Journalist

Lee Hugh
  • INTERVIEW: Prevention starts with language: forensic scientist warns of growing drug risks in Korea
    INTERVIEW: Prevention starts with language: forensic scientist warns of growing drug risks in Korea SEOUL, December 25 (AJP) - When a high school senior in Daejeon fatally stabbed his mother and aunt while under the influence of LSD, the crime in 2016 stunned the nation. For Chung Heesun, a veteran forensic scientist and former head of the National Forensic Service (NFS), it was another signal that South Korea’s long-held belief in being a drug-free society is rapidly eroding. “He didn’t even know he had stabbed his mother,” Chung said, recalling the forensic findings. “That’s why drugs are terrifying — they destroy judgment.” Now a chaired professor of forensic science at Sungkyunkwan University, Chung is regarded as one of South Korea’s leading authorities on toxicology and drug detection. She warns that drugs have quietly permeated everyday life, reshaping social attitudes and lowering psychological barriers — particularly among young people. Language, she argues, is part of the problem. Food and beverage products increasingly adopt the word mayak — meaning “drug” in Korean — to emphasize addictiveness, from “mayak gimbap” to “mayak coffee.” What may seem like playful marketing, Chung says, has deeper consequences. “That’s how people become desensitized,” she said. “We, as adults, must stop using those words.” She believes early, age-appropriate education is the most effective line of defense. Preventive spending, Chung argues, could save as much as 18 times the cost of treatment, law enforcement and incarceration later. Chung’s own career in forensic science began unexpectedly. As a university student, she attended a lecture introducing the work of the NFS — an institution she had not even known existed. Despite friends discouraging her from entering what they viewed as a grim profession focused on autopsies, she joined immediately after graduation. The work proved intellectually absorbing. Over the years, Chung helped crack some of South Korea’s most complex criminal cases, including the 1995 death of pop singer Kim Sung-jae. In that case, she identified a rare animal anesthetic after analyzing more than 130,000 substances. “The intellectual thrill of discovering an unknown substance,” she said, “that’s the greatest satisfaction a scientist can feel.” But the landscape of drugs has grown far more complex. South Korea, once widely described as a drug-free nation, no longer meets that definition. To qualify, drug offenders must number fewer than 20 per 100,000 people. Today, that figure has more than doubled to above 40. According to the Korea Customs Service, drug smuggling cases involving air travelers reached 557 from January to November this year — nearly triple the figure from the same period a year earlier. President Lee Jae Myung acknowledged the severity of the issue in November, instructing the National Intelligence Service to “fully commit all capabilities” to dismantling domestic drug networks. He even raised the possibility of launching an independent narcotics investigation agency. The “2024 White Paper on Narcotics Crimes,” released by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in June, shows that 103,231 drug offenders were recorded over the past five years — an average of more than 20,000 annually. Last year alone, about 23,000 offenders were detected, marking the second consecutive year the figure exceeded 20,000. Chung attributes the rapid spread to increasingly sophisticated production and distribution methods. “There are about 1,400 types of designer drugs now,” she said. “They tweak the chemical structure slightly, making them nearly impossible to detect.” Even advanced forensic techniques have limitations. Hair testing, widely used to trace drug use, can fail to detect one-time consumption — especially if hair has been repeatedly bleached or dyed. Analysts typically test hair at the crown, which grows about one centimeter per month, allowing investigators to reconstruct a timeline of use. Teenage girls, Chung noted, are becoming particularly vulnerable. Diet pills marketed as performance-boosting or slimming aids often serve as a gateway. “It starts with curiosity,” she said. “But it becomes dependency.” She is firmly opposed to cannabis legalization, describing marijuana as a stepping-stone drug rather than a harmless endpoint. “People rarely stop at marijuana,” she said. “They move on to something stronger. It never ends there.” Chung’s commitment to public education remains central to her work. She recently returned to her alma mater, Sookmyung Women’s University, to deliver a special