Partners

SEOUL, June 30 (UPI) — The labor unions of Home Plus and Korea Zinc on Tuesday blasted MBK Partners, one of Asia’s leading private equity funds, over its troubled ownership of the former and the attempt to take over the latter.

“Although we are workers from different workplaces, we are all suffering in the face of the same capital greed. Korea Zinc and Home Plus are no different,” Home Plus union leader Ahn Soo-yong told a joint press conference in Seoul.

“Home Plus has now entered rehabilitation proceedings and stands on the brink of liquidation. But throughout this entire process, MBK, which should be held accountable, is evading responsibility,” she added.

MBK Partners acquired Home Plus from Tesco in a $5 billion deal in 2015. However, the discount chain entered a court-led rehabilitation program in early 2025 after years of mounting losses. MBK tried to sell Home Plus for more than a year with little success.

Against this backdrop, Home Plus has steadily reduced its store network in recent years. The retailer operated more than 140 hypermarkets across the country at its peak in the mid-2010s, but now has just 67 remaining.

“The hardship facing Home Plus is by no means a problem unique to Home Plus,” Korea Zinc union head Lee Eun-seon said.

“If MBK succeeds in taking control of Korea Zinc, the job insecurity and workplace destruction now being experienced by Home Plus workers will inevitably become the grim reality for Korea Zinc employees as well,” he said.

Korea Zinc has been locked in a prolonged control battle with MBK, which teamed up with zinc manufacturer Young Poong early last year to pursue a takeover bid. The two sides clashed at shareholders’ meetings in 2025 and 2026 in a series of heated proxy battles.

The share price of Korea Zinc fell 4% on the Seoul bourse on Tuesday, while the broad KOSPI rose 0.97%. Neither MBK nor Home Plus is publicly listed.

Published on
30/06/2026 – 12:27 GMT+2

The EU has allocated import quotas for steel to its trading partners on Tuesday in an attempt to fight growing overcapacity from foreign producers.

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The measure comes amid rising tensions between the EU and china China, where most of the global steel surplus originates.

Seeking to shield its market from global overcapacity, EU legislators agreed last April to increase existing tariff-free steel quotas to 18.3 million tonnes per year while doubling tariffs beyond those quotas to 50 percent

The EU’s closest allies, such as the UK, Switzerland and Ukraine, are concerned that their own exports to the EU could be drastically affected by the new measures, and have heavily lobbied the European Commission in recent weeks for preferential access to the EU market.

“We are providing market participants with predictability through clear and transparent quota distribution rules, while applying a fair and objective methodology,” EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said in a statement.

Protectionist move

The protectionist move comes as global steel overcapacity is expected to grow to 721 million tonnes by 2027, according to the OECD, a volume that could threaten jobs across the entire EU steel sector.

The EU came under even greater pressure last year when the US imposed 50 percent tariffs on steel imports, rerouting the global surplus to the European market.

“They built a wall around their market, steel was hitting that wall and was coming back to our market in greater numbers,” a senior EU official said. “That is why we introduced a safeguard measure which followed an investigation.”

The EU is also fighting unfair trade practices across the board with 80 other measures already in place, among them anti-dumping duties, most of which target cheap steel imports from China.

Pressed by its closest allies to ease the measures to their benefit, the Commission announced on Tuesday that half of the 18.3 million tonnes allowed to enter its market each year will be allocated to partners bound by free trade agreements with the bloc, including India, Switzerland and the UK.

Many of the countries that have clinched a trade deal with the EU will be allocated country-specific quotas proportionate to the volumes traded with the EU between 2022 and 2024.

A special status has also been granted to Ukraine to support the country while it remains at war and ensure a certain level of exports to the EU.

Anthropic teamed up with California to get more state workers to use its artificial intelligence assistant Claude as part of an effort to leverage technology to make the government more efficient.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who announced the partnership on Monday, said state agencies will be able to access Claude at a 50% discount. Free training and other assistance will also be available to the workers. California’s local governments will also get the same discount under the agreement.

Government workers can use Claude to draft and summarize documents, analyze information and do other tasks.

Anthropic, an AI company based in San Francisco, has a version of its AI assistant for government clients that provides more security than what it provides other consumers.

The new partnership shows how AI is playing a bigger role at work as tech companies market their tools as ways to complete tasks more quickly. Last year, San Francisco made Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, which is powered by OpenAI’s model, available to nearly 30,000 city employees.

Still, the rise of automation at work has heightened concerns that people will lose their jobs. There are also worries that there are not yet adequate guardrails in place to mitigate data privacy and security risks.

Anthropic and the governor said that they’re focused on the responsible use of AI.

