• S. Korea weighs military academy integration from 2029 SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - South Korea is considering introducing a unified military academy system for cadets entering in 2029, with plans to relocate the Army academy while retaining existing Navy and Air Force training facilities.
• Asian central bank payment network eyes late-2027 launch SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) — A six-country Asian payment network aims to begin operations in late 2027, offering faster international transfers as the Bank of Korea examines how digital finance could reshape settlement systems.
• Unionized railway workers threaten indefinite strike next month SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - Unionized railway workers will launch an indefinite strike next month unless their demands are met, their union warned on Wednesday.
• Six nations to weigh game policy at G-Star forum SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - Officials and experts from six countries will gather in Busan on Nov. 19 to take stock of game policy and culture on the opening day of G-Star 2026, South Korea's largest game show, the Game Culture Foundation said Wednesday.
• SK hynix takes AI memory beyond servers SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - Despite the headlines, memory chips do more than power data centers. SK hynix, the frontrunner in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI, is expanding its push into low-power chips for robots, self-driving cars and smart factories as artificial intelligence moves into the physical world.
• Korea $36B away from $1 trillion in 2026 exports SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) -South Korea eyes achieving $1 trillion export year this month as it keeps up chip-fueled record-setting streak in the first 10 days of November, preliminary customs data showed Wednesday.

AJP Briefing>

• Chip stocks rally as investors shrug off Nvidia's steep slide SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - South Korean chip stocks rallied on Wednesday despite Nvidia's 5.5 percent overnight slide, as foreign investors bought KOSPI-listed shares for a second consecutive session and the KOSDAQ surged 5.6 percent on expectations of government support for the junior market. The benchmark KOSPI rose 136.23 points or 2.6 percent to close at 5,375.36, extending the previous day's 4.4 percent rebound, while the KOSDAQ triggered a buy-sidecar for a second consecutive sess
• Samsung tops supplier partnership rankings SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics has received South Korea's highest corporate partnership rating for the 15th consecutive year, becoming the only company to maintain the top grade since the assessment system was introduced in 2011. The tech giant received the highest rating in the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership's 2026 assessment, based on corporate performance in 2025, the company said Wednesday. The annual index evaluates how major corporations work with smal

AJP ScaleUP

• BaroPharm tumbles 27% on KOSDAQ debut SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) — South Korean pharmacy platform operator BaroPharm plunged nearly 27 percent below its initial public offering (IPO) price on its KOSDAQ debut Wednesday. Shares traded at 12,000 won ($8.97), down 26.83 percent from the IPO price of 16,400 won as of 2:26 p.m. The stock opened at 16,000 won, slightly below its offering price. It briefly climbed to 17,370 won before reversing course and falling as low as 11,760 won during the session. About 17.09 million shares had
• Korean biotechs pitch cancer drugs at BIO-Europe ZURICH, November 10 (AJP) - South Korean biotech firms are pitching cancer treatments, liver disease drugs and drug-delivery technologies to global pharmaceutical companies at BIO-Europe in Cologne, seeking partners to finance development and reach overseas markets. Licensing, joint development and investment discussions continued Tuesday as the three-day event entered its second day. No Korean company had announced a signed agreement by then, according to the Korean media reports cited, thoug

ASIA Insight

• Pepero Day finds new fans overseas SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - For Kim Sun-mi, a familiar red box of Pepero brings back memories. For Pranaya Sathe, a box featuring Stray Kids member Felix offers a reason to try the chocolate-coated biscuit sticks for the first time. Between those two purchases lies the changing appeal of Pepero Day, South Korea’s annual snack-giving occasion that is finding fresh customers through K-pop, cartoon characters and collectible packaging. Kim, a 34-year-old office worker in Seoul’s Gwa by Joonha Yoo
• Experts advise Seoul safeguards over blanket teen social media ban This is the second installment in an AJP series bringing together international perspectives as Seoul weighs age limits and other restrictions on minors’ access to social media. SEOUL, November 10 (AJP) - As South Korea prepares to build public consensus on the scope and means of regulating minors’ access to social media, international experts urge a careful balance between freedom of expression and safeguards against harm. The Korea Media and Communications Commission plans to sur by Lee Jung-woo

AJP Watch

• Jensen Huang gives the 'You Quiz' jinx fresh material SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) — “You Quiz on the Block” has a knack for getting people onto television who rarely have time for it. Presidents, Hollywood stars and business titans take a seat, loosen up and reveal the person behind the public image. Sometimes, the interview ages beautifully. Sometimes, the internet keeps the receipts. Now in its eighth year, the tvN talk show hosted by Yoo Jae-suk, one of South Korea’s most beloved television personalities, has accumulated a
• AJP Review: Lost in K-beauty, found in translation SEOUL, November 10 (AJP) - Beauty shopping has become something of a ritual for visitors to South Korea, whether they arrive with a skincare shopping list or barely enough Korean to say hello. So AJP stepped into the K-beauty world of Olive Young as a pretend first-timer, armed with a smartphone, the Papago translation app and no particular expertise in cosmetics. The first Korean label refused to cooperate. The second translated in seconds. The difference wasn’t my Korean, which I was

AJP Focus

• Can Korea's civilian nuclear expertise power a submarine? SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - South Korea wants to take its homegrown nuclear expertise to sea. The challenge is turning decades of civilian reactor development into a power source that can operate safely and reliably inside a submarine. The country has an established nuclear industry and several small modular reactor (SMR) designs. But a reactor intended to supply electricity on land faces a different assignment beneath the waves, where space is tight, crews live nearby and maintenance cannot int
• AI shocks strengthen case for longer BOK pause SEOUL, November 10 (AJP) – A pair of U.S. shocks — Democratic election victories in major data center states and a scandal engulfing Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang — is strengthening the case for the Bank of Korea to keep interest rates steady for longer as uncertainty clouds South Korea’s chip-driven economy. The won’s resilience offers policymakers some breathing room. Despite sharp equity market swings and continued foreign selling, the currency has held near its stron