lecture — and was struck by the packed hall. “The students were so earnest,” she said. “It was touching.” She recalled her own student days, when she served as vice president of the student council, an era when campus leadership structures borrowed heavily from military terminology. “I was like a brigadier general,” she said with a smile. “The student council president was the division commander.” Occasionally, she sees the long arc of her influence. After one lecture, a former student told her she had pursued pharmacy and later joined the NFS after reading Chung’s book. “Just one student like that,” Chung said, “makes every talk worthwhile.” Some of her most enduring professional ties were forged abroad. In 1989, as a junior analyst, Chung applied for the British government’s Chevening Scholarship. Her request initially faced resistance within the NFS — no woman, let alone an unmarried one, had studied abroad before. She persisted. A British Embassy official, Warwick Morris, kept her scholarship slot open. Chung later studied forensic science at King’s College London. Years later, Morris returned to Seoul as British ambassador. By then, Chung was deputy director of the NFS. He later presented her with a British royal honor on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. The two still exchange Christmas letters, and Chung visits his home whenever she is in London. Her ambitions now extend beyond her formal career. Chung hopes to build a science museum that helps young students approach science without fear. “Science shouldn’t intimidate anyone,” she said. “If a museum can make it approachable, that’s my next mission.” 2025-12-25 10:47:53
  • ​​Pyongyang ups naval and air saber-rattling over Seouls nuclear-submarine plan
    ​​Pyongyang ups naval and air saber-rattling over Seoul's nuclear-submarine plan SEOUL, December 25 (AJP) -North Korea on Thursday warned that U.S. and South Korean moves involving nuclear-powered submarines would destabilize the Korean Peninsula, as Pyongyang combined sharp rhetoric with fresh disclosures of naval and air-defense weapons development. North's leader Kim Jong-un condemned South Korea’s plan to develop nuclear-powered submarines during what appeared to be a deliberately choreographed visit to a submarine construction site, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Kim made the remarks while inspecting the construction of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided-missile submarine, calling Seoul’s submarine plan—agreed with Washington at South Korea’s request—an “aggressive act” that would worsen instability on the Korean Peninsula and violate North Korea’s security and maritime sovereignty. He said the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) - North Korea - would not alter its national security policy or principles for countering what it calls hostile forces, warning that any attempt to infringe on the country’s “strategic sovereign security” would be met with “merciless retaliatory attacks.” Kim also reaffirmed Pyongyang’s commitment to strengthening its nuclear deterrent, describing the submarine project as an “epoch-making” upgrade that would significantly raise the level of war deterrence. He said North Korea would continue pushing the “nuclear armament of the navy,” signaling a drive to build a sea-based nuclear strike capability. KCNA’s repeated references to a “nuclear-powered strategic guided-missile submarine” underscore Pyongyang’s claim that it is developing a nuclear-fueled submarine equipped with strategic missiles, a project first disclosed in March following a decision at the 8th Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party. Kim said newly built attack destroyers and nuclear-powered submarines would sharply boost the combat capabilities of North Korea’s fleet. During the inspection, he also reviewed research on new underwater weapons and outlined plans to reorganize naval forces and establish new units, KCNA said. The escalation in rhetoric coincided with a separate statement from North Korea’s defense ministry condemning the recent entry of the USS Greeneville, a U.S. nuclear-powered attack submarine, into a naval base in Busan earlier this week. The visit was aimed at replenishing supplies and providing rest for crew members, according to the Republic of Korea Navy. In a statement dated Wednesday, the North’s defense ministry accused Washington of embedding a “grave nuclear instability element” into the region’s security environment. It said the repeated deployment of U.S. strategic assets was escalating military tensions and pushing the U.S.