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  Following the tracks, following the taste: Jeonju in cinematic experience *Editors’ Note: This is part of AJP’s photo essay series exploring railway journeys across South Korea in search of local food and regional culture. This installment travels to Jeonju during the Jeonju International Film Festival, where cinema, traditional streets and local cuisine came together beneath the spring sky. SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - The 27th edition of the Jeonju International Film Festival transformed Jeonju into more than a destination for cinema. Under the May 12, 2026
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  EV chasm redraws East Asia's auto map SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - A widening electric-vehicle demand divide across Asia is reshaping the region's automotive hierarchy, pushing Japanese automakers into retreat while opening once-impenetrable markets to Chinese exporters. Caught between the two forces, South Korea's battery makers are pivoting aggressively toward energy storage systems and lower-cost chemistries to weather the global EV slowdown. The clearest sign of Japan's retreat came on April 23, when Honda May 12, 2026
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  Appeals court increases ex-interior minister's sentence to 9 years over martial law involvement SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - Former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min received a nine-year prison sentence on Tuesday after an appeals court increased his initial seven-year term for his involvement in disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law debacle in 2024. In a trial broadcast nationwide, the Seoul High Court ruled that he was guilty of aiding Yoon's Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, by instructing police and fire agencies to cut off power and wate May 12, 2026
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  Policy chief floats 'AI dividend' concept amid AI boom in Korea SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - South Korea's top presidential policy aide floated the idea of a national "AI dividend" on Tuesday, proposing that part of the massive profits and tax windfall expected from the artificial intelligence and semiconductor boom be structurally shared with the broader public. Presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom argued in a social media post that the emerging AI boom was not created solely by individual firms, but by decades of national investment May 12, 2026
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  Anthropic to open office in southern Seoul as it expands Asia presence SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - American artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic is expected to open its office in South Korea in the first half of this year. According to industry watchers, the developer of the AI assistant Claude reportedly met with South Korean government officials recently to discuss its plans. The development comes after Anthropic earlier told foreign media outlets including Reuters that it planned to open an office in southern Seoul. In July last year, the May 12, 2026
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  GMTCK president emphasizes passion and leadership at Kookmin University lecture SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - Brian McMurray, president of GM Technical Center Korea, delivered a special lecture at Kookmin University on the importance of passion-driven career strategies and leadership in a rapidly changing industrial landscape, the university said Thursday. Speaking to students at the university's academic conference hall on May 7, McMurray addressed the theme of how to grow a career and make a difference. He shared personal insights from his journey as an enginee May 12, 2026
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  Arnault family tours Seoul luxury landmarks as Korea cements status as key LVMH market SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) -Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury conglomerate LVMH, toured South Korea’s leading department stores Monday in his first visit to the country in three years, underscoring Korea’s growing importance to the global luxury industry even as demand slows elsewhere. The billionaire chairman began his Seoul itinerary at Shinsegae Department Store Main Branch, where he briefly spoke with executives and Louis Vuitton officials before entering “The Res May 12, 2026
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  KAIST researchers develop self-adjusting light sensor to improve autonomous driving safety SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology developed a sensor capable of adjusting its own response to light to overcome the limitations of current autonomous driving vision systems, the prominent institute said Tuesday. Standard image sensors primarily detect light brightness, which can make it difficult for autonomous vehicles to distinguish between objects with similar reflectivity, such as water and asphalt at night. The new & May 12, 2026
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  Jeju Air launches trial route to make Jeju more accessible to international visitors SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - Jeju Air has begun trial operations on a route linking Incheon and Jeju, the low-cost carrier said on Tuesday. The airline will operate the route twice a week for three months on a trial basis to gauge demand, aiming to make it easier for foreign tourists arriving from overseas to reach the southern resort island. The first flight for the route departed from Jeju International Airport at 9:45 a.m. earlier in the day and arrived in Incheon at 11 a.m. Fligh May 12, 2026
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  Fuel shock pushes Korean LCCs back into pandemic-like survival mode SEOUL, May 12 (AJP) - A spike in fuel prices, war-related travel restrictions and passenger jitters are pushing South Korea's budget carriers back into pandemic-era survival mode, forcing them to delay hiring as well as streamlining payrolls and flights as they try to ride out the Gulf crisis. Jin Air, a low-cost carrier under Korean Air, has informed 50 newly hired cabin crew members that they will start work in the fall instead of this week as originally planned, citing " May 12, 2026