AJU PRESS ASIA FIRST NEWS AGENCY

Journalist

Kim Dong-young
Kim Dong-young김동영
ReporterSamsung Biologics, CJ CheilJedang, LG Chem, Celltrion, Naver, Krafton, Nexon, Hyundai Mobis etc. & energy, game, food, bio, petrochemical, AI
Kim Dong-young is a bilingual journalist at AJU Press (AJP), covering Korean tech, energy, and bio/pharma.
He reports from the field at events like CES and APEC, runs AJP's YouTube channels,
and is pursuing a master's at Sogang's MOT program. "I try everything in this AI era that can improve yet preserve the facts. Journalism still serves as my core."
Latest by Kim Dong-young
  • Seoul faces criticism over slow drug-pricing overhaul
    Seoul faces criticism over slow drug-pricing overhaul SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) -South Korea risks stalling its bid to become a global healthcare hub unless it expedites last year's drug-pricing overhaul with predictable and transparent execution, industry and government figures said at a seminar in Seoul. The warning ran through the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea's 17th Healthcare Innovation Seminar, held at the Shilla Hotel on Thursday and attended by about 150 government officials, industry executives and clinicians. Multinational drugmakers joined a chorus of concern that Korea often announces reform measures only to drag its feet on implementation. The delays have also become a source of friction in U.S.-Korea trade talks, where drug approvals and reimbursement rules increasingly influence where multinational pharmaceutical companies invest. Foreign drugmakers have long argued that Korea undervalues innovative medicines, discouraging investment and slowing patient access to new treatments. “Korea has made meaningful progress on healthcare reform. The priority now is to translate that progress into tangible results,” said James Kim, chairman and chief executive of AMCHAM, who cited drug pricing, vaccines and artificial intelligence as key areas that will shape the industry's direction. Speakers urged the government to set measurable targets rather than rely on broad policy pledges. “For the recent pricing reform to generate meaningful and sustainable impact, Korea should establish measurable policy objectives for innovative medicines,” said Lee Hye-young, general manager of BMS Pharmaceutical Korea, adding that visible outcomes could be achieved within two to three years. Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, MSD, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Guardant Health and Eversight partnered on the seminar, an annual fixture in U.S.-Korea healthcare policy dialogue since its launch in the late 2010s. AJP Takeaways • The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea urged the South Korean government to fully implement the pharmaceutical pricing reforms announced in late 2025, warning at its 17th Healthcare Innovation Seminar that reform without execution could weaken Korea's standing as a global healthcare destination. • AMCHAM Chairman and CEO James Kim identified drug pricing, vaccines and AI as the three fields shaping Korea's healthcare future, while BMS Pharmaceutical Korea General Manager Lee Hye-young called for measurable policy targets deliverable within two to three years. • Held at Seoul's Shilla Hotel with about 150 government officials, executives and clinicians, the seminar was sponsored by eight multinational drugmakers including Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. 2026-09-03 13:00:49
  • Humanoid robots trade the racetrack for the packing line
    Humanoid robots trade the racetrack for the packing line SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - Humanoid robots have spent the year setting speed records and drawing crowds. On Thursday, two of them started stuffing padding into boxes at a warehouse south of Seoul. CJ Logistics said it has put the dual-arm machines to work at an Olive Young fulfillment center in Yangji, Yongin, becoming the first company in South Korea's logistics industry to move humanoids from demonstration into a live operation. The step follows a partnership CJ Logistics sealed last year with domestic robot maker Robotis to develop physical AI, the branch of artificial intelligence that lets machines perceive and act in the physical world rather than only in software. Logistics has long been flagged as one of the earliest proving grounds for humanoids, because carrying and placing objects demands far less precision than assembly work on a factory line. Unlike manufacturing, where standardized goods move through fixed steps, warehouses handle countless items of different shapes, sizes and materials, with conditions shifting by order. "It is meaningful that humanoids have entered a stage where they play a role in actual logistics operations," said Kim Jung-hee, head of CJ Logistics' TES logistics technology research institute. "We will advance them on the basis of the vast operational data accumulated on-site." The deployment lands as Korean firms race to keep pace in a field where