–South Korea alliance toward what it described as a “nuclear confrontation bloc.” The ministry also criticized Washington’s reaffirmation of extended deterrence for Seoul and its support for South Korea’s nuclear-submarine ambitions, saying the moves confirmed U.S. intentions to pursue a “nuclear-to-nuclear collision structure” with the DPRK. It warned of unspecified countermeasures in response to what it called U.S. “nuclear muscle-flexing.” Adding to the display of military capability, North Korea disclosed on Thursday that it had conducted a test launch of a new high-altitude, long-range surface-to-air missile over the East Sea on Christmas Eve, with Kim observing. KCNA said the test, carried out by the Missile General Bureau, was the first launch intended to assess the tactical and technical performance of the air-defense system under development. The missiles struck and destroyed a simulated high-altitude target at a range of 200 kilometers, the report said, describing the test as part of routine efforts to upgrade national air-defense capabilities. Kim was quoted as congratulating those involved. South Korea’s military said it had detected the launch. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had been monitoring signs of a missile launch in advance and tracked what appeared to be multiple surface-to-air missiles fired from the Seondeok area in South Hamgyong Province toward the East Sea at around 5 p.m. Wednesday. The JCS said detailed specifications were under joint analysis by South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities, adding that the allies remain on high alert and maintain the capability to respond decisively to any provocation under a robust combined defense posture. 2025-12-25 10:24:18
  • President Lee pledges warmth and hope for all in first Christmas message
    President Lee pledges warmth and hope for all in first Christmas message SEOUL, December 25 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday expressed hope that the coming year would bring warmth and hope to the daily lives of all people in his first Christmas message since taking office. In a Christmas Day post on Facebook, Lee said, "This is a day that comes around every year, but I hope it brings you a little more happiness, and that you can spend joyful moments smiling with your loved ones." Reflecting on the meaning of Christmas, the president said he was reminded of Jesus Christ, "who was born in the lowest and darkest place and spent his life alongside those who were suffering and in pain." "His life, I believe, represents the true meaning of Christmas that we should remember," Lee wrote. He ended by expressing hope that the holiday would offer comfort to some, rest to others, and the courage to face tomorrow to those in need, adding that he was praying earnestly for such a Christmas. 2025-12-25 10:14:48
  • PHOTOS: Merry Christmas, 1,004 Santas spread cheer across Seoul
    PHOTOS: Merry Christmas, 1,004 Santas spread cheer across Seoul SEOUL, December 25 (AJP) - “Merry Christmas!” Bright and spirited voices rang out as volunteers dressed as Santa Claus gathered in the heart of Seoul. On Tuesday afternoon, volunteers in Santa costumes held a send-off ceremony along Yonsei-ro in Seodaemun District. Marking Christmas Eve, 1,004 Santas set out across the capital to visit underprivileged children, practicing year-end giving and social solidarity. Hosted by Korea Youth Foundation, the “2025 Season 20 Secret Santa Campaign” is a large-scale social contribution event in which 1,004 volunteers personally visit an equal number of underprivileged children’s households to deliver gifts and share the warmth of Christmas. Launched in 2006, the campaign marks its 20th anniversary this year. After the ceremony, participants sat along the street to write handwritten letters to the children they were assigned, before heading out to neighborhoods across Seoul. To take part as a Secret Santa, volunteers donate 20,000 won ($14) toward the children’s gifts and complete pre-event training, becoming “real Santas” for a day. The campaign’s defining feature is that participants combine personal donations with hands-on volunteer service. An official from the foundation said the campaign goes beyond gift-giving. “The Secret Santa Campaign symbolizes social solidarity, as members of the community come together to create Christmas for children,” the official said. “We hope this promise, carried on for 20 years, becomes a day the children will remember for a long time.” The Secret Santa Campaign is held nationwide every year and has established itself as a representative year-end volunteer initiative that promotes a culture of sharing and participation through the spirit of Christmas. 2025-12-25 09:47:05
  • K-fashion looks flat. The power shift is anything but.
