Journalist
Lee Hugh
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Lee attends 100th anniversary of Provisional Government building in Shanghai SEOUL, January 09 (AJP) - President Lee Jae-myung and first lady Kim Hye-kyung visited the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea Memorial Hall in Shanghai on January 7 (local time) to attend the "100th Anniversary Ceremony of the Government Building Establishment." Before the ceremony began, the president observed a moment of silence and laid flowers at the bust of Kim Gu. He then toured Kim Gu's office and listened to explanations about the anti-Japanese resistance movement. In the guestbook, he wrote, "We, the people of the Republic of Korea, will surely protect this place where the Republic of Korea began." This year marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Provisional Government building in Shanghai and the 150th anniversary of the birth of independence leader Kim Gu. 2026-01-09 17:42:58 -
'Charity thermometer' in Gwanghwamun nears fundraising goal SEOUL, January 9 (AJP) - An installation dubbed the "charity thermometer" in downtown Gwanghwamun reached 98.5 degrees Celsius on Friday, about a month after its launch as part of the annual campaign by the Community Chest of Korea to help those in need. With a goal to collect 450 billion Korean won (around US$306 million), its temperature rises by one degree for every 1 percent of the fundraising target. The fundraising campaign will run until the end of the month, with organizers urging continued public participation to help push the thermometer past the 100-degree milestone. 2026-01-09 17:42:35 -
Farewell to CES 2026 LAS VEGAS, January 09 (AJP) - The world’s largest consumer electronics and information technology trade show, CES 2026, wrapped up four-day run in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday. The annual event brought together global companies and visitors, showcasing next-generation technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, autonomous driving and healthcare solutions. Across exhibition halls, demonstrations highlighted practical applications and commercialization potential of emerging technologies. As it heads toward its close, CES 2026 has served as a platform to gauge global technology trends and the direction of the industry, with exhibitions held across major venues throughout Las Vegas. 2026-01-09 17:41:14 -
Team Korea heads to Canada to vie for $45bn submarine race SEOUL, January 09 (AJP) - A high-profile “Team Korea” delegation is set to travel to Ottawa later this month to compete in one of the world’s largest defense procurements — Canada’s plan to build 12 next-generation submarines in a project valued at more than $40 billion. Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik and Trade Minister Kim Jeong-gwan are expected to join the delegation, alongside senior executives from South Korea’s defense industry and Hyundai Motor. The deal, estimated at up to 60 trillion won ($41 billion), extends beyond naval platforms to encompass Canada’s electric-vehicle ecosystem. According to industry sources, Ottawa is seeking highly tailored proposals from bidders. In Korea’s case, that could include commitments to establish automotive manufacturing facilities on Canadian soil. The presidential office and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy declined to confirm details of the trip. Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, is reported to have set specific requirements for the two shortlisted contenders: Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, which is partnering with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. According to CBC News, a 40-page federal evaluation document released in November places half of the total score on long-term sustainment — how bidders will maintain and support a fleet of 12 diesel-electric submarines over their lifecycle. Technical capability accounts for 20 percent, financial capacity 15 percent, and the remaining 15 percent is allocated to “economic benefits” for Canada. Officials at the newly established Defence Investment Agency have stressed that the contract must deliver maximum domestic economic impact while strengthening Canada’s defense industry. Korea’s defense exporters have steadily built credentials across Europe and Asia, and a breakthrough in Canada could represent the next major milestone. “This project is not simply about submarines,” said a senior Korean trade official. “It is about building a long-term partnership that spans automotive investment, energy cooperation and infrastructure.” Lessons from Poland The stakes are particularly high following last year’s setback in Poland. The Korean consortium, branded “Korea One Team,” lost Warsaw’s Orka submarine program to Sweden’s Saab. Poland opted for a smaller 2,000-ton vessel suited to the shallow Baltic Sea, rather than the Koreans’ proposed 3,600-ton fleet. South Korea had even offered to donate a decommissioned Jang Bogo-class submarine as a goodwill gesture, but the bid ultimately fell short. The loss underscored how geopolitical alignment and operational fit can outweigh price competitiveness or industrial offsets in European defense tenders. Carney’s overtures — and Canada’s demands In October 2025, Carney visited Hanwha Ocean’s shipyard in Geoje, touring its massive dry docks. South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who accompanied the visit, later recalled Carney saying he was “dealing not just with a company called Hanwha, but with the Republic of Korea.” Since then, Ottawa has reportedly presented Seoul with an 18-point industrial cooperation proposal, centered on attracting Korean investment into Canada’s struggling automotive sector. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly highlighted that Germany’s Volkswagen offered to build an EV battery plant as part of Berlin’s bid — a move widely seen as setting a benchmark for foreign contenders. Canadian officials have also floated cooperation in critical minerals, liquefied natural gas and hydrogen, areas that align closely with both countries’ decarbonization strategies. Strategic calculus For Canada, linking submarine procurement to auto and energy investment serves a dual purpose: rebuilding a manufacturing base weakened by U.S. trade frictions and securing political backing for one of the largest military purchases in the country’s history. For Korea, the challenge lies in balancing industrial concessions with technological credibility. Hanwha Ocean’s KSS-III-class submarines rank among the most advanced diesel-electric boats in service, but Canada’s emphasis on “sovereignty and local sustainment” favors bidders willing to localize production and create domestic jobs. The Korean consortium is required to submit its final proposal by March, with contract awards expected later this year. A win would mark the largest single defense export deal in South Korean history — and potentially the moment its shipbuilders secure a lasting foothold in the Western naval market. 2026-01-09 17:32:31 -
BOK likely to sit tight on rates through H1 amid FX and housing volatility SEOUL, January 09 (AJP) - The Bank of Korea is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged in the early months of 2026, as policy room remains constrained by persistent currency weakness, elevated housing prices and uncertainty over the durability of growth driven by an unprecedented chip boom. The central bank will hold its first rate-setting meeting of the year on Jan. 15, launching its annual cycle of eight policy reviews. Since reducing the number of monetary policy meetings from 12 to eight in 2017, the BOK has adopted longer intervals to allow for more comprehensive assessments of economic conditions. The benchmark rate has been on hold since May 2025, when the BOK cut it to 2.50 percent. Any additional easing would risk widening the interest-rate gap with the U.S. federal funds rate, currently in the 3.5–3.75 percent range. A wider differential typically puts downward pressure on the won as capital flows toward higher-yielding dollar assets. The policy calculus has grown more complex following the Bank of Japan’s recent move away from its long-standing zero-interest-rate stance, a shift that could further accelerate capital outflows from South Korea. The BOK’s maneuvering room is constrained both externally and internally. Domestically, the monetary policy board has historically favored caution during the final months of a governor’s term. Rhee Chang-yong’s four-year term ends in April, and it remains unclear whether he will be reappointed. Household debt remains another major limiting factor. As of the third quarter of 2025, household liabilities stood at 1,968 trillion won ($1.35 trillion), with more than 1,000 trillion won tied to real estate through mortgages and jeonse loans — a unique local system in which tenants provide large lump-sum deposits. A rate hike under these conditions could sharply strain debt-servicing capacity and risk destabilizing the property market. Against this backdrop, expectations for a hold are overwhelming. A survey conducted by Aju Business Daily on Thursday showed all 12 bond and macroeconomic strategists polled at major brokerages forecasting that the BOK will keep rates unchanged in January. While views diverged on the timing of any subsequent move, respondents broadly agreed that the status quo would persist at least through the first half of the year. “With corporations reporting robust earnings, there is little immediate pressure for further rate cuts, while it is also unclear whether a hike would meaningfully stabilize either housing prices or the exchange rate,” said Park Sang-hyun, a researcher at iM Securities. Cho Yong-gu of Shinyoung Securities echoed that view, noting that although growth momentum has remained resilient since November, volatility in the won and persistent overheating in the Seoul metropolitan housing market argue for policy caution. Analysts say future decisions will hinge largely on upcoming growth data. “If strong growth momentum carries through the second quarter, rates could remain on hold or even edge higher toward year-end,” said Woo Hye-young of LS Securities. “But signs of a slowdown in the second half would revive the case for renewed easing.” The housing market remains a critical wildcard. “Home prices, particularly in the metropolitan area, are likely to continue rising this year,” said Paik Yoon-min of Kyobo Securities, adding that a clear cooling of property prices would be a prerequisite for any shift in monetary stance. For now, neither the currency nor real estate shows signs of stabilizing. The won stood at 1,458 per dollar as of 3:30 p.m. Friday, down 5 won on the day. Despite foreign-exchange authorities having spent more than $2.6 billion in reserves on market intervention, the impact has been limited. Seoul apartment prices, meanwhile, climbed 8.71 percent in 2025. With household lending at commercial banks continuing to rise in early January, upward pressure on asset prices appears far from easing. 2026-01-09 17:13:57 -