China dominates the hardware and the United States supplies much of the AI. LG Group signed a humanoid agreement with Nvidia last month, while Hyundai Motor Group is preparing Boston Dynamics' Atlas robots for its U.S. plants, and the government plans to buy 1,080 domestically made humanoids by 2030. CJ Logistics, which also takes part in the industry ministry's K-Humanoid Alliance, said it will widen the range of tasks the robots handle in phases. AJP Takeaways • CJ Logistics on Sept. 3 became the first South Korean logistics firm to deploy humanoid robots in a live operation, placing two dual-arm machines on a packaging line at an Olive Young center in Yongin. • The robots load cushioning into boxes under a physical-AI partnership with Robotis, part of a phased plan to expand humanoid use across the company's distribution network. • The move reflects logistics emerging as an early commercial frontier for humanoids, as South Korea races China's hardware lead and the U.S. edge in robotics AI ahead of a government plan to buy 1,080 domestic machines by 2030. 2026-09-03 11:59:27
  • GGGF 2026: Hyundai Motor bets on robots built for the job
    GGGF 2026: Hyundai Motor bets on robots built for the job SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - The first fleet of humanoid robots Hyundai Motor is readying to roll out starting 2028 won't resemble human workers, but replace their specialties in a way to boost productivity whether it be through wheels or single arm, a senior member of the robotics intelligence team of Hyundai Motor said. "When you look at real work sites, no single humanoid can handle every task," Joo Si-hyun, vice president of the robotics intelligence development group at Hyundai Motor Group, told the audience of 2026 GGGF in Seoul Thursday. The industry's fixation on human-shaped machines obscures the wider family of physical AI systems doing the actual work, a point that applies well beyond any single carmaker. Physical AI refers to systems that act in the physical world rather than on a screen, steering robots, vehicles and machines through real space. It is widely cast as the next frontier after generative AI, and a humanoid form is often treated as its natural endpoint. Yet a humanoid cannot cover every task anindustrial site demands, Joo said. It can climb stairs and strike a range of poses, but its payload and speed are limited, while a single plant can span indoor corridors, outdoor yards and staircases. Stairs suit legged robots of the kind exemplified by Boston Dynamics' Atlas and Spot, while flat factory floors without curbs favor wheeled autonomous mobile robots that glide between stations. Behind a single physical AI machine sits a stack of technologies that never appears in a demonstration, spanning embedded intelligence, perception, autonomous driving and fleet management, each a discipline of its own. "People think one physical AI model will handle the whole site, but that takes an enormous amount of control underneath, from the brain to motion control across many domains," Joo said. The field is pushing toward end-to-end systems that fold those layers into a single model, he said, but technical bottlenecks remain, forcing a compromise between what is realistic now and where the technology may eventually go. Cost is another constraint the sector cannot dodge. Squeezing prices by fitting cheaper parts and mass-producing them, the route Tesla has taken, is not what buyers actually want, Joo argued, since no customer asks for inferior components. Standardizing shared parts matters more, and the motors and actuators that give a robot its movement remain among the most expensive elements. The near-term aim is machines anyone can operate, including the elderly, on platforms open enough for others to build services on top. A follow-me function that trails a factory worker, or a golf caddie that shadows a player, hints at the range. The group is also developing electric-vehicle charging robots for high-speed cables that can weigh 5 to 10 kilograms, a burden for older or disabled drivers. "I believe robotics can solve a wide range of social problems, but no one group can do it alone," Joo said, closing his address with a call for partners across components, services, insurance and communications. His call for collaboration set the tone for the session that followed. Lim Kyeong-seob, who heads manufacturing-AI transition cooperation at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources' industrial AI policy bureau, used his talk on the M.AX Alliance to argue that the manufacturing base long credited with driving South Korea's growth has hit a ceiling. "The competitiveness of manufacturing, which has driven our economy, has reached its limit," Lim said. "We have to take a different path from the United States and China, and we believe Korea needs a private-sector ecosystem where manufacturers and AI firms work together — which is why the M.AX Alliance was created." A panel discussion then took up where the success or failure of pairing manufacturing with