Journalist
Lee Hugh
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Ju-ae or Ju-hae? Name debate over North Korea's young heiress SEOUL, February 23 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday was re-elected as general secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, reaffirming the supreme-leader status he has held since 2012. But what has increasingly drawn international attention is not Kim himself, but his brash, omnipresent teenage daughter. The confident, bubbly-looking girl has frequently appeared at her father’s side in recent years, prompting North Korea watchers to speculate that she could be an unconventional choice as the country’s next ruler — breaking with a succession system that has passed power from father to son for three generations. South Korean intelligence authorities estimate her age at 12 to 13, while foreign analysts put it at around 13 to 14. Now, even her name has become a matter of debate. The girl has so far been widely known as Ju Ae, but some close observers believe her real name may be Ju Hae. According to a senior government official, intelligence agencies are verifying the reports that the young girl is playing an unofficial role comparable to “director of the Missile General Bureau” within the regime. They have been closely following the ninth party congress under way in Pyongyang since Feb. 19 for signs of her growing political presence. Kim Ju Ae — or Ju Hae — has increasingly accompanied her father to key weapons tests, fueling speculation about an emerging hereditary succession plan. One intelligence source said she is believed to be receiving briefings and issuing directions to some officials, in place of Jang Chang-ha commanding the missile bureau. Earlier this month, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service briefed lawmakers that Kim’s daughter had entered what it called the “succession designation stage.” The agency said she has begun expressing views on certain state policies, a possible sign of her rising influence. She first drew international attention in 2013, when former NBA star Dennis Rodman told The Guardian that he had “held baby Ju Ae” during a visit to North Korea. Defector testimonies, including that of former diplomat Ryu Hyun-woo, have also cited “Ju Ae” as Kim’s chosen name for his second child, allegedly meaning “one who is loved by all.” However, alternative versions such as “Ju Ye” and “Ju Hye” have circulated for years, and analysts now believe her name may have been altered after she was designated as a successor. Kim Jong Un himself is known to have changed the Chinese character of his given name in 2009, when his own succession path began. For years, Kim Ju Ae was believed to be the second of Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju’s three children, though neither the total number nor their birth order has ever been publicly confirmed. She remains the only child acknowledged through state media appearances. Since her first official appearance alongside her father at an intercontinental ballistic missile launch in November 2022, she has featured prominently at military parades and official banquets. By early 2023, state outlets began referring to her as the “respected daughter,” an honorific previously used for Kim himself before his leadership was announced. By January 2024, the NIS identified her as the “most likely successor,” while cautioning that “many variables” remain, given Kim’s relatively young age and North Korea’s patriarchal political culture. Her expanding public role — and recent intelligence suggesting her name may be Kim Ju Hae — indicates that Pyongyang may be quietly preparing for a fourth-generation transfer of power under the Kim dynasty. Whether that process will include formally recognizing her new name remains one of the regime’s closely guarded secrets. 2026-02-23 14:40:29 -
Hyundai Motor Group Weighs Multitrillion-Won Investment in Saemangeum for AI, Robotics and Hydrogen Hyundai Motor Group is pushing a multitrillion-won investment in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, to expand its artificial intelligence, hydrogen and robotics businesses. Government and business officials said Monday the group is preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, North Jeolla Special Self-Governing Province and the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency on investing several trillion won in the area to foster future businesses. The likely focus is AI, hydrogen and robotics, which Hyundai Motor Group has identified as key growth areas. The exact amount has not been set, but officials expect it to reach several trillion won. The group has previously announced plans to invest a total of 125.2 trillion won in South Korea through 2030 over five years. Saemangeum is seen as a strong candidate for building hubs tied to the group’s priority growth engines, including AI, software-defined vehicles, electrification, robotics and hydrogen. Of the 125.2 trillion won plan, Hyundai Motor Group has pledged to spend 50.5 trillion won in those fields. When it announced the investment plan, the group said it would consult with the government and local authorities and consider investments to help create a “hydrogen AI new city” that applies its core technologies, including AI, hydrogen and V2X. The Saemangeum area is expected to attract facilities such as an AI data center, a physical AI application center, a robot factory and a water electrolysis plant. Saemangeum, with land about 140 times the size of Seoul’s Yeouido and ample sunlight, is considered favorable for building power-hungry AI data centers. Plans for robot manufacturing and foundry plants have also been discussed as part of a push to become a physical AI company. A Hyundai Motor Group official said the company is reviewing investment plans in various ways to help boost regional economies, adding that no specific plan related to Saemangeum has been confirmed. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 14:30:15 -
