AI entrepreneur draws S. Korean startups to Saudi Arabia with promise of scale and cheaper AI infrastructure

SEOUL, December 10 (AJP) - Tareq Amin, the CEO of Saudi Arabia's state-backed AI company HUMAIN, used his keynote at COMEUP 2025, South Korea's largest annual festival held at COEX in southern Seoul, on Wednesday to make a direct pitch to South Korean startups: consider Saudi Arabia as a place to build, scale and cut costs. Amin described a country in the middle of an economic overhaul under its Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to move Saudi Arabia beyond its traditional

December 10, 2025

Year-end IPO buzz in Seoul preludes brisk H1 2026

SEOUL, December 10 (AJP) - South Korea’s IPO market, dormant for much of the year, is ending 2025 in a surprising burst of activity, with 10 companies going public in December alone. The pattern runs counter to the usual cycle, where listings cluster in the first half and taper off as investors and bankers wind down for the holidays. Instead, this December has emerged as the busiest in recent years, up from six IPOs in both 2023 and 2024. The reason is simple: demand is hot. O

December 10, 2025

Korean bio names expand footprint in Japan after cracking open the toughest market in Asia

SEOUL, December 10 (AJP) - South Korea's biotechnology leaders are rapidly expanding their footprint in Japan, cashing in on bold pushes into a market long viewed as one of the world's most impenetrable pharmaceutical strongholds. A series of multibillion-won deals and soaring biosimilar penetration rates now signal that Korean firms are reshaping competitive dynamics in Asia's largest and most defensive drug market. Samsung Biologics, the world's largest CDMO by

December 10, 2025

Mortgage lending loses momentum in South Korea after tighter rules

SEOUL, December 10 (AJP) - Growth in South Korea’s mortgage lending slowed to its weakest pace in 20 months in November, as tighter bank lending standards and easing demand for rental deposit loans weighed on household borrowing, central bank data showed on Wednesday. According to the Bank of Korea’s financial market trends report, outstanding household loans at deposit-taking banks, including policy mortgages, rose by 1.9 trillion won in November to 1,175.6 tr

December 10, 2025

South Korea weighs fines of up to 10 percent of revenue for major data breaches

SEOUL, December 10 (AJP) - South Korea’s National Assembly is considering legislation that would allow regulators to fine companies up to 10 percent of their revenue for serious data breaches, as lawmakers seek tougher penalties following a series of large-scale leaks. The proposed amendment to the Personal Information Protection Act, introduced by Park Beom-kye of the ruling Democratic Party and Kim Sang-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party, would raise the cu

December 10, 2025

South Korea lodges protests against China, Russia over aircraft incursions

SEOUL, December 10 (AJP) - The Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday lodged a strong protest with China and Russia after their military aircraft buzzed South Korea's air defense identification zone (KADIZ) the previous day. The ministry said it protested through a phone call to the defense attachés of China and Russia and vowed, "We will actively respond to any flybys in KADIZ in line with international law." The protest comes just a day after two Chine

December 10, 2025

S. Korea's top startup festival COMEUP 2025 opens in Seoul attracting global startups and investors

SEOUL, December 10 (AJP) - COMEUP 2025, South Korea's largest annual startup festival, opened Wednesday at COEX in Seoul, drawing hundreds of founders, investors, and corporate leaders from around the world for three days of conferences, exhibitions, and business matching sessions. The event, held from December 10 to December 12, features startups from 46 countries and more than 270 companies presenting products and technologies across deep tech, AI, climate technology, gaming

December 10, 2025

Korea's job strength mostly led by temp hires in services, youth jobless deepens

SEOUL, December 10 (AJP) - South Korea’s labor market continued to show an increasingly asymmetric pattern in November, with headline employment gains masking a deepening slump among young adults and a widening pool of NEET (not in education, employment or training) youth. The number of people on payroll reached 29.05 million, up 225,000 from a year earlier, yet employment among those aged 15 to 29 fell by 177,000 over the same period, according to the Ministry of Data and S

December 10, 2025

Park Chan-wook's film picks up more nominations at US awards

SEOUL, December 10 (AJP) - Director Park Chan-wook's latest film "No Other Choice" has been nominated for the annual Critics Choice Awards to be presented early next month. Park's 12th feature, adapted from American writer Donald E. Westlake's novel "The Ax," earned two nominations for "Best Adapted Screenplay" and "Best Foreign Language Film." The 139-minute thriller revolves around a man who believes he has achieved everything

December 10, 2025

SK Gas, POSCO form alliance to lead push for hydrogen ecosystem

SEOUL, December 10 (AJP) - SK Gas and POSCO Holdings have launched a new industry alliance aimed at building a domestic blue hydrogen ecosystem in South Korea, as companies and public institutions move to accelerate the transition to lower-carbon energy. The “K-Blue Hydrogen Alliance” was inaugurated on Wednesday at the POSCO Center in Seoul, bringing together 15 organizations including SK Ecoengineering, POSCO, the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancem

December 10, 2025