Asian equities end first full week of 2026 strong as Korean defense stocks surge SEOUL, January 09 (AJP) - Asian equities finished strong on Friday, with South Korean stocks extending gains as defense shares surged on expectations of increased military spending following remarks by Donald Trump. In Seoul, the benchmark KOSPI rose 0.8 percent to close at 4,586.3, supported by sharp rallies in defense-related stocks. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ also finished higher, gaining 0.4 percent to 947.9. Defense stocks led the market after Trump outlined plans to significantly raise U.S. defense spending, fueling optimism over stronger global demand for military equipment. Hanwha Systems surged 27.5 percent to 76,900 won ($52.7), while Hanwha Aerospace climbed 11.4 percent to 1,214,000 won, marking some of the strongest performances on the main board. The rally followed a strong rebound in U.S. defense stocks overnight after Trump’s remarks. Shares of major U.S. contractors, including Lockheed Martin, RTX and General Dynamics, rose in New York trading on expectations of larger government contracts, a move that carried over into Asian markets and supported buying in Korean defense shares. Automakers also posted solid gains. Hyundai Motor jumped 7.5 percent to 366,000 won, while Kia rose 6.7 percent to 133,200 won, as investors continued to favor globally competitive exporters. Among heavyweight technology shares, Samsung Electronics edged up 0.1 percent to 139,000 won, while SK Hynix fell 1.6 percent to 744,000 won, underperforming the broader market amid profit-taking. Entertainment stocks weakened amid lingering uncertainty over overseas content demand. YG Entertainment slipped 1.5 percent to 67,200 won, SM Entertainment fell 2.7 percent to 114,700 won, Hybe declined 1.34 percent to 331,000 won, and JYP Entertainment dropped 2.4 percent to 69,800 won. The Korean won weakened against the U.S. dollar, closing at 1,458.7 per dollar, tracking broader dollar strength in regional markets. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.61 percent to 51,939.9, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.9 percent to 4,120.4, as regional sentiment improved. 2026-01-09 17:13:43 -
Over 150,000 KT subscribers switch to other mobile carriers SEOUL, January 9 (AJP) - More than 150,000 subscribers of telecom company KT have switched to different mobile service providers, industry sources said on Friday. The massive exodus comes after the country's second-largest mobile carrier began waiving early termination fees following a major data breach detected in September last year. Of some 154,851 users who left KT from Dec. 31 to early this week, 15,701 or 64.7 percent switched to SK Telecom. Another 5,027 joined LG Uplus, while 3,524 moved to budget providers. As part of its compensation package following the breach, KT is allowing subscribers to terminate their contracts without penalties until next Tuesday. Rival SK Telecom offered a similar program after a major data leak last summer, which led about 166,000 subscribers to leave in about 10 days. 2026-01-09 17:06:21 -
S. Korea's airline passengers hit record high last year on strong short-haul demand SEOUL, January 09 (AJP) - The number of airline passengers traveling through South Korea's airports reached an all-time high last year, boosted by a surge in short-haul international routes, particularly to Japan and China. According to aviation statistics released Friday by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Civil Aviation Association, the combined number of domestic and international air passengers totaled 124.79 million last year, up 3.9 percent from 120.06 million a year earlier. The figure surpassed the previous record set in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, when passenger traffic stood at 122.36 million, by about 1.2 percent. Domestic air travel declined 2.8 percent on the year to 30.25 million passengers, while international traffic rose 6.3 percent to a record 94.55 million, offsetting the domestic downturn. By region, Japan-bound routes carried 27.31 million passengers, an 8.6 percent increase from the previous year and a sharp 44.8 percent jump compared with 2019 levels. Analysts attribute the rise to the prolonged weak yen and an expansion of routes, including services to smaller regional cities. Passenger numbers on China routes climbed 22 percent to 16.8 million, recovering to 91.2 percent of pre-pandemic levels. The rebound was supported by China's visa-free entry policy for South Korean travelers, the resumption of visa-free entry for Chinese group tourists to South Korea from late September, and aggressive low-fare strategies by Chinese airlines. As traffic concentrated on Japan and China, routes to other Asian destinations, including Southeast Asia, edged down 0.5 percent year on year to 34.82 million passengers, or 95.6 percent of 2019 levels. Transpacific routes to the Americas recorded 6.82 million passengers, up 4.7 percent, while European routes carried 4.85 million, a 5.5 percent increase. International passenger numbers rose overall across the industry, but airline performance varied widely. Among low-cost carriers, Jeju Air saw the steepest decline, with passenger numbers falling 9 percent to 7.78 million. Air Busan carried 4.16 million passengers, down 7.4 percent, while Air Seoul posted an 8.4 percent drop to 1.68 million. In contrast, airlines that expanded seat capacity recorded sharp gains. Aero K saw passenger numbers surge 75.4 percent to 1.5 million, while Eastar Jet carried 3.07 million passengers, up 59.7 percent. Air Premia also posted strong growth, with 1.08 million passengers, a 42.3 percent increase. T’way Air transported 7.06 million passengers, up 7.3 percent, while Jin Air carried 6.67 million, a 2.2 percent rise. Parata Air, a new entrant that launched international services in November, recorded about 71,000 passengers. Among full-service carriers (FSC), Korean Air carried 19.14 million international passengers, an 8.2 percent increase, while Asiana Airlines transported 12.15 million, up 1.3 percent. Industry officials said safety concerns following recent aviation incidents prompted some passengers to shift demand toward full-service carriers from early last year. 2026-01-09 16:40:19 -
