Journalist
Lee Hugh
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Safe-haven demand keeps gold in focus as market volatility grows SEOUL, January 06 (AJP) - Investor interest in gold has carried into the new year after international prices nearly doubled last year, with securities firms expecting the uptrend to extend through 2026 as geopolitical risks and demand for safe-haven assets support prices. According to the Korea Exchange on Tuesday, gold prices, after retreating late last year, have risen for three consecutive sessions since the start of the year. International prices also moved toward record territory. Gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed on Monday at $4,436.90 per troy ounce. Rising political and military uncertainty abroad has helped boost gold’s appeal relative to other commodities such as oil, analysts said. Choi Ye-chan, a researcher at SangSangIn Securities, said major supply disruptions in the oil market appear unlikely, while expanding military activity and heightened geopolitical tensions could continue to underpin demand for gold. He said a strategy of being “long gold and short oil” could remain effective in 2026. Some global investment banks have issued more bullish forecasts, predicting that gold prices could exceed $5,000 an ounce this year. Gold prices climbed from around $2,300 an ounce in early 2024 to about $4,300 by the end of 2025, a gain of roughly 87 percent, making it the best-performing asset among major asset classes during that period. The rally has also lifted returns for South Korea-listed gold exchange-traded funds. Gold ETFs posted an average annual return of 48 percent last year, according to market data. Korea Investment Management’s ACE Gold Futures Leverage led the group with a 132 percent gain. NH Investment & Securities, in its report released on Monday, named gold a core theme in alternative investment portfolios. Ha Jae-seok, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said volatility in financial markets is rising amid tariff-related risks and expectations that government bond yields will remain under upward pressure as major economies pursue expansionary fiscal policies. “In that macro environment, gold’s attractiveness as a safe-haven asset is likely to strengthen,” he said. 2026-01-06 16:35:26 -
Fresh cold spell grips Seoul SEOUL, January 6 (AJP) - A fresh cold spell returned to Seoul on Tuesday, with a morning low of -6 degrees Celsius, much colder than the previous day's -1 degrees. The mercury barely rose, with daytime temperatures climbing to just 4 degrees as frigid conditions persisted throughout the day. Other cities across the country also faced frigid temperatures, with Chuncheon at -10 degrees, Cheongju at -8 degrees, Daejeon at -7 degrees, and the southern port city of Busan at -2 degrees. 2026-01-06 16:29:00 -
Lee shares selfie with Xi SEOUL, January 6 (AJP) - President Lee Jae-myung shared a selfie with Chinese President Xi Jinping on social media on Mondy night, suggesting their talks were held in a friendly atmosphere. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, shortly after their 90-minute summit, Lee said he took the selfie using a Xiaomi smartphone that Xi had given him, when the two leaders met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju in November last year. Lee said the summit would serve as an important momentum in efforts to improve relations between the two countries while expanding economic cooperation and collaboration in various sectors. In response, Xi stressed the importance of maintaining firm friendly bilateral cooperation. 2026-01-06 16:12:27 -
AI chip demand to lift Korea's exports in 2026, but autos face headwinds SEOUL, January 06 (AJP) - Semiconductors, which powered South Korea’s exports last year amid expanding artificial intelligence demand, are expected to remain the main growth driver in 2026 as the chip upcycle continues, while auto exports could lose momentum, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Tuesday. South Korea’s annual exports totaled $709.7 billion last year, surpassing $700 billion for the first time. The milestone came seven years after exports first exceeded $600 billion in 2018. The government is targeting exports of $700 billion again this year, with semiconductors at the core of its strategy. Chip exports rose 22.2 percent from a year earlier to $173.4 billion in 2025, supported by steady demand for AI chips and a sharp increase in fixed prices for memory semiconductors. "Semiconductors are likely to continue lifting overall exports as the AI-driven chip upcycle persists," a ministry official said. "With South Korean companies maintaining a technological edge, the structure of global demand points to further growth in chip shipments." Exports could gain additional support if shortages of commodity memory chips persist. As chipmakers shift production capacity toward high-bandwidth memory, prices for older, general-purpose memory products are expected to remain elevated for the time being. Wireless communications devices and display exports are also expected to stay in positive territory, the ministry said, citing continued growth in the foldable smartphone market. Consumer goods exports, including food and beauty products, are also forecast to expand, supported by the global popularity of South Korean culture and rising trust in Korean brands. The ministry said fast-growing consumption among younger buyers, particularly in emerging markets, is increasing the share of consumer goods in total exports. By contrast, auto