Journalist
Lee Hugh
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PHOTOS: As Christmas arrives, trees light up a fractured world SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - As Christmas Day arrives, trees are lit across the world. It is a season that calls, however quietly, for peace and harmony — regardless of heartbreak, loss, grievance or conflict — as people mark the birth of Christ in their own idiosyncratic ways. In Rockefeller Center, the annual tree lighting took place on Dec. 3, as it does every year. Thousands of LED lights pierced the Manhattan night, drawing cheers from gathered crowds. But the ritual is far from uniquely American. On Red Square, in front of the historic GUM department store, a lavishly decorated tree stands tall. Russia marks Christmas on Jan. 7 under the Orthodox Julian calendar, yet the festive mood is already in full swing ahead of New Year's Eve on Dec. 31. In downtown Kyiv, an illuminated tree also rises — this year for the third consecutive winter of war following Russia's invasion. 2025 marks another cold season under fire. Yet this year, Ukraine has chosen to officially celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25, aligning with the Western calendar. Even amid sirens and uncertainty, people gathered beneath the lights. Across Europe, similar scenes unfolded. In Old Town Square, visitors browsed Christmas markets on the fourth Sunday of Advent. In Skopje's main square in North Macedonia, families watched a New Year's — and Christmas — tree lighting ceremony. For those observing the Orthodox calendar, the tree remains a symbol of community and continuity. In Lebanon's northern town of Zgharta, a 22-meter-high tree wrapped in 4,500 meters of lights was unveiled on Dec. 6, accompanied by fireworks. Amid tensions across the Middle East, people still came together to switch on the lights. Similar scenes appeared in Krakow's Main Market Square, Vilnius, and Athens' Syntagma Square. Germany's city of Dortmund erected a 45-meter-high tree — one of the tallest in the world. In Nantes, France, crowds gathered around a carousel-shaped tree. Across the Atlantic, Mexico City's Zócalo hosted a sprawling light festival that transformed the historic square. The year 2025 has not been an easy one. Conflicts endured, economies strained, and many lives were weighed down by hardship. Yet when Christmas came, trees went up — in city squares and town centers, across cultures, calendars and borders. Beneath the branches, faces softened into smiles. Under warm lights, even on the coldest winter nights, people stood together. As 2026 approaches, the glow of Christmas trees offers a quiet wish: for more light than darkness, more warmth than fear, and more peace than division. May conflicts find resolution, burdens ease, and laughter return more often. At this moment, in cities across the world, the glowing trees cast their magical spell of hope. 2025-12-24 15:55:22 -
Hate it or not, Coupang remains indispensable to Korean consumers — for now SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - Coupang is facing intensifying scrutiny from regulators in South Korea and the United States, alongside a growing list of civil and class-action lawsuits. Yet despite mounting criticism over its handling of a massive data breach, the e-commerce group remains deeply embedded in daily life for Korean consumers — from shopping and food delivery to streaming. This week, the South Korean government launched an inter-agency task force to investigate what officials now describe as a national crisis rather than a routine corporate incident. The task force brings together 10 ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Personal Information Protection Commission and the Fair Trade Commission. "The government views this not as a simple corporate data breach but as a serious social crisis that has undermined public trust," said Ryu Je-myung, second vice minister of science and ICT, at the task force's inaugural meeting, adding that Coupang's response to date was "deeply concerning." Coupang disclosed on Nov. 29 that a former employee had accessed customer data through overseas servers for about six months starting in late June without detection. The company initially reported the breach to authorities on Nov. 18, estimating 4,500 affected users. That figure later ballooned to 33.7 million — nearly its entire user base. The e-commerce giant drew further criticism for initially referring to the incident as data "exposure" rather than "leakage," and for removing its apology notice from its homepage within days. Founder and executive chairman Bom Kim has yet to appear publicly despite repeated calls from lawmakers and regulators. "Even the heads of far larger global companies such as Meta and Amazon have appeared before congressional hearings," said Rep. Choi Hyung-du of the ruling People Power Party, accusing Kim of showing disregard for Korean consumers. At a Dec. 17 National Assembly hearing, Coupang sent only interim chief executive Harold Rogers, a U.S.