Journalist
Lee Hugh
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BTS comeback D-42: Seoul tells fans to travel light or risk missing the show SEOUL, February 07 (AJP) - With BTS's historic comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square just six weeks away, Seoul authorities and transit operators are urging the hundreds of thousands of fans expected to descend on the capital to ditch their suitcases before heading to the venue. Organizers are expecting about 15,000 for the square, with an additional 13,000 to watch on large screens at Seoul Plaza. Industry observers, however, estimate that as many as 200,000 people could flood the surrounding area on March 21, when the septet takes the stage for the first time in nearly four years to celebrate the release of their fifth studio album, "Arirang." The Seoul Metropolitan Government is directing concertgoers — particularly those arriving from regional cities and abroad — to store bulky luggage at transit hubs such as Seoul Station, Suseo Station and Yongsan Station before making their way to the venue. Smart lockers at subway stations across the city can be reserved through the T Locker app, which covers more than 5,500 units at 269 stations on Lines 1 through 9, allowing users to check real-time availability, book and pay via mobile. Officials recommend that fans spread their belongings across nearby stations, including Jonggak, Seodaemun, Gyeongbokgung and Seoul City Hall, to avoid a rush on lockers closest to the square. Authorities warned that storage units at stations adjacent to the venue are likely to fill up early in the day. Reservations left unclaimed within two hours are automatically canceled without a refund, making last-minute booking essential. Staffed luggage counters operated by T Luggage at major rail terminals offer an alternative, though most close by 10 p.m. The concert, titled " THE COMEBACK LIVE: ARIRANG," will be livestreamed globally on Netflix to more than 190 countries starting at 8 p.m. Directed by Hamish Hamilton, who has helmed multiple Super Bowl halftime shows, the production will feature 50 dancers and 13 traditional musicians performing against the backdrop of the illuminated Gwanghwamun. Seoul's transit authority has not ruled out bypassing Gwanghwamun Station on Line 5 without stopping if passenger congestion reaches critical levels, a measure previously deployed during large-scale rallies in the capital. Fans are advised to consider alighting one stop early — at Jonggak, Seodaemun or Gyeongbokgung — and walking to the square to avoid bottlenecks underground. 2026-02-07 13:24:18 -
OPINION: Seoul bourse in precarious rally South Korea’s stock market, for now, remains an impressive outlier. While major U.S. and European indices have struggled to sustain momentum, the KOSPI closed at 5,089.1 on Feb. 6, up more than 20 percent from the end of last year. The technology-heavy KOSDAQ has risen nearly 17 percent over the same period. Few advanced markets can match that performance. Yet strong numbers can obscure weak structures. This week, the KOSPI fell to around 4,949, surged to 5,371, and retreated again toward the low 5,000s within days. A swing of more than 420 points — roughly 8.5 percent — in such a short period is not the hallmark of a confident, institutionally anchored bull market. It is the signature of a market increasingly driven by sentiment, momentum, and leverage. Foreign investors appear to have drawn similar conclusions. Since the start of the year, overseas investors have sold a net 17.6 trillion won of Korean equities while continuing to accumulate bonds. This is not capital flight. It is portfolio triage — a calculated reduction in equity risk in favor of safer instruments. Hedging activity reinforces the message. Stock lending balances have climbed to a record 140.8 trillion won, reflecting rising demand for protection against a downturn. In effect, investors are buying into the rally with one hand and insuring against its collapse with the other. More revealing, however, is what Korean investors themselves are doing. In 2025, residents invested roughly $140 billion in overseas securities. Foreign investment in Korean securities amounted to barely $53 billion. Outflows were nearly three times larger than inflows. In equities alone, Korean investors sent about $118 billion abroad, while foreigners invested just over $40 billion at home. This is not a cyclical fluctuation. It is a structural reallocation of capital. Korean investors, from pension funds to private individuals, are steadily diversifying away from domestic assets. They are voting, with their money, for deeper and more liquid foreign markets. Global investors, meanwhile, are becoming more selective about Korea. The consequence is that the burden of sustaining domestic share prices has shifted decisively toward retail investors — and toward leverage. Margin debt remains near 25 trillion won, with unsettled credit balances around 1 trillion won. Borrowed money has become a central driver of trading activity. Much of the market’s recent strength rests on “debt-financed optimism,” a