Rising tensions between the US and China are changing how companies design global supply chains in strategic industries such as semiconductors and rare earths. New research shows firms are no longer just reacting to trade rules – they are proactively redesigning supply chains to reduce political risk and secure access to critical technologies.

MDPI, the open access publisher, has appointed Sangwoo Lee as head of its South Korea office. Mr. Lee joins from Public Relations agency Prain Global, where he served for more than three years as chief director of strategic communications consulting institute. In his new role, Mr. Lee will lead MDPI’s operations in South Korea and oversee marketing, communications, and external affairs. The appointment coincides with a major milestone for MDPI Korea: the launch of the Journal of Innovation (JOI, ISSN: 3042-8629), MDPI’s 500th journal. Prof. Dr. Junic Kim of Konkuk University’s School of Business has been appointed founding Editor-in-Chief. He is the first South Korean scholar to serve as Editor-in-Chief of an MDPI journal. 

The systematic under-valuation of nature is creating growing risks for the global financial system, raising the prospect of a “Nature’s Minsky Moment” - a sudden repricing of assets triggered by ecosystem collapse. A new peer-reviewed study shows how recent advances in NatureFinTech now make it possible to measure ecosystem integrity at scale, enabling nature to be financed as critical infrastructure and laying the groundwork for a new asset class called Nature Equity.