Journalist
Lee Hugh
=
-
Seoul, Beijing agree to speed up services and investment talks under FTA SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) -South Korea and China have agreed to speed up second-stage negotiations under their bilateral free trade agreement, focusing on services and investment, as the two sides seek to broaden economic cooperation. Yeo Han-koo, South Korea’s minister for trade, met Li Chenggang, China’s international trade negotiation representative, in Beijing to discuss ways to accelerate follow-up negotiations under the Korea-China FTA. The two sides agreed to hold regular in-person meetings starting next year, with participation from all relevant government agencies, to push talks forward and resolve remaining issues. They also agreed to convene another trade ministers’ meeting in the first half of next year to allow top officials to directly review progress in the negotiations. During the meeting, the two sides discussed broader FTA implementation issues, including petrochemicals, government procurement and intellectual property rights, and agreed to strengthen cooperation in these areas. Ahead of the ministerial talks, Yeo held a roundtable meeting with South Korean companies operating in China to assess business conditions and hear about difficulties faced on the ground. Issues raised by industry were also discussed during the ministerial meeting, with both sides agreeing to continue consultations through follow-up negotiations, a joint committee and working-level channels. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it will maintain regular communication with Korean companies to better reflect on-the-ground concerns in policy discussions and strengthen support to stabilize business operations and improve market access. During his visit, Yeo also met senior officials from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Development Research Center of the State Council. They exchanged views on shifts in the global trade environment, the impact of supply chain restructuring and technological change, and the future direction of bilateral trade cooperation. The two sides shared the view that policy dialogue should be strengthened to address common challenges facing companies, including environmental and digital transitions, evolving global trade rules, and the need for greater predictability in trade and investment. They agreed to expand joint policy research and enhance working-level communication across industries. In addition, Yeo visited the Korea Innovation Center (KIC China) in Zhongguancun — often dubbed China’s Silicon Valley — to discuss ways to support South Korean startups seeking to enter the Chinese market. He also toured Chinese robotics firm Galbot, where he reviewed major use cases and on-site demand, and explored potential areas of cooperation such as technology collaboration, pilot projects, and information-sharing on standards and certification. The ministry said the visit confirmed potential complementarities between South Korea and China in the convergence of artificial intelligence and robotics, and that it will seek to identify concrete areas for future policy coordination and industrial cooperation. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-30 13:28:14 -
Asian stocks quiet on '25 final day, Korean chip shares rally on inventory squeeze SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - Asian equity markets spent the final trading day of 2025 on a largely subdued note, with South Korea standing out as memory-chip stocks surged to new highs amid signs of tightening supply. In Seoul, the benchmark KOSPI inched up 2.10 points to 4,222.66 as of 10:10 a.m., while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ fell 0.9 percent to 924.70. The broader index was little changed overall, but heavyweight semiconductor shares extended their rally. Samsung Electronics rose 0.9 percent to 120,600 won ($84), while SK hynix climbed 2.7 percent to 657,000 won, both hitting record highs. On Monday, Samsung Electronics had already advanced 2.1 percent to a record close of 119,500 won, lifting its market capitalization above 700 trillion won ($488 billion) for the first time. The rally has been underpinned by strong export data and tightening chip supply. From January to November, South Korea’s semiconductor exports reached $152.6 billion, up 19.8 percent from a year earlier, leading the country’s export growth in 2025. November industrial output data also showed semiconductor inventories plunging 42.6 percent from a year earlier, highlighting aggressive stockpiling amid fears of supply shortages. LG Energy Solution, the third-largest stock by market value, fell 2.8 percent to 369,500 won. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries slipped 1.7 percent to 514,000 won, Hanwha Aerospace lost 1.6 percent to 934,000 won, Hanwha Ocean declined 1.5 percent to 113,900 won, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering retreated 1.3 percent to 405,000 won, and Korea Zinc tumbled 4 percent to 1,317,000 won. Entertainment stocks, however, moved higher across the board. HYBE gained 0.3 percent to 321,000 won, JYP Entertainment climbed 1.4 percent to 72,100 won, SM Entertainment edged up 0.3 percent to 128,400 won, and YG Entertainment jumped 3.3 percent to 66,800 won. Tuesday marks the final trading day of South Korea’s stock market in 2025. The first regular trading session of 2026 will open at 10 a.m. on Friday. There will be no pre-market trading that day, and the main, block and basket trading sessions will all begin at 10:00:30 a.m. Elsewhere in Asia, market moves were muted. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2 percent to 50,418.06. Among major heavyweights, Toyota Motor rose 0.1 percent to 3,367 yen ($21.6), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group edged down 0.1 percent to 2,494 yen, and SoftBank Group fell 1 percent to 4,442 yen. In China, the Shanghai Composite declined 0.3 percent to 3,952.68, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 3.69 points to 25,631.54. The Shanghai market trades on Wednesday. 2025-12-30 11:50:14 -