“AI should not replace the human work of government; it should help our workers move faster, solve problems more effectively, and deliver better results for Californians,” Newsom said in a statement.

The remarks didn’t appear to comfort union leaders.

“Wow. Look local government, the Gov is giving you a 50% off coupon to give up your residents’ private data, outsource your jobs to big tech. Isn’t that cool? Because California basically invented AI slop!” said Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, in a post on X.

Anthropic has faced political hurdles as it pushes to get more companies and government agencies to use its products.

Most notable, it’s sparred publicly with the Trump administration, which ordered the company to cut off foreign access to its most powerful AI systems this month.

The Trump administration cited potential national security risks, but Anthropic disagreed with the findings. Last week, tensions decreased after the U.S. government gave Anthropic permission to restore access to its AI model Mythos to certain clients.

Valued at nearly $1 trillion, Anthropic has also signaled it plans to become a publicly traded company.

California has already started using Claude more in state government to develop tools to get the public to engage more in AI policy discussions and assist state workers, the governor’s office said in its news release.

State agencies, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, are also using AI to reduce wait times and improve customer service.

“As state employees, our goal is to provide our fellow Californians with the best possible service,” Government Operations Agency Secretary Nick Maduros said in a statement. “To do that, we need to make sure our teams have access to the best modern tools, including Claude and other emerging technologies.”

A HUGE Brit pop star has revealed his partner has suffered a devastating miscarriage.

Chart-topping British dance artist James Hype and his music artist partner Tita Lau shared their devastation after revealing their unborn baby has died just months into the pregnancy.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday afternoon, Tita shared a black and white snap of them hugging and wrote alongside it: “This week we thought we’d be sharing the happiest news of our lives. Sadly, life had a different plan for us.

“For the last two years, we’ve been trying for a baby. It hasn’t been easy, especially because James and I hardly see each other.

“We’d started planning our IVF journey & had meetings with multiple doctors. But just before we were due to begin, something felt different…
I can’t really explain it, I bought a pregnancy test & called James literally 1000s of miles apart…Positive.”

She then shared how they went through a range of emotions before heading for their first scan and hearing the baby’s heartbeat.

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Tita, who also tours the world as a DJ, added: “Keeping it a secret was so hard, especially while touring. The first trimester is literally no joke!”

But a few weeks later, Tita said she felt “something wasn’t right” and went to get checked at another scan and “That’s when our hearts broke.”

She continued: “We were told I’d had what’s called a missed miscarriage, most likely caused by chromosomal abnormalities. My body still believed it was pregnant, but our baby had stopped developing.

“I don’t think a day has gone by that I haven’t cried. I didn’t know what happened next. It’s not something I’d ever thought about, but the next day, I had surgery & just like that, everything we’d been dreaming about was over.”

She then paid tribute to her husband, saying: “I’m still recovering, both physically & emotionally & I know James is too. I honestly don’t know how I would have gone through this week without you. This has been the hardest thing we’ve experienced together.”

James then commented underneath the post: “Proud of you for sharing this. Believe that everything will work out the way it should.”

The couple recently celebrated their sixth anniversary together.

James first hit the UK music scene back in 2017 when his song More Than Friends became a smash hit.

He has since had hit songs with global artists such as Craig David, Kim Petras and Pia Mia. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung celebrated the signing of new a digital trade agreement at a ceremony in Brussels on Wednesday.

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The event marked the EU and South Korea’s 11th summit, with everything from security and defence to trade on the agenda.

“Korea is one of Europe’s closest partners in the Indo-Pacific region and on the global stage,” von der Leyen said. “In today’s uncertain world, stable and trusted partnerships like ours are more precious than ever.”

The trio released a joint statement extolling the value of the talks and committing the two sides to a firm and friendly relationship.

“We reaffirm our shared commitment to effective multilateralism, and to a stable and predictable rules-based free and fair economic order,” the statement reads.

The semiconductor factor

Both sides have an interest in diversifying their trade relationships at a time of growing tensions with both China and the US, and the EU-South Korea digital trade agreement comes more than a decade after a landmark free trade deal.

Since 2015, trade between the EU and South Korea has doubled, with goods trade reaching approximately €124.25 billion in 2025, according to figures from the European Commission.

“The European Union-Korea Free Trade Agreement remains one of the European Union’s most successful trade agreements since its entry into enforcement in 2011,” European Council António Costa said on Wednesday.

South Korea is becoming an increasingly important investor in Europe, particularly in strategic sectors such as batteries, electric vehicles and semiconductors.

For the EU, a key objective is to secure semiconductor supply chains while attracting further investment from Korean companies into Europe.

