• Canada's sub project tests viability of 12-vessel fleet SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - Canada's multibillion-dollar plan to acquire 12 advanced submarines is increasingly becoming a test of workforce capacity as much as military procurement.
• Leverage handover arrives even as KOSPI party goes on SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - South Korea's stock market is hot, volatile and increasingly dependent on borrowed momentum. Government-approved leveraged exchange-traded funds have added another layer of risk.
• AI touts in Korean teens' hands are a growing worry for parents SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - Gambling used to be a taboo word in South Korea. Real-money betting is prohibited in online games, as are casinos, bingo and lotteries for most citizens.
• Korean Air Force holds first live-fire drill against drone swarm SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - The South Korean Air Force has conducted its first live-fire exercise against a swarm of drones, using Vulcan cannons, a portable laser system and shotguns to shoot down 50 targets.
• Nearly 1 in 5 preschoolers in Seoul are obese, survey finds SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - About one in five preschoolers in Seoul are overweight or obese, according to a recent survey released by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday.
• Seoul seeks to raise free subway age to 70 SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - South Korea's capital is moving to overhaul one of its longest-standing welfare benefits for older citizens, proposing to raise the eligibility age for free subway rides from 65 to 70 as the country grapples with the realities of a superaged society.

AJP Briefing

• KOSPI rebounds day after record crash SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI rebounded 3.3 percent to close at 8,471.02 on Wednesday, standing apart from a mixed regional session a day after its record crash. The index rose 267.18 points, recovering less than a third of the 910.71 points it lost on Tuesday. The junior KOSDAQ gained 2.0 percent to 909.31. Samsung Electronics powered the bounce, jumping 9.8 percent after it was reported to be mulling a record buyback of $65 billion buyback scheme, while SK hynix ro
• Foreign visitors' card spending in Korea tops $1.4 billion SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - Foreign visitors spent a record 2.12 trillion won ($1.4 billion) on credit cards in South Korea in May as cumulative arrivals surpassed 10 million nearly a month earlier than last year, government data showed Wednesday. The May figure, which includes online purchases, marked the first time monthly card spending by foreign visitors exceeded 2 trillion won since data collection began in 2018. Card spending from January through May reached 7.98 trillion won, up 47.3 perce
• World Cup 26: Ronaldo returns as Colombia advance, England held by Ghana SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to revive Portugal’s World Cup campaign, Colombia secured a place in the knockout stage and England were held by Ghana as Groups K and L moved closer to their final-round showdowns on Tuesday local time. Croatia also beat Panama 1-0 to stay alive in Group L, eliminating the Central American side after two straight defeats. Portugal produced the statement performance of the day, beating Uzbekistan 5-0 in a Group K match in Houston. Ro
• 'Teach You a Lesson' tops Netflix for 3rd week; 'Husbands in Action' No. 2 SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - Korean drama series "Teach You a Lesson" remained No. 1 on Netflix's non-English TV chart for a third consecutive week, while action comedy "Husbands in Action" debuted at No. 2 among non-English films, according to data released by Netflix on Wednesday. Teach You a Lesson drew 11.8 million views and 126.2 million viewing hours during the latest tracking period. Netflix calculates views by dividing total viewing hours by a title's running time.

ASIA Insight

• Renewables ride the AI power boom, but the grid can't keep up SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - Renewables are being fully employed to feed the world's hungry AI data centers as farming Mother Nature is cheap and quick to build. Yet a widening gap between green ambition and grid reality — from Beijing to Naju — is exposing the limits of an energy transition running at full tilt. Global electricity demand from data centers is set to roughly double to about 945 terawatt-hours by 2030 and reach around 1,200 TWh by 2035, the International Energy Agency s by Kim Dong-young
• Korea's new obsession: borrowing to buy stocks, not homes SEOUL, June 23 (AJP) - South Korea's stock craze has reached a point where borrowing to buy shares is becoming more socially acceptable than borrowing to buy an apartment. The shift reflects a profound change in a country long defined by its obsession with real estate, as millions of Koreans pour into a handful of AI-related stocks in pursuit of rapid wealth creation. Tuesday's selloff offered a reminder of how fragile that enthusiasm can be. The benchmark KOSPI crashed nearly 10 perc by Ryu Yuna

AJP Watch

• World Cup 26: More than a sporting event when identities are at stake  SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - From Norway's Viking Row to South Korea's AI anthem, the 2026 World Cup shows how nations perform identity — and how those performances now travel far beyond the stadium. Seconds after Norway secured a 3-2 win over Senegal at MetLife Stadium, Erling Haaland walked toward the stands. As Martin Ødegaard pounded a drum, the striker began pulling both arms back in unison — rowing, in the style of a Viking longship. The crowd followed until the entir
• Cart before the horse: Seoul is moving SOX SEOUL, June 24 (AJP) - The cart has come before the horse. Tuesday's 12 percent crash in Korean chip bellwethers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix reverberated across the Pacific, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) down more than 7 percent and pushing the Nasdaq more than 2 percent lower. It was a reversal of the traditional order in which Wall Street dictated sentiment in Seoul. This time, Seoul exported volatility to New York. The shift reflects how deeply South Korea h

AJP Focus

• Team Korea throws gas project to sweeten sub pitch to Canada SEOUL, June 23 (AJP) - The Canadian submarine contest is getting bigger and bigger as decision day nears, with Team Korea led by Hanwha Ocean throwing in a $16 billion floating liquefied natural gas project and pitching a broader economic partnership that could help Ottawa reduce its dependence on the United States as an energy market to counter Germany's NATO leverage. The Korean team is targeting a strategic vulnerability. Canada is the world's fifth-largest natural gas producer in 2
• Korea's baffling vitals: an economy puffing hot and cold SEOUL, June 22 (AJP) -The South Korean economy is running hot and cold — and the honest answer to whether the hot part is real isn't yes or no. It's that the boom is genuine and the headline numbers are still misleading you about what it means for the economy as a whole. By the headline numbers, Asia's fourth-largest economy is doing exceedingly well, seemingly unfazed by nearly four months of disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for roughly a fifth of the world&