Celltrion secures major U.S. formulary deal for biosimilar Avtozma

SEOUL, December 12 (AJP) - South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion said Friday it has secured formulary inclusion for its autoimmune disease treatment Avtozma with Synergie Medication Collective, a major pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) formed by several Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies in the United States. The intravenous formulation of Avtozma, a biosimilar of Roche's tocilizumab, has been listed as a preferred drug across all public and private insurance formulari

December 12, 2025

Foreign investors turn net sellers of Korean stocks in November

SEOUL, December 12 (AJP) - Foreign investors sold more than 13 trillion won ($9.7 billion) worth of South Korean equities in November, turning net sellers for the first time in six months, while resuming net purchases of local bonds. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Friday, offshore investors recorded net equity sales of 13.4 trillion won. They offloaded 13.5 trillion won on the Kospi but were modest net buyers on the Kosdaq, purchasing 118 billion won.

December 12, 2025

Weaker won sends Korea's import prices up to a 19-mo high

SEOUL, December 12 (AJP) -South Korea’s import prices climbed in November despite a sharp pullback in global fuel costs, as the won’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar outweighed relief from cheaper energy, Bank of Korea data showed Friday. The import price index rose 2.6 percent on month and 2.2 percent on year to 141.82, accelerating from October’s 138.19 and posting the steepest monthly increase since April last year. The gains came even as Dubai crud

December 12, 2025

Korea hopes to let fabless catch up to fab power through $520 billion mega spending

SEOUL, December 11 (AJP) - That South Korea is a semiconductor powerhouse is established fact: it is home to the world’s largest memory-chip production base. But in the fabless sector — the chip-design layer that defines system-semiconductor competitiveness — the country remains a laggard. That gap is driving an urgent and ambitious push to cultivate proprietary chip architecture capabilities. The government-led vision calls for more than 700 trillion won (about

December 11, 2025

KT Cloud unveils liquid-cooling systems for AI data centers

SEOUL, December 11 (AJP) - KT Cloud has launched South Korea’s first commercial liquid-cooling system using direct-to-chip (D2C) technology, stepping up efforts to capture a growing share of the AI data center market. The company on Thursday opened a center which replicates a full AI data center environment to showcase high-efficiency, high-reliability operations. D2C cooling works by attaching a cold plate directly to a server’s GPU chip and circulating coolant

December 11, 2025

Korea scales back corporate contenders for CES 2026, but books 60% of awards

SEOUL, December 11 (AJP) - South Korea's presence at the world's biggest consumer technology show will be notably slimmer next year, even as Korean innovators again dominate the event's coveted awards. CES 2026, slated for Jan. 6 to 9 in Las Vegas, is expected to host between 700 and 800 Korean companies, down sharply from about 1,031 firms in 2025, according to industry data. The retreat is driven largely by startups and sole proprietors pulling back, but major conglome

December 11, 2025

Veteran German engineer to lead Hyundai Motor Group's R&D

SEOUL, December 11 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor Group is preparing to name Manfred Harrer, its vice president for vehicle development, as the new head of research and development, industry sources said on Thursday. Harrer is expected to be promoted to president and take charge of the R&D division as part of the automaker’s annual executive reshuffle, according to officials at Hyundai’s Namyang R&D Center. The group’s current R&D chief, Yang Hee-won, is sch

December 11, 2025

Naver launches digital warranty service to combat counterfeits in e-commerce

SEOUL, December 11 (AJP) - Naver rolled out its digital warranty service "Naver Collection", aiming to bolster consumer confidence and curb counterfeit risks across its sprawling e-commerce platform. The service, launched Wednesday, replaces traditional paper warranties with tamper-proof digital certificates stored in the Naver app, featuring hologram badges to prevent forgery. More than 600 brands, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and global luxury names s

December 11, 2025

South Korea prepares rule changes to channel financial capital into AI, chip sectors

SEOUL, December 11 (AJP) - South Korea plans to relax rules that restrict financial capital from investing in high-tech industries, including artificial intelligence and semiconductors, while maintaining the core principle of separating industrial and financial capital, the government said on Thursday. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol briefed President Lee Jae Myung on the proposed regulatory changes during a policy briefing session in Sejong. President L

December 11, 2025

Bank of Korea likely to extend rate freeze despite Fed rate cut

SEOUL, December 11 (AJP) - The U.S. Federal Reserve’s third consecutive interest-rate cut is expected to have little immediate impact on South Korea’s monetary stance, with the Bank of Korea likely to keep its policy rate unchanged amid persistent won volatility, elevated housing prices and uncertainty over the U.S. policy path, industry sources said Thursday. The Fed lowered its benchmark range to 3.50–3.75 percent at its Wednesday meeting. Its latest do

December 11, 2025