-based executive who required an interpreter, prompting bipartisan frustration. Rogers said the breach did not require disclosure under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission materiality standards — a position now being tested in American courts. A shareholder class action filed on Dec. 19 in California's Northern District federal court alleges Coupang made false or misleading statements and failed to disclose the breach in a timely manner, causing investor losses. The company's shares have fallen about 20 percent since the breach became public, closing at $22.43 on Wednesday. In Seoul, the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee is scheduled to hold a two-day hearing starting Dec. 30 to examine the breach, alleged unfair trade practices and labor conditions. Despite the regulatory and political pressure, industry analysts say Coupang's structural advantages remain formidable. "From its logistics network to bundled services, there is still no competitor that matches Coupang in terms of customer value," said Shin Kwang-su, a professor of e-commerce at Kyung Hee University's Graduate School of Business. "There may be short-term friction, but it will not be easy for rivals to alter this trajectory." Recent precedents support that view. SK Telecom lost about four percent of its subscribers following a SIM-card data breach in April but stabilized within months, maintaining market share in the high-30-percent range. Still, competitors are moving quickly to exploit the opening. Naver has partnered with Market Kurly to launch a premium grocery service aimed at Coupang's Rocket Fresh. Naver Plus Store, its AI-driven shopping app launched in March, has become the fastest-growing e-commerce platform by downloads this year, according to Sensor Tower. SSG.com, the online retail arm of Shinsegae Group, is revamping membership benefits and expanding premium offerings. CJ Logistics, which handles deliveries for Coupang's rivals, saw its shares hit a 52-week high this month on expectations that even a modest shift in consumer behavior could lift parcel volumes. The political dimension adds further uncertainty. President Lee Jae Myung has called for tougher penalties and a more effective punitive-damages regime. The ruling Democratic Party is expected to revive the Online Platform Act after concluding non-tariff negotiations with the United States, potentially placing dominant platforms such as Coupang and Naver under stricter regulatory oversight. For now, hate it or not, Coupang remains the indispensable giant of Korean e-commerce — battered, besieged, and still without a clear successor waiting in the wings. 2025-12-24 15:48:47 -
Presidential office to move back to Cheong Wa Dae early next week SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - President Lee Jae-myung is set to move into the sprawling compound of Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul early next week, after vacating the current presidential office in Yongsan, his officials said on Wednesday. The relocation of the presidential office comes roughly three years and seven months after former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached earlier this year, moved it to the nondescript Defense Ministry building in Yongsan on the first day of his inauguration in May 2022. As the presidential office completes its relocation, a symbolic flag representing the country's head of state will be raised at Cheong Wa Dae again starting next Monday. The flag features the national flower mugunghwa or rose of Sharon at the center, flanked by two mythical phoenixes facing each other. 2025-12-24 15:40:13 -
Samsung contains brief smoke incident at Hwaseong plant; no injuries, no production impact SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - A brief smoke incident was quickly contained at Samsung Electronics’ Hwaseong plant on Wednesday, with no injuries or impact on production, the company said. Local fire authorities received a report at 10:01 a.m. that smoke was detected in a research building, caused by carbonization in a pump unit. Samsung’s onsite emergency team extinguished the source within about 10 minutes before firefighters arrived. Around 120 employees evacuated in accordance with safety guidance, while fire crews deployed more than 30 vehicles and 80 personnel to conduct ventilation as a precaution. Samsung officials said the smoke originated from carbonization inside a pump unit, but the issue was contained immediately. The company noted that operations were unaffected and no injuries occurred. 2025-12-24 15:19:58 -