notoriously unstable foundation. History suggests that such structures tend to magnify both euphoria and panic. They perform well in rising markets and unravel quickly when confidence falters. Pressure is also building in the currency market. Despite posting a record current account surplus in 2025, Korea’s foreign exchange reserves fell by more than $4 billion over the year and declined further in December and January as authorities intervened to support the won. The exchange rate approached 1,470 per dollar in early February. The government’s $3 billion issuance of foreign exchange stabilization bonds — its largest since the global financial crisis — was a reminder that currency management has become a permanent policy concern rather than an occasional emergency. In plain terms, Korea is earning dollars but failing to retain them. Rising interest rates compound the problem. Three-year government bond yields have moved above 3.2 percent, while AA-rated corporate bonds approach 3.8 percent. Higher funding costs are squeezing companies already coping with weak currency and rising import prices. Without sustained earnings growth, current valuations will become increasingly difficult to defend. Taken together, these trends paint a sobering picture. Foreign investors are reducing equity exposure. Domestic capital is flowing abroad. Retail participation is heavily leveraged. Public authorities are devoting growing resources to currency stabilization. Volatility is rising. None of this implies imminent collapse. Korea remains a technologically advanced, export-competitive economy with strong industrial foundations. Semiconductors are recovering. Investment in artificial intelligence is expanding. Corporate governance has improved. But financial markets do not thrive on growth alone. They require confidence, capital retention, and institutional depth. Those conditions are eroding. When overseas investment outflows consistently exceed inflows by wide margins, and when equity gains depend heavily on borrowed money, sustainability becomes questionable. Markets can ignore such imbalances for long periods — until they cannot. The recent 8.5 percent weekly swing should therefore be interpreted less as a routine correction than as an early warning. Korea’s rally continues. For now. But it rests on increasingly narrow and fragile foundations. *The author is the managing editor of AJP 2026-02-07 11:31:23 -
Coupang data breach victims file class action suit in New York seeking punitive damages SEOUL, February 07 (AJP) - Victims of a massive Coupang data breach filed a class action lawsuit in a New York federal court seeking punitive damages from the e-commerce giant and its founder Kim Bom-suk. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleges Coupang breached its duty to protect personal data and failed to implement adequate security measures. The data leak affected about 33.7 million customer accounts. Two Korean Americans surnamed Lee and Park serve as lead plaintiffs, represented by SJKP Law Firm LLP, a U.S. subsidiary of South Korea's Daeryun Law Firm. More than 7,000 data breach victims have contacted the law firm regarding the class action suit, an SJKP lawyer said. The lawsuit proceeds separately from litigation filed against Coupang in South Korean and California courts. In their complaint, the plaintiffs claim Coupang violated personal data protection obligations and breached implied contracts with customers. They argue the company profited unfairly by failing to implement proper security safeguards. The U.S. punitive damages system allows for substantial compensation awards against companies found to have committed gross negligence. T-Mobile paid $350 million in 2021 to settle a class action after personal data from more than 76.6 million users was exposed, setting a precedent for such cases. 2026-02-07 10:46:20 -
Bithumb accidentally sends 620,000 bitcoin to users in reward glitch SEOUL, February 07 (AJP) - South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb mistakenly distributed 620,000 bitcoin — worth about 244 trillion won ($170 billion) — to 249 users after an employee entered "bitcoin" instead of "won" while processing a promotional reward event. The exchange had intended to give out a total of 620,000 won ($423.5) through its "random box" event on Friday evening, with individual prizes ranging from 2,000 to 50,000 won. Instead, each recipient received an average of 2,490 bitcoin, valued at about 244 billion won per person based on the prevailing price of 98 million won per coin. Bithumb said it detected the error within 20 minutes and moved swiftly to freeze trading and withdrawals, completing the lockdown by 7:40 p.m. The exchange said it recovered 99.7 percent of the misallocated bitcoin, or 618,212 coins, almost immediately. Some recipients rushed to sell their windfall before the freeze took effect, briefly crashing bitcoin's price on the platform to 81.11 million won — a sharp drop from its market price. The exchange said the price recovered to normal levels within five minutes and that its automated safeguards prevented