    K-fashion looks flat. The power shift is anything but. Editor's Note: This is the fifth installment in AJP's 2026 outlook series on South Korea's key industries. SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - By the numbers, K-fashion is barely moving. Beneath the surface, however, control of the industry is shifting rapidly from department-store legacy brands to platform-born labels that now define how younger Koreans dress. Korea’s overall fashion market grew only about 2–3 percent in 2024 and is estimated to have expanded at a similar pace in 2025, according to the Samsung Fashion Institute. Yet that headline stagnation masks a sharp redistribution of growth toward online platforms and the brands they incubate. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry projects industry output will rebound to 52.2 trillion won in 2026, reversing an estimated 2.5 percent decline to 51.8 trillion won this year. Exports are expected to rise 2 percent to $9.96 billion next year after a 6.7 percent fall in 2025 — a recovery driven largely by platform-led expansion. At the center of that shift is Musinsa, which recorded gross merchandise volume of about 4.5 trillion won in 2024. Revenue surpassed 1.24 trillion won for the first time, and operating profit topped 100 billion won. Rival platforms are scaling quickly: Ably reached roughly 2.5 trillion won in GMV last year, while Zigzag nearly doubled transaction volume year on year and exceeded its full-year 2023 GMV in the first half of 2025 alone. Much of that growth is coming from brands born on — or propelled by — these platforms. Musinsa’s private label Musinsa Standard has become one of Korea’s best-selling basics brands, while labels such as thisisneverthat, LMC and Matin Kim now anchor online rankings and offline pop-ups alike. Matin Kim’s trajectory captures the shift. Launched online, the brand has expanded into department stores, select shops and overseas markets, targeting annual sales of around 200 billion won in 2025 as it pushes into Japan, China and the United States. Department stores, by contrast, are increasingly split. Imported luxury houses and global sportswear brands continue to post double-digit growth, but long-established Korean suit and casual labels remain stuck in stagnation or decline. “Department-store brands no longer feel distinctive,” said Lee Eun-hee, emeritus professor of consumer studies at Inha University. “The quality gap that once justified them has largely disappeared. Younger consumers now seek brands that express individuality rather than standardized offerings.” Social media has accelerated that shift. Korea’s 20s and 30s, raised in an SNS-saturated environment, increasingly avoid looking ordinary — pushing them toward platform-based labels that signal visible differentiation. Survey data show younger shoppers now treat platforms such as Musinsa, Ably and Zigzag as their default destination for everyday clothing, using department stores mainly for luxury or special occasions. Domestic department-store brands are often associated with parents’ or office seniors’ wardrobes, while global SPA chains like Zara and H&M are viewed as complements rather than trendsetters. Zigzag’s internal data also reflect the platform-driven shift. Searches for key fashion categories such as puff cardigans (+202 percent), one-piece dresses (+524 percent) and flare pants (+105 percent) surged this year. “While Zigzag serves a wide age range, the surge in activity among users in their 20s and 30s has been especially noticeable this year,” a Zigzag representative said. For the new generation of K-fashion brands, department stores are no longer the end goal. Labels that built their audiences online now negotiate from a position of strength, using pop-ups, limited collaborations and direct-to-consumer channels to retain control over pricing and brand identity. Some bypass domestic wholesale altogether, moving directly into overseas select shops and online marketplaces. Legacy brands face mounting pressure. Analysts say rigid seasonal cycles, heavy wholesale structures and conservative design languages make it difficult to compete with platforms that can test dozens of micro-trends weekly and scale winners almost instantly. With the overall market growing only in the low single digits — and fashion imports estimated at $19.17 billion this year and $19.44 billion next year — the implication is clear. Every point of growth captured by platform-born brands is coming at someone else’s expense. For now, that cost is being borne by the legacy domestic labels that once defined the department-store floor. 2025-12-24 17:47:02