Entertainer Nam Chang-hee Marries Former Actress Yoon Young-kyung, Now an Office Worker Entertainer Nam Chang-hee’s wife has been identified as Yoon Young-kyung, a former actress who now works an office job. T&N Entertainment, Nam’s agency, said on the 23rd, “Nam Chang-hee’s wife is Yoon Young-kyung, who previously worked as an actress,” adding, “She is currently an office worker.” Earlier that day, a media outlet reported that Nam’s wife is Yoon. Yoon graduated from Dongduk Women’s University’s Department of Broadcasting and Entertainment and was named a runner-up in the 2013 Miss Chunhyang pageant. She debuted in the 2014 film “Ode to My Father” and appeared in the dramas “Hwajeong” and “Ms. Temper & Nam Jung-gi.” In 2014, she appeared on MBC’s variety show “Infinite Challenge” in a special titled “Hongcheol, Get Married,” and was nicknamed “Han River IU.” Nam and Yoon held their wedding on the 22nd at the Dynasty Hall of the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Nam was born in 1982 and Yoon in 1991, a nine-year age gap. 2026-02-23 14:00:05 -
HMM Launches Generative AI Chatbot for Shippers to Streamline Service HMM said on the 23rd it has introduced a generative AI-based chatbot service for shippers, stepping up digital transformation at customer touchpoints. The chatbot, co-developed with LG CNS, is aimed at improving customer experience and strengthening service competitiveness that shippers can directly feel, the company said. HMM said the service is designed so shippers can get needed information through natural Q&A, like talking with an agent, without knowing precise shipping terms or complex procedures. It can help users check vessel schedules and freight rates, and handle tasks that require specialized knowledge, including △country-specific customs procedures △complex regulatory requirements △whether cargo qualifies as dangerous goods for transport. To serve shippers worldwide, the chatbot includes real-time translation in 17 languages. HMM said it expects shippers will be able to handle needed tasks immediately, anytime and anywhere, without language barriers, easing their workload. HMM said it will continue to upgrade its digital services based on actual customer usage data and gradually expand digital transformation closely aligned with shippers’ overall business flow. An HMM official said the chatbot is focused on fundamentally addressing inconveniences shippers have faced, adding that the company will strengthen its differentiated competitiveness by innovating the shipper experience.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 13:24:17 -
HD Hyundai Heavy Delivers Philippine Offshore Patrol Vessel 5 Months Early HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has delivered the first offshore patrol vessel, or OPV, ordered by the Philippine Navy ahead of schedule. The company said Monday it recently delivered the Rajah Sulayman, the first of six OPVs it is building for the Philippine Navy, nearly five months earlier than the contracted delivery date. The 2,400-ton ship is equipped with an anti-submarine acoustic detection system and includes space to operate various mission modules. It was designed for use in multiple settings, including maritime surveillance, maritime security missions and military operations. HD Hyundai Heavy said the accelerated delivery will help the Philippine Navy field the ship sooner. Delivery schedules are considered a key measure of a shipbuilder’s capability because they directly affect force readiness and a country’s ability to sustain defense capabilities. Ahead of delivery, the company also provided a pre-delivery training program with cooperation from the South Korean navy to support stable operation of the vessel. “Through the early delivery of this Philippine Navy offshore patrol vessel, we proved both our reliability and our competitiveness in meeting delivery schedules,” a company official said. The official added that HD Hyundai Heavy will continue building and delivering the remaining ships to support modernization and stable operations for the Philippine Navy. HD Hyundai Heavy has participated in the Philippine Navy modernization program since 2016 and has won orders for 12 ships, including frigates and offshore patrol vessels. It delivered the first frigate, Jose Rizal, one month early and has delivered five ships ahead of schedule to date.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 13:09:26 -
Korean sovereign wealth fund reaps 13.91% return in 2025, AUM at record high SEOUL, February 23 (AJP) -Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) posted a double-digit investment return in 2025 thanks to global equity rally that bolstered its assets under management to a record high. The sovereign wealth fund said Monday that it recorded an annual return of 13.91 percent last year, while its 10-year annualized return from 2016 to 2025 stood at 7.07 percent. Total assets under management (AUM) rose to $232 billion, driven by net investment gains of $28.5 billion. Cumulative net investment gains since inception reached $122.4 billion, exceeding entrusted principal of $118.6 billion for the first time, marking a symbolic milestone for the state-run fund. By asset class, traditional assets — equities and fixed income — accounted for 78.1 percent of total AUM, while alternative assets, including private equity, real estate, infrastructure and hedge funds, made up 21.9 percent. Traditional assets generated a return of 15.1 percent, led by equities at 22.24 percent and fixed income at 7.46 percent. Alternative assets posted a 10-year annualized return of 8.48 percent, reflecting their long-term investment nature. KIC said disciplined portfolio management helped lift returns, with traditional assets outperforming benchmarks by 24 basis points. Fixed income strategies generated 47 basis points of excess return through currency and duration management, while equities delivered 16 basis points of excess performance. “Despite persistent global interest-rate volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, KIC delivered balanced performance through disciplined analysis and rigorous risk management,” said Il Young Park, chief executive officer of KIC. “With market volatility expected to persist, we will focus on enhancing long-term portfolio stability and resilience,” Park said, adding that KIC will implement its Total Portfolio Approach this year to strengthen sustainable returns. Still, the fund, which is restricted to relatively conservative strategies and overseas assets as part of managing the nation’s foreign exchange reserves, performed modestly when compared to the National Pension Service (NPS), which reaped investment return rate of 20 percent last year. 2026-02-23 12:11:29 -
