• Lee reshuffle reignites South Korea election reform debate SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung's second Cabinet reshuffle is spilling into a broader debate over electoral reform in South Korea.
• South Korean team returns from UAE after assessing Hormuz deployment SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - A South Korean team sent to the United Arab Emirates to assess conditions for a possible military deployment to the Strait of Hormuz is set to return home Thursday.
• Nearly half of South Koreans oppose Hormuz deployment, poll finds SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - Nearly half of South Koreans oppose sending military assets to the Strait of Hormuz, a poll released on Thursday shows.
• Seoul bus strike looms next week as wage talks stall SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - A full-scale strike by bus drivers in Seoul is increasingly looming, as they threatened again on Thursday to proceed with their planned strike next week.
• PM orders preemptive measures to secure crude oil supplies SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - Prime Minister Han Seong-sook on Thursday ordered officials to secure crude oil supplies in advance amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, citing concerns over possible supply disruptions.
• Hanwha Systems unveils space AI solution at Poland defense expo SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - Hanwha Systems has unveiled an artificial intelligence-powered satellite imagery analysis solution overseas for the first time, as the South Korean defense company seeks to expand its presence in the global space and defense markets.

AJP Briefing

• KOSPI defends 7,000 despite foreign selloff SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) -- South Korean stocks recovered from steep early losses on Thursday, with the KOSPI holding above 7,000 despite heavy foreign selling and elevated oil prices, while the KOSDAQ turned higher on institutional buying and semiconductor gains. The benchmark KOSPI fell 0.25 percent or 17.72 points to close at 7,033.92. The index dropped as low as 6,898.45 in morning trading, briefly losing the 6,900 level, before recovering more than 130 points from its intraday low. It rea
• Kia to unveil PBV at Germany's IAA SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - Kia will unveil its large electric purpose-built vehicle (PBV) at this year's IAA Transportation, which kicks off in Germany next week. The automaker said Thursday that it will showcase the PV7 for the first time during the biennial trade show, which runs from Sept. 15 to 20 in Hanover, marking its second appearance since announcing plans to enter Europe's PBV market in 2024. Kia will display three variants of the PV7 at its 1,531-square-meter booth, along w

AJP ScaleUP

• KOSDAQ delisting clock starts ticking as menswear brand exits SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - South Korea's tougher new rules have led to the first KOSDAQ delisting, with men's apparel company Wonpung Mulsan set to leave the market after 29 years and several other micro-cap companies facing a similar fate. Wonpung Mulsan, one of the KOSDAQ's earliest-listed companies and once the South Korean licensee of French fashion brand Nina Ricci, failed to recover the minimum market capitalization of 20 billion won (US$14.5 million). Its shares plunged mor
• XIIlab rises after winning NVIDIA-backed AI vision challenge SEOUL, September 9 (AJP) - South Korean artificial intelligence startup XIIlab rose nearly 5 percent Wednesday after winning a computer vision competition that tested whether models trained on synthetic images could perform effectively in real-world conditions. Shares traded at 11,760 won ($8.46) as of 2:09 p.m. on the KOSDAQ, up 4.91 percent from the previous close of 11,210 won. The stock opened at 11,800 won and climbed as high as 12,690 won during the session before giving back part of its

ASIA Insight

• BOJ September hike view hardens across major houses SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) — Expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will raise its policy rate this month have hardened across economists, markets and major financial houses, although some forecasters still favor an October move. A Reuters poll conducted from Sept. 1 to 8 showed 66 of 68 economists, or 97 percent, expecting the BOJ to raise its policy rate to 1.25 percent on Sept. 18. The figure was up sharply from 57 percent in the previous survey. The survey figure does not represent by Kim Yeon-jae
• South Korea takes state-led route in AI race as latecomer SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - America's biggest technology companies are preparing to pour roughly $725 billion into artificial intelligence infrastructure this year. South Korea cannot come close to matching that private-sector firepower. So Seoul is reaching for something Silicon Valley does not need nearly as much — the state balance sheet. The government's 2027 budget bill submitted to the National Assembly on Sept. 3 lifts spending on AI and three linked mega-projects by 97.2 by Kim Dong-young

AJP Watch

• Korean games swap console blockbusters for phone anime in Tokyo SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - South Korea's biggest game publishers arrive at Tokyo Game Show next week with a lineup that fits in a pocket, trading the console blockbusters they hauled to Gamescom three weeks ago for free-to-play anime games built mostly for phones. Nexon, Netmarble, NC and Smilegate are all bringing what the industry calls subculture titles — character-driven games drawn in Japanese animation style and largely monetized through randomized character draws. Nearly all
• Will Korea's most-loved game StarCraft become a K-game? SEOUL, September 08 (AJP) - South Korean game publisher Nexon is moving to bring the iconic StarCraft franchise under its arm through a licensing deal with Blizzard Entertainment, aiming to roll out the first new mainline installment of the battle game loved for nearly three decades in 16 years. The Chosun Ilbo reported that the deal was "on the verge of being finalized," after which Nexon would hold development rights to a successor to the existing series. "We can't say any

AJP Focus

• Chip boom: boon or curse for Korea's household debt? SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - The chip bonanza is not just lifting South Korea's nominal growth to levels unseen in decades. It is also pushing the household debt ratio toward an 11-year low as gross domestic product expands much faster than borrowing. The household debt-to-GDP ratio could fall toward 80 percent this year - or the lowest level since 79.2 percent in 2015 - if double-digit nominal growth of 15 to 20 percent is sustained in the second half. The ratio had already fallen to 85.3
• Korea's Gen Z is running out of first-job options SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - Gen Z may be an unlucky lot. The pandemic stole much of their college life, and the shift to artificial intelligence is now stripping away some of their first chances to gain real work experience. Lee Jae-hong, 27-year-old living in Seoul with his parents, has been applying jobs for two years, and this year, he finds fewer places to apply. "I feel like standing nowhere. I've started hard all my life and graduated from a decent school. But I cannot even pass