South Korea's An Mu submarine completes long-range Guam mission without any failure SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - The South Korean Navy said on Tuesday that its An Mu submarine has completed a roughly 7,000-kilometer round-trip blue-water deployment and overseas training mission without a single equipment failure. The 3,000-ton An Mu, part of the KSS-III program, returned to Jinhae Naval Port after taking part in the South Korea–U.S. combined anti-submarine exercise “2025 Silent Shark.” The Navy held a welcome ceremony on Tuesday, hosted by Rear Adm. Kim Tae-hoon, acting commander of the Navy Submarine Command. The submarine departed Jinhae in early November and arrived in Guam on Nov. 17. It trained with U.S. forces for about a month in waters near Guam, conducting submarine tracking and attack drills, free-play engagements and airborne anti-submarine warfare exercises aimed at improving combined operational capability and interoperability. An Mu’s commander, Col. Ahn Geon-young, said the deployment demonstrated the submarine’s long-range sailing capability and stable performance in high-temperature tropical waters. Ahn said the visit showcased South Korea’s submarine operating capability, including system integration that allows crews to focus on missions, improved onboard living conditions and high equipment reliability. Canada is pursuing the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project to acquire up to 12 diesel-powered submarines to replace its four Victoria-class boats, which are due to retire in the mid-2030s. A consortium of Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has proposed Hanwha Ocean’s 3,000-ton Jangbogo-III Batch-II diesel-powered submarine for the project and has been shortlisted alongside Germany’s thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, the Navy said. 2025-12-30 10:59:11 -
KAIST researchers wake up sleeping immune cells to attack cancer SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - Scientists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have developed a way to turn a patient's own "sleeping" immune cells into cancer-killing machines. Instead of expensive and complicated laboratory processes, the new treatment works by injecting a special medicine directly into a tumor to reprogram cells from the inside. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on December 30 that a research team led by Professor Park Ji-ho from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering has created an "in-situ" cell therapy. This method turns local immune cells into "CAR-macrophages," which are advanced cells genetically programmed to hunt and eat cancer. Solid tumors, such as those found in the liver, lungs, or stomach, are very hard to treat because they act like fortresses. They are physically tough to enter and use chemical signals to put nearby immune cells to sleep. Current "CAR" therapies usually require doctors to take blood out of a patient, change the cells in a lab for weeks, and then put them back in. This is very expensive, and often the new cells cannot even get inside the tough tumor fortress once they are returned to the body. The KAIST team decided to use the cells that are already inside the tumor. They created tiny lipid nanoparticles—microscopic bubbles—that contain a set of instructions called mRNA and a chemical alarm. The mRNA tells the cell how to build a "cancer-seeking radar," while the alarm wakes the cell up and makes it aggressive toward the cancer. When this mixture is injected into the tumor, the resident immune cells swallow the bubbles and read the instructions. They immediately begin building the radar and start attacking the tumor from the inside out. In tests on animals with melanoma, a dangerous skin cancer, the treatment stopped tumors from growing. Because the "radar" cells were created right where they were needed, they were much more effective than laboratory-made versions. The researchers also found that once these cells were "awake," they sent out signals to the rest of the body's immune system, helping it fight cancer everywhere, not just where the injection happened. Professor Park Ji-ho stated that this is a new way to make the body create its own medicine. He noted that it solves the biggest problems of current treatments, specifically how to get the medicine into the tumor and how to keep it working once it is there. The study, with Han Jun-hee as the lead author, was published in the journal ACS Nano. (Paper information) Journal: ACS Nano Title: In Situ Chimeric Antigen Receptor Macrophage Therapy via Co-Delivery of mRNA and Immunostimulant DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c09138 2025-12-30 10:55:20 -
