Journalist

Lee Hugh
  • South Korean coach leads Viet Nam to victory in mens football at SEA Games
    South Korean coach leads Viet Nam to victory in men's football at SEA Games SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) - Viet Nam's under-23 national team, led by South Korean coach Kim Sang-sik, won the men's football tournament at this year's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. At the biennial multi-sport event featuring 11 Southeast Asian countries, Viet Nam came from behind in a dramatic fashion to beat host Thailand 3-2 in extra time in the final match in Bangkok on Wednesday, reclaiming the victory for the first time since 2021. The latest triumph comes after Viet Nam won the 2024 ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup earlier this year and the 2025 ASEAN U-23 Championship in July, making Kim the country's first coach to achieve the feat of winning all three major tournaments. Kim, who took the helm of the team in May last year, set a new milestone that his predecessor Park Hang-seo, who was hailed as a football hero during his stint there, did not achieve. Viet Nam reached the final by beating Laos and Malaysia in the group-stage matches before defeating the Philippines in the semifinals. Thailand advanced with group-stage wins over Singapore and Timor-Leste, followed by a semifinal victory against Malaysia. 2025-12-19 10:09:07
  • OPINION: Why Korea Zincs US smelter deal makes strategic sense
    OPINION: Why Korea Zinc's US smelter deal makes strategic sense SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) - Korea Zinc recently signed a strategic partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Commerce, agreeing to pursue a joint investment to build a large, integrated smelter in Tennessee. The U.S. administration has increasingly treated critical minerals as strategic assets essential to national defense and economic security, elevating supply self-reliance and trusted supply chains to top policy priorities. Against that backdrop, the agreement signals that Korea Zinc — an allied-country company with world-class technology and production capacity in nonferrous metal smelting — has been incorporated into the U.S. critical-minerals supply chain as a trusted partner. The deal has the potential to serve as a model for South Korea–U.S. cooperation on economic security and supply chains, aligning with South Korea’s national interests while offering Korea Zinc a meaningful business opportunity. The United States, a global hub for advanced and strategic industries such as semiconductors, batteries, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, aerospace and defense, also has strong demand for base metals such as zinc and copper, as well as strategic minerals including antimony, indium, gallium and germanium. For Korea Zinc, forming a joint venture with the U.S. government and jointly building a large-scale smelter in a market with sustained demand for strategic minerals represents an attractive opportunity — one that offers both operational stability and long-term profitability. Media reports and corporate disclosures indicate that Korea Zinc, the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. investors plan to establish a joint venture to carry out the investment and formalize a strategic partnership, with Korea Zinc issuing new shares to the venture. Under South Korean law, such a transaction would constitute a third-party allotment of new shares. While the law generally protects existing shareholders’ preemptive rights, it also allows third-party allotments when a company’s articles of incorporation permit them and when there is a clear management purpose. Given the strategic context of the investment and public statements from U.S. officials, there is little basis to question that the principal purpose of the proposed share issuance is to establish a durable partnership with the U.S. government and help build a U.S.-based critical-minerals supply chain. That clearly qualifies as a management purpose. From a broader investment perspective, it is common in strategic alliances for joint projects to involve cross-shareholdings, whether through the transfer of existing shares or the issuance of new ones. Even in the midst of a management-control dispute, corporate executives retain a responsibility to pursue new businesses and invest when compelling opportunities arise. Large-scale industrial projects require financing, and issuing new shares through a third-party allotment is a standard corporate tool and a matter of reasonable business judgment. It is unconvincing to argue that a company should be barred from issuing new shares solely because it is facing a control dispute, particularly when the transaction serves a clear strategic and commercial objective. Indeed, if a board were to block decisions necessary to seize a valuable opportunity purely because of such a dispute, it could raise questions about a breach of directors’ duty of care. As a citizen, I hope this joint investment with the U.S. government in the critical-minerals sector moves forward smoothly and sets a constructive precedent for future economic security cooperation. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-19 09:47:26
  • Kookmin University undergraduates publish SCI paper through UROP research
