Korea, US to form working groups on trade, tariffs this week

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

April 29, 2025

IMF pushes back Korea's $40,000 per capita GDP forecast to 2029

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

April 28, 2025

Korea sets up fund in Singapore to support SMEs

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

April 28, 2025

Korea's KHNP poised to sign final contract for Czech nuclear project

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

April 28, 2025

SK Telecom begins SIM card replacement after cybersecurity breach

SEOUL, April 28 (AJP) - South Korea’s largest mobile carrier, SK Telecom, began offering free SIM card replacements at its 2,600 stores nationwide on Monday, following a major cybersecurity breach that exposed sensitive customer information. The breach, detected on April 18, involved malicious code that compromised unique identification numbers tied to customer SIM cards, the company said. SK Telecom, which serves roughly 23 million subscribers and hosts an additional 1.87

April 28, 2025

DeepSeek updates privacy policy after Korean regulatory review

SEOUL, April 28 (AJP) - Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek published a Korean-language privacy policy on Monday, days after South Korean regulators raised concerns over the company’s handling of user data. Despite the update, DeepSeek’s services remain suspended in South Korea. The move follows a regulatory inspection by South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), which concluded last week that DeepSeek had failed to secure use

April 28, 2025

POSCO, Hyundai Steel report disappointing first-quarter results

SEOUL, April 25 (AJP) - South Korea’s top steelmakers, POSCO and Hyundai Steel, posted disappointing first-quarter results as a confluence of weak global demand, Chinese oversupply, and new U.S. tariffs weighed heavily on the industry. POSCO Holdings reported 14.96 trillion won ($11 billion) in revenue from its steel division and an operating profit of 450 billion won ($330 million), according to financial statements released Friday. Hyundai Steel swung to an operating lo

April 25, 2025

LG Electronics weighs US appliance price hikes amid tariff pressures

SEOUL, April 25 (AJP) - LG Electronics is weighing potential price increases for U.S.-bound home appliances if tariffs imposed by Washington surpass what the company considers sustainable, according to CEO Jo Joo-wan. Jo said that while the company is striving to offset the impact through operational efficiencies, it is preparing for a range of scenarios — including higher consumer prices. “We will absorb as much as possible through operational efficiencies,”

April 25, 2025

SK Telecom to divest entire Kakao stake in $300 million block deal

SEOUL, April 25 (AJP) - SK Telecom said Friday it will sell its entire stake in Kakao Corp. through a block deal valued at 413.3 billion won ($300 million). The sale involves 10.8 million shares of the internet company. SK Telecom said the move is aimed at securing funds for the full acquisition of SK Broadband, as well as investments in future growth areas, including artificial intelligence. SK Telecom signed a stock purchase agreement in November to acquire the remaining 2

April 25, 2025

Korea will negotiate with US to eliminate tariffs

SEOUL, April 25 (AJP) - South Korea and the United States have agreed to hold negotiations aimed at eliminating mutual tariffs and item-specific duties before a July 8 deadline, South Korean officials said Friday, following high-level trade talks in Washington. The talks come ahead of the expiration of a 90-day mutual tariff suspension instituted under U.S. President Donald Trump. The two nations now hope to forge a comprehensive agreement — referred to by South Korean offic

April 25, 2025