@Viacheslav,
default must have the same ipv4 subnet of "podman" default network, if changed, Podman doesn't detect it (via conf-mode commands).

After further debugging, it's the network name that causes the issue with CNI creation (pod-*) and static ip.
Podman overlaps "podman" default network and the user-defined "default" network.
containers get assigned to "podman" default network and CNIs ignored, so causing this primary issue.