  • Santa largely skips Asian markets as gains stay modest
    Santa largely skips Asian markets as gains stay modest SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - Santa Claus largely skipped Asian markets this season, with gains modest across the region and year-end positioning overshadowing any holiday cheer. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI finished 0.21 percent lower at 4,108.62 on Tuesday, pressured by retail investors liquidating holdings ahead of a tax deadline, even as foreign and institutional investors maintained a more constructive stance. Retail investors net sold 717.5 billion won ($490.7 million), a move widely attributed to tax-avoidance strategies ahead of Friday’s cutoff for capital gains tax exemptions applied to major shareholders. In contrast, foreign investors bought a net 520.1 billion won, while institutions added 200.4 billion won, reflecting selective accumulation rather than broad risk-taking. The Korean won strengthened sharply, closing at 1,456.6 per dollar as of 4:30 p.m., gaining 25.4 won on the day. The surge followed aggressive verbal intervention by foreign-exchange authorities. Market participants cited a mix of currency hedging and forward exchange selling, likely triggered by coordination involving the National Pension Service and major exporting firms. Bond markets responded to the stabilizing currency, with yields edging lower. The 10-year government bond yield fell 3.4 basis points to 3.345 percent, reversing the upward pressure seen over the previous two sessions. Performance among market leaders was mixed. Samsung Electronics slipped 0.36 percent to 111,100 won, taking a breather after recent record highs. SK hynix rose 0.68 percent to 588,000 won. Traders noted that Samsung faced heavier selling pressure due to its higher concentration of retail ownership. Shipbuilding and defense stocks retreated as investors locked in profits following Monday’s rally linked to U.S. Navy collaboration news. Hanwha Ocean fell 3.57 percent to 119,000 won, while Hanwha Systems dropped 4.25 percent. In the automotive sector, Hyundai Motor gained 0.7 percent to 289,000 won, supported by its renewed push into software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and the appointment of a new software lead. Hyundai AutoEver, however, slipped 2.38 percent to 287,500 won as investors opted to lock in gains after a sharp ascent. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ closed 0.47 percent lower at 915.2, weighed down by the same cash-out trend. Alteogen fell 2.16 percent, while Rainbow Robotics dropped 3.88 percent. Hyundai Movex surged 9.94 percent to a one-year high of 18,580 won on expectations tied to contract wins and its potential role in automating production for Hyundai Motor Group, despite having no direct corporate affiliation. Elsewhere in Asia, movements were restrained. Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged down 0.14 percent to 50,344.1 amid thinning holiday volumes. Automakers underperformed, with Toyota falling 1.82 percent, Nissan dropping 1.01 percent and Honda shedding 0.67 percent. Semiconductor shares bucked the trend, led by Ibiden’s 5.53 percent jump, Advantest’s 2.47 percent rise and Tokyo Electron’s 0.67 percent gain. Taiwan’s TAIEX rose a modest 0.22 percent to 28,371.98, outperforming Seoul and Tokyo. Analysts attributed the advance largely to year-end “window dressing” as local institutions sought to bolster valuations. TSMC gained 0.34 percent, while MediaTek fell 0.72 percent. Mainland Chinese markets posted moderate gains on renewed stimulus hopes. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.53 percent, while the Shenzhen Component gained 0.88 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended its shortened Christmas Eve session with a modest 0.17 percent gain at 25,818.93. The KOSPI and Hang Seng will be closed Wednesday for Christmas. Markets in Japan, mainland China and Taiwan will remain open for regular trading — but with volumes thin and gains modest, Santa’s presence across Asian markets this year appears fleeting at best. 2025-12-24 17:21:17
  • Bus drivers in Seoul threaten strike next month over wage dispute