    Kookmin University undergraduates publish SCI paper through UROP research SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) - Two undergraduate students at Kookmin University have published a research paper in an international SCI-indexed journal after participating in the university's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), highlighting the growing role of hands-on research in undergraduate education. Kim Min-su and Lee Jeong-hun, students in the Department of Nanoelectronics and Physics, recently published a paper in Materials, an international journal published by MDPI, focusing on improving the long-term charge and discharge stability of anode materials used in lithium-ion batteries. Their study explores the use of hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles as an anode active material, applying structural concepts originally developed for drug delivery systems to battery technology. The researchers found that the unique hollow and porous structure helps absorb volume expansion during repeated charging and discharging, leading to improved Coulombic efficiency and more stable cycling performance even under high current density conditions. Anode active materials play a critical role in portable electronics and electrochemical energy storage systems by storing lithium ions during charging and releasing them during discharge. While silicon- and silica-based anodes offer high theoretical capacity, they have long struggled with structural instability caused by volume expansion, which degrades performance over time. The study shows that structural design at the nanoscale can mitigate these limitations and contribute to the development of more durable and reliable battery materials. The research was conducted under the supervision of Shim In-bo, a professor in the Department of Nanoelectronics and Physics. Shim said the project demonstrates the value of integrating real research experience into undergraduate education. "To address new risks facing higher education in the era of generative AI, we need systems that bring real problem-solving and research experience into formal curricula," Shim said. "This work shows that even undergraduate students, through structured programs like UROP, can independently explore topics beyond coursework and produce meaningful research outcomes." Kim Min-su said participating directly in laboratory experiments and paper writing as an undergraduate researcher was a valuable experience and expressed interest in continuing research related to next-generation batteries. Lee Jeong-hun also said the program provided an unexpected and meaningful opportunity and thanked the university and faculty for their support. The study was supported by Kookmin University's UROP program and the Advanced Field Innovation Convergence College Next-Generation Communications Project. (Paper information) Journal: Materials (MDPI) Title: A Study on Hollow Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles with Long-Term Cycling 2025-12-19 09:37:12
  • OPINION: A Periodic Table war at play
    OPINION: A Periodic Table war at play The world is already in a war — just not the kind most people picture. There are no gunshots, troop movements or televised front lines. Yet its outcome will shape industrial competitiveness and long-term national resilience. The battlefield is the periodic table. This “periodic table war” is the intensifying global competition for the elements that underpin modern industry and technology: copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite, rare earths, gallium, germanium, silver, aluminum — even uranium. These materials are essential to artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, the energy transition, carbon reduction and defense. They are no longer mere commodities; they are strategic assets. Prices for many of these elements have risen in recent years, but price is only the surface. The deeper shift lies in how governments and global companies now treat them — not as a cost line, but as the starting point of industrial strategy, a tool of diplomacy and an asset tied to national security. The periodic table is becoming a map for 21st-century industrial policy. Viewing this merely as a commodity supercycle or speculative spike misses the point. What is unfolding reflects five forces moving simultaneously and reinforcing one another: the AI boom, the shift to electric vehicles, the push toward net-zero, the institutionalization of ESG management and intensifying geopolitical competition. Their intersection is the periodic table. Oil defined the industrial order of the 20th century. Countries that secured stable oil supplies grew; finance, military power and diplomacy followed. The 21st century, however, is moving from an economy powered by combustion to one that generates, stores and computes with electricity. That transition depends not on a single resource, but on a wide array of elements — and on the ability to combine and control them. Artificial intelligence illustrates how physical this new competition has become. Hyperscale data centers consume electricity on the scale of small cities. Supplying that power reliably requires power plants, transmission lines, transformers, distribution equipment and cooling systems — all built from metals and critical elements. Copper is central to power transmission and distribution. Aluminum is essential for long-distance lines. Nickel and graphite are core materials for energy storage. Silver is used in