In AI-driven infrastructure, the scale of memory demand is unfathomable SEOUL, January 09 (AJP) - The memory cycle shaping today’s intelligence-driven computing is being defined less by consumer gadgets than by infrastructure — a shift underscored by the latest performance of industry leader Samsung Electronics. The South Korean tech giant reported operating profit of 20.0 trillion won ($14 billion) for the October–December quarter, more than tripling from a year earlier and marking its strongest three-month result on record. Revenue rose 22.7 percent to 93.0 trillion won, according to preliminary earnings released Thursday. While the numbers recall the last memory supercycle in 2018, the forces behind the current upswing are fundamentally different. The center of gravity in memory demand had already shifted from smartphones and PCs to data centers in the late 2010s. Artificial intelligence has now accelerated that transition — not only in scale, but in intensity. “The industry’s growth engine moved from smartphones and PCs to data centers after 2017,” said Ahn Ki-hyun, secretary general of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association. “What is different now is that AI is no longer just a corporate tool. As individuals increasingly use AI services, demand for GPUs and memory is expanding on an entirely new scale.” From cloud cycle to AI-driven expansion According to TrendForce and Counterpoint Research, average selling prices for DRAM jumped 45–50 percent in the fourth quarter, while NAND prices rose more than 30 percent, as chipmakers shifted capacity toward high-margin AI memory such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DDR5. At Samsung, the device solutions (DS) division is estimated to have generated about 16–17 trillion won in operating profit during the quarter, with HBM shipments to AI server customers emerging as the primary growth engine. The demand shift is also visible in how memory consumption is structured. Data from World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) show that data centers now account for more than half of global memory demand, up sharply from roughly a quarter during the previous supercycle — effectively turning cloud service providers into the industry’s largest customers. HBM, once a niche product used mainly in graphics and specialized computing, has become a central profit driver. TrendForce estimates that HBM’s share of total DRAM revenue has climbed from less than 5 percent in 2022 to more than 30 percent in 2025, even though its shipment volume remains far smaller than conventional memory — a reflection of its premium pricing and strategic importance in AI servers. Ripple effects across the memory market The pivot toward AI memory is reshaping the broader market as well. As manufacturers prioritize HBM and DDR5, output of legacy products such as DDR4 has tightened sharply, triggering a rare price surge of more than 30 percent for DDR4 in late 2025 — an unusual development in a segment long regarded as commoditized. “The rise of AI is changing the structure of the memory industry,” Ahn said. “Today, it is not just enterprises but individuals using AI services that are driving demand for GPUs, and that directly translates into higher demand for advanced memory.” Behind the surge is an unprecedented wave of capital spending by global technology firms. Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta together are expected to invest well over $300 billion this year in data centers, custom chips and AI infrastructure, cementing cloud providers — and increasingly AI service platforms — as the new center of gravity in the semiconductor cycle. Industry researchers estimate that AI server shipments are growing at a compound annual rate of more than 20 percent, while power consumption at data centers is projected to rise nearly 175 percent by 2030 from 2023 levels — a signal that memory demand is likely to remain structurally elevated. A longer cycle for memory makers For Samsung, the shift reinforces a broader strategic realignment. The company is repositioning its memory business away from the short swings of consumer-electronics cycles and toward a role as a core enabler of AI infrastructure, betting that the combination of HBM, advanced packaging and foundry capabilities will anchor earnings even as traditional device markets remain volatile. As the memory industry moves deeper into the AI era, analysts increasingly view the current upcycle not as a short-lived rebound but as the beginning of a longer structural phase — one in which data centers and AI workloads, not smartphones, set the pace of global semiconductor demand. 2026-01-09 16:32:15 -
Korean skaters prepare for Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics SEOUL, January 09 (AJP) - 2026-01-09 16:14:27