    Bus drivers in Seoul threaten strike next month over wage dispute SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - Unionized bus drivers in Seoul threatened on Wednesday to go on a strike next month after wage talks collapsed earlier in the day. They rejected a 10 percent-wage raise offer and threatened to strike on Jan. 13, citing management's failure to fulfill wage-related pledges. They argued that bonuses should be included in their wages, citing a Supreme Court ruling last year, and insisted that this is "not a bargaining issue but a legal requirement." They also said the proposed offer would effectively cut their pay, calling it an attempt to avoid a legally required 12.85 percent increase, which takes previously unpaid allowances into account. The union added that a strike is inevitable as long as management continues to evade responsibility while ignoring the court's ruling and the Ministry of Employment and Labor's corrective orders. 2025-12-24 17:09:38
  • Korean mukbang gets Ingenious — and a little unhinged — to keep its crown
    Korean mukbang gets Ingenious — and a little unhinged — to keep its crown SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and nowhere is that crown greasier, spicier or more relentlessly filmed than in South Korea's food universe. Once again this year, the surprise breakout star from Korea's global content pipeline is not a pop idol or a prestige drama, but food — turbocharged by its cameo-laden role in Netflix's most-watched-ever series, "KPOP Demon Hunters," and freshly canonized as culture by the Wall Street Journal, which named Korean cup noodles among its "objects that defined 2025." K-food, having conquered the world, now faces the more perilous task: staying interesting. Korea, after all, invented mukbang — the performance art of eating too much, too loudly, and preferably on camera. The country learned early that food no longer just needs to taste good. It needs to perform. Today, food companies don't merely test recipes; they beta-test reactions, scroll-stopping potential and how a dish behaves under a ring light. Across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, mukbang creators have become food directors, staging meals less for flavor than for visual payoff: the slurp, the stretch, the snap, the slow reveal. The most successful dishes don't whisper comfort. They demand attention. Take one of this year's most improbable hits: buldak ramen meets seaweed soup. On paper, it sounds like culinary couples therapy — the volcanic heat of buldak sauce softened by miyeokguk, a mild, briny soup traditionally eaten by postpartum mothers. On screen, it works because contrast always does. Fire meets calm. Chaos meets nurture. Add the choreography — noodles lifted high, slurped whole, never cut — and suddenly the dish feels less like dinner and more like a suspense sequence. Desserts, too, have been recruited into performance duty. Enter the towel cake: a crepe cake folded and rolled to resemble a freshly laundered towel. The dessert, which originated in China, went viral not because of taste — cream and crepes rarely shock — but because of the reveal. The unfolding. The moment of disbelief when fabric turns edible. In Korea, convenience stores like CU and GS25 democratized the trend, while home bakers turned the cake into social-media origami. Then there is honey rice-cake cereal — tteok, the chewy backbone of Korean tradition, dropped into cold milk as it belongs there. The concept startled foreign viewers, who compared it to bubble tea for breakfast and marveled that the rice cakes didn't harden on contact with cold dairy. It's traditional food wearing a Halloween costume of Western breakfast culture, and it works precisely because it shouldn't. Some dishes lean even harder into the uncanny. Salmon kkakdugi swaps fermented radish for raw, cubed salmon, tossed in spicy, creamy dressing and often wrapped in gim. It is kimchi's cousin who studied abroad and came back wearing athleisure. Lemon boneless chicken feet take a bar-snack staple and splash it with citrus, earning reviews like "tteokbokki with a lemon highball" — a phrase that could only exist in 2025. Global trends are absorbed, then exaggerated. Dubai chocolate — the pistachio-filled confection that took over the internet with its dramatic cross-sections — was swiftly localized in Korea: sweeter, richer, more obscene in its abundance. Optimized not for eating, but for the slow-motion bite shot. This visual arms race coincides with a broader explosion of food-centered storytelling. Competitive cooking shows like "Culinary Class Wars," now in its second season, frame technique and plating as a gladiatorial sport. Scripted dramas such as" Bon Appétit, Your Majesty" deploy food as a narrative device, lingering lovingly on close-ups that echo mukbang's sensory appeal. "It relates to what is often described as autonomous sensory meridian response," said Lee Seul-ki, a director at the Tourism Industry Data Analytics Lab. Watching someone eat, he explained, taps into something primal. Comfort by proxy. Pleasure without calories. In 2025, many of Korea's most talked-about foods were consumed more through screens than at tables. The question is no longer whether a dish is delicious, authentic or even sensible. The question is simpler — and stranger: Does it stop the scroll? And if it makes you slightly uncomfortable while doing so, all the better. 2025-12-24 17:01:45
