Bank of Korea warns stablecoin proposal could shake bond market

Image of cryptocurrencies/ Reuters-Yonhap SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday rejected a proposal to issue short-term treasury bonds to back a won-based stablecoin, cautioning that such a move could disrupt financial markets and distort government financing. In a written response to the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee, the Bank of Korea said treasury bonds should be issued strictly for their intended purpose — financing

August 19, 2025

Cost overruns push S. Korea's nuclear project in UAE into the red

SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - South Korea’s flagship nuclear power venture in the United Arab Emirates has slipped into the red for the first time, underscoring the financial strains of the multibillion-dollar project once heralded as a cornerstone of Seoul’s ambitions to export nuclear technology. According to Korea Electric Power Corporation’s first-half 2025 financial disclosures released Tuesday, the Barakah nuclear plant posted a cumulative loss of 34.9 billion w

August 19, 2025

[K-Tech] Korean game makers bring big bets to Gamescom 2025

SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - When Gamescom, the world’s largest video game convention, opens its doors on Wednesday, the cavernous exhibition halls of Cologne will once again fill with flashing screens, long lines and hundreds of thousands of fans eager for the next big title. This year, South Korea’s biggest gaming companies are arriving in force. Krafton, the publisher behind “PUBG: Battlegrounds,” is mounting one of the flashiest presences at the five-day e

August 19, 2025

Korean banks accelerate stablecoin preparations ahead of regulatory framework

SEOUL, August 18 (AJP) - South Korea’s four largest banks are moving to enter the stablecoin market, accelerating preparations as the government edges closer to introducing a regulatory framework for digital assets. Stablecoins — digital tokens typically pegged to fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar or euro — have drawn global interest for enabling faster, cheaper transactions while promising greater price stability than traditional cryptocurrencies. Industr

August 18, 2025

Taiwan likely to top South Korea, Japan in per capita GDP

SEOUL, August 18 (AJP) - Taiwan's government raised its 2025 economic growth forecast on Monday, projecting the island will become the first of the original "Four Asian Tigers" to reach a per capita gross domestic product of $40,000. Officials now expect the economy to expand by 4.45 percent next year, a significant jump from the previous estimate of 3.1 percent. The Four Asian Tigers — a term for the high-growth economies of South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore,

August 18, 2025

Idle South Korean youth cost economy billions, study finds

SEOUL, August 18 (AJP) - South Korea’s growing population of “discouraged youth” — those neither working nor looking for work — imposed an estimated economic burden of 53.4 trillion won, or about $38.4 billion, between 2019 and 2023, according to a study released Monday. The research, commissioned by the Federation of Korean Industries and conducted by Lee Mi-suk, an economics professor at Changwon National University, found that the annual cost of lost

August 18, 2025

Samsung's China semiconductor sales decline while US revenue grows

SEOUL, August 18 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics posted diverging fortunes in China and the United States in the first half of 2025, as U.S. sanctions weighed on Chinese demand and American technology companies fueled a surge in semiconductor purchases. Samsung's exports to China fell 11 percent year-on-year to 28.79 trillion won (about $20.7 billion), down from 32.35 trillion won a year earlier. Sales to the United States, by contrast, climbed to 33.48 trillion won, overtaking Ch

August 18, 2025

[K-Tech] Korean battery firms pour billions into research despite idle factories

SEOUL, August 18 (AJP) - South Korea’s top battery makers are stepping up investments in research and development, even as their plants sit partially idle and competition from China intensifies. In recent reports, LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On disclosed sharply reduced factory utilization rates for the first half of 2025. LG Energy Solution’s operating rate dropped to 51.3 percent, down from 73.6 percent in 2022. Samsung SDI reported 44 percent, while SK On c

August 18, 2025

Upbit operator fined $165 million for tax evasion

SEOUL, August 17 (AJP) - South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange operator, Dunamu, has paid more than 22 billion won, or about $165 million, in back taxes after authorities accused the company of tax evasion — adding to the regulatory pressures already weighing on the firm. Dunamu, which runs the Upbit trading platform, disclosed that the Seoul Regional Tax Office levied 22.6 billion won in corporate and related taxes following an audit. The investigation, led

August 17, 2025

[K-Tech] Samsung emerges as alternative to TSMC with landmark Tesla, Apple deals

SEOUL, August 17 (AJP) - Just six months ago, Samsung Electronics’ foundry unit was mired in uncertainty. Hemorrhaging nearly 2 trillion won, or about $1.5 billion, in annual losses and struggling to attract clients, the division’s very survival was in doubt. Now, a pair of blockbuster deals with Tesla and Apple has jolted the business into a new trajectory. Samsung announced last month that it had secured a $16.5 billion contract with Tesla to produce advanced arti

August 17, 2025