physical AI will be decided, drawing industry insiders including Choi Jae-shik, chair professor at KAIST and chief executive of INEEJI, Kim Sun-tae, chief technology officer of NdotLight, and Hwang Hee-seung, head of Brain Commerce. Later sessions turned to the token economy's vanguard and the rise of the AI factory, before the forum closes Friday with a private session at the National Assembly. The three-day event, running under the theme "From Physical AI to Agentic AI, Beyond to AI Civilization," opened Wednesday at The Plaza in central Seoul, hosted by Aju News Corporation with the Global Economic and Financial Research Institute. AJP Takeaways • Hyundai Motor Group VP Joo Si-hyun told the 2026 GGGF that humanoids dominate the physical-AI conversation but can't cover most industrial tasks — wheeled AMRs and legged robots will hit factory floors first. • A single visible robot rests on an unseen stack — perception, embedded intelligence, autonomous driving and fleet management — split between optimal control and learning-based control, with true end-to-end systems still bottlenecked. • Cost hinges on standardizing shared parts rather than cheaper components, and no firm can build the full system alone, Joo said, citing Hyundai's charging robots and follow-me machines as near-term uses. 2026-09-03 11:46:37
  • Krafton commits to G-Star for 10th straight year
    Krafton commits to G-Star for 10th straight year SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - Krafton announced that it will exhibit at G-Star 2026, the country's largest gaming expo, extending its unbroken run of appearances to a decade and offering the beleaguered show a marquee domestic name. The Battlegrounds maker has taken part in the Busan event every year since 2017, using the fair to unveil marquee titles and let visitors sample upcoming releases through hands-on demos and interactive programs. The company announced Thursday that it will again set up a booth in the BTC hall of BEXCO's first exhibition center, though it said details of its slate, booth design and on-site events would follow. The commitment lands at a delicate moment for G-Star, which runs Nov. 19 to 22. When organizers unveiled a first roster of exhibitors in August, none of Korea's leading studios — among them Nexon, Netmarble, NC and Krafton — appeared, and Chinese publishers such as HoYoverse, NetEase Games and Bilibili filled much of the vacated floor. The main sponsor slot went to Crack, an AI-driven storytelling platform, the first time a non-gaming firm has held the position in the show's 22-year history. Krafton, whose participation was described as undecided as recently as mid-August, did not disclose which games it would bring. Industry observers expect it to draw on the five new titles it presented at Gamescom in Cologne in late August, including PUBG: Ded.Net, No Law, Project Zeta, Age Twisters and Tarae: The Unbound, alongside its flagship Battlegrounds franchise. Korean studios have leaned heavily on overseas showcases this year, with Krafton and NC confirming Gamescom appearances and Nexon Games heading to next month's Tokyo Game Show. AJP Takeaways • Krafton confirmed on Sept. 3, 2026, that it will exhibit at G-Star 2026 in Busan, running Nov. 19-22, extending its consecutive appearances at South Korea's largest gaming expo to a 10th year since 2017. The commitment gives the show a top-tier domestic exhibitor after none of Korea's leading studios appeared on the first roster organizers released in August. • When the G-Star organizing committee published its initial exhibitor list on Aug. 13, 2026, major Korean publishers including Nexon, Netmarble, NCSoft and Krafton were absent, and Chinese firms such as HoYoverse, NetEase and Bilibili filled much of the main hall, while the AI storytelling platform Krack became the first non-gaming main sponsor in the event's 22-year history. • Krafton did not disclose its Busan lineup, though industry observers expect it to feature the five titles it showed at Gamescom in Cologne in late August 2026 — PUBG: Ded.Net, No Law, Project Zeta, Age Twisters and Tarae: The Unbound — alongside Battlegrounds, as Korean studios continue prioritizing overseas showcases like Gamescom and the Tokyo Game Show. 2026-09-03 10:10:34
  • Kakao restructuring delays Kakao Mobilitys US listing