high-efficiency power equipment and solar installations. Uranium, which underpins nuclear power, is being redefined as a “power element” supporting stable baseload electricity in the AI era. As data centers multiply, electricity demand surges. Renewables alone are unlikely to meet it, pushing countries to reconsider nuclear power — and with it, uranium and the entire nuclear fuel cycle, from conversion and enrichment to fuel fabrication. Rising uranium prices are therefore not mere speculation; they reflect a structural shift in how power systems are being rebuilt. The transition to electric vehicles raises the stakes further. Internal-combustion vehicles were largely a steel-and-aluminum industry. EVs are products of the periodic table. Without lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite and rare earths, not a single EV can operate. EVs also require a greater quantity — and variety — of minerals than gasoline-powered cars. More importantly, EV adoption is not simply replacing one type of vehicle with another. It is turning the transportation system into a vast electricity-storage network. Millions of EVs function simultaneously as vehicles and batteries, becoming part of the power system itself. As this structure takes hold, demand for key elements is unlikely to fade quickly and may rise cumulatively, making this a long-term, structural contest. The push toward net-zero reinforces the same trajectory. Wind and solar power, energy storage and the hydrogen economy are all metal-intensive. Solar requires silver and aluminum; wind relies on rare earths and massive steel structures; hydrogen depends on nickel and platinum-group metals. Cutting carbon, paradoxically, means consuming more metals. Carbon neutrality does not mean using fewer resources — it means digging deeper into the periodic table. These shifts are already visible in markets. A recent Financial Times feature titled “In search of the copper to connect the AI boom” noted that AI is fundamentally reshaping copper demand. Data centers require far more power than traditional facilities, and the grids that connect them need vast amounts of copper. The paper argued that copper is being elevated from an industrial metal to a strategic resource — the “blood vessels” of the digital economy. Citing International Energy Agency analysis, the report warned that planned mine output alone may be insufficient to meet a significant share of expected global copper demand by the mid-2030s. More troubling are supply constraints: new mines face years of delays from environmental rules, local opposition and permitting, while refining and processing remain concentrated in a handful of countries. In the AI era, competitiveness will depend not only on chip design or algorithms, but on secure access to copper itself. The same dynamic is evident at the London Metal Exchange, long seen as a neutral pricing venue. Increasingly, it has become a strategic arena where countries and global firms compete for deliverable inventory. When stocks of a metal fall sharply, or when firms of a particular nationality lock up supply, prices can spike — not due to speculation, but because material control confers power. The “nickel shock” on the LME in March 2022, which led to a trading halt and the unprecedented cancellation of contracts, exposed this vulnerability. As nickel grew in importance as a key EV battery material, market fragility became clear once refining and processing came under the influence of a single country. The lesson was unmistakable: core periodic-table elements are no longer just financial instruments; they are national strategic assets. China’s tightening of export controls and licensing for materials such as gallium, germanium and graphite follows the same logic. The objective is not merely to raise prices, but to make global advanced industries structurally sensitive to policy decisions in Beijing. These elements may appear minor individually, but in semiconductors, AI, communications and defense they are difficult to substitute. Even brief disruptions can halt production lines. Markets now price supply availability and political stability above cost alone U.S. and European industrial policies reflect the same shift. The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act are not simply subsidy programs. They begin with a strategic question: which elements on the periodic table can be secured within allied blocs? Both signal a decisive return of the state to industrial competition. South Korea must confront its own reality. It is resource-poor. The greater risk, however, lies in treating this as a temporary price issue or a firm-level cost problem. Speaking about AI, semiconductors, EVs and batteries while neglecting elemental supply strategy would leave the industrial core exposed to external control. The country’s survival strategy is therefore clear. Competing to own mines is neither realistic nor efficient. Instead, South Korea should secure leadership in refining, processing, materials engineering and recycling. Even without extracting raw elements, it can master their industrialization. High-purity refining, next-generation materials design, urban mining and recycling align naturally with ESG principles and Korea’s manufacturing strengths. Finance and diplomacy form another pillar. Long-term offtake agreements — prearranged supply contracts — should be structured as national packages