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🇰🇷🇮🇷South Korean Ship Ablaze in Hormuz A South Korean-operated vessel suffered an explosion and fire in the Strait of Hormuz, with Seoul announcing a formal investigation into the incident. U.S. President Donald Trump publicly attributed the attack to Iran, while South Korean authorities have yet to assign responsibility pending their probe. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint for global energy transit. The incident occurs amid ongoing U.S.-Iran tensions over Tehran's nuclear program and unresolved sanctions disputes. A confirmed Iranian attribution would mark a direct escalation involving allied commercial shipping and add pressure on Seoul to align its response with Washington's posture toward Tehran. #SouthKorea#Iran @asianomics

🇰🇷🇮🇷Seoul Sends Envoys to Africa for Supply Routes South Korea's Foreign Ministry has dispatched envoys to Algeria and Libya to discuss potential supply chain cooperation, with a further envoy planned for the Republic of Congo. The moves follow President Lee Jae Myung's directive to identify alternative supply routes after US military action against Iran disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Park Jong-han is conducting the Algeria and Libya visits this week. The ministry is appointing retired diplomat Jung Hai-ung, a former ambassador to Algeria, as special envoy to the Republic of Congo. Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik has also been sent to the Middle East as a special envoy. Separately, special envoy to Iran Chung Byung-ha has been in contact with senior Iranian officials in Tehran to discuss the safety of South Korean nationals, vessels, crew, and ship passage through the region. #SouthKorea#Iran @asianomics

🇰🇷🇮🇷Seoul Envoy Meets Iran Officials Over Hormuz South Korea's special envoy Chung Byung-ha arrived in Iran over the weekend and has been meeting with senior Iranian officials, including a likely session with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. South Korea's Foreign Ministry stated Chung would convey Seoul's position on bilateral relations, the safety of South Korean nationals in Iran, and passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Seoul dispatched the envoy following a US-Iran agreement on a two-week ceasefire, though Pakistan-brokered peace talks between Washington and Tehran subsequently broke down without an agreement. South Korean ships and seafarers remain stranded in the strait. US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the US Navy would block all ships from entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz. Seoul has declined to disclose the details of Chung's meetings. #SouthKorea#Iran @asianomics

🇰🇷🇮🇷Korea Adviser: Hormuz Transit Still Disrupted South Korea's National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac stated at a press briefing in Seoul that vessel crossings through the Strait of Hormuz have not increased significantly since a US-Iran ceasefire was agreed on Tuesday. Wi said supply chain uncertainty is likely to persist for the time being. Wi noted that approximately 2,000 vessels remain trapped in the strait, and a simultaneous departure could take considerable time and create difficulties in securing safe routes. The South Korean government is communicating with relevant countries to ensure the safety of ships and crew. Twenty-six Korean-flagged vessels remain stranded in the strait. Seoul pledged to continue efforts to secure alternative supplies of crude oil and naphtha and to identify alternative shipping lanes. #SouthKorea#Iran @asianomics

🇰🇷🇮🇷Seoul Seeks Hormuz Passage After US-Iran Ceasefire Cheong Wa Dae stated it would do its best to ensure South Korean vessels can pass through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible. A presidential office official said the exact method and conditions for passage are being determined through communication with relevant countries, taking into account limitations outlined by Iran. US President Donald Trump announced a two-week suspension of strikes on Iran, subject to Tehran agreeing to the complete and immediate reopening of the strait. Iran's Armed Forces subsequently indicated that safe passage would be possible for two weeks, subject to coordination and technical limitations. More than 60 percent of South Korea's crude oil imports are delivered through the Strait of Hormuz, making the waterway a critical supply route for the country's energy sector. #SouthKorea#Iran @asianomics

🇰🇷🇮🇷Seoul Talks With Iran on Hormuz Access South Korea's foreign ministry said it is actively communicating with Iran and other relevant countries to secure ship passage through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran effectively closed the waterway following U.S. and Israeli airstrikes. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Kyodo News Agency that Tehran is prepared to allow Japan-bound vessels through the strait after consultations with Tokyo. The Strait of Hormuz carries more than 20 percent of the world's oil trade, with all tanker lanes falling within Iranian territorial waters. The route is a primary energy supply channel for South Korea and Japan. On Friday, South Korea joined seven countries, including Japan and several European nations, in a joint statement condemning Iran's attacks in the Gulf and the de facto closure of the strait. #SouthKorea#Iran @asianomics

