Korean firms shift supply chains to Southeast Asia amid US-China tensions

SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - South Korean manufacturers are deepening their presence in Southeast Asia, building factories and export hubs in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam as they seek to reduce dependence on China and navigate shifting global trade rules. The push reflects both rising geopolitical risks and the draw of lower labor costs in a region that has emerged as one of the world’s most attractive alternatives to Chinese manufacturing. Southeast Asian governments are co

August 21, 2025

[K-Beauty] Korean cosmetics manufacturer Cosmax to set up India subsidiary

SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - Cosmax, the world’s largest cosmetics manufacturer, said it will establish a subsidiary in Mumbai, India, by the end of 2025, underscoring the company’s ambitions to make India a key pillar of its next stage of global expansion. The South Korean company, a leading provider of original design manufacturing (ODM) services for international brands, outlined the plan during an investor relations meeting in Seoul on Wednesday. Founder and Chairman L

August 21, 2025

South Korea's costly nuclear deal with Westinghouse traces back to 50-year dependency

SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - South Korea’s fraught nuclear agreement with Westinghouse Electric of the United States, derided by critics as a “50-year slave contract,” is the culmination of a technological dependency that dates back to the earliest days of the country’s atomic energy program. In the 1970s, South Korea built its nuclear ambitions on American blueprints. The nation’s first reactors were based on designs from Combustion Engineering, a U.S. c

August 21, 2025

[K-Tech] Krafton brings real-time AI to its virtual world at Gamescom 2025

SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - Krafton, the South Korean publisher behind PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, is betting that artificial intelligence will change the way people play life simulation games. At Gamescom 2025, taking place in Cologne, Germany, the company unveiled plans to weave real-time AI into inZOI, its early-access simulation title, enabling players to converse naturally with digital characters and receive lifelike emotional responses. “After listening to our

August 21, 2025

[K-Tech] From 'Lineage' to AI: How NCSOFT is reinventing itself for new gaming era

Editor's Note: This article is the 32nd installment in our series on Asia's top 100 companies, exploring the strategies, challenges, and innovations driving the region's most influential corporations. SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - In the late 1990s, when South Korea’s internet cafes were still filled with teenagers battling each other in primitive shooting games, a young software engineer, Kim Taek-jin, was quietly building something different. Kim, who had helped

August 21, 2025

South Korea launches petrochemical restructuring plan amid global glut

SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - South Korea’s finance chief pledged government support for sweeping cuts in the country’s petrochemical industry, Wednesday, as officials seek to shore up competitiveness in a sector battered by global oversupply. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol said that 10 major petrochemical companies have agreed to reduce as much as 3.7 million tons of production capacity by the end of the year. The pledge came after the Lee Jae

August 20, 2025

US push for equity in Intel raises alarm for Samsung Electronics, SK hynix

SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - The Trump administration is seeking an equity stake in Intel as part of its semiconductor subsidy package, a move that could reverberate across the global chip industry and unsettle South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, both of which are planning major U.S. investments with government support. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed Tuesday (local time) that the administration is negotiating for roughly a 10 percent stake in Intel

August 20, 2025

Korean food exports to US shrink for first time in 26 months amid tariffs

SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - South Korea’s agricultural and food shipments to the United States declined in July for the first time in more than two years, as new American tariffs began weighing on demand. Exports fell 6.7 percent from a year earlier to $139 million, data from the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute showed on Wednesday. It was the first monthly contraction since May 2023 and followed a stretch of rapid growth that had lifted first-half shipments by 27 perce

August 20, 2025

S. Korea's presidential office orders probe into Czech nuclear deal with Westinghouse

SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - South Korea’s presidential office on Tuesday ordered an investigation into media reports that state-run energy companies accepted "unfavorable" terms from Westinghouse Electric, the American nuclear technology firm, during negotiations for a multibillion-dollar power plant project in the Czech Republic. Presidential spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung said Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik directed the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to conduct the

August 19, 2025

Mercedes-Benz faces sanctions in Korea over misleading claims on EV batteries

SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - South Korea’s antitrust regulator has begun sanction proceedings against Mercedes-Benz Korea over allegations that it misled consumers about the batteries used in its electric vehicles, an issue that has gained public attention after a high-profile apartment fire last year. Mercedes-Benz Korea is suspected of violating advertising and fair trade laws, according to sources from the Fair Trade Commission, Tuesday. Regulators allege that the Korean uni

August 19, 2025