backed by sovereign credit. Such frameworks distribute political and currency risk beyond individual firms. This is not a war companies can fight alone; it is a test of state capacity. Demand management must also be treated as resource strategy. Improving energy efficiency in AI data centers, substituting materials in EV batteries and reducing metal intensity through software and design are all forms of “invisible” resource policy. In this contest, the winners will not be those that consume the most, but those that create the most value with the least material. The periodic table is no longer a classroom chart. It is an industrial strategy map, a diplomatic guide and a blueprint for national survival. The next era of competition will ask a simple but unforgiving question: Which box on the periodic table does your country take responsibility for? The world has already entered this periodic-table war — and time is short. About the author: ▷Former deputy business editor and Tokyo correspondent at JoongAng Ilbo ▷Former visiting professor at Seoul National University’s College of Engineering ▷Former chair professor of technology management at Hanyang University ▷Former head of the Gyeonggi Institute of Science & Technology Promotion ▷Visiting professor at Gachon University and Hoseo University ▷Columnist at Aju Business Daily * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-19 09:35:28
  • Kakao releases advanced AI language model Kanana-2 as open source
    Kakao releases advanced AI language model Kanana-2 as open source SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) - South Korea's Kakao Corp. said on Friday it has released its next-generation large language model, Kanana-2, as open source. The company said it published the in-house model on Hugging Face, adding that the release showcases technology optimized for building AI agents capable of understanding context and executing tasks autonomously. Kakao began unveiling its Kanana model lineup last year and has since released successive versions as open source, ranging from lightweight models to Kanana 1.5, which was designed to address more complex problem-solving tasks. Kanana-2 incorporates Kakao’s latest research aimed at significantly improving performance and efficiency, with a focus on so-called “companion” AI that can interpret user intent and act proactively. According to Kakao, Kanana-2 delivers substantial improvements in tool-calling and instruction-following, two core capabilities for agentic AI systems. Compared with its predecessor, the model achieved more than a threefold improvement in multi-turn conversational tool-calling performance and was designed to execute complex, step-by-step tasks. Language support was expanded to six languages, including Korean. The company said it adopted newer architectures to boost efficiency, including multi-latent attention to process long input sequences and a mixture-of-experts structure that activates only selected parameters during inference. “Innovative AI services are built on the performance and efficiency of language models,” said Kim Byung-hak, Kakao’s Kanana performance lead. “Beyond high performance, we will develop practical AI models that operate quickly and effectively in real service environments, and continue sharing them as open source to help energize AI research ecosystems at home and abroad.” 2025-12-19 09:35:28
  • Koreas producer prices accelerate as fuel and chip cost jump
    Korea's producer prices accelerate as fuel and chip cost jump SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) -South Korea’s producer prices accelerated in November despite easing international commodity prices, driven by a weaker won and a spike in semiconductor production costs. The producer price index (PPI) rose 0.3 percent from the previous month to 121.31 in November (2020 = 100), extending gains since September, the Bank of Korea said. From a year earlier, the index increased 1.9 percent, accelerating from a 1.6 percent rise in October. By category, prices of agricultural products fell 2.3 percent, while livestock products declined 2.6 percent, pulling the broader agriculture, forestry and fisheries group down 2.1 percent on the month. Lettuce prices plunged 42.7 percent, while beef prices fell 4.6 percent and pork prices dropped 4.1 percent. Prices of manufactured products climbed 0.8 percent from the previous month, led by coal and petroleum products, which jumped 5 percent — the largest increase since September 2023. Production prices for computers, electronic and optical equipment rose 2.3 percent, reflecting sharp increases in semiconductor costs. Prices of DRAM surged 15.5 percent on the month and 67.9 percent from a year earlier, while flash memory prices rose 23.4 percent on the month and 58.2 percent on the year. The increase reflects the broad impact of the won’s weakness on imported inputs and fuel costs, combined with rapid strengthening in memory prices amid tight supply conditions. The trend is expected to ripple through end products, including electronic devices and automobiles, both of which rely heavily on memory components. The domestic supply price index for November, which includes imports, rose 0.7 percent from the previous month. Intermediate goods prices climbed 1.1 percent and final goods rose 0.2 percent, offsetting a 0.5 percent decline in raw material prices. The total output price index for November, which