exports may slow this year. Auto shipments rose 1.7 percent from a year earlier to $72.0 billion in 2025, as strong demand from the European Union offset weaker exports to the United States. This year, risks related to U.S. tariffs are expected to become more pronounced. With a 15 percent item-specific tariff confirmed in the world’s largest auto market, South Korean automakers would face the same conditions as competitors, though analysts warn profitability could deteriorate over the medium to long term. Additional uncertainties include the European Union’s introduction of a life-cycle greenhouse gas assessment system for vehicles and China’s expanding electric vehicle exports. The outlook for oil products and petrochemical exports is also uncertain. Oil product export prices are falling as demand weakens amid a global economic slowdown and declining crude prices. Petrochemicals, which are undergoing restructuring due to oversupply, may struggle to expand exports as operating rates fall despite rising capacity. Steel exports could face further pressure from stagnant demand and the spread of protectionist measures. 2026-01-06 15:52:32 -
Chinese president calls upon Seoul to jointly uphold postwar peace order and stability BEIJING, January 05 (CGTN) - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called on China and South Korea to work together to safeguard the post–World War II international order and maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia during talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. Speaking during the meeting with Lee on a state visit to China, Xi highlighted the shared historical legacy of the two countries, noting their respective sacrifices and resistance against Japanese militarism around 80 years ago, according to China’s state-run broadcaster China Global Television Network (CGTN). Xi said China and South Korea shoulder important responsibilities in maintaining regional peace and promoting global development, adding that the two neighbors share broad common interests. He urged both sides to “stand firmly on the right side of history” and make what he described as correct strategic choices. The Chinese leader also extended New Year greetings to the South Korean people, noting that he and President Lee have met twice and conducted reciprocal visits, which he said reflected the high priority both governments place on bilateral relations. As close neighbors, China and South Korea should maintain frequent communication and engagement, Xi said, stressing that Beijing has consistently placed relations with Seoul high on its neighborhood diplomacy agenda. He called for continued friendly cooperation based on mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, pledging to advance the China–South Korea strategic cooperative partnership in a stable and constructive direction. Xi further said the two countries have long upheld principles emphasizing peace and harmony despite differences in political systems and ideology. He called for enhanced mutual trust, respect for each other’s development paths, and proper management of differences through dialogue and consultation. Turning to economic cooperation, Xi noted that China’s leadership has adopted recommendations for the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), outlining development priorities that could create new opportunities for foreign partners. He said China and South Korea’s industrial and supply chains are deeply intertwined and urged closer coordination in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, green industries, and the so-called silver economy. Xi also emphasized expanding people-to-people exchanges, including among youth, media, sports organizations, think tanks, and local governments, arguing that positive narratives should become the mainstream in bilateral relations. As beneficiaries of economic globalization, Xi said the two countries should jointly oppose protectionism, support multilateralism, and contribute to a more inclusive global economic order. President Lee echoed the emphasis on historical ties, recalling that the two nations once fought side by side against Japanese militarism. He expressed appreciation for China’s preservation of historical sites related to South Korea’s independence movement during Japan’s colonial rule. Lee said Seoul places great importance on its relationship with Beijing and views the visit as an opportunity to consolidate the momentum of fully restoring and advancing bilateral ties. He reaffirmed South Korea’s respect for China’s core interests, including its “one China” position, and highlighted the positive role of bilateral trade and economic cooperation in both countries’ development. The South Korean president said he hopes to seize opportunities linked to China’s upcoming five-year plan to expand practical cooperation and called for deeper people-to-people exchanges to build mutual trust. He also expressed Seoul’s willingness to strengthen multilateral coordination with China and wished Beijing success in hosting this year’s APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. Following the talks, the two leaders jointly witnessed the signing of 15 cooperation agreements covering areas including science and technology innovation, environmental protection, transportation, and economic and trade cooperation. * The article was contributed by CGTN 2026-01-06 15:44:20 -