Seoul offers tax incentives to induce capital "reshoring" to prop up local won SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - South Koreans who shift funds from overseas stocks back into domestic equities over the next year will be exempted from capital-gains taxes, under a new government initiative aimed at correcting capital outflows that have contributed to the structurally weak won. The tax incentive, unveiled Wednesday by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, offers a full exemption on capital gains from overseas stock sales if the proceeds are converted into won and reinvested in Korean equities for at least one year. The benefit will be phased down depending on when the funds return, with a 100 percent exemption for capital repatriated by March 2026, 80 percent by June and 50 percent in the second half of the year. The measure is the latest in a series of government efforts to stabilize the currency, which has hovered near levels last seen during financial crisis periods amid persistent capital outflows and strong dollar demand. Despite one of the strongest equity performances globally this year — with the KOSPI up 71.6 percent and the KOSDAQ gaining 35.6 percent — retail investors have continued to move money abroad. Overseas stock investment by Korean individuals reached $30.9 billion through November, while they were net sellers of 11.6 trillion won worth of domestic shares during the same period. At the core of the package is the creation of a so-called Reshoring Investment Account (RIA) for individual investors. Under the plan, investors who sell overseas stocks they held as of Dec. 23, 2025, convert the proceeds into won and invest in domestic equities for a minimum holding period — for example, one year — will qualify for a temporary exemption from capital-gains tax on overseas stock sales. The exemption will apply for one year, subject to a per-person cap on eligible sale proceeds, tentatively set at 50 million won ($36,000). To encourage early participation, the tax benefit will be front-loaded, with the most generous exemptions offered to those who repatriate funds in early 2026. In another measure, the government will support the launch of forward foreign-exchange contracts tailored for individual investors, addressing a long-standing lack of FX risk-management tools for retail participants. Major brokerages will be encouraged to roll out “retail forward-selling” products, allowing investors to hedge against a stronger won without selling their overseas equity holdings. To reinforce uptake, the government will introduce an additional tax deduction tied to currency hedging. For overseas stocks held as of Dec. 23, 2025, investors who hedge their FX exposure through forward contracts will be allowed to deduct five percent of the hedged amount — capped at 5 million won — when calculating capital-gains tax on overseas stock sales. The annual FX-hedging recognition limit will be set at 100 million won per individual. Authorities expect the measure to have an immediate stabilizing effect on the foreign-exchange market by increasing dollar supply through hedging activity, while also protecting retail investors from currency losses if the won strengthens. The third pillar of the package targets corporate capital flows. The government will raise the income-exclusion ratio on dividends received by Korean parent companies from overseas subsidiaries from 95 percent to 100 percent, effectively eliminating residual double taxation. Officials said the move is intended to encourage multinational firms to bring profits back to Korea, supporting domestic investment and employment. Taken together, the measures are aimed at easing pressure on the won by addressing what policymakers describe as a structural imbalance in foreign-exchange supply and demand. As of the third quarter, Korean individuals held $161.1 billion in overseas equities, according to international investment position data. Even a partial shift of those holdings back into domestic assets or into currency-hedged positions could significantly expand foreign-currency supply, the ministry said. The government plans to pursue swift legislation through amendments to the Special Tax Treatment Control Act. Tax benefits tied to RIAs and retail FX hedging will apply from early 2026, once the accounts and products are formally launched, while the expanded dividend tax exemption will take effect for dividends received from Jan. 1, 2026. The announcement comes amid heightened FX market volatility. The U.S. dollar fell more than 1 percent, or 29.1 won, to 1,452.90 won as of 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, following heavy hedging activity after the greenback briefly breached the 1,480-won level — a threshold last seen in April during tariff-driven market turmoil and during the 2009 global financial crisis. 2025-12-24 15:05:15 -
