Today's Top News: Samsung Posts 'Record-Breaking' Operating Profit… What About Shareholder Returns? (October 29, 2026)

1. Samsung Electronics also posted record-high sales and profits in the third quarter. Samsung's third-quarter sales reached 193.3 trillion won, with operating profit hitting 107.4 trillion won, marking the first time quarterly operating profit has exceeded 100 trillion won. Net profit also came in at 75.1 trillion won, surging more than sixfold compared to the same period last year. Samsung announced plans to allocate up to 110 trillion won this year for shareholder returns, including 30 trillion won in third-quarter cash dividends. However, it deferred the announcement of plans for returning the remaining 75 trillion won until after a board meeting in January next year. Stock prices are showing a downward trend of around 5% today (October 29).

2. The U.S. Federal Reserve has decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the current level between 3.75% and 4%. Analysts suggest this is a pause to catch its breath after raising rates by 0.25 percentage points last month for the first time in three years. While noting that inflation remains high, the Fed explained that it will determine future policy direction after gathering more data. Fed Chair Kevin Walsh also drew attention by specifically mentioning during a press conference that he is paying close attention to the South Korean economy, which supplies a significant portion of core materials for new technologies.

3. The government has announced public housing district candidates to build 76,700 households across six areas in Gyeonggi Province close to Seoul, including Gimpo, Guri, and Hanam. The largest site is Gimpo Ara District in Gochon-eup, Gimpo, with a scale of 37,000 households. This is followed by 14,600 households in Geonwon, Guri, and 12,000 households in Hanam Misa K-Culture District. All of these locations are within 5 kilometers of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport explained that these are greenbelt areas currently experiencing or at risk of haphazard development. These six locations will adopt the so-called shortest-track public housing construction model, which drastically reduces the period from groundbreaking to 37 months from the previous 68 months, with approval, compensation, and site development procedures conducted simultaneously.

4. A man in his 70s, surnamed Lee, who caused serial arson in downtown Seoul injuring 26 people, was sent to prosecutors under arrest this morning. Lee is accused of successively setting fire to two buildings in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, where patent firms are located, on the morning of October 20, injuring a total of 26 people including patent attorneys and office staff. According to police investigations, Lee planned the crime in advance, purchasing 17 liters of gasoline from a gas station near his home the day before the crime. Police stated that they applied additional charges of attempted murder alongside the existing charges of arson resulting in injury, as evidence—such as Lee continuously searching for a specific person right before the arson and unhesitatingly setting fire to the entrance, which served virtually as the only escape route—established intent to cause deaths among unspecified individuals.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.