South Korea on Wednesday announced emergency support measures for its auto sector, seeking to reduce the blow of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on a sector that has seen years of sharply rising exports to the United States, Reuters reported. The measures include financial support for the auto industry as well as tax cuts and subsidies to boost domestic demand, while the government also vowed efforts to negotiate with the U.S. and help expand markets. Trump has announced a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks starting on Thursday.

As MG Non-Life Insurance was declared insolvent this week, its ripple effects could now adversely influence the pre-arranged sale of KDB Life to JC Partners, a major shareholder of MG Non-Life, the Korea Times reported. During its regular meeting on Wednesday, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) decided to designate MG Non-Life as an insolvent financial institution, given that its debt exceeded its capital by 113.9 billion won ($92.9 million).

South Korea’s exports grew at a stronger-than-expected pace in March, showing signs of resilience as concerns about U.S. tariffs cast uncertainty over the outlook for trade, the Wall Street Journal reported. President Trump has set an April 2 deadline to unveil so-called reciprocal duties, which aim to equalize U.S. tariffs with those charged by other countries. That comes on top of plans Trump announced last week to impose a separate 25% tariff on cars and auto parts. As one of the top exporters of cars to the U.S., South Korea faces a major drag if the auto levy goes into effect.

Japan, South Korea and China agreed on Sunday to continue trilateral economic and trade cooperation to address “emerging challenges,” a partnership that has become more crucial than ever as the U.S. trade war shatters the global order. Trade minister Yoji Muto, his South Korean counterpart, Ahn Duk-geun, and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met in Seoul for the first trilateral meeting among the three countries’ trade ministers in over five years, the Japan Times reported.

Nearly 12% of South Korean firms became insolvent last year due to the downturn in construction and real estate, marking the highest level since 2019. These companies, burdened with more debt than assets, face complete capital erosion and financial instability, the Chosun Daily reported. According to the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) on March 23, about 4,466 companies, or 11.9% of all 37,510 externally audited companies (excluding financial firms), are expected to be completely insolvent.

South Korean authorities are ramping up efforts to regulate the crypto market, focusing on exchanges believed to be operating without proper licensing, CoinMarketCap.com reported. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission is investigating several platforms, including KuCoin, BitMEX, CoinW, Bitunix, and KCEX, for allegedly providing services to South Korean users without registering as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is set to initiate a pilot program for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), named "Hangang," involving 100,000 participants, CoinMarketCap.com reported. Scheduled to run from April to June this year, the pilot will allow citizens to convert their bank deposits into tokenized deposits for use in local transactions, according to reports from local media.

The protectionist policies of U.S. President Donald Trump are likely to deteriorate the soundness of the financial industry and expand market volatility, ChosunBiz.com reported. According to a report from the Korea Financial Research Institute on the 16th, titled "Implications of Strengthened Protectionism for the Domestic Banking Industry," a slowdown in exports due to global protectionism could lead to deteriorating performances of corporations and industries, causing the insolvency of vulnerable corporations and undermining the soundness of the financial industry.

South Korean supermarket chain Homeplus has pledged to fully repay its vendors, prioritizing small businesses, while apologizing for heightened concerns over its financial stability following a court's approval of its entry into a corporate rehabilitation program earlier this month, the Korea Herald reported.

South Korea’s headline inflation eased in February, providing room for the central bank to loosen monetary policy further to support the slowing economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The benchmark consumer-price index rose 2.0% from a year earlier, following a 2.2% increase in January, the country’s statistics office said Thursday. The slowdown in price growth was largely driven by stabilizing prices of some agricultural products as well as lower services prices, according to the statistics office.