• Seoul says defense chiefs' meeting in Philippines not yet confirmed SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - A possible meeting between South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later this month remains uncertain, as Washington has yet to confirm its attendance at a regional defense gathering.
• Bridge linking North Korea with China to open 12 years after completion SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - A bridge linking the North Korean border city of Sinuiju with China's Dandong is set to open later this week after lying idle for more than a decade, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday.
• Former taxman named as Lee's new chief of staff SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - Former National Tax Service (NTS) chief Lim Kwang-hyun has been tapped as President Lee Jae Myung's new chief of staff, Cheong Wa Dae said on Wednesday.
• BOK chief welcomes stronger won in containing AI-fueled inflation SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) —Bank of Korea Gov. Shin Hyun-song welcomed further won appreciation to contain inflationary pressure fueled by South Korea’s exceptional chip windfall and defended restrictive monetary policy despite geopolitical headwinds.
• Hyundai Motor to invest $15.5 billion in India through 2032 SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor group will invest $15.5 billion in India through 2032 to expand production, research and supply chains, the South Korean automaking conglomerate said Tuesday.
• White House reiterates Korea to invest in Alaska LNG project SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - South Korea will invest in a proposed US$54 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska as part of a broader trade deal reached last year, new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said on Tuesday.

AJP Briefing>

• Korea finds 16 financial firms breached, 100,000 records leaked SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) — South Korean authorities found cyber breaches at 16 financial companies that exposed about 100,000 personal-data records, prompting a sector-wide security overhaul after weaknesses were identified at nearly one-quarter of firms checked. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) disclosed the findings Wednesday after a second emergency response meeting with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Financial Security Institute and other authorities. The incidents we
• Foreign selling hits seventh session, capping Seoul rebound attempt SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) -Earlier 2.6 percent rebound of the KOSPI gave ground as foreign selling piled in, sending Seoul's main index fragily retaining 6,000 mark Wednesday. The KOSPI slipped 6.5 points or 0.1 percent to 6,028.8, its sixth consecutive decline. Chip shares gave up their morning gains in the afternoon after Dutch equipment maker ASML reported quarterly results. Foreign investors net sold 893.8 billion won ($667.9 million) of KOSPI shares. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ fell 1.5 per

AJP ScaleUP

• NH-Amundi points to security ETFs as AI agents spread SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - Investor appetite for exchange-traded funds tied to AI infrastructure and cybersecurity is growing as agentic AI, which makes decisions and carries out tasks on its own, gains ground, NH-Amundi Asset Management said Wednesday. Frontier models arrived in quick succession last month, the South Korean asset manager said in its HANARO ETF Monthly Report. It cited OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra, Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5 and Google DeepMind's Gemini 4 Argon, which brou
• Hot Stock: Hanmi shares reverse sharply after obesity drug approval SEOUL, October 08 (AJP) - Shares of Hanmi Pharm and its holding company Hanmi Science fell sharply in late-morning trading Thursday, reversing gains sparked by regulatory approval of Korea's first domestically developed GLP-1 obesity drug. Hanmi Science dropped 7.23 percent to 53,900 won after climbing as high as 68,200 won earlier in the session. The stock had surged 13.94 percent in after-hours trading Wednesday to 66,200 won following news of the approval. Hanmi Pharm fell 9.7 percent t

ASIA Insight

• Ukraine war poses different stakes for South Korea, Japan SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - The Russia-Ukraine war is nearing the five-year mark with little sign of an exit, with both sides expanding attacks on energy infrastructure and extending the war’s repercussions to draw East Asian countries closer to the epicenter. Japan has entered a defense deal with war-engaged Ukraine to purchase battlefield-tested Ukrainian interceptor drones. South Korea is equally engaged with Kyiv but in the opposite direction — a diplomatic spat triggered by Ukrai by Lee Jung-woo
• South Korea risks losing a seat in U.S.–North Korea mind games SEOUL, October 13 (AJP) - South Korea risks losing a seat at the negotiating table as Washington and Pyongyang size each other up for a possible return to summit diplomacy, leaving Seoul to confront a growing missile threat with diminishing influence over how it might be addressed. North Korea launched its 16th ballistic missile barrage of the year on Monday while U.S. President Donald Trump, on the other side of the Pacific, floated the possibility of meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un du by Lee Jung-woo

AJP Watch

• Incheon stabbing puts Korea's drug-violence link under scrutiny SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - A daylight knife attack that injured eight people at a shopping complex in Incheon has renewed concern over South Korea’s drug problem as the number of drug offenders has stayed above 20,000 for three consecutive years despite expanded enforcement and rehabilitation efforts. The 59-year-old suspect in Tuesday’s attack was carrying a large quantity of medication, but a preliminary drug screening came back negative. Police have not established that drugs pla
• Korea's next AI mission: keep data centers cool at sea or in space SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - The cloud has outgrown the ground beneath it. Starved of power and unwelcome in more backyards, the data centers behind artificial intelligence are drifting out to sea and even into orbit, and South Korea's shipyards are drawing up the hulls. Global demand for data center capacity will climb from 82 gigawatts in 2025 to 219 GW by 2030, according to McKinsey & Company, with AI accounting for about 70 percent. The consultancy estimates the build-out will require

AJP Focus

• Will Sejong make the FSC a backseat driver in Korean finance? SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - The Financial Services Commission (FSC) got its orders to move to Sejong on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it was running command in central Seoul against a hacking spree that has hit 16 financial companies, the kind of crisis that relocation will soon test. After second emergency response meeting held Wednesday at Government Complex Seoul, the FSC said intrusions had been confirmed across banks, savings banks, mutual finance, card and capital firms, peer-to-peer lenders and c
• Samsung stock crash shatter employees' dreams of new homes SEOUL, October 13 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics shares fell more than 7 percent Tuesday to 232,000 won ($173) — nearly 40 percent below their June peak of 374,500 won ($279). The continued slide despite a staggering $80 billion in third-quarter operating profit is unsettling not just shareholders but also chip division employees daydreaming of bigger homes, new cars and early retirement as they await bonuses that could rival the nest egg an ordinary Korean salaried worker spends 30 years b