Why is Kim Jong-un's daughter making frequent public appearances? SEOUL, January 6 (AJP) - Frequent public appearances of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter Ju-ae are believed to be intended to project a "prominent family" image rather than groom her as the next leader for a hereditary transfer of power, the Unification Ministry here speculated on Tuesday. As many pundits closely watch Kim's activities for clues in the reclusive country, where even small details can matter, a ministry official said, "We cannot single out her succession plans, but Ju-ae often appears with her mother Ri Sol-ju, suggesting efforts to project a strong family image." Earlier in the day, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim, accompanied by his wife and daughter, visited a construction site the previous day with senior party and military officials and encouraged soldiers and workers there. In related photos released by KCNA, Kim is shown planting trees with Ju-ae, who holds a shovel alongside her father, in what appears to be a display of family unity. The latest family outing came just several days after KCNA reported Kim's visit to the mausoleum where the embalmed bodies of his grandfather and regime founder Kim Il-sung, and his father Kim Jong-il lie in state to usher in the new year last week. His customary visit drew particular attention after photos released later showed Ju-ae in attendance along with her mother. Some speculate that if North Korea intended to more clearly show Ju-ae as the successor, she would have been placed directly behind her father. Instead, the move appears aimed at strengthening internal unity ahead of the country's key party congress scheduled for early this year. 2026-01-06 15:36:11 -
CES 2026: Same day, different podiums: Nvidia and AMD faceoff in AI supercomputing LAS VEGAS — Born in the same Taiwanese city and distantly related by blood, Jensen Huang and Lisa Su took to podiums just hours apart on the same day—at different hotels along the Las Vegas Strip—and delivered rival visions for the future of artificial intelligence computing. The parallel appearances ahead of CES 2026 turned Las Vegas into a split-stage arena, with Nvidia presenting at the Fontainebleau Hotel’s BleuLive Theater and AMD countering from the Venetian. The message from both camps was unmistakable: the AI chip race has moved beyond individual processors into a full-scale contest over who defines the architecture of the modern data center. At Nvidia's press conference, Huang unveiled Vera Rubin, the company’s next-generation AI supercomputing platform, describing it as “one platform for every AI.” His argument was that AI computing has moved beyond software into the physical world—autonomous vehicles, robots, factories—where training, inference, and deployment must be engineered as a single, tightly coordinated system. “The demand for AI computing is going through the roof,” Huang said. “Rubin arrives at exactly the right moment.” Vera Rubin is a rack-scale system integrating GPUs, CPUs, networking, and data-processing components into a unified platform. Nvidia said its flagship Rubin NVL72 configuration can cut inference token costs by up to tenfold compared with its Blackwell platform and reduce by four times the number of GPUs required to train large mixture-of-experts models. Huang emphasized NVIDIA’s annual cadence of new AI architectures and its philosophy of extreme codesign across chips, networking, and software—an approach aimed at maximizing system-level efficiency as AI models grow larger and more complex. Rubin-based systems will be rolled out through partners beginning in the second half of 2026, targeting cloud providers, AI research labs, and enterprise customers running AI at massive scale. AMD counters with Helios and an open-system pitch Across the Strip, AMD responded with Helios, its next-generation AI supercomputing platform, unveiled by Su at a conference at the Venetian. Her framing focused less on vertical integration and more on flexibility as AI expands beyond digital applications into factories, healthcare, robotics, and even space systems. “Physical AI is one of the toughest challenges in technology,” Su said. “It requires systems that can understand their environment, make real-time decisions, and act with precision.” Helios is built around AMD’s Instinct MI450 series GPUs and designed as a rack-level AI system emphasizing large memory capacity, high-bandwidth HBM memory, and open interconnect technologies. AMD positioned Helios for large-scale AI training workloads where memory constraints often become a bottleneck. Su said AMD’s strategy prioritizes openness, allowing customers to expand and customize AI infrastructure without being locked into proprietary architectures. AMD plans to deploy Helios later this year through partnerships with data center operators and enterprise customers, underscoring its push to establish itself as a core platform provider in the AI ecosystem. 2026-01-06 15:06:10 -