cascading liquidations. Bithumb said about 125 bitcoin worth of assets, totaling roughly 13.3 billion won, remained unrecovered as of Saturday morning, though it noted that no funds had been transferred to external wallets. "The mispayment incident is entirely unrelated to any external hacking or security breach, and there are no issues whatsoever with system security or customer asset management," the company said in a public apology. The mishap fueled speculation among market watchers, who questioned how Bithumb could distribute 620,000 bitcoin when it held only 42,619 coins in custody as of the end of the third quarter last year. The company pushed back, saying wallet balances are maintained in strict alignment with customer account records through rigorous accounting controls. South Korea's Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service immediately launched an on-site inspection into the incident to examine its cause and assess whether any regulatory violations occurred. 2026-02-07 10:09:21 -
First Gold at Milan-Cortina Olympics to Be Decided in Men’s Downhill or Women’s Skiathlon 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will move quickly from opening ceremonies to the first race for gold. The first gold medal is expected to come from a snow event on Feb. 7 (Korea time). It will be awarded to the winner of whichever finishes first between the men’s alpine downhill, scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and the women’s cross-country 10-kilometer plus 10-kilometer skiathlon, which starts at 9 p.m. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Norway’s Therese Johaug won the first gold in the women’s skiathlon. The men’s downhill will be held at the Stelvio Ski Center in Bormio, Italy, in the Valtellina cluster. The women’s skiathlon will take place at the Tesero Cross-Country Ski Stadium in the Val di Fiemme cluster. Both venues are more than 200 kilometers from Milan. No South Korean athletes will compete in the men’s downhill. South Korea will be represented in the women’s skiathlon by Lee Eui Jin of the Busan Metropolitan City Sports Council and Han Da Som of Gyeonggi Provincial Government. Han is making her second Olympic appearance after Beijing, while Lee is competing at her first Olympics. The skiathlon combines classic and freestyle techniques, with athletes racing half the distance in each style. European teams such as Norway and Sweden have traditionally been strong in the event. In Beijing, Lee Chae Won finished 61st, and Han did not finish.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-07 08:00:00 -
Vance Booed at Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony; Ukraine Team Cheered U.S. Vice President JD Vance was loudly booed by some spectators during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics. On Thursday (local time) at San Siro Olympic Stadium in Milan, Vance stood and applauded as the U.S. delegation entered. When he appeared on the stadium’s big screen, boos rose from parts of the crowd. The reaction appeared tied to political tensions between the United States and Europe, as well as recent controversy over plans to deploy some U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in connection with the Olympics. Protests had also been held in Milan after reports that the United States planned to send some ICE agents during the Winter Games. Before the ceremony, International Olympic Committee member Kirsty Coventry appealed for respect, saying she hoped the opening ceremony would be a place where people “respect each other.” Some spectators’ response during the event differed. Foreign media quickly reported the incident. Reuters said that when Vance appeared on the big screen waving a U.S. flag, spectators booed. By contrast, the Ukrainian delegation was met with loud cheers as it entered the stadium. 2026-02-07 07:42:00 -
New Books Spotlight SK Hynix’s HBM Rise, AI Design Collaboration and the Art of Listening Super Momentum= Lee In-sook and others, Platform 9 and 3/4. A new book recounts SK hynix’s success story as the company that first developed high-bandwidth memory, or HBM. It traces the roughly 20-year push that took a long-time No. 2 chipmaker to a global leader by promoting products aimed at easing data bottlenecks in artificial intelligence systems. Drawing on testimony from key executives — including SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung and former vice chairman Park Sung-wook — as well as current and former engineers, it describes why the company kept investing in technology despite market downturns and worsening profitability. The final chapter includes an audio interview with Chey, titled “Chey Tae-won Note,” on SK Group’s future. The book also recounts episodes from his management journey, including when he first met Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in 2021 and became convinced of an AI vision, an anecdote about receiving advice on the semiconductor industry from TSMC founder Morris Chang, the “oath” between Hynix and AMD, and a promise between Chey and his father. "I’ve always had a habit of looking