• Samsung's chip division Q3 profit near $80B SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics' semiconductor division earned 106.5 trillion won ($79.5 billion) in operating profit in the quarter ended September.
• BOK stays cautious as Fed turns less hawkish SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday it would remain vigilant over domestic financial and foreign exchange markets.
• Seoul, Washington postpone annual defense talks until early next year SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - South Korea and the U.S. have agreed to postpone their annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) until early next year.
• Lee's comments on migrant workers stir debate SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung's remarks questioning the economic contributions of migrant workers and preferential support for multicultural families have sparked controversy in South Korea.
• Hanwha Solutions stays profitable as chemicals turn red SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Hanwha Solutions swung to a third-quarter operating profit from a year-earlier loss on Thursday, as higher solar module sales in the United States outweighed a wider loss in its chemical business.
• South Korea offers clues to US tech boom, Fed chief says SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh said he closely watches South Korea for signs of the U.S. technology investment boom, highlighting the country's role as a supplier to rapidly expanding American capital spending.

AJP Briefing>

• KOSPI slides as Samsung earnings fall short of expectations SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics posted its highest-ever quarterly profit on Thursday, yet its shares fell 4.1 percent. The decline suggested that investors are increasingly focused on shareholder returns rather than record earnings in South Korea's chip sector. The country's benchmark KOSPI fell 1.24 percent or 74.78 points, to 5,937.66, as institutional investors sold a net 457.9 billion won (US$342.9 million) worth of shares. Samsung Electronics closed at 232,000 won, w
• Britain names archaeologist-turned-diplomat new ambassador to Seoul SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - Britain has appointed Rachel Emma-Jane Fentem, a former senior aide to three British foreign secretaries who holds a doctorate in archaeology, as its next ambassador to South Korea, the British government said on Wednesday. Fentem will succeed Colin Crooks, who is leaving the diplomatic service, and take up her post in March 2027, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The appointment will mark her first ambassadorial posting following a

AJP ScaleUP

• Optonics bets IPO proceeds to ride K-defense drive SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) - South Korean optical components maker Optonics plans to raise at least 22 billion won ($17 million) from its KOSDAQ listing to expand its military portfolio and capitalize on South Korea’s defense export drive. The proceeds will help expand production of navigation components and develop new products for high-power laser weapons, precision processing and power-grid monitoring, CEO Lee Young-woo said at a pre-IPO press conference Monday. “Even if an investm
• Regenerative medicine firm soars above IPO price on KOSDAQ debut SEOUL, October 22 (AJP) - Regenerative medicine firm MS Bio more than doubled from its initial public offering (IPO) price on its KOSDAQ debut Thursday before paring gains later in the day. The stock climbed as high as 19,650 won (US$14.81), about 2.5 times its IPO price of 7,800 won. It was trading at 12,920 won as of around 5 p.m. in after-hours trading, up 65.64 percent from the offering price. The firm priced its shares at the top of its proposed range of 6,800 won to 7,800 won after insti

ASIA Insight

• Guryong becomes no-man's land. What of those who called it home? SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - A shantytown, others may call it. For those who stayed as their neighbors moved away, Guryong Village was home — a place where lives had taken root, however fragile the walls around them. By dawn Wednesday, fire had consumed swaths of the settlement tucked into Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district. It took nearly 13 hours to put out the flames. What would become of the lives they had uprooted was far less certain. One man in his 70s had been asleep after taki by Joonha Yoo
• Two Koreas return to UN after déjà vu DMZ mine crisis SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - South and North Korea have sent competing complaints to the United Nations Security Council over last month’s land mine explosion, reviving questions about what international diplomacy can achieve in a conflict still governed by a seven-decade-old armistice. The exchange also highlights a distinction between the Security Council’s diplomatic role and the military responsibilities of the United Nations Command (UNC). The 1953 Korean War Armistice Agreement by Kim Hee-su

AJP Watch

• AJP On-site: Korean biotech gets hands-on in AI's shadow SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - A glove at the Samsung Bioepis booth turned a reporter's fingers stiff as plaster at BIX 2026 in Seoul on Wednesday. The knuckles would barely bend. The glove simulates the difficulty of moving hands affected by severe rheumatoid arthritis. Even with it on, pulling the cap off the company's pen-type injector took just a flick of the thumb. Pressed against a silicone skin model, the device released its spring-loaded needle with a sharp click. "Patients wi
• Too many captains aboard South Korea's AI ship SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - Artificial intelligence is as much a common thread in South Korean government as in corporate management. The result is intense competition, even within the government. On Oct. 13, the science and industry ministries hosted separate physical AI showcases two floors apart at Seoul's COEX. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources sponsored the Korea Electronics Show with "CES Asia Unveiled Seoul," while the Ministry of Science and ICT ran its Physical

AJP Focus

• Fed pause buys BOK time, but domestic pressures persist SEOUL, October 29 (AJP) - The South Korean won and government bonds rose on Thursday after the Federal Reserve struck a less hawkish tone, easing pressure on the Bank of Korea to keep interest rates high. However, resilient economic growth and persistent inflation left the door open for another rate hike. The won traded around 1,334 per dollar at about 11:30 a.m., stronger than Wednesday's daytime close of 1,337.7. Government bonds also rallied. The three-year yield fell 4.4 basis points t
• K-choppers struggle to lift off amid factory-floor constraints SEOUL, October 28 (AJP) - Rows of unfinished helicopters dotted Korea Aerospace Industries’ (KAI) rotary-wing assembly plant in Sacheon, their pale green and peach-colored bodies exposing the nuts and bolts of South Korea’s next defense ambition. Sacheon on South Korea’s southern coast is breeding the country’s next defense ambitions. The problem is they are missing a crucial element for liftoff. "We are currently focusing on mass production of the LAH, and we'