EastSoft's AI dubbing platform surpasses 460,000 users, with 90% from overseas SEOUL, February 23 (AJP) - South Korean software firm EastSoft said that its artificial intelligence dubbing and AI human video generation platform, Perso AI, has surpassed 460,000 registered users, with about 90 percent of sign-ups originating from markets in North America and Europe. The milestone announced Monday underscores Perso AI's rapid pivot toward a global user base. While Korean-to-English dubbing dominated early adoption, the platform has since seen a surge in multilingual demand, particularly for English-to-French and English-to-Spanish conversions. EastSoft said it has identified untapped potential in the Japanese and Spanish-speaking markets and plans to sharpen its international strategy accordingly. The company pointed to a series of technical upgrades as key drivers of its competitive edge, including prompt optimization tailored to Google's latest large language model Gemini, performance benchmarking against leading global audio engines, and the adoption of a content delivery network to bolster service stability. The company said it plans to continue refining the platform based on usage patterns from paying subscribers while lowering the entry barrier for new users through hands-on trial content. An EastSoft spokesperson said the platform's strength lies in its accessibility, noting that users can generate AI human video content as simply as building a presentation by entering prompts and making minor adjustments, while also creating digital characters with distinct identities as standalone intellectual properties. "With language demand expanding well beyond French and Spanish into a growing number of countries, we will strengthen our foothold in the global AI dubbing market through continued technological advancement and user experience optimization," the spokesperson said. 2026-02-23 12:05:11 -
Korean shipbuilders mull local and robotic options instead of foreign hires SEOUL, February 23 (AJP) - Two out of every 10 workers at shipyards across South Korea are foreigners, but major builders are increasingly looking to scale back overseas hiring by expanding domestic recruitment and accelerating automation, industry officials said. Leading the shift is HD Hyundai, the world's largest shipbuilder by order backlog, which plans to prioritize replacing departing foreign workers with Korean nationals as labor contracts expire. As of the end of 2025, HD Hyundai's shipbuilding units employed about 11,300 foreign workers, including subcontractors, accounting for roughly 19.8 percent of its 47,000-strong workforce. The industry's reliance on foreign labor has grown steadily in recent years. The number of overseas workers at Korean shipyards surged from 4,640 in 2021 to about 20,200 by the end of 2024, quadrupling in three years, as yards struggled to attract domestic workers to physically demanding jobs with relatively modest pay. However, a prolonged shipbuilding supercycle has strengthened the sector's finances, enabling companies to absorb the higher costs of local hiring and invest aggressively in artificial intelligence and robotics. The combined order backlog of Korea's three major builders stood at about $124 billion in late 2025, near record highs. Vessel exports reached $31.2 billion last year, up 22 percent, driven by demand for LNG carriers and large container ships, according to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The boom has also been supported by geopolitical tailwinds. Seoul and Washington's "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" initiative has opened new opportunities, with Korea pledging about $150 billion in shipbuilding-related investments to upgrade U.S. facilities. Domestic political pressure has added momentum. President Lee Jae Myung publicly questioned in January whether foreign workers were displacing Korean job seekers. Yet domestic hiring is only one pillar of a broader transformation. Korean builders are simultaneously pouring resources into AI, digital twins and robotics to offset rising labor costs and chronic shortages of skilled technicians. Earlier this month, HD Hyundai selected Siemens Xcelerator as the backbone of an integrated digital platform spanning its global shipyards under its "Future of Shipyard" program, targeting completion by 2030. "The selection of Siemens Xcelerator represents an important milestone in advancing HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering's digital shipbuilding strategy," said Lee Tae-jin, executive vice president at HD Hyundai. The group has also expanded its partnership with Palantir Technologies to deploy AI-driven analytics across its operations. Hanwha Ocean is investing about 160 billion won to turn its Geoje yard into a smart facility, targeting automation of up to 70 percent of production processes. The company is deploying drones and internet-of-things sensors to collect real-time data, while expanding the use of welding and fabrication robots. Hanwha is also applying its proprietary smart-yard technology to its Philadelphia shipyard in the United States as it seeks to expand in the North American maintenance, repair and overhaul market. Meanwhile, Samsung Heavy Industries has tested a wall-climbing quadruped robot developed by KAIST spinoff Diden Robotics for welding and inspection, with commercial deployment planned for the second half of 2026. The company has also partnered with Rainbow Robotics to co-develop AI-equipped welding robots and mobile dual-arm systems. Industry officials say the parallel push for domestic hiring and automation reflects a calculated strategy to maintain Korea's competitiveness against Chinese rivals, which now control about 63 percent of global new vessel orders. By pairing a more stable workforce with advanced digital tools, Korean shipbuilders are betting they can preserve their technological edge and long-term leadership in the global market. 2026-02-23 11:59:36 -