at the entire ecosystem. That way, I can see how the problem I need to solve is connected to other problems. That kind of thinking definitely helps. Studying physics as an undergraduate gave me a framework for that approach. People often make the mistake of getting too absorbed in a single problem. Because there are many possible solutions and approaches, you need a view of the overall structure to decide at what level to solve it." (Page 237, from “Chey Tae-won Note: We Were Standing at a Crossroads”) FutureLab= Kang Su-jin and others, Ahn Graphics. Ten designers who contributed to the book argue that designers should accept AI as a team member and expand the possibilities of future design through collaboration. Based on experience across companies and public institutions — including Samsung, SK, LG, Naver and Kakao — the authors describe practical ways of working with AI. They liken designers who collaborate with AI to conductors: Rather than consuming AI-generated outputs at random, designers, like orchestra leaders, decide which results to choose. “AI creates an idealized ‘me,’ and the gap between that and the real ‘me’ keeps widening. I get confused about whether everything happening to me is truly because of me, or whether I’m being controlled by AI. And if we delegate more and more to AI for convenience, we risk ultimately becoming beings shaped and managed by external technology.” (Page 108) The Art of Listening= Haru Yamada, translated by Jung Ji-hyun, RH Korea. The sociolinguist author reflects on the importance of listening after experiencing hearing impairment following a sudden accident. To get what you want, the author advises, stop talking and start by listening in a way that moves the other person. The book analyzes listening in a scientific way, offering standards for distinguishing truth from lies in what someone says and tips for “listening” to a person’s face to grasp what is going on. “In a survey of 1,112 American women conducted by The Associated Press and a pet company, one-third of respondents said their spouse is worse at listening than their pet. (Omitted) Two-thirds of respondents received help from a human listener, and the remaining one-third received help from a pet listener. If we assume half the world’s population is male, we could also conclude that about 17% of couples think a pet is a better listener than a spouse.” (Page 13)* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-07 06:06:00 -
South Korea Marches in Milan-Cortina Opening Ceremony, Aiming for Top-10 Finish South Korea’s team, aiming for a top-10 finish in the overall standings at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, marched in the opening ceremony parade. In the athlete parade held across multiple sites centered on Milan’s San Siro Olympic Stadium, South Korea appeared 22nd among 92 National Olympic Committees, according to the organizing committee. Figure skater Cha Jun Hwan (Seoul City Hall) and long-distance speed skater Park Ji Woo (Gangwon Provincial Office), serving as co-flag bearers, led the delegation with the South Korean flag. Smiling, they waved to the stands as athletes raised flags and phones to capture the moment. “It’s a great honor and I’m grateful, because it’s a moment representing our country,” Cha said in comments released through the organizing committee. “I wanted to share positive energy with the team. I hope everyone can fully enjoy the Olympics, a dream stage.” Park said she hoped younger athletes would “enjoy the Olympics, have fun and make great memories.” With venues split into four zones, the parade was also held simultaneously in several locations. South Korea had 50 participants in the opening ceremony, divided among the four sites. In Livigno, about 200 kilometers from Milan, snowboard and freestyle ski athletes entered with a dynamic performance. In Predazzo, the cross-country team appeared against a snowy backdrop, waving the South Korean flag. In Cortina d’Ampezzo, sliding sports and biathlon athletes marched together. Women’s skeleton athlete Hong Su Jeong rode on a teammate’s shoulders as she lifted the country placard to signal Team Korea’s entrance. The entry order was set by the host nation’s Italian alphabet system. South Korea was listed under “Corea,” from its Italian name “Repubblica di Corea,” placing it between Colombia and Croatia. About 3,500 athletes are competing for 116 gold medals at the Games. South Korea’s delegation totals 130, including 71 athletes in six sports and 59 officials, with a goal of at least three gold medals and a top-10 overall finish. 2026-02-07 05:48:00 -
Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics Open With Dual-City Flame Lighting The 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics opened under the theme of “harmony and unity,” marking the first Winter Games staged under a multi-host system. The 25th Winter Olympics began its official schedule with an opening ceremony held early Friday (Korea time) at San Siro Olympic Stadium in Milan. The ceremony was staged simultaneously in multiple locations, including San Siro and Piazza Dibona in Cortina d'Ampezzo. The format reflected an operating plan aimed at minimizing new construction and emphasizing sustainability, with events spread across six zones including Milan and Cortina. With Milan hosting ice events and Cortina hosting skiing and curling, the two hubs are more than 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) apart, making it difficult for delegations to gather in one place. Organizers designed the opening as a multi-stage production. Olympic cauldrons were installed at Milan’s Arco della Pace and at Piazza Dibona in Cortina. It was the first time two cities shared the official Olympic name and the first time two cauldrons were lit at the same time. The organizing committee titled the ceremony “Armonia,” the Italian word for “harmony.” The show opened with a performance inspired by the work of 16th-century sculptor Antonio Canova, using a dance reinterpretation of the myth of Cupid and Psyche to convey the theme. Performers then portrayed Italian opera composers Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Gioachino Rossini, joined by dancers in music-note-themed costumes. A giant paint-tube prop descended to underscore art and harmony. A character parade evoking ancient Rome and the Renaissance followed, and pop star Mariah Carey performed her hits. After Italian President Sergio Mattarella and International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry entered, the ceremony included a tribute to fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died in September. Models wearing Armani designs filled the stadium in the colors of the Italian flag. Model Vittoria Ceretti carried the flag in Milan for the raising, while former national team cross-country skiers took part in the flag-raising at the Cortina venue. After the performances, athletes from 92 countries marched in. The parade of nations took place at the same time at San Siro in Milan and at sites including Cortina’s central square, the Livigno Snow Park and the Predazzo ski jump stadium. South Korea entered 22nd, led by co-flag bearers Cha Jun Hwan (figure skating, Seoul City Hall) and Park Ji Woo (speedskating, Gangwon Provincial Government). Host Italy entered last, using four flag bearers — two in each city. Following Mattarella’s declaration opening the Games, a torch relay segment was staged with a performance by tenor Andrea Bocelli. Ten people served as Olympic flag bearers, including Pita Taufatofua, known as the “Tongan strongman.” In Milan, Eliud Kipchoge, Cindy Ngamba, Filippo Grandi, Nicolo Govoni, Mariam Bukha Hassan, Rebeca Andrade and Akiba Tadatohi carried the Olympic flag. In Cortina, Franco Nones and Martina Valcepina took part. After the athletes’ oath, the two cauldrons were lit simultaneously by the final torchbearers. The cauldrons were spherical structures inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s “Knots.” The Games run through the 22nd, with 116 gold medals to be awarded across eight sports and 16 disciplines. 2026-02-07 04:36:00 -
South Korea to Run Meal Support Centers for 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympians The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee will run on-site meal support centers in Italy to help manage the condition of South Korea’s athletes competing at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. The committee said it will operate centers from Feb. 6-22 in three areas — Milan, Cortina and Livigno — providing customized menus for the team. The goal is to reliably supply Korean meals and recovery-focused food amid repeated training and competition schedules to support performance. Reflecting that venues are spread across multiple locations, the committee is setting up and running meal support centers in all three areas. It said this is the first time a Winter Olympics meal support program has been split by venue clusters, strengthening on-site support compared with the previous Games. The committee said it is spending 2.2 billion won to dispatch 36 staff members — 15 to Milan, 12 to Cortina and nine to Livigno — and to provide Korean lunch boxes to 130 athletes. It is also introducing heat-retaining “self-heating lunch boxes” for the first time, citing cold weather and many mountain venues. Lunch box deliveries began Feb. 6 through the three centers. Committee President Yoo Seung-min visited the Milan center at 10:30 a.m. local time on Feb. 6, took part in preparing the first lunch boxes and checked operations. “As our team is entering the full race, I joined the preparation of the first Korean lunch boxes with the mindset of supporting them directly,” Yoo said. “I hope our athletes eat these carefully prepared meals, gain strength and deliver strong performances.” The lunch boxes provided to the team that day totaled 182 meals: 91 lunches and 91 dinners. For both lunch and dinner, 45 meals went to Milan, 23 to Livigno and 23 to Cortina. The committee said all athletes in the three areas applied in advance, and daily quantities may be adjusted depending on operating conditions such as the team’s arrival and departure schedules. 2026-02-07 00:51:00