  • Korea Zinc clears legal hurdle for $7.4 billion U.S. smelter project
    Korea Zinc clears legal hurdle for $7.4 billion U.S. smelter project SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - A South Korean court on Wednesday dismissed an injunction filed by Young Poong Group and MBK Partners seeking to block Korea Zinc's landmark investment deal with the U.S. government, paving the way for the world's largest non-ferrous metal smelter to proceed with a $7.4 billion refinery project in Tennessee. The Seoul Central District Court rejected the plaintiffs' request to halt a third-party share allocation that would give the U.S. government-led joint venture a 10 percent stake in Korea Zinc. The ruling marks a pivotal victory for Chairman Choi Yun-birm, who has been locked in a bitter proxy fight with rival shareholders for over a year. Under the investment plan approved by Korea Zinc's board on Dec. 15, the company will build a strategic minerals refinery in Clarksville, Tennessee, with construction slated to begin in 2027 and operations commencing in 2029. The facility will produce 13 metals, including 11 critical minerals, along with semiconductor-grade sulfuric acid. The joint venture's largest shareholder will be the U.S. Department of War, holding a 40.1 percent stake. The Young Poong-MBK alliance had argued that Korea Zinc's decision to issue new shares rather than invest directly was designed to secure a "white knight" to defend Choi's leadership rather than raise capital. If Korea Zinc proceeds with the share issuance on Dec. 26 as planned, the Choi camp's combined holdings, including stakes held by allies including Hanwha Group, LG Chem, and the National Pension Service, would reach about 45.5 percent of voting shares, overtaking the Young Poong-MBK bloc's 43.4 percent. Young Poong and MBK expressed regret over the court's decision. "We cannot say that concerns over potential damage to existing shareholders' value, fairness of the investment contract, and long-term financial and managerial risks Korea Zinc will bear have been sufficiently addressed," the two said in a joint statement. Korea Zinc welcomed the ruling. "We will carry out this project, which will drive Korea Zinc's future growth, without disruption and successfully enhance corporate and shareholder value," the company said. Industry analysts note that U.S. government participation could classify Korea Zinc as an American security asset, potentially complicating any future takeover attempts by the Young Poong-MBK alliance. 2025-12-24 16:30:43
  • Kimchi loses ground at home to cheaper Chinese imports, British daily says
    Kimchi loses ground at home to cheaper Chinese imports, British daily says SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - South Korea's staple dish, kimchi, is losing ground on price, fueling a surge in imports of Chinese-made kimchi, the Guardian reported earlier this week. The British daily on Monday said, "South Korea imports more kimchi than it exports, and the gap has widened as cheaper Chinese-made products take hold in the domestic market." Figures from the Korea Customs Service show this trend, with kimchi imports totaling US$159.46 million during the first 10 months of this year, up 3.1 percent from a year earlier. Exports also increased, but imports grew faster, resulting in a trade deficit of $22.07 million, more than 10 percent higher than last year. If this trend continues, total kimchi exports this year appear on track to set a new record for the second consecutive year. Chinese-made kimchi currently sells for about 1,700 Korean won (about $1.15) per kilogram, less than half the roughly 3,600 won charged for South Korean kimchi. The Guardian pointed out that many South Korean kimchi makers often have a few staff, making it difficult for them to compete with Chinese factories in mass production. One owner who has run a kimchi factory in Incheon for more than 30 years told the daily that many local restaurants "have abandoned his product in favor of lower-priced imports" from China. To address this, the government plans to step up monitoring of violations of country-of-origin labeling for imported kimchi, while also implementing support measures to help domestic kimchi makers. 2025-12-24 16:27:47