KOSPI unfazed in record-setting solo rally despite U.S. tariff flip-flop SEOUL, February 23 (AJP) — Korean stocks extended their record-setting rally on Monday, showing little sign of disruption from renewed U.S. tariff uncertainty as the benchmark index moved closer to the 5,900 mark while several major Asian markets remained closed. The main KOSPI briefly tested 5,900, extending its roughly 40 percent advance in the first two months of the year. As of 10:54 a.m., the index was up 1.17 percent at 5,875.12. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ rose 1.16 percent to 1,167.41. The Korean won strengthened amid a broad retreat of the U.S. dollar, reflecting growing uncertainty over Washington’s trade policy. The dollar was down 4.40 won at 1,143.60. Investor sentiment remained resilient despite renewed tariff pressure from Washington. President Donald Trump said he would raise a blanket U.S. import tariff to 15 percent after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down much of his second-term tariff regime last week. The administration has since relied on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows temporary tariffs of up to 15 percent for balance-of-payments purposes. For Korea, which runs persistent trade surpluses with the United States, the move suggests that Washington’s tariff policy is entering a new legal phase rather than winding down, keeping external uncertainty elevated. Investor flows were mixed. Individual investors bought a net 423.9 billion won ($320 million), while foreign and institutional investors sold a net 382.1 billion won and 69.9 billion won, respectively. Among heavyweight stocks, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix rose 2.68 percent and 2.42 percent to 195,200 won and 972,000 won, respectively. LG Energy Solution fell 0.87 percent to 398,000 won. Samsung Electronics gained after reports that it reclaimed the No. 1 position in the global DRAM market in the fourth quarter. Optimism over artificial intelligence investment also supported chipmakers. Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, recently warned that while AI demand could push SK hynix’s operating profit beyond $100 billion, the sector also faces unprecedented volatility. Speaking at the Trans-Pacific Dialogue 2026 in Washington last week, Chey said AI is reshaping global industrial structures, creating extraordinary opportunities alongside rising uncertainty. Elsewhere, nuclear and defense shares were mixed. Doosan Enerbility climbed 0.68 percent, while Hanwha Aerospace fell 0.97 percent. Financial stocks led gains after a third amendment to the Commercial Act passed the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Samsung Life Insurance rose 4.34 percent, while DB Insurance, Heungkuk Fire & Marine Insurance and Lotte Insurance posted strong gains. In biotech, Samsung Biologics advanced 0.46 percent. Automakers also outperformed. Hyundai Motor rose about 3.93 percent to around 529,000 won on reports of a multi-trillion-won investment plan in Saemangeum, with Kia gaining 1.28 percent. Shipbuilders showed mixed performance, with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries edging up and Hanwha Ocean declining. Construction shares drew attention as Hyundai Engineering & Construction jumped 6.08 percent on expectations of U.S. nuclear reactor investment decisions between 2026 and 2029. In the region, Japanese equity markets were closed for the Emperor’s Birthday holiday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.46 percent, while China’s Shanghai market is set to resume trading on Tuesday. 2026-02-23 11:24:50 -
Exports in February soar to record high on AI chip demand SEOUL, February 23 (AJP) - Exports in February have hit a record high, fueled by strong demand for semiconductor chips. According to preliminary data released by the Korea Customs Service on Monday, outbound shipments for the first 20 days of this month stood at US$43.52 billion, up 23.5 percent from a year earlier, the highest for the period. The previous record was $43 billion, set during the same period in December last year. Semiconductors led the increase as artificial intelligence (AI)-related demand continued to grow. Chip exports surged 134.1 percent to $15.12 billion, accounting for 34.7 percent of total exports, up 16.4 percentage points from a year earlier. Exports rose for petroleum products, computer peripherals, ships, and wireless communications equipment, but fell for passenger cars, auto parts, and precision instruments. By destination, shipments rose to China (up 30.8 percent), the U.S. (up 21.9 percent), Viet Nam (up 17.6 percent), the EU (up 11.4 percent) and Taiwan (up 76.4 percent). Imports during the period totaled $38.57 billion, up 11.7 percent, led by semiconductors, crude oil, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and gas. Imports rose from China, the EU, Taiwan and Viet Nam, but declined from Japan and the U.S. With exports surpassing imports, South Korea posted a trade surplus of $4.95 billion for the period. 2026-02-23 11:17:49