South Korean scientists have developed a gas battery that converts greenhouse gases into electricity Researchers in South Korea have made a breakthrough in environmentally “clean” energy. A research team from Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul has developed a gas battery capable of converting greenhouse gases into electricity during the process of their capture. The device, referred to by the developers as a “Gas Capture and Electricity Generation” (GCEG) system, uses an asymmetric configuration combining carbon electrodes with hydrogel materials. When gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) or nitrogen oxides (NOx) come into contact with the system, they are adsorbed onto the electrode surface, triggering microscopic reactions including charge redistribution and ion migration. Unlike conventional carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) systems, which require significant external energy input, the new gas battery converts the energy released during gas adsorption directly into electrical power. The device generates a continuous direct current without the need for additional external energy sources. According to the lead researcher, Associate Professor Ji-Soo Jang of Sungkyunkwan University, the technology could lead to a new class of self-powered devices. These may include battery-powered air quality sensors, distributed Internet of Things devices operating in remote or energy-constrained environments, as well as industrial systems that simultaneously reduce emissions and generate energy from exhaust streams. “Capturing greenhouse gases while simultaneously generating electricity offers a new paradigm for climate change mitigation,” the researchers note. According to them, atmospheric pollutants effectively become a “fuel” for electricity generation, simultaneously cleaning the environment and supplying energy. The development is particularly relevant given that, according to the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), global greenhouse gas emissions reached approximately 58.6 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2024. China, the United States, and India remain the world’s largest CO2 emitters. The study was published in the prestigious scientific journal Energy & Environmental Science. The researchers hope their development will become an important step toward carbon neutrality and the creation of sustainable energy systems of the future. #SouthKorea

#SouthKorea: Donald Trump ha accusato il Governo sudcoreano di non rispettare gli accordi commerciali intrapresi con gli Stati Uniti e per questo imporrà dazi del 25% sul Paese.

❗️Il presidente sudcoreano dichiara la legge marziale - Martedì il presidente Yoon Suk Yeol ha imposto la legge marziale d'emergenza, accusando l'opposizione di essere simpatizzante del Nord e di condurre attività "anti-stato". - Ha promesso di "eliminare le forze anti-stato il più rapidamente possibile e di normalizzare il Paese". - Gli eventi seguono il tentativo dell'opposizione di mettere sotto accusa diversi procuratori e il rifiuto della proposta di bilancio del governo. - Il leader del Partito Democratico di Corea, all'opposizione, Toburo Lee Jae Myung, ha definito "incostituzionale" la decisione del presidente di dichiarare la legge marziale. - Il leader del partito conservatore People Power Party del presidente Yoon, Han Dong-hoon, ha definito "sbagliata" la decisione di imporre la legge marziale e ha promesso di "fermarla insieme al popolo". #SouthKorea

🇰🇷South Korea Eyes Suicide Drones at Battalion Level The South Korean Army is reviewing deployment of loitering munitions down to battalion-level units and below, alongside a plan to field over 50,000 operational drones by 2029 and introduce 11,000 training drones this year. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Gyu-ha framed the shift as foundational — comparing drone access to personal firearms for all combatants. The push falls under the Army TIGER initiative, launched in 2018 to build manned-unmanned teaming systems capable of multi-domain operations, with full transformation of Army units targeted by 2040. Separately, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back has disclosed plans to cut border unit troop strength from 22,000 to 6,000 by 2040, replacing personnel with AI-powered surveillance — a move that has raised concerns over potential gaps in coverage. The combined trajectory points to a structural reorientation of South Korea's ground forces away from manpower-intensive deployment toward autonomous and remotely operated systems. #SouthKorea @asianomics

🇰🇷South Korea Breaks Ground on Second Combat Support Ship A steel-cutting ceremony was held at Hanwha Ocean's shipyard in Geoje on April 29, marking the start of construction on South Korea's second auxiliary oil, ammunition and equipment ship (AOE-II), as reported by DAPA. The program, valued at ₩531.5 billion (~$360 million), was launched in 2024 as a follow-on to the 10,000-ton logistics vessel Soyang, commissioned in 2018. The new ship will feature a domestically-developed integrated engineering control system managing propulsion, power, and auxiliary systems through a single network. The vessel reflects a broader push to deepen South Korea's naval logistics capacity, with upgraded surveillance, noise reduction, and improved crew systems built in from the design stage. DAPA explicitly framed the program as a platform to expand South Korean shipbuilding export opportunities, including in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) — a sector where Korean yards are actively competing for international contracts. The AOE-II program positions Hanwha Ocean as a key node in South Korea's defense-industrial base, reinforcing the dual civil-military shipbuilding model Seoul has been scaling. #SouthKorea @asianomics

🇰🇷South Korea Exports Rise 11th Straight Month A Reuters poll projects South Korean exports rose sharply again in April, marking an 11th consecutive month of growth. The expansion is driven by a surge in semiconductor demand tied to AI investment. Chip strength is absorbing headwinds from the Middle East conflict, which would otherwise weigh on trade flows. The poll result points to sustained outperformance in South Korea's export sector despite external shocks. Continued AI-driven chip demand positions South Korea's semiconductor exporters as a primary beneficiary of global technology investment cycles. #SouthKorea @asianomics