.88 million plots. The average price increase was recorded at 2.85 percent, the second-highest growth rate in the country after Seoul.

Large-scale demonstrations are scheduled across downtown Seoul for May 1st Labor Day. Authorities plan to operate reversible lanes around protest sites to maintain traffic flow. Officials advised citizens to use subways due to expected heavy congestion near Gwanghwamun. Police stated they will respond strictly to any illegal activities during the rallies. This measure aims to compensate workers facing employment instability. The sustainability of the program, including funding issues, remains a key factor, according to the report. South Korea serves as a supplier of diesel and refined petroleum products to Australia. The announcement was made following developments in South Korea overnight. South Korean officials have denied reports of a US intelligence leak regarding North Korean nuclear capabilities.

Two people, including one man in his 60s, died in a fire reported around 10:30 AM.

Samsung Electronics HBM revenue is projected to more than triple in 2026 compared to 2025 levels. Total production capacity for the high-bandwidth memory is currently exhausted.

The first World Cup mountain bike event of the new season is scheduled to begin on Friday in Jungpyeong, South Korea. The event marks the first time the competition will be held at this specific location.

Google for Korea 2026 event held at the Westin Josun Hotel in Seoul featured a meeting between Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and Lee Sedol. The two discussed the future of artificial intelligence ten years after the AlphaGo match.

App Store registrations increased by 84 percent over the last year, reaching 235,800 cases. The growth includes a lifestyle paid app developed by a former surgeon in Seoul who self-taught coding via YouTube.

An app called Youtublus, created in just 15 days using 'vibe coding' techniques, reached number one in the lifestyle category on the Apple App Store. The developers included individuals with no prior coding knowledge, such as a former doctor and a consultation manager.

A woman has been transferred to prosecutors after allegedly using sleeping pills in drinks to rob men. Police in Seoul arrested a woman, identified as Person A, for allegedly drugging victims to steal money.

A South Korean human rights organization released a report regarding executions carried out under the Kim Jong Un regime. Kim Tae-jung stated that Japan's actions threaten stability in Northeast Asia. The group also noted that the Yasukuni Shrine continues to enshrine Class-A war criminals. Representative Han Kyung-ki added that the denial of Japan's history of aggression is a sign of rising militarism. The protesters called for peace instead of strengthened military cooperation to curb Japan's rearmament ambitions. They stated that the enshrining of World War II Japanese war criminals at Yasukuni Shrine threatens stability in Northeast Asia. They argued that peace can only be maintained by discouraging Japanese rearmament rather than strengthening military cooperation. On April 29, a Japanese peace group held a photo exhibition in Kanagawa to expose Imperial Japanese Army war crimes.