
KB Financial Pulls Rebellions Into Korean Banking AI Stack Months Before Chip Maker's IPO
KB Financial Group signed a partnership with Rebellions on May 27 to embed the AI-chip startup's NPUs into its banking AI stack, reframing a 4-year VC relationship months before Rebellions' 2026 IPO.

Huang-Wei Taipei Dinner Telegraphs AI Supply Crunch — and Sets the Stage for SK's Chey at GTC Taipei
Nvidia's Jensen Huang and TSMC's C.C. Wei held a closed-door Taipei dinner on May 26 over next-gen AI chip production, days before SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won meets both at GTC Taipei on June 1.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical to Debut Second Muscle-Preserving Obesity Drug at ADA 2026
Hanmi Pharmaceutical will unveil LA-MSTN, its second muscle-preserving obesity drug candidate, at the American Diabetes Association annual meeting in New Orleans on June 5-8, 2026, alongside seven other obesity-pipeline studies.

Samsung Wage Deal Passes 73.7%, Hard-Wiring 10.5% of Chip Profit Into a Bonus Pool That Shareholders Want to Void
Samsung Electronics' joint unions ratified the 2026 wage deal at 73.7%, but a minority-shareholder group said on May 27 it will file a nullification suit against the 10.5%-of-chip-profit bonus pool as a disguised dividend that bypassed shareholder approval.

Samsung, SK Hynix 2x Single-Stock ETFs Debut as Korea's Pre-Trade Education Site Buckles Under Retail Surge
Eight Korean asset managers debuted 18 single-stock leverage products on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix on May 27, 2026, with KOFIA's mandatory pre-trade education site crashing as cumulative enrollees passed 200,000.

Samsung Union Ratifies Wage Deal at 73.7%, Tying DS Bonuses to 10.5% of Chip Profit
Samsung Electronics' union ratified the 2026 wage deal at 73.7%, formally lifting strike risk; the Chogieop chip union approved 80.6% versus just 21.1% at Jeonsamno, with a May 29 court hearing on a separate DX-union injunction still pending.

Kakao Heads Into Final Mediation as First-Ever Joint Strike Looms at Five Affiliates
Kakao sits down Wednesday for a second mediation at the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission with unions at five group companies, where failure would trigger the first-ever strike at Kakao headquarters alongside walkouts at Kakao Pay, Kakao Enterprise, XL Games and DK Techin.

Kakao's Melon to Launch Pan-Asian K-Pop Chart With Tencent Music, LINE Music in June
Kakao Entertainment said Tuesday Melon will launch the 'Global-K Chart' in June 2026 with China's Tencent Music and Japan's LINE Music, pooling K-pop streaming and engagement data across the three countries.

Samsung Wage Vote on Track to Pass After Court Tosses Bargaining Injunction; Turnout Hits 93%
Samsung Electronics is on track to ratify its 2026 wage and treasury-stock bonus deal after the Suwon District Court tossed a non-chip employee injunction and union turnout hit 93.45% before the May 27 vote close.

KOSPI Closes Above 8,000 on the Eve of Korea's First 2x Single-Stock Leverage ETFs on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix
Korea's KOSPI closed at a record 8,047.51 on May 26, 2026 — its first-ever close above 8,000 — one day before eight asset managers list the country's first 2x single-stock leverage ETFs on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

LG Energy Solution Closes Honda Ohio JV Building Sale at ₩3.74T, ₩483B Below December Plan
LG Energy Solution closed the sale of Ohio JV building assets to Honda for ₩3.7416 trillion ($2.73B) on May 26, 2026, about ₩483 billion (11.4%) below the ₩4.22 trillion figure disclosed in December 2025.

LG Innotek Crosses ₩1 Million as Hana Lifts Target to ₩1.3M on AI Substrate Re-Rating
LG Innotek (011070.KS) opened up 20% on May 26, 2026, crossing the ₩1 million emperor-stock tier as Hana Securities lifted its target to ₩1.3M from ₩700,000.