North Korean leader inspects factory producing multiple rocket launchers SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has urged officials to "bring about a revolution" in upgrading an artillery weapons system while inspecting a munitions factory that produces multiple rocket launchers, state media reported on Tuesday. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim, accompanied by a slew of military brass and key officials, visited the factory last Sunday and inspected the "production of weapons and combat equipment" to be supplied to key military units. Kim hailed the rocket launchers as a "super-powerful weapon system" that can "annihilate the enemy through a sudden, precise strike with high accuracy and devastating power, and can also be used as a strategic attack means." He also called for "further expanding the successes achieved this year and achieving greater successes through strenuous efforts" in strengthening the country’s defense capabilities in the coming year. Kim has recently made a series of public appearances including a visit to a construction site for nuclear-powered submarines and on-site inspections of missile launches and drills, in an apparent effort to promote year-end achievements ahead of the country's key party congress scheduled for early next year. 2025-12-30 10:49:50 -
Fractured NewJeans as Danielle and ADOR head toward legal standoff SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - The future of NewJeans as a full five-member act has been thrown into doubt after agency ADOR unilaterally notified member Danielle of the termination of her exclusive contract, raising concerns that the group could remain divided amid ongoing uncertainty over another member's return. With Danielle effectively ruled out of future activities under ADOR and Minji's status still undecided, prospects for NewJeans resuming activities as a complete lineup appear increasingly uncertain, industry observers say. Danielle now faces the possibility of substantial legal liability, as ADOR has indicated it will pursue legal action seeking contractual penalties and damages over alleged violations of the exclusive agreement. If the claims are upheld, the financial burden could amount to hundreds of billions of won. ADOR confirmed the termination of Danielle's contract on Monday, citing alleged breaches of contractual obligations. The agency said the violations may include entering into conflicting contracts, engaging in independent entertainment activities, and actions that undermine the credibility of the company or the group. ADOR did not disclose specific details regarding Danielle's alleged misconduct. The agency also said it plans to pursue legal action against one of Danielle's family members, believed to be her mother, as well as former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, whom it holds partly responsible for triggering the dispute and delaying the group’s return. An ADOR official told AJP, "The termination notice leaves little room for a future settlement, and Danielle's return to the group is now considered highly unlikely." At the same time, ADOR confirmed that member Hanni has decided to return to the agency. Minji, however, remains in talks with the company. "No final decision has been made" regarding her return, an ADOR official said. NewJeans' fandom, known as "Bunnies," then issued a strongly worded statement condemning ADOR's handling of the situation. The fan group said in a statement released Monday that HYBE and ADOR had notified the termination of only one member's contract, despite all members having expressed their intention to return together. The fandom further criticized ADOR CEO Lee Do-kyung, who has led the label since August following Min's dismissal, questioning whether the legal battle to retain NewJeans was ultimately intended "to fracture the group rather than preserve it." The group also accused HYBE, ADOR's largest shareholder, and its founder Bang Si-hyuk of exercising excessive influence over the decision. ADOR, meanwhile, said the members had been exposed over an extended period to what it described as "distorted and one-sided information," leading to misconceptions about the company, and said it would provide further explanations regarding the controversy at a later date. NewJeans first announced in November 2024 that it would seek to terminate its contracts with ADOR, citing the agency's alleged failure to fulfill its obligations. After months of legal proceedings, a court in October once again ruled in favor of ADOR in its lawsuit seeking confirmation of the contracts' validity. Last month, ADOR said members Haerin and Hyein had expressed their intention to return. 2025-12-30 10:44:17 -
