South Korea's SK On hosts music festival for disabled in Hungary

SEOUL, November 09 (AJP) - South Korean battery maker SK On said Sunday it hosted a music festival for people with developmental disabilities at the Aranytiz Cultural Center in Budapest, Hungary, on Nov. 8. This event was co-organized by the Hungarian Association for Music for the Disabled and the Korean Cultural Center in Hungary. The association helped design the program, while the cultural center worked to engage local audiences through its networks and events. Three ensem

November 9, 2025

Proposal for 'dawn delivery' ban stokes controversy in South Korea

SEOUL, November 09 (AJP) - A heated controversy has erupted in South Korea over a proposal by some unionized delivery workers to ban "dawn delivery" services conducted between midnight and 5 a.m. The dawn delivery market has boomed, growing from 400 billion won in 2015 to 11.8 trillion won ($8.9 billion) last year, predominantly serving fresh foods and perishable goods. This rapid growth is driven not only by small business owners who rely on the service to receive in

November 9, 2025

Global game developers will converge on Busan this week for G-Star festival

SEOUL, November 09 (AJP) - South Korea’s largest gaming convention, G-Star 2025, is set to open on Nov. 13 at the BEXCO convention center in Busan, promising its most expansive lineup yet. This year’s event will host 1,273 companies from 44 countries, filling 3,269 booths under the theme “Expand Your Horizons.” Organizers say the annual showcase has evolved into a global cultural festival that reflects the expanding scope of the gaming industry — from

November 9, 2025

Foreign visitors surge 17.6 percent as S. Korea approaches post-COVID record in arrivals

SEOUL, November 09 (AJP) - Nearly 6.5 million foreign visitors arrived in South Korea between January and September with the country on track to match last year’s post-pandemic record of 7.54 million, according to data from the Ministry of Justice's immigration office, Sunday. The figure represents a 17.6 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, when 5.52 million tourists entered the country. Monthly arrivals have consistently topped 500,000 this year,

November 9, 2025

KOSPI sinks below 4,000 as U.S. tech selloff deepens; KRW nears 1,460 per USD

SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Asian stocks tumbled on Friday as a sharp overnight correction in U.S. technology shares reignited concerns about a potential “AI bubble,” sending investors toward safe-haven assets and pushing the Korean won to its weakest level in months. The won briefly touched 1,458.0 per U.S. dollar during intraday trading, pressured by simultaneous foreign selling, lingering uncertainties surrounding U.S. tariff negotiations, and a broad pullback from r

November 7, 2025

HOT STOCK: Innotech rockets to the ceiling on KOSDAQ debut on chip-related hype

SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Innotech, a South Korean maker of environmental test equipment, quadrupled on its KOSDAQ debut Friday, underscoring the frenzied appetite for anything tied to chipmaking. The shares opened at 50,300 won — 242 percent above the initial public offering (IPO) price of 14,700 won — and immediately hit the daily permissible ceiling of 58,800 won ($40). The stock stayed locked at the upper limit throughout the session despite a sweeping rout that dra

November 7, 2025

South Korea's top enterprise software company sold to Swedish PEF

SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Douzone Bizon, South Korea’s leading enterprise software provider, has been acquired by Swedish private equity firm EQT Partners for 1.3 trillion won, or about $940 million. The company said Friday that founder Kim Yong-woo, who held a 22.3 percent stake, and Shinhan Financial Group, with 34.8 percent, sold their shares to EQT’s special-purpose vehicle, Doronicum. The Swedish firm will control 37.6 percent of voting rights, becoming the new

November 7, 2025

After APEC glow, Korean businesses confront hard reality of 'regulatory bomb'

SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Just days after South Korea wrapped up the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and concluded tariff negotiations with the United States, the nation’s business community is facing a surge of new domestic regulations — a shift that many executives describe as abrupt and burdensome. The government and the ruling party are moving quickly to advance legislation that would raise the retirement age to 65, accelerate national greenhouse

November 7, 2025

Samsung Heavy secures $199 million order to build two crude oil tankers

SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Samsung Heavy Industries said on Friday that it had secured an order worth about $199 million to build two crude oil tankers for a North American client, with delivery scheduled by January 2029. The deal brings the company’s total orders this year to $5.6 billion, or about 83 percent of its $5.8 billion target for merchant ships. “Following an $800 million preliminary order for offshore production facilities and a recent letter of intent

November 7, 2025

Asian markets fall, KRW breaches crisis-linked 1,450 per USD

SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - Asian shares fell sharply in early Friday trading as investors reacted to overnight losses on Wall Street, sending South Korea’s benchmark indices below key thresholds and pushing the Korean won past a psychologically critical level historically associated with periods of upheavals. The won weakened rapidly in morning trade, with the dollar rising to 1,454.8 won as of 10:20 a.m. in Seoul. The breaches of the 1,450 level have typically coincided with

November 7, 2025