How a Samsung project helped save Korea's provisional government in Shanghai SEOUL, January 06 (AJP) - When South Korean President Lee Jae Myung steps into a modest brick building in Shanghai on Wednesday during his state visit to China, he will be entering a carefully restored fragment of Korean history — one preserved not by a government initiative, but by an idea that began decades ago inside a corporate office at Samsung C&T. Restoration of the site — once home to Korea’s provisional government during Japan’s colonial rule — was completed more than 30 years ago, not with a government directive or diplomatic accord, but with an internal proposal submitted by an employee of Samsung C&T. In the late 1980s, as Samsung C&T prepared to enter the Chinese market, the company invited employees to submit ideas for cultural and social contribution projects. One proposal stood out. Lee Jae-cheong, then a sales manager in the firm’s distribution division, had recently returned from a business trip to Shanghai. While there, he visited a dilapidated building that had once housed Korea’s government-in-exile, which operated from July 1926 to April 1932 before relocating to Hangzhou. Years of private use had taken their toll. The structure was severely damaged, its original form barely recognizable, its historical significance largely obscured. Lee proposed that Samsung C&T take the lead in restoring the site. His idea was selected in the company’s internal contest and, after receiving management approval, became what Samsung later called the “Sungsan Project.” The effort soon evolved into a complex undertaking that required careful diplomacy, historical research and logistical coordination at a time when formal channels between the two countries were limited. Samsung C&T conducted preliminary studies to determine whether restoration was feasible and worked with South Korea’s Ministry of Culture and the Independence Hall of Korea to authenticate historical details. In 1991, the company signed a restoration agreement with the Shanghai municipal government — a notable step given the absence of full diplomatic relations at the time. To accelerate construction, Samsung C&T also covered relocation costs for residents living in the building. Using archival records and historical research, the company reconstructed the interior to reflect the late 1920s, collecting period-appropriate tables, chairs and beds. Rooms were recreated to resemble the provisional government’s meeting hall, office spaces, reception room, kitchen and living quarters for key independence figures. The restored building officially reopened on April 13, 1993, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the founding of Korea’s provisional government. About 100 people attended the ceremony, including descendants of independence activists whose lives had once been intertwined with the site. Today, as South Korea’s president prepares to walk through its halls, the Shanghai site stands not only as a symbol of the nation’s independence movement, but also as a reminder that corporate initiatives — sometimes sparked by a single employee — can play an unexpected role in preserving national memory far beyond the balance sheet. 2026-01-06 14:45:42 -
Lee seeks Chinese legislature's support in strengthening relations SEOUL, January 6 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung started his third day in China by holding talks with Zhao Leji, China's top legislator, on Tuesday. Lee met with Zhao earlier in the morning, a day after his 90-minute summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and called for support in strengthening bilateral relations. Sharing what the two discussed, Lee said they agreed to "maturely develop a strategic cooperative partnership." Stressing the role of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's supreme organ, Lee said he believes it could help raise mutual understanding and broaden common ground. Lee also praised Zhao for helping facilitate exchanges between the two countries. Zhao was quoted as saying that deepening the bilateral relationship serves the "interests of both peoples" and contributes to the peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula and global security. Zhao also pledged that China would work with South Korea to implement agreements reached by the two leaders and to deepen cooperation. 2026-01-06 14:28:13 -
HD Korea Shipbuilding lands $1 billion ultra-large LNG carrier deal SEOUL, January 06 (AJP) - HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore said on Tuesday it has secured its first order of the year, signing a contract to build four ultra-large liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers worth a combined 1.5 trillion won ($1.03 billion). Each vessel will have a cargo capacity of 200,000 cubic meters and measure 294.8 meters in length, 48.9 meters in width and 26.7 meters in height. The ships will be built at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ shipyard in Ulsan and delivered in stages by the first half of 2029. Compared with conventional 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers, the larger vessels can transport more cargo per voyage, reducing unit transportation costs, the company said. They will also be equipped with features including a high-efficiency shaft generator and an LNG reliquefaction system to improve operational efficiency. Clarksons Research, a U.K.-based shipping and shipbuilding consultancy, said global LNG carrier orders are expected to remain active this year as new LNG projects advance and demand grows to replace aging vessels. Separately, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said it has delivered a 22,000-cubic-meter liquefied carbon dioxide carrier to Greece-based Capital Clean Energy Carriers. The vessel, named ACTIVE, is the first of four such carriers ordered from the shipbuilder in 2023 and 2024. An HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore official said the company plans to accelerate the development of environmentally friendly technologies as the market expands, while continuing to focus on securing orders for high-value vessels. The company said it set its shipbuilding and offshore order target for this year at $23.31 billion. 2026-01-06 14:12:41