South Korean business sentiment improves for second month, but services outlook slips SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - South Korean companies reported improved business conditions for a second consecutive month in December, supported by year-end seasonal factors, the central bank said on Tuesday. However, sentiment for the coming month weakened sharply in the nonmanufacturing sector as the seasonal boost is expected to fade. According to the Bank of Korea’s December business survey and Economic Sentiment Index, the all-industry Corporate Business Sentiment Index (CBSI) rose 1.6 points from November to 93.7, extending gains recorded the previous month. The CBSI, which combines key Business Survey Index components for manufacturing and nonmanufacturing, remains below its long-term average of 100, indicating continued overall pessimism despite the recent improvement. Manufacturing sentiment improved, with the CBSI rising 1.7 points to 94.4, supported by better funding conditions and higher production. The nonmanufacturing index climbed 1.4 points to 93.2, driven by stronger sales and improved financing conditions. The central bank said year-end seasonal effects provided a lift to nonmanufacturing activity, while manufacturing benefited from improved conditions in industries linked to U.S. capital spending. Lee Hye-young, head of the Bank of Korea’s economic sentiment survey team, said sectors such as metal processing and machinery and equipment were positively affected by U.S. investment trends. She noted that these industries include a large number of small and medium-sized firms. On currency movements, Lee said the weak won likely boosted profitability for manufacturing exporters, while companies with a high reliance on imports faced pressure on margins. The exchange rate had a more limited impact on nonmanufacturing overall, though some sectors, including wholesale, retail and trade-related industries, were affected, she added. The all-industry CBSI outlook for next month fell 1.7 points to 89.4. Manufacturing expectations rose 1.9 points to 93.6, while nonmanufacturing sentiment dropped sharply by 4.1 points to 86.6, marking the largest monthly decline since January. Lee said manufacturing expectations remained supported by industries that improved this month, while nonmanufacturing sentiment weakened as sectors that benefited from temporary year-end demand anticipated a slowdown in early 2026. The Economic Sentiment Index fell 1.0 point to 93.1, while its cyclical component increased by 0.7 point, the central bank said. 2025-12-30 10:05:16 -
DP floor leader resigns amid snowballing bribery allegations SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - Kim Byung-ki, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), resigned from his post on Tuesday amid various bribery allegations and other misconduct. "Being at the center of snowballing allegations every day, I have become an obstacle to the party and the Lee Jae-myung administration, so I have decided to step down," he said. "I'm deeply sorry and apologize to the people," he said, adding, "My actions fell far short of the public's expectations and common sense, and the responsibility lies entirely with my shortcomings." "It was difficult to accept that a single allegation was being amplified and treated as fact, rather than properly seeking the truth," Kim explained. Among a spate of allegations, he was provided with free hotel accommodation and other services worth about 1.6 million Korean won (US$1,080) by flagship carrier Korean Air in November last year, when its merger talks with rival Asiana Airlines were pending. Soon after, another controversy arose over his spouse's use of a corporate credit card and alleged preferential treatment at a hospital for his eldest son. Despite denying all these mounting allegations, he seemed increasingly pressured to step down after a recording surfaced earlier this week, suggesting he had overlooked bribery involving several DP officials who allegedly received 100 million won for candidate nominations in 2022. The DP is expected to elect a new floor leader within a month, in accordance with its internal rules. 2025-12-30 10:03:31 -
Naver's new AI model ranks second among Korean models in global benchmark SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - Korea's largest internet company Naver's new high-performance reasoning AI model has been listed on a global AI evaluation index for the first time, ranking second among domestic models. Naver Cloud's HyperCLOVA X SEED Think (32B) reasoning model scored 44 points Tuesday on the Intelligence Index compiled by Artificial Analysis (AA), a global AI performance evaluation organization. The language models are tested by AA through 10 evaluation datasets, testing each models' capabilities across reasoning, knowledge, math and programming. The model trailed only Motif Technologies' Motif-2-12.7B, which scored 45 points. Other Korean models included LG AI Research's EXAONE 4.0 32B with 43 points and Upstage AI's Solar Pro2 at 38 points. Google's Gemini3 Pro and OpenAI's ChatGPT 5.0 topped the index with 73 points each. Naver's model also achieved 87 percent in an evaluation that assessed agent tool usage capabilities through a simulated telecommunications customer support scenario, the highest score among Korean AI models. Industry observers said the results demonstrate the model's potential as an omni-modal agent, a next-generation AI technology that extends beyond conventional multi-modal capabilities. Naver Cloud unveiled two omni-modal models on Monday that can simultaneously understand and generate text, images and voice from the outset, including the reasoning model HyperCLOVA X SEED Think and an upgraded version of its HyperCLOVA X platform called the Native Omni Model. 2025-12-30 09:31:54 -
