• Samsung's Lee visits UAE power plant SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited a gas-fired power plant construction site in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday as the South Korean conglomerate explores opportunities in AI data centers and energy infrastructure in the Middle East.
• Loudspeakers to be 'on standby,' North Korean leader's sister says SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - North Korea would place loudspeakers along the border with South Korea on standby within days, state media reported on Thursday.
• Yonsei University data breach affects over 10,000 people SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - More than 10,000 people, including students and alumni of Yonsei University in Seoul, have had their personal information exposed in a cyberattack on the institution's online portal, the university announced Thursday.
• Foreign arrivals near 2025 full-year total by September SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) -Foreign arrivals in South Korea reached 17.11 million through September, closing in on last year’s full-year total, while tourist spending grew at more than double the pace of arrivals.
• Busan shark returns to canal hours after being guided out SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - A 3-meter shark that spent more than a month trapped in an artificial canal at Busan's North Port returned behind a containment barrier Thursday, hours after authorities had guided it toward open water.
• Seoul's soaring property tax bills overlook graying homeowners SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Seoul’s property tax bills have shot up alongside home values, squeezing graying homeowners with little or no income to pay levies on gains they have yet to realize.

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• KOSPI wipes out prior gains as BOK pauses rate hikes SEOUL, Oct. 22 (AJP) - South Korean stocks fell 3.5 percent on Thursday, wiping out the previous session's gains, as the Bank of Korea paused its rate tightening while leaving the door open to further hikes. The move added pressure to a chip rally that was already losing momentum. The benchmark KOSPI shed 201.89 points or 3.52 percent to close at 5,533.77. Samsung Electronics lost 4.0 percent and SK hynix 5.5 percent as foreigners turned net sellers again after a single day of buying. The
• Seoul stocks slip despite Wall Street tech rebound SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - Seoul stocks slipped at the open Thursday despite a tech-led rally on Wall Street, giving back a sliver of Wednesday’s sharp rebound, as investors were sidelined ahead of the Bank of Korea’s rate decision later in the day. The KOSPI lost 18.6 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,717.1. Foreign investors stayed on the buy side with net purchases of 155.4 billion won ($117.0 million), while institutions sold a net 103.9 billion won ($78.3 million) and individuals 55

AJP ScaleUP

• LS ELECTRIC shares fall despite major deal for US data center project SEOUL, October 19 (AJP) - Shares of South Korean power equipment maker LS ELECTRIC fell more than 4 percent in early trading on Monday amid broader concerns over a potential artificial intelligence (AI)-related investment bust, despite securing a 168.9 billion won (US$125.2 million) contract to supply electrical equipment for a U.S. data center project in 2027. The stock fell as low as 150,000 won before recovering to 158,800 won as of around 9:50 a.m. LS ELECTRIC will supply switchgear to its
• Four firms win preliminary approval for KOSDAQ listings SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) — Four South Korean companies have cleared preliminary reviews for listings on the KOSDAQ, moving closer to initial public offerings (IPOs) on the country's junior stock market. The Korea Exchange (KRX) approved listing applications on Thursday from four companies across financial technology, pharmaceuticals, battery materials and manufacturing artificial intelligence (AI). They include E9pay, an international money transfer company, and Innovo Therapeutics, a

ASIA Insight

• Korean chip bonuses spill over to competition SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - Chipmakers in South Korea and Taiwan keep a civil distance despite cutthroat competition to advance chip technology and recruit talent. But the extraordinary AI chip windfall has turned heads in Taiwan’s cleanrooms as workers watch their Korean counterparts collect lavish rewards from the industry’s newfound riches. Union officials at U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology’s Taoyuan operation began a 24-hour warning strike Thursday, pressing for a p by Candice Kim
• Korea and Taiwan reap chip bounty, but currencies split the harvest SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) — Chip powerhouses South Korea and Taiwan have been enjoying a bumper harvest, but their stock and currency markets have shared unevenly in the bounty in the second half. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which powered a stock-buying frenzy that nearly doubled the KOSPI earlier this year, have surrendered much of their gains. The Korean benchmark’s remaining advance is now roughly half Taiwan’s 60-percent surge. In the currency market, however, Korea h by Kim Yeon-jae

AJP Watch

• Call of Duty's fictional Korean war hits close to home SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - North Korea’s preparations to resume propaganda broadcasts and its recent missile tests have renewed tensions on the Korean Peninsula, alongside accusations that it planted a border mine that wounded three South Korean soldiers. For South Koreans watching the destruction in Ukraine and the Middle East, the prospect of similar devastation reaching their own streets carries a particular dread. For those who survived the 1950–53 Korean War, it also carries mem
• Samsung turns up the volume on its audio heritage SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics excels at making memory and smart devices for the hand, home and office, and screens big and small. But one element of its sprawling electronics empire called for a richer pedigree: sound. Its biggest acquisition to date brought that heritage into the family. The $8 billion deal to buy Harman International completed in March 2017 added the storied American audio brand JBL alongside a major automotive electronics business. Posh Britain audio brand Bo

AJP Focus

• BOK chief's inflation outlook hints rates unlikely to come down before '28 SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song on Thursday credited the board’s two successive summer rate hikes with helping cool inflation and steady currency and debt markets while signaling that rates won't likely come down before 2028. Speaking after the monetary policy board unanimously held the base rate at 3.00 percent, Shin described the pause as the payoff from acting early. The BOK raised rates by a quarter percentage point in both July and August after ho
• Korea's rice farmers struggle to keep a staple—and a livelihood—alive SEOUL, October 20 (AJP) - Rice farming is a labor as old as Korea’s 5,000-year history, its harvest a staple of daily meals and an essential ingredient in the country’s cuisine. Yet the farmers sustaining that legacy face a difficult squeeze: aging hands, costly machinery and a changing appetite for the grain they grow. In Icheon, a city in Gyeonggi Province famed for its premium rice, autumn brings both the harvest and a festival celebrating it. Beyond the festival grounds, the wo