    Kakao restructuring delays Kakao Mobility's US listing SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - South Korea's Kakao has set in motion a sweeping corporate overhaul that is likely to push back Kakao Mobility's planned US share listing, leaving private equity backer TPG waiting longer to cash out of an investment it made nearly a decade ago. According to industry reports on Wednesday, Kakao Mobility's American depositary receipt (ADR) offering counts as a duplicate listing, which requires shareholder-protection procedures by parent Kakao and cannot be finalized until the corporate split settles the ownership structure. TPG recently met with officials at the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service to walk them through the state of the ADR plan. The firm told regulators it needs cooperation from Kakao, the majority owner with a 57.18 percent stake, but that talks have stalled, making the listing hard to advance. TPG's consortium first put about 500 billion won ($364 million) into Kakao Mobility in 2017 and added 130.7 billion won in 2021, yet has been unable to recoup either sum more than nine years on. Under a duplicate-listing guideline introduced in July, Kakao must assess how a Kakao Mobility offering would affect existing shareholders and draw up safeguards before the deal can proceed. Kakao must also top off an F-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a separate securities filing at home. The company plans to divide into Kakao AI and Kakao X on Jan. 1 after an extraordinary shareholder meeting on Dec. 17, with the two entities relisting on Jan. 27, a sequence that all but rules out an ADR debut this year. The two sides broadly agree TPG should be able to exit, but they remain at odds over timing and shareholder terms. Ryu Geung-seon, Kakao Mobility's chief executive, has resisted pinning down a listing schedule even after backing the SEC registration itself, and the industry expects the tug-of-war to run on. AJP Takeaways • Kakao split into Kakao AI and Kakao X, to complete on Jan. 1, 2027, is expected to delay Kakao Mobility's planned US ADR listing, frustrating private equity backer TPG. • Kakao holds a 57.18 percent stake in Kakao Mobility, and a July 2026 duplicate-listing guideline requires the parent to complete shareholder-protection procedures before any overseas offering can proceed. • TPG invested about 500 billion won in Kakao Mobility in 2017 and a further 130.7 billion won in 2021 but has yet to recoup either after more than nine years, deepening its pressure to exit. 2026-09-02 12:34:50
  • Pulmuones shelf-stable food sales jump 25.5% in first half
    Pulmuone's shelf-stable food sales jump 25.5% in first half SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - South Korea's Pulmuone Foods announced Wednesday that first-half sales of its ambient products rose 25.5 percent from a year earlier to a record high, as the company known for chilled and frozen fare pushes to diversify its portfolio. The ambient line, foods that require no refrigeration, has become a central growth target for Pulmuone Foods, the company's total food revenue climbing to 13 percent in the first half from about 7 percent a year earlier. Online sales led the surge, rising 51.9 percent from a year earlier. Compared with the first half of 2021, before the company built out its ambient range, sales soared 791.8 percent. The company explained that growth was concentrated in beverages, Korean home-meal replacements and noodles. The expansion carries a profit rationale as ambient products can contribute more favorably to operating income than chilled or frozen lines, and their longer shelf life eases exports, the company said. " We will scale up the shelf-stable business as a new growth engine, driving both top-line expansion and improved profitability," said Yoon Myeong-rang, head of global marketing at Pulmuone Foods. AJP Takeaways • Pulmuone Foods reported a 25.5 percent year-on-year rise in first-half ambient product sales to a record high, with the category's share of total food revenue rising to 13 percent from about 7 percent a year earlier. • Online ambient sales climbed 51.9 percent from a year earlier and were up 791.8 percent from the first half of 2021, driven by beverages, Korean home-meal replacements and noodles. • Pulmuone Foods aims to scale its shelf-stable line into a new growth axis, expanding overseas sales of longer-life products. 2026-09-02 08:19:45
  • U.S. EV plants may lay golden eggs for Korean battery makers
    U.S. EV plants may lay "golden eggs" for Korean battery makers SEOUL, September 01 (AJP) - South Korea's battery industry, groomed to build on the EV boom, is hurriedly moving to ride a new power "golden goose" — data centers — anchored in the United States' drive to catch up with China in AI infrastructure. "Let data reign," U.S. President Donald Trump proclaimed Monday. "The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor," Trump wrote on Truth Social amid community opposition to power-hungry data centers. "If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame," he added. "China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement." Washington has now made the infrastructure supporting that expansion a security asset, moving to screen foreign-made storage equipment from the U.S. grid. That gives South Korean battery makers an unusually strong opening. LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On are among a relatively small group of non-Chinese producers combining global manufacturing scale, increasingly competitive lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, technology and, crucially, factories already operating in the United States. Those plants were largely built for an EV market that has lost momentum, leaving