SEOUL, April 30 (AJP) - The South Korean government denied U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's assertion that Seoul is seeking to conclude bilateral trade negotiations before its upcoming presidential election. In a joint ministerial statement, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said, “We have never conveyed or discussed any intention to finalize the framework of negotiations with the United States before the presidential election.” The ministry emphasized

SEOUL, April 29 (AJP) - After a long day at work, Kim Jong-chul, 54, makes a ritual stop — not at a stadium, but at the bakery section of his neighborhood convenience store. The lifelong LG Twins fan isn’t there for the pastries. "It's not really the bread I'm after," Kim said with a grin, tearing into a blueberry jam-filled pastry to retrieve a coveted sticker featuring one of his team's players. "I'm determined to collect all 21 stickers

SEOUL, April 29 (AJP) - The Korea Consumer Agency issued a warning on Tuesday against deceptive photography promotions that lure customers with promises of free family photo sessions, only to charge high fees for albums, frames, or access to original image files. The agency urged heightened vigilance during May, designated "Family Month" in South Korea, when demand for commemorative photographs traditionally surges. Consumer complaints tied to photography services hav

SEOUL, April 29 (AJP) - South Korea will invest 320 billion won, or about $230 million, by 2030 to develop low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems, a critical technology for the next generation of mobile networks. The Ministry of Science and ICT, working alongside the newly established Aerospace Agency, said it had selected three organizations to spearhead the project. The goal is to develop domestic payload and core technologies and to launch two indigenous LEO sate

SEOUL, April 29 (AJP) - HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering said Tuesday it has secured contracts for 22 container ships, valued at more than 2.53 trillion won, or about $1.86 billion, over a four-day span. The orders come amid a notable shift away from Chinese shipyards following new U.S. port fee announcements targeting Chinese-built vessels. The Korean shipbuilder signed contracts with a shipping company based in Oceania for four 8,400 TEU (twenty-foot equivalen

SEOUL, April 29 (AJP) - South Korea and the United States will establish a series of working groups this week to refine their trade agenda, setting the stage for substantive negotiations expected to begin next week, officials here said Tuesday. At a government briefing in Sejong City, Park Sung-taek, South Korea’s first vice industry minister, said the country’s trade policy director would travel to Washington in the coming days to conduct final working-level consultatio

SEOUL, April 28 (AJP) - The International Monetary Fund has delayed its forecast for when South Korea will reach $40,000 in per capita gross domestic product, pushing the milestone back two years from 2027 to 2029. In its latest World Economic Outlook report, released this month, the IMF projected that South Korea’s per capita GDP would fall to $34,642 this year — a 4.1 percent decline from last year’s $36,129 — slipping below 2022 levels. The downgrade re

SEOUL, April 28 (AJP) - The Korea Venture Investment Corporation under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups has established a subsidiary in Singapore as part of an ambitious effort to create a $200 million fund, the ministry said on Monday. The new entity marks a significant step in Korea’s drive to globalize its venture capital ecosystem. The fund, which is expected to launch by the second quarter of 2026, will use the Singapore subsidiary as its operational base. Previousl

SEOUL, April 28 (AJP) - Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Czech utility EDU II are expected to finalize a contract next month for the construction of new reactors at the Dukovany nuclear power plant, after clearing the last major regulatory hurdle, industry sources said on Monday. The Czech Republic’s Office for the Protection of Competition ruled last week that there were no legal grounds to challenge KHNP’s selection as the preferred bidder, dismissing an ap