Children's choir lights candles for Christmas SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - As the year-end Christmas season arrives, choirs across the country are spreading holiday joy and cheer. Among them, a children's choir at Light and Salt Church in northern Seoul lit candles last week, about a week ahead of Christmas. Through their carols, they prayed that small lights might come together to overcome the darkness, and that their small voices could swell into a thunderous chorus, bringing warmth to the cold winter night. 2025-12-24 14:55:32 -
Korea's Hyundai Motor elevates engineers to C-suite SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group on Wednesday carried out a reshuffle underlying its renewed focus and command over software-defined mobility capabilities. Jin Eun-sook, Vice President of the ICT Division, was promoted to President to become the first female president in the history of Hyundai Motor Company and the third female leader within the broader group, joining the ranks of top executives at Hyundai Commercial and Innocean. Jin, having previously served as CTO of NHN, is recognized for her deep expertise in cloud computing, data, and platforms, as well as her global strategic vision. Since joining the group as Head of the ICT Division in 2022, she has spearheaded key digital transformation initiatives, including the integration of the group’s "Global One App" and the establishment of a next-generation Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. In her new role, Jin is expected to accelerate the group’s digital shift by fostering a developer-centric corporate culture and enhancing the development and operational capabilities of the group’s overall IT systems and infrastructure, the company said. Hyundai AutoEver, the group’s dedicated software arm, separately named Ryoo Seok-moon as its new CEO-designate. Ryoo, a seasoned software engineer, joined the company in 2024 to lead its Software Platform Business Division, where he oversaw critical projects in IT system architecture and vehicle software development. Ryoo brings a wealth of experience from the broader tech and mobility sectors, having served as CTO of the car-sharing platform Socar and Technical Director at Riot Games. His appointment is seen as a strategic move to internalize high-level technical leadership and cultivate top-tier development talent within the organization. "This reshuffle is characterized by placing leaders with proven technical and development expertise at the forefront of our software and IT divisions," a Hyundai Motor Group official said. "We will continue to strengthen our technology-driven management and sustain group-wide investments to complete our transition into a software-defined mobility company." On December 3, Song Chang-hyun, founder and CEO of 42dot - Hyundai’s autonomous-driving subsidiary - and head of Hyundai’s Advanced Vehicle Platform division, resigned - shortly after Tesla showcased its Full Self-Driving in Seoul from late November. 42dot has been testing self-driving buses in downtown Seoul, but the technology embedded in Hyundai and Kia production vehicles has yet to reach the midpoint of the autonomy race by global benchmarks. Hyundai Motor's latest appointments, therefore, are seen as a process of centralizing software expertise at the parent company, moving away from a fragmented structure across the group’s subsidiaries. “The core reason Hyundai trades at a chronic discount is the fragmentation of its software capabilities across affiliates such as 42dot, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai AutoEver and Boston Dynamics,” said Choi Tae-young, an analyst at DS Investment & Securities. “The real challenge is empowering one lead entity to standardize data and fundamentally change how the organization works,” added Lee Hyun-wook, a researcher at IBK Securities. 2025-12-24 14:26:07 -
Namyang Dairy heiress arrested for alleged drug use after fleeing abroad SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - Hwang Ha-na, the granddaughter of the founder of Namyang Dairy Products has been arrested after fleeing abroad, police said on Wednesday. According to police in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Hwang, 37, arrived at Incheon International Airport earlier in the morning and is currently being questioned over drug-related allegations. She is suspected of having used methamphetamine with two acquaintances in southern Seoul in 2023, again coming under investigation. Police declined to comment further, but Hwang reportedly fled to Southeast Asia shortly after becoming aware that she was a target of a police investigation and is believed to have lived in Cambodia. After Interpol issued a blue notice to locate her, Hwang suggested she would cooperate and appear for questioning, prompting police to initiate formal arrest procedures and travel to Cambodia to bring her back. Hwang, who previously drew public attention for her relationship with singer-turned-actor Park Yoo-chun, was convicted of using methamphetamine three times between May and September 2015 at her home in Seoul and elsewhere and received a suspended prison sentence in 2019. The following year, she was again convicted on drug-related charges and received a harsher sentence of 20 months in prison. The recidivist was also booked last year for alleged drug use in 2023, as part of an investigation into a drug case involving the late actor Lee Sun-kyun. 2025-12-24 14:25:18 -