production capacity that can be redirected toward stationary storage just as AI data centers drive a surge in electricity demand. The U.S. factories also give Korean suppliers a potential advantage over Chinese rivals as Washington tightens scrutiny of foreign-made batteries and other equipment connected to critical power infrastructure. Trump signed Executive Order 14420 on Aug. 26, declaring a national emergency over the foreign supply of bulk-power equipment and naming battery energy storage systems, grid-connected inverters and transformers among the covered goods. Such equipment could carry "digital backdoors built into their systems" that would allow a foreign country to access them remotely, the order said, citing the mounting strain that data centers, artificial intelligence and defense production are placing on America's electricity supply. The administration intends to restrict new purchases of suspect foreign-made transformers, storage batteries, inverters and grid control systems and establish procedures for replacing equipment already installed. The direction poses a particular challenge for China, whose suppliers dominate the global LFP storage-cell market largely on cost. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, enacted last year, also ties access to storage investment tax credits to reducing content linked to prohibited foreign entities, adding another incentive for U.S. developers to diversify their supply chains. "The U.S. government sees batteries for AI data centers and military drones as a core national security industry and will widen its support for critical mineral and battery supply chains," said Kim Hyun-soo, an analyst at Hana Securities. "Korean battery makers with U.S. production bases are expected to benefit." Their advantage is particularly significant because the pivot comes just as the market Korean battery makers originally built those factories to serve has slowed. Global electric-vehicle sales reached 11.5 million units in the first seven months of this year, up 4 percent from a year earlier, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. North American sales fell 18 percent over the same period to 900,000 units, while China slipped 12 percent, leaving Europe as the only major market still expanding. Energy storage is moving in the opposite direction. SNE Research expects global demand for ESS batteries to expand from about 353 gigawatt-hours in 2024 to around 1,870 GWh in 2035, driven by renewable-energy deployment, grid stabilization and increasingly the enormous electricity requirements of AI data centers. For Korean battery makers, that creates a rare convergence: weaker EV demand is freeing capacity just as U.S. energy storage demand accelerates and Washington is making Chinese dependence increasingly difficult. EV plants find a second life SK On moved quickly. The company signed a contract with U.S.-based NeoVolta Power on Aug. 27, a day after Trump's executive order, covering 9 GWh of LFP pouch cells to be supplied between 2027 and 2031. The cells will be produced at SK On's Georgia plant and are worth about 1.5 trillion won ($1.09 billion) by industry estimates, equivalent to nearly half of the company's 20 GWh ESS order target for the year. LG Energy Solution entered this year with about 140 GWh of cumulative storage orders and booked more than 3 trillion won in new contracts during the first half, led by a 6 GWh deal with Michigan utility DTE Energy. The company said Monday it had also signed a 10-year binding offtake agreement with Smackover Lithium for 8,000 metric tons a year of battery-grade lithium carbonate from an Arkansas project. "By bringing both battery production and sourcing to the U.S., we will deliver competitive and sustainable products to our customers driving the global energy storage and EV markets," said Lee Kang-yeol, procurement center leader at LG Energy Solution. The local sourcing adds another layer to the company's positioning as Washington increasingly scrutinizes not only where batteries are manufactured but where their critical materials originate. LG Energy Solution has already accelerated the shift in its business mix. ESS accounted for about 10 percent of revenue last year but rose to 25 percent in the first half. The company is targeting 35 percent by December. Its Lansing, Michigan, plant began full operations in August as the company's seventh North American production site, putting more than 50 GWh of LFP capacity within reach by year-end. Samsung SDI is making a similar move. After signing U.S. ESS contracts worth more than 2 trillion won in December and about 1.5 trillion won in March, the company is converting part of its StarPlus Energy joint venture plant in Indiana and plans to begin LFP production there in the fourth quarter. The Korean companies therefore enter the storage boom with something difficult to replicate quickly: large battery plants already sitting on U.S. soil that can be repurposed from EV production toward ESS. Investors price in the pivot Investors have already begun