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Korean won hits weakest June level since 1998 crisis
SEOUL, June 21 (AJP) - The South Korean won has averaged more than 1,520 per dollar so far in June, its weakest monthly level since the Asian financial crisis nearly three decades ago, as a firmer dollar and persistent foreign equity outflows weighed on the currency. The won averaged 1,521 per dollar through June 19, based on weekly closing prices at 3:30 p
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South Korea steps in as Trump pulls back from arming allies
SEOUL, June 21 (AJP) - South Korea is fast emerging as a major weapons supplier to the world, seizing an opening created as U.S. President Donald Trump retreats from Washington's traditional security guarantees and presses allies to defend themselves, Politico reported. The paper said that the shift echoes the 1969 Nixon Do
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S.Korea's hypermarkets shed market share as e-commerce, discounters bite
SEOUL, June 21 (AJP) - South Korea's hypermarket chains have absorbed the heaviest blow among offline retailers from the rise of e-commerce, with their share of total retail sales sliding to a record low as shoppers migrate online and to deep-discount stores. The country's three big-box operators — E-mart, Lotte M
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Amorepacific chief's younger daughter weds in private Seoul ceremony
SEOUL, June 21 (AJP) - The younger daughter of Suh Kyung-bae, chairman of South Korea's Amorepacific Group, married on Sunday, drawing fresh attention to the cosmetics empire's third-generation succession. Suh Ho-jeong, 30, exchanged vows at 6:30 p.m. at the Shilla Hotel in
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S, Korea warns chip boom could spark property speculation
SEOUL, June 20 (AJP) - A historic semiconductor-driven economic boom in South Korea risks triggering widespread real estate speculation and widening wealth inequality unless fiscal policies are reformed, the presidential policy chief warned on Saturday. The influx of wealth driven by global demand for artificial intelligence chips has pushed economic indicators to record highs but threatens to distort the domesti
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Household debt bottlenecks Korean corporate lending
SEOUL, June 20 (AJP) - South Korea's major commercial banks face a critical bottleneck in expanding corporate credit due to a heavy structural over-reliance on household loans. A report released Saturday by the Korea Institute of Finance warned that domestic lenders lack the capital agility of global competitors, leaving them poorly positioned to support national economic growth just as regulators freeze tradit
Many analysts see Iran, not Washington, as the strategic winner of the war
SEOUL, June 18 (AJP) - President Donald Trump hailed the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding as a diplomatic victory that would prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons and restore stability to global energy markets. Many international relations scholars and security analysts see it differently. Several experts interviewed by AJP said the 109-day conflict ultimately strengthened Iran's strategic leverage, exposed limits to American military power and accelerated shifts already under
by Lee Jung-woo
How US-Iran ceasefire will reshape Asia and global economy
The world breathed a collective sigh of relief this week when the United States and Iran agreed to a sudden ceasefire. The newly released 14-point Memorandum of Understanding officially hits pause on a highly explosive conflict, bringing quiet to the Middle East. However, when we look closely at the actual promises made on paper, the deal is quite shocking. The agreement requires the U.S. to immediately lift its naval blockade, unfreeze billions of dollars in restricted Iranian money, and allow
When AI talks markets: Three chatbots, one Samsung question, and the $620 bet behind it
SEOUL, June 21 (AJP) - The world has always found curious ways to talk about the future. Sometimes the storyteller is a philosopher, sometimes an economist. In 2026, a new narrator has joined them: artificial intelligence. Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT — three large models built by three rival labs — were each handed the same question. A Wall Street analyst has put an 850,000-won target on Samsung Electronics. What to make of it? What stands out is not that the three reached wildly
Drawing the hairline: Korea debates insuring hair loss
SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) -Going bald is personal matter, except in South Korea. It is quickly turning into a political and social hot potato. The South Korean government is weighing whether to extend National Health Insurance coverage to androgenetic alopecia, the common hereditary form of hair loss often associated locally with M-shaped hairlines. What had been thought as one of the most extreme populist campaign promises from liberal candidate Lee Jae Myung in his first presidential bid in 2022
S.Korean savers shift from insurance to ETFs as stock rally lures bank money
Lee reshuffles Cheong Wa Dae staff, names ex-Yonhap chief as communications adviser