Customs watchdog releases list of agricultural products exempt from US tariffs SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) - South Koreans will be able to check which goods are exempt from the country's recently concluded reciprocal tariffs with the U.S., the Korea Customs Service (KCS) said on Wednesday. The KCS said it compiled the list of some 248 agricultural products including coffee, tea, and fruits, which have been exempt from the reciprocal tariffs after the White House issued an executive order exempting them effective from Nov. 13. Those exempt also include seasoned seaweed and red pepper powder, which are among the country's staple foods and ingredients, relieving tariff burdens for South Korean exporters. The KCS also disclosed a separate list on its website, which contains some 548 aircraft and parts also subject to exemptions. 2025-12-24 13:46:27 -
Korea and US agree to work on a separate pact on nuclear-power submarine project SEOUL, December 24 (AJP) -South Korea and the United States will start working-level talks early next to write out a separate bilateral agreement on cooperation on nuclear-powered submarines, said Seoul’s national security adviser said Wednesday. In a televised briefing on his back-to-back visits to the United States, Canada, and Japan, Wi Sung-lac specified the reasons for the need for a separate pact on the submarine program, which is linked to broader security commitments outlined in a joint fact sheet released last month. “We shared the view that a stand-alone agreement on cooperation over nuclear-powered submarines is necessary, and agreed to move forward with discussions,” Wi said. Wi traveled from Dec. 16 to 22 to the United States, Canada and Japan, holding meetings with senior officials including U.S. Secretary of State and national security adviser Marco Rubio and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright. He described the talks in Washington as “practical and in-depth,” focused on implementing security commitments agreed at the leaders’ level. The submarine issue is part of follow-up measures stemming from a joint fact sheet issued after President Lee Jae Myung met U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju in late October. Under current U.S. law, transfers of nuclear material for military use are generally prohibited. However, exemptions may be granted through specific provisions or presidential authority, making a separate bilateral agreement a key procedural hurdle. Wi noted that Australia secured similar exceptions through its own arrangements with Washington. On uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, Wi reiterated South Korea’s commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, stressing that Seoul plans to use low-enriched uranium below 20 percent for any nuclear-powered submarines and is not considering highly enriched uranium. He said Seoul emphasized to Washington that stable access to low-enriched uranium is becoming a strategic issue amid volatility in global uranium markets, framing the matter as one of shared energy and security interests rather than a departure from non-proliferation norms. A U.S. working-level delegation is expected to visit South Korea early next year to begin issue-by-issue consultations on security matters listed in the joint fact sheet. The two sides also agreed to set interim milestones — potentially around mid-2026 or the second half of the year — to review progress. “Based on the results of this visit, we will actively operate consultation channels with the United States and make every effort to implement the agreements quickly and faithfully,” Wi said. Beyond the submarine talks, Wi said discussions with U.S. officials also covered the stalled state of dialogue with North Korea, U.S.-China relations, Russia-North Korea military cooperation and broader regional security dynamics in Northeast Asia. During stops in New York, Ottawa and Tokyo, Wi also met with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Canadian national security and defense officials, and senior Japanese policymakers. In Canada, he highlighted South Korea’s capabilities in submarine construction as Seoul seeks to participate in Ottawa’s next-generation submarine procurement program, while talks in Japan focused on maintaining stable bilateral relations and expanding regional coordination. Wi acknowledged that differences can emerge among South Korean ministries on North Korea policy, but stressed that coordination through the National Security Council is essential to avoid mixed signals to allies. “What matters is coordination,” he said. 2025-12-24 13:38:04