pricing in the shift. Samsung SDI shares surged 48.13 percent in August and LG Energy Solution gained 19.62 percent, while SK Innovation, SK On's parent, rose 16.2 percent. The benchmark KOSPI increased 8.9 percent over the same period. Domestic demand could provide another outlet. The Korea Power Exchange is weighing a third centrally contracted storage auction that industry officials say could exceed 1 gigawatt, compared with about 560 megawatts in each of the first two rounds. Most capacity in the earlier auctions was awarded in South Jeolla Province. But the United States remains the bigger prize. AI data-center construction is creating enormous demand for generation, transmission and storage infrastructure just as Washington is seeking greater control over the equipment connected to the grid. For LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On, that convergence provides a new home for capacity built during the EV investment boom while placing them among the few large-scale alternatives available as the United States tries to reduce Chinese exposure in critical power infrastructure. The next test comes from the U.S. Energy Department. Rules due Dec. 24 will define covered foreign entities, establish licensing procedures and set pre-qualified vendor lists that could ultimately determine which suppliers clear Washington's security screen. For Korean battery makers, the details will determine how far an EV-era manufacturing buildout can be turned into an advantage in the AI power race. AJP Takeaways • South Korean battery makers stand to benefit from tighter U.S. scrutiny of foreign grid equipment because LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On already operate large-scale battery manufacturing bases in the United States. • Slowing EV demand is freeing capacity that Korean producers can convert to LFP energy-storage batteries just as AI data centers drive rapidly rising demand for electricity and grid storage. • Global ESS battery demand is projected to expand from about 353 GWh in 2024 to around 1,870 GWh in 2035, while Korean battery makers are already securing multibillion-dollar U.S. storage orders. • U.S. Energy Department rules due Dec. 24 will define how the new foreign-supplier restrictions are implemented and could further shape competition between Korean and Chinese battery makers in the U.S. ESS market. 2026-09-01 15:13:36
  • Samsung Biologics, union to resume mediation
    Samsung Biologics, union to resume mediation SEOUL, September 01 (AJP) - Samsung Biologics and its labor union will resume mediation as early as Sept. 8 in a fresh attempt to settle a wage dispute that prompted the first strike in the South Korean contract drug manufacturer's history. The union said Tuesday it expected the talks to "pick up speed" once mediation opens, as the company has agreed to submit its own proposal after the process begins. The Incheon Regional Labor Relations Commission has agreed to bring the schedule forward, the union said, following a meeting a day earlier between management and the Jungbu regional employment and labor office. The date remains provisional while the panel's members are confirmed. Under South Korean labor law, post-mediation lets a labor board step back in after a formal mediation has ended, provided both sides consent. The two sides applied for the procedure on Aug. 14, about a month before the talks are due to begin. The dispute centers on pay increases and changes to the company's personnel system. After mediation collapsed on March 23, the union staged a partial strike in late April and a full walkout from May 1 to 5. The union has since waged a work-to-rule campaign, refusing overtime and holiday shifts, and has kept it up in the months since. AJP Takeaways • Samsung Biologics and its labor union will resume mediation on Sept. 8, 2026, seeking to resolve a wage and personnel dispute at the South Korean contract drug manufacturer. • The two sides applied for the renewed mediation on Aug. 14, 2026, after an earlier round collapsed on March 23 and led to the company's first-ever strike, a full walkout from May 1 to 5. • The union has maintained a work-to-rule campaign refusing overtime and holiday work, while the company has agreed to submit a proposal once the Sept. 8 mediation begins. 2026-09-01 14:28:55
  • AI expert advises Korea against copying US, China on physical AI