“Korea has a global leadership position in semiconductors,” an EU official said. “This is clearly an area with significant potential for cooperation that would benefit both sides.”

The digital trade agreement concluded on Wednesday is expected to complement the broader trade partnership by reducing “unnecessary barriers to digital trade” and providing greater “legal certainty” for businesses operating across the two markets, according to another EU official. It will facilitate cross-border data flows while prohibiting the mandatory transfer of source code.

The deal is also designed to establish robust online consumer protection rules, though both partners intend to maintain their respective levels of protection for personal data and privacy.

Economic security was also high on the summit agenda, with the two sides agreeing to establish a high-level dialogue on supply chain resilience.

Supply chains came under pressure last year following China’s restrictions on exports of strategic materials, including rare earths – essential for green technologies and the defence sector – as well as products linked to the chip industry, which are critical to automotive manufacturing.

Security and defence

One thing that did not get over the line was a security of information agreement, which had been touted by EU officials prior to the summit as a means of strengthening the flow of classified information between Brussels and Seoul.

“I hope that the security of information agreement will be adopted soon, so that Korea and the EU can share confidential information safely, which will allow the two sides to engage in industrial and research cooperation actively through information exchange exchange,” President Lee said on Wednesday.

The agreement would build on the Security and Defence Partnership agreement that South Korea and the EU signed in 2024. That deal was designed to facilitate cooperation in areas spanning maritime security, countering hybrid threats, fighting foreign information manipulation and interference, and more besides.

In the run-up to this week’s talks, a senior EU official said a key topic of the discussions will be nuclear non-proliferation, as North Korea continues to hold a small but concerning stockpile of nuclear-armed warheads.

North Korea (the DPRK) and Russia were considered “big questions” at the summit, the source said, with Brussels ready to share information on its support for Ukraine with Seoul.

The joint statement from the summit reiterates this, with words of condemnation directed at North Korea and other nations who enable Russia to sustain its war of aggression against Ukraine.

“We urge Russia and the DPRK to immediately cease all such activities and abide by the UN Charter and all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions,” the statement reads.

SEOUL, June 5 (UPI) — South Korea’s KB Securities said Friday it teamed with global blockchain network operator Canton Foundation and domestic digital asset company Wavebridge.

The Seoul-based brokerage said the three firms would explore ways to take advantage of the Canton Network, a blockchain platform built for regulated financial markets, to support distributed ledger-based capital market transactions.

Over the longer term, they also hope to collaborate on adopting distributed ledger-based financial products in South Korea.

KB Securities said that its ultimate goal is to enable the issuance and cross-border distribution of financial products backed by Korean assets.

Enabled by smart contracts, Canton Network allows participants to exchange data and value for the trading of real-world assets.

Several major global financial organizations participate in the Canton ecosystem, including Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, HSBC and Nasdaq, according to KB Securities.

“The transition to a distributed ledger-based capital market is an essential step for future finance. This transformation is already moving from concept to execution globally,” KB Securities CEO Kang Jin-doo said in a statement.

Canton Foundation leader Viv Diwakar welcomed the three-way partnership.

“Korea’s capital markets have the institutional depth and regulatory foundation to move decisively in the shift to distributed ledger infrastructure,” he said.

“This partnership with KB Securities and Wavebridge is an important first step in building that future, and Canton Foundation is committed to supporting Korea’s leadership in this space.”

KB Securities is not publicly listed. The share price of its parent company, KB Financial Group, rose 4.51% on Friday, while the benchmark KOSPI plunged 5.54%.

SEOUL, May 12 (UPI) — Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, or KHNP, said Tuesday it partnered with Southern Nuclear Operating Co. of the United States to enhance nuclear engineering.

The state-backed enterprise signed a memorandum of understanding at its head office in Gyeongju, around 180 miles southeast of Seoul, with the U.S. nuclear company.

Under the agreement, KHNP said, the two would expand technical exchange programs and share best practices in operating nuclear facilities.

The South Korean company noted the partnership aligns with the efforts over the past few years to shift its operations toward an engineering-based system.

“This agreement is expected to help our engineers broaden their global perspective and provide an opportunity for our engineering system to advance further,” KHNP senior executive Kim Young-seung said in a statement.

“Down the road, we will do our utmost to perfect the Korean-style engineering system through close cooperation with overseas operators and international organizations,” he added.

Last June, KHNP signed a deal worth at least $18 billion to build two nuclear reactors in the Czech Republic. To support the project, the company plans to collaborate with various partners both at home and abroad.

As of the end of last year, KHNP ran a total of 26 nuclear reactors in South Korea. It is also constructing four new reactors in the country. KHNP is not publicly traded.