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Korea's Lee rules out Gulf combat role, reelection bid
SEOUL, September 18 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday sought to clear up two sources of uncertainty and debate, articulating a clear “no” to South Korean combat involvement in the Gulf conflict and to any intention of seeking a second presidency.
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Korea extends fuel tax cuts, lowers Chuseok highway pump prices
SEOUL, September 18 (AJP) — South Korea will extend temporary fuel tax cuts through November and lower pump prices at 226 highway gas stations during Chuseok as authorities grapple with a renewed spike in energy costs from the widening Gulf crisis, the government said Friday.
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Public-sector deficit widens to record $60 billion
SEOUL, September 18 (AJP) - South Korea's public-sector revenue rose in 2025, but spending grew even faster, widening the deficit to a record 83.1 trillion won ($60.1 billion), according to data released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Friday.
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South Korea sees growing use of electronic prepaid payments
SEOUL, September 18 (AJP) - South Korea's use of prepaid electronic payment services jumped 21.9 percent in the first half of this year, driven by growing use of simple payments and money transfers, according to data by the Bank of Korea (BOK) released on Friday.
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Korea's producer inflation reaccelerates toward 8% annual gain
SEOUL, September 18 (AJP) -South Korea's producer prices spiked toward an on-year increase of 8 percent on re-accelerating energy costs and unrelenting chip prices, pointing to sticky price pressure and a tightening bias in the latter half, central bank data showed Friday.
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National Museum of Korea visitors top 5.25 million
SEOUL, September 18 (AJP) - The National Museum of Korea drew more than 5.25 million visitors in the first eight months of 2026, crossing the 5-million mark about six weeks earlier than last year, when it set an annual attendance record.
The world of K-beauty, pulled into one Seoul office
SEOUL, September 17 (AJP) — K-beauty spent years carrying Seoul to bathroom shelves, beauty counters and social-media feeds around the world. Inside one skincare office in southern Seoul, that current is running the other way: the world has come to work. At Mary&May, a Korean skincare brand sold in more than 60 countries, employees from 15 nationalities sit inside the machinery of K-beauty's global expansion — choosing products, creators, words and images for markets thousan
by Ryu Yuna
K-fashion next big K-thing in Japan after K-pop
SEOUL, September 15 (AJP) - Takuya Enomoto, a 32-year-old pharmacist in Tokyo, watched his girlfriend's infatuation with South Korea move from SEVENTEEN on her playlist to her clothing collection. She first became a fan of the K-pop group, particularly member Hoshi, before branching out to other Korean acts and then Korean dramas, he said. Following K-pop artists on Instagram brought still more Korean content into her feed. "I think the algorithm exposed her to more and more Korean
Trump-Xi chip bargaining puts Korean memory makers on alert
SEOUL, September 18 (AJP) -From tariffs and rare earths to Iran and artificial intelligence, the U.S.-China summit on Sept. 24 has a crowded agenda. For South Korean chipmakers, the business issue to watch would be whether semiconductors become bargaining currency in a broader trade deal between the world's two largest economies. Chinese President Xi Jinping is said to be assembling an unusually large business delegation, possibly to match the high-profile entourage U.S. President Donald T
Korean battery makers under Trump whims – from EV retreat to datacenters
SEOUL, September 17 (AJP) - U.S. President Donald Trump's retreat from Biden-era electric-vehicle policies has upended the American growth plans of South Korean battery makers, leaving factories built for an EV boom idled, scaled back or searching for a new purpose. Now, some are finding one in the power-hungry data-center boom. Canceled U.S. EV and battery projects between January 2025 and August this year had promised about 27,000 jobs, according to a Reuters analysis of Atlas Public Poli
Rising flu cases among children spur early vaccinations
Seoul markets take Japan's 31-year high rate in stride
Today's Photo
Meeting safety education in Seoul
Today's Photo
Meeting safety education in Seoul
