• Korea’s school entrants shrink as births climb SEOUL, November 08 (AJP) - South Korea will enroll fewer than 300,000 children in elementary school next year for the first time on record, even as births grow at a record pace. The children starting school next March were born in 2020. That year, births fell 10 percent from a year earlier to 272,337, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It was the first time annual births had dropped below 300
• North Korean missiles hit Ukraine energy site, Zelensky says SEOUL, November 08 (AJP) - Russia used North Korean-made ballistic missiles in overnight strikes that damaged a key Ukrainian energy facility, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday. He called for stronger international sanctions against anyone who helps Moscow wage its war. President Zelensky said Russia fired 36 ballistic missiles and 172 drones at Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight.
• World food prices slip on cheaper grains SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Global food prices fell in October for the first time in four months as cheaper grains, meat and dairy products outweighed a sharp jump in sugar, South Korea's agriculture ministry said Saturday,
• Marine's wish brings troop concert back to Yeonpyeong SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung pledged Saturday to act on even the smallest wishes of South Korean troops, after a military concert returned to front-line Yeonpyeong Island for the first time in 15 years at a departing Marine's request. "I will listen to even the small wishes of the soldiers who defend this count
• Labor minister warns employers who put costs over safety SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - South Korea's labor minister on Saturday ordered zero tolerance for safety violations at workplaces hit by repeated fatal accidents, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said. Minister Kim Young-hoon summoned the h
• Hack at Mirae Asset Securities exposes data of 39,000 SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Hackers breached Mirae Asset Securities, one of South Korea's largest brokerages, in back-to-back attacks this week, leaking the account numbers of about 3,800 customers and the personal data of more than 35,000 employees, the company said on Saturday. The attackers hit a mobile-web lo

AJP Briefing>

• Overseas sales lift Coway's Q3 profit SEOUL, November 06 (AJP) - South Korean home appliance maker Coway reported a 7.3 percent year-on-year increase in third-quarter operating profit Friday, driven by continued growth in its overseas businesses. Operating profit reached 260.8 billion won ($184 million), while revenue rose 13.7 percent to 1.43 trillion won, the company said in a regulatory filing. Revenue from overseas subsidiaries jumped 26.2 percent to 591.8 billion won, led by growth in Malaysia and the United States. The Mala
• KOPSI plunges over 6% as AI selloff triggers trading halt SEOUL, November 6 (AJP) - South Korean stocks plunged over 6 percent on Friday as concerns over U.S. restrictions on artificial intelligence (AI) data centers triggered heavy foreign selling, briefly pushing the KOSPI below 5,000 and forcing a 20-minute trading halt. The benchmark KOSPI fell 6.02 percent or 324.11 points to close at 5,059.69. The index plunged more than 8 percent within minutes of the opening bell, triggering a circuit breaker that suspended trading for 20 minutes. A sell-side

AJP ScaleUP

• Auto parts maker C&M seeks to expand business amid IPO push SEOUL, November 6 (AJP) - Auto parts manufacturer C&M plans to raise up to 38.35 billion won (US$27 million) through a KOSDAQ listing to expand its automotive business. The firm also aims to expand into new business sectors including defense, robotics and cooling systems for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. "The proceeds from the IPO will be used to establish new production lines and develop products as we seek to leverage our auto parts manufacturing expertise to offer integ
• Preneu, DamsTech win South Korea's drone warfare contest SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - South Korean drone maker Preneu and a consortium led by DamsTech won top honors in a government-organized competition testing drones against counter-drone systems, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. The two-day competition was held on Nov. 3 and 4 at the Seungjin Training Ground in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, bringing together six teams selected through preliminary rounds in June. Three drone teams and three counter-drone teams competed in six matches, testing their

ASIA Insight

• Is regulation best answer to Korea's teen social media addiction? SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - South Korea is mulling restrictions on children’s access to social media, joining a global push to shield young users from addictive feeds and harmful content. A country that once ordered teenagers off online games at midnight faces a déjà vu question over whether state intervention is the best answer. President Lee Jae Myung — himself an active social media user — instructed the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) at a Ca by Lee Jung-woo
• Chinese robots steal the Seoul show, Korea's work offstage SEOUL, November 04 (AJP) - China came to Robo World 2026 to show what its robots can do. South Korea came to show what its robots will keep doing, hour after hour, on factory floors no crowd will ever see. Three Unitree G1 humanoids danced in step to "Abracadabra" by K-pop group Brown Eyed Girls, while a Unitree robot dog wandered between booths. Service robots with holographic displays and small screens rolled through the aisles. At Rainbow Robotics' booth, HUBO, the Einstein-fa by Kim Dong-young

AJP Watch

• The no-sweat Namsan: A hiking guide in which nobody hikes SEOUL, November 06 (AJP) - One bus, three snacks, a churro, and a fortune about a crate of liquor. AJP takes the introvert's route up Seoul's favorite mountain. This is a hiking guide in which no hiking takes place. Namsan, the 265-meter peak in the middle of Seoul, is on every visitor's list, and in crisp late autumn it fully deserves its place. But you don't need boots, a training plan or a single conversation with a stranger to reach the top. You need a transit card, a bus t
• The 1,000-won souvenir: What foreign tourists are hauling home SEOUL, November 06 (AJP) - Scrub towels that sting, socks with ears, and enough pens to last a year. AJP followed the baskets and checked the prices. “It hurts a little,” Roy Yamamoto admits, turning a coarse green towel over in his hand. “But afterward, I feel really clean.” The 43-year-old from Osaka buys Korean scrub towels every time he visits. He first saw them in a Korean TV drama, where bathhouse regulars scrubbed themselves pink and looked oddly happy about it.

AJP Focus

• US midterm lays bare Korean chipmakers' exposure to AI politics SEOUL, November 06 (AJP) - A US midterm vote half a world away hit the Seoul bourse and its biggest chipmakers hardest. Foreign investors fled, and local players are split on whether this is excess panic or a rightful correction. SK hynix tumbled 10.76 percent Friday after 9.46 percent a day earlier after sweeping Democrat win became evident. Samsung Electronics lost 6.35 percent on top of Thursday's 7.57 percent retreat. They had been hammered even before the election results on concerns
• Qualcomm's AI shift could reshape Samsung chip ties SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - Qualcomm is redefining itself beyond the phone chips that built its name, pursuing growth in AI data centers and autonomous vehicles in a shift that could give longtime customer Samsung Electronics a larger role as a supplier. The U.S. chipmaker’s processors power Samsung’s premium Galaxy phones. Its expansion into AI infrastructure could, in turn, create demand for Samsung’s memory chips — although any new supply arrangements remain unconfirme