• South Korea offers clues to US tech boom, Fed chief says SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh said he closely watches South Korea for signs of the U.S. technology investment boom, highlighting the country's role as a supplier to rapidly expanding American capital spending.
• Britain names archaeologist-turned-diplomat new ambassador to Seoul SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Britain has appointed Rachel Emma-Jane Fentem, a former senior aide to three British foreign secretaries who holds a doctorate in archaeology, as its next ambassador to South Korea.
• Korea's business sentiment hits 4-year high, factory outlook weakens SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - South Korean business sentiment hit a more than four-year high in October on stronger auto output and chip investment.
• SK Innovation Q3 profit hits record on oil, lubricant margins SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - SK Innovation's third-quarter operating profit jumped 532.5 percent from a year earlier to a record 3.7 trillion won ($2.77 billion), the South Korean energy company said Thursday.
• Samsung SDI Q3 profit hits 3-year high on AI data center demand SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Samsung SDI swung to a third-quarter operating profit of 407.8 billion won ($304.5 million) from a 591.3 billion won loss a year earlier, the South Korean battery maker said Thursday.
• Jeju steps up bid to host global AI hub SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Jeju Island is stepping up efforts to host South Korea's planned global artificial intelligence (AI) hub, highlighting its international cooperation network and climate and energy infrastructure as key strengths in a nationwide competition.

AJP Briefing>

• Chip rally keeps KOSPI above 6,000 SEOUL, Oct. 29 (AJP) — SK hynix's third-quarter results kept South Korea's main index above 6,000 on Thursday, but the gain rested on a handful of chip heavyweights. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened higher, rising 25.4 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,037.8. However, LG Energy Solution shares tumbled after LG Chem sold a 2.5 trillion won (US$1.87 billion) stake in the battery maker, weighing on battery stocks and the tech-heavy KOSDAQ. The KOSDAQ, the country'
• Unionized workers at Samsung Biologics to resume wage talks next week SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - Unionized workers at Samsung Biologics will resume negotiations over wages and other labor-related issues next week, warning that they will launch strikes if talks with management fail to produce an agreement. According to the biopharmaceutical company's union on Wednesday, the talks, scheduled to begin on Nov. 3, would be "all-or-nothing" negotiations, with the union calling them a final opportunity to reach an agreement. The union also threatened that

AJP ScaleUP

• Optonics bets IPO proceeds to ride K-defense drive SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) - South Korean optical components maker Optonics plans to raise at least 22 billion won ($17 million) from its KOSDAQ listing to expand its military portfolio and capitalize on South Korea’s defense export drive. The proceeds will help expand production of navigation components and develop new products for high-power laser weapons, precision processing and power-grid monitoring, CEO Lee Young-woo said at a pre-IPO press conference Monday. “Even if an investm
• Regenerative medicine firm soars above IPO price on KOSDAQ debut SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - Regenerative medicine firm MS Bio more than doubled from its initial public offering (IPO) price on its KOSDAQ debut Thursday before paring gains later in the day. The stock climbed as high as 19,650 won (US$14.81), about 2.5 times its IPO price of 7,800 won. It was trading at 12,920 won as of around 5 p.m. in after-hours trading, up 65.64 percent from the offering price. The firm priced its shares at the top of its proposed range of 6,800 won to 7,800 won after insti

ASIA Insight

• Guryong becomes no-man's land. What of those who called it home? SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - A shantytown, others may call it. For those who stayed as their neighbors moved away, Guryong Village was home — a place where lives had taken root, however fragile the walls around them. By dawn Wednesday, fire had consumed swaths of the settlement tucked into Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district. It took nearly 13 hours to put out the flames. What would become of the lives they had uprooted was far less certain. One man in his 70s had been asleep after taki by Joonha Yoo
• Two Koreas return to UN after déjà vu DMZ mine crisis SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - South and North Korea have sent competing complaints to the United Nations Security Council over last month’s land mine explosion, reviving questions about what international diplomacy can achieve in a conflict still governed by a seven-decade-old armistice. The exchange also highlights a distinction between the Security Council’s diplomatic role and the military responsibilities of the United Nations Command (UNC). The 1953 Korean War Armistice Agreement by Kim Hee-su

AJP Watch

• AJP On-site: Korean biotech gets hands-on in AI's shadow SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - A glove at the Samsung Bioepis booth turned a reporter's fingers stiff as plaster at BIX 2026 in Seoul on Wednesday. The knuckles would barely bend. The glove simulates the difficulty of moving hands affected by severe rheumatoid arthritis. Even with it on, pulling the cap off the company's pen-type injector took just a flick of the thumb. Pressed against a silicone skin model, the device released its spring-loaded needle with a sharp click. "Patients wi
• Too many captains aboard South Korea's AI ship SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - Artificial intelligence is as much a common thread in South Korean government as in corporate management. The result is intense competition, even within the government. On Oct. 13, the science and industry ministries hosted separate physical AI showcases two floors apart at Seoul's COEX. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources sponsored the Korea Electronics Show with "CES Asia Unveiled Seoul," while the Ministry of Science and ICT ran its Physical

AJP Focus

• K-choppers struggle to lift off amid factory-floor constraints SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - Rows of unfinished helicopters dotted Korea Aerospace Industries’ (KAI) rotary-wing assembly plant in Sacheon, their pale green and peach-colored bodies exposing the nuts and bolts of South Korea’s next defense ambition. Sacheon on South Korea’s southern coast is breeding the country’s next defense ambitions. The problem is they are missing a crucial element for liftoff. "We are currently focusing on mass production of the LAH, and we'
• Korea Inc.'s stock-funded cash calls face a market reckoning SEOUL, October 27 (AJP)— Retail investors borrowed money to buy stocks while Korean companies worked in reverse, using their shareholdings to raise cash. Both strategies came under pressure as stocks plunged and borrowing costs rose. For Korea Inc., one route was the price return swap (PRS), a financial arrangement that allows companies to raise funds while retaining potential gains from the underlying shares. The catch is that they also remain exposed to losses. Companies receive cash w