    AI expert advises Korea against copying US, China on physical AI SEOUL, September 01 (AJP) - South Korea should not chase the United States and China in the race to build humanoid robots but instead exploit its manufacturing strength to carve out a distinct path in physical AI, a leading roboticist said. Dennis Hong, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, and director of its Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory, told Aju Business Daily on Aug. 29 that Korea would lose if it mimicked the two powers. "Going forward, it will become harder to neatly divide this into American AI and Chinese hardware," Hong said. He argued that success in physical AI hinges on the speed at which companies build robots, deploy them, gather data and train the next, better generation. Korea's edge lies in its industrial base spanning semiconductors, automobiles, batteries, electronics and precision manufacturing, Hong said, warning against a numbers race to churn out the same humanoids as rivals. The country should instead link physical AI to industries where it already leads. The professor pointed to the field data held by conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Company and LG Electronics, arguing that the decisive resource in the physical AI era sits on factory floors rather than on the internet that fed the generative AI boom. Firms with products, plants and supply chains, he said, should deploy robots where work is needed and build a cycle of gathering, learning and refining. Fusing that data with physical AI will demand social trust, Hong cautioned, citing workers' fears of losing jobs after teaching their skills to machines and looming disputes over who owns the data. Rules on consent and on sharing the value the data creates are needed, he said. Hong, sometimes called robotics' Leonardo da Vinci, dismissed inflated hype around the technology and said a robot's worth lies not in working cheaper than a person but in taking on danger. "What must be warm is not the robot's chest but the heart of the person who builds it," he said. AJP Takeaways • Dennis Hong, a UCLA professor and director of its Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory, urged South Korea in an Aug. 29 interview with Aju Business Daily to avoid imitating the United States and China in physical AI and to build a strategy around its own manufacturing strengths. • Hong identified South Korea's base in semiconductors, automobiles, batteries, electronics and precision manufacturing, along with the factory-floor data held by conglomerates such as Samsung, Hyundai Motor and LG, as the country's decisive advantage over rivals racing to mass-produce humanoids. • Hong warned that combining industrial data with physical AI will require resolving workers' job-loss fears and data-ownership disputes, and cautioned that hype obscures the gap between one-off demonstrations and reliable, daily deployment. 2026-09-01 12:41:31
  • Seoul toughens crackdown on overcharging eateries
    Seoul toughens crackdown on overcharging eateries SEOUL, September 01 (AJP) - South Korea will suspend restaurants and other food businesses on their first overcharging offense, moving to curb the price-gouging scandals that have battered the reputation of traditional markets such as Seoul's Gwangjang Market. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Tuesday it had revised and promulgated the enforcement decree of the Food Sanitation Act, replacing a corrective order for a first violation with a five-day suspension effective immediately. Under the revised rules, an establishment that fails to post a price list or charges more than the displayed price will face a five-day suspension on first detection, 10 days on a second and 20 days on a third. The previous decree imposed suspensions of seven and 15 days for repeat offenders and let first-time violators off with a warning. "Existing administrative sanctions stopped at corrective orders, which had limits in preventing consumer harm," a ministry official said. The measure is a follow-up to the anti-price-gouging package that nine ministries unveiled jointly on Feb. 25 at a presidential tourism strategy meeting. The revision also streamlines administrative procedures for food business operators, scrapping the requirement to attach original documents when changing licensing or registration details and removing the obligation to retain a business registration certificate. Special facility standards allowing producer groups to sell food made from domestic farm produce were extended to fisheries groups. Fish products, vinegar and starch were added to the list of foods that instant-sale processors may sell by the portion, while the ministry clarified fee-reduction criteria for electronic civil applications and standards for temporary business filings. The revision follows viral videos and news reports of traditional markets, including Gwangjang Market, mired with vendors padding orders, urging authorities to take measures against overcharging. AJP Takeaways • South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety revised the Food Sanitation Act enforcement decree on Sept. 1, imposing a business suspension on the first instance of restaurant overcharging, replacing the previous corrective order. • First-time violators who fail to post prices or charge above the displayed amount now face a five-day suspension, rising to 10 days for a second offense and 20 days for a third, up from seven and 15 days previously. • The revision follows the anti-price-gouging package nine ministries announced on Feb. 25 and a series of overcharging scandals at Seoul's Gwangjang Market that damaged the reputation of traditional markets. 2026-09-01 11:16:40