• Lee congratulates Lula on Brazil reelection victory SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung congratulated Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday on his election to a historic fourth term, calling him a close friend and comrade as the two countries seek to deepen their recently established strategic partnership.
• Korea's SME exports hit record Q3 on beauty, chips SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) — South Korean small and midsized companies posted record third-quarter exports as booming cosmetics and semiconductor shipments outweighed a sharp drop in automobile exports, government data showed Monday.
• Celltrion lifts 2026 buybacks to 500 bln won Celltrion's plant/ Courtesy of Celltrion SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) - Celltrion will buy back another 100 billion won ($75.6 million) of its own shares, swelling its repurchases this year to 500 billion won, the South Korean biosimilar maker said Monday.
• Four in 5 migrant-origin population in South Korea in working age SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) -Migrant origin accounted for 5.4 percent of South Korea’s population last year, with more than four in five of working age to suggest their growing role in cushioning the country’s demographic decline..
• Korea weighs fourth delay to virtual asset tax SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) — South Korea is leaning toward a fourth delay to taxation on virtual asset gains, as enforcement gaps and political sensitivity over young and retail investors complicate a levy due next year.
• Youth entry into permanent jobs shrinks 15-20% SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) — Young Koreans are finding it increasingly difficult to secure permanent jobs, with their entry rate relative to prime-age workers falling about 15 to 20 percent from past levels, a study by Bank of Korea (BOK) researchers showed Monday.

AJP Briefing>

• Seoul, Tokyo open lower; SK hynix gains before earnings SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) - South Korean stocks opened Monday slightly below Friday’s close as a fresh oil spike and a Goldman Sachs cut to its KOSPI target weighed on sentiment. But SK hynix climbed two days before its quarterly earnings, while Samsung Electronics slipped. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.47 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,538.83 in early trade. Foreign investors were net buyers of 61.0 billion won ($46.1 million), but decliners outnumbered gainers 594
• Hyundai Rotem rebuilds homes for Korean War veterans in Türkiye SEOUL, October 26 (AJP) - South Korean defense manufacturer Hyundai Rotem has renovated and rebuilt homes for Korean War veterans and their families in Türkiye, as part of a four-year initiative to honor foreign soldiers who fought alongside South Korea during the 1950-53 war. The company said Monday it held a completion ceremony for its "Heroes' Home" project in Hatay Province, Türkiye, on Thursday, marking the first stage of a housing assistance program scheduled to ru

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

• AI halo may warm South Korean economy longer than expected SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) — The extraordinary AI windfall may be strong enough to lift South Korea’s long-term growth potential, suggesting the AI halo over Asia’s fourth-largest economy could be broader and longer-lasting than previously expected. Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song on Friday suggested the economy could be at an inflection point as the central bank prepares to reassess its underlying growth capacity. “I think this is a very important turning point,&rdq by Kim Yeon-jae
• 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

AJP Watch

• Can a president consult an AI oracle? SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) - ChatGPT and Claude vie for headlines and users with faster and smarter upgrades, but in South Korea Gemini suddenly came into focus as an AI sage after President Lee Jae Myung disclosed he had consulted the Google chatbot on a matter of state. Lee, an avid social media user, wrote earlier this week that he had asked Gemini whether the heads of new prosecutorial and investigative agencies should attend weekly Cabinet meetings. He shared what he described as Gemini&rsqu
• 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

AJP Focus

• Korean stocks look cheap, but are they a good buy? SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) — South Korean stocks have moved back to the bargain corner after dominating the top shelf in the first half, but investors remain unconvinced they offer good value. The October crash has prompted the president to complain that Korean equities are too undervalued Korean equities. Investors, however, remain wary of how much the country’s chip earnings will be worth if global AI spending subsides. South Korea’s 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio (P
• 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