Samsung unveils Galaxy S26…National Assembly plenary expected to pass ‘crime of distorting the law’ [Morning Briefing]

◆Samsung Electronics holds Galaxy Unpacked…unveils S26 series

Samsung Electronics on the 25th (local time) hosted its Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event in San Francisco, the United States, unveiling the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy S26 Plus and Galaxy S26. A key feature is that the lineup positions itself as “third-generation AI phones.” This Galaxy introduces the “Now Nudge” feature, which suggests functions tailored to the user’s situation. For example, if you receive a message saying “Are you okay with a meeting at 9 p.m. on the 26th?”, it will discreetly check on its own whether you have a conflicting schedule without being prompted. The company also applied AI functions to privacy protection. For instance, if a call comes in from a number not in your contacts, AI answers on your behalf and checks what the caller wants. The Ultra model is equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite (5th generation) chip for Galaxy. The base and Plus models adopt Samsung Electronics’ “Exynos 2600” processor. The devices are set to roll out sequentially starting on the 11th of next month in South Korea and other markets.

◆National Assembly expected to pass ‘crime of distorting the law’ in today’s plenary, led by the ruling party

The National Assembly is set to hold a vote in today’s plenary session on the “crime of distorting the law bill” (an amendment to the Criminal Act), one of three judicial reform bills being pushed by the Democratic Party of Korea. The core provision would punish judges, prosecutors and others who distort the law regarding cases under trial or investigation, with the intent to grant unlawful or unjust benefits to others or to harm rights and interests, by up to 10 years in prison or up to 10 years of suspension of qualifications. The bill cleared the Legislation and Judiciary Committee led by the Democratic Party, but amid constitutional concerns the party submitted a revised version. The revised bill, tabled at the plenary the previous day, limits the scope of application to criminal cases—excluding civil and administrative matters—and further specifies the relevant clause defining acts that constitute law distortion to remove ambiguity.

◆Second MPC meeting of the year…rate likely to be held for a sixth straight time

The Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Board (MPC) on the 26th will decide at its second monetary policy meeting of the year whether to adjust the benchmark rate, currently at 2.5% per annum. Experts expected the MPC would be unable to cut rates. They forecast the MPC would keep rates unchanged, citing persistent housing-price and exchange-rate instability that has hampered rate cuts since the second half of last year.

◆Wall Street ends higher…Nvidia earnings expectations priced in

All three major U.S. stock indexes extended gains. Buying momentum, led by tech shares, strengthened as investors priced in expectations for earnings from Nvidia, a key pillar of the AI industry. On the 25th (U.S. Eastern time) on the New York Stock Exchange near the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 307.77 points (0.63%) from the previous session to finish at 49,482.27. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 gained 56.07 points (0.81%) to 6,946.14, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 288.40 points (1.26%) to close at 23,152.08.

Choi Su-jin, Hankyung.com reporter naive@hankyung.com