UPDATE: Korea's factory output rebounds on chips, domestic front remains slack *Updated with additional information and market response SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - South Korea’s factory output rebounded in November after two consecutive monthly contractions, supported by a sharp pickup in semiconductor production and increased facility investment linked to AI-driven chip demand, government data showed Tuesday. Mining and manufacturing output rose 0.6 percent from the previous month, reversing declines of 4.2 percent in October and 1.0 percent in September, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. Factory activity heavily reliant on semiconductors The rebound largely owed to a 7.5 percent jump in semiconductor output and external demand. Output for export shipments climbed 4.6 percent, while production for domestic sales fell 4.5 percent. The report went largely unnoticed by the Korean markets on their last trading day for 2025. KOSPI was 0.2 percent lower at 4,212.61 as of 11:25 a.m. and the U.S. dollar at 1,434.40 won. By sector, pharmaceutical exports surged 23.7 percent from the previous month, while semiconductor exports rose 11.7 percent. In contrast, refined petroleum exports declined 4.1 percent as the petrochemical industry remained mired in a prolonged downturn. Overall industrial production increased 0.9 percent from October, compared with a 2.7 percent drop a month earlier. Service-sector output edged up 0.7 percent, but retail sales slid 3.3 percent, reflecting persistent weakness in private consumption. Facility investment rose 1.5 percent on month, led by machinery investment. The increase was driven by higher spending on precision equipment, including semiconductor inspection tools, as chipmakers expanded capacity to meet AI-driven demand. Manufacturing shipments climbed 1.6 percent from the previous month. Semiconductor shipments surged 12.1 percent on month and 9.1 percent on year, while machinery equipment shipments rose 3.5 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Output of “other transport equipment,” dominated by shipbuilding, fell 12.4 percent on month but remained on an upward trajectory year on year, rising 17.3 percent, reflecting the start of full-scale deliveries of LNG carriers ordered under Qatar-related projects. Manufacturing inventories increased 0.6 percent from the previous month. Semiconductor inventories, however, plunged 42.6 percent from a year earlier, reflecting aggressive stockpiling amid fears of supply shortages driven by AI demand. By contrast, inventories of electrical equipment such as batteries rose 12.6 percent on month, while output in the sector fell 8 percent on year, signaling accumulation amid the prolonged electric-vehicle slowdown and repeated overseas order cancellations faced by LG Energy Solution. Refined petroleum inventories also climbed 9.9 percent, pointing to continued weakness in the petrochemical industry. Construction rebound masks deep structural slump Construction output rose 6.6 percent from the previous month, largely due to a higher number of working days compared with October, which included the Chuseok holiday, as well as year-end project completions. Building construction increased 9.6 percent on month, while civil engineering output fell 1.1 percent. On a yearly basis, however, the sector remained deeply depressed. Building construction dropped 16.1 percent from a year earlier, while civil engineering fell 19.7 percent, effectively wiping out nearly one-fifth of last year’s activity. The downturn reflects weak orders throughout 2024, driven by high interest rates and elevated construction costs. Construction orders continued to shrink, falling 9.2 percent on year. Civil engineering orders, including power plants and communication facilities, plunged 17.3 percent, while building orders declined 7.3 percent, pointing to ongoing disruptions in housing supply. The weakness also spilled into services. Real estate-related services, centered on brokerage activity, fell 2.4 percent as tighter debt service ratio (DSR) regulations and supply constraints weighed on transactions. This made real estate the only major service category to contract, even as overall service output rose 3 percent on year. Consumers pull back as financial activity surges Retail sales reversed course, falling 3.3 percent on month after a temporary October rebound fueled by holiday demand. Sales of non-durable goods such as food declined 4.3 percent amid rising prices, while semi-durable goods like clothing dropped 3.6 percent. Durable goods sales, including communication devices and computers, also fell 0.6 percent, following a spike in general-purpose semiconductor prices in November. By retail channel, sales at supermarkets and department stores dropped 4.8 percent and 8.3 percent on year, respectively, underscoring continued pressure on household spending. In contrast, the financial sector continued to expand on buoyant equity trading. Output in finance and insurance rose 2.2 percent from the previous month and 4.2 percent from a year earlier. The combined daily average trading value of the KOSPI and KOSDAQ reached 38 trillion won ($26.2 billion) in November, more than double the level a year earlier. Margin trading also exceeded 26 trillion won as of Nov. 28, highlighting a growing polarization in the economy — with capital increasingly concentrated in financial markets while consumption, construction and real estate remain subdued. 2025-12-30 09:30:29