includes exports as well as domestic shipments, increased 1.1 percent from the previous month, as manufactured products rose 1.9 percent and services edged up 0.1 percent. A weaker won against the U.S. dollar raises domestic production costs by making imported raw materials and intermediate goods more expensive, indirectly pushing up producer prices, the central bank said. The timing and extent of pass-through to producer prices can vary depending on business conditions, supply and demand, and government price-stabilization measures, it added. So far in December, Dubai crude prices have fallen 3.1 percent from the previous month, while the dollar-won exchange rate has risen 0.9 percent. In a separate report released Wednesday, the Bank of Korea warned that inflation could rise above this year’s estimated 2.1 percent level if the exchange rate remains near 1,500 won per dollar, given the two-to-four-week lag in the pass-through to consumer prices. It added the oversupply and soft international fuel prices will likely offset the inflationary pressure from the won's weakness. 2025-12-19 09:09:57
  • Seoul, Washington agree to speed up implementation of bilateral agreements
    Seoul, Washington agree to 'speed up' implementation of bilateral agreements SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) - Some progress appeared to have been made in follow-up talks on the comprehensive joint fact sheet signed between Seoul and Washington last month, which outlines agreements on bilateral trade and security. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lak, who met with key U.S. officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Energy Secretary Chris Wright earlier this week, reportedly said the two countries agreed to speed up the implementation of the bilateral agreement, although he did not elaborate. Along with reciprocal tariff-related deals, Seoul and Washington reached a broader agreement in late October that included a U.S. commitment to support the construction of nuclear submarines using U.S.-supplied fuel, the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and uranium enrichment. Wi is set to travel from Washington, D.C., to New York before returning home. While in New York, he is scheduled to meet with senior United Nations officials to discuss security-related issues on the Korean Peninsula. 2025-12-19 09:02:01
  • Hyundai Motor Group sees China sales rebound
    Hyundai Motor Group sees China sales rebound SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor’s operations in China are showing signs of recovery, supported by rebounding domestic sales and a strategy to turn its Chinese plants into export hubs. The pickup in vehicle production is also lifting parts maker Hyundai Mobis, which is on track to surpass 4 trillion won in China revenue for the first time in five years. Beijing Hyundai Motor, Hyundai’s China joint venture, sold 12,016 vehicles in November, up 71.7 percent from about 7,000 units a year earlier, according to industry officials, Friday. Monthly sales have increased steadily in the second half of the year, exceeding 10,000 units for four consecutive months since August. The Elantra, marketed in South Korea as the Avante, led sales with cumulative deliveries of 55,094 units through November. The Tucson sport utility vehicle also rebounded, recording monthly sales of more than 2,000 units since the start of the second half. A Hyundai Motor official said the company is focusing on models that can improve profitability, including a refreshed Tucson and an updated model-year Custo. Exports have emerged as another key growth driver. Cumulative exports through November totaled 60,573 units, up 55.4 percent from a year earlier, supporting higher plant utilization. Beijing Hyundai's total sales this year have climbed 13.8 percent to 176,130 units, already surpassing its full-year total for last year. Kia’s China operations have also improved. Cumulative sales through October rose 5.2 percent from a year earlier to 210,175 units, with the automaker posting steady growth since 2023. The recovery at Hyundai and Kia has translated into stronger results for Hyundai Mobis. The auto parts supplier posted cumulative China revenue of 2.8 trillion won through the third quarter, up 16.7 percent from a year earlier. That marked its highest third-quarter cumulative figure since 2020, when it reached 2.81 trillion won, putting an annual return to the 4 trillion won level within reach. In 2020, Hyundai Mobis recorded annual China revenue of 4.11 trillion won. Beyond affiliate-related demand, Hyundai Mobis is seeking to expand orders from Chinese automakers. To strengthen its China business, the company has selected eight strategic products for eight key customers and aims to quadruple local original equipment parts orders by 2028. Hyundai Mobis CEO Lee Gyu-seok said at the company’s CEO Investor Day in August that he would intensify efforts in emerging markets, including China and India, by developing locally tailored specifications and reinforcing its parts supply chain. 2025-12-19 08:33:10
  • As South Korea shrinks, Seoul keeps growing - at the nations expense
    As South Korea shrinks, Seoul keeps growing - at the nation's expense SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) -South Korea’s growth potential has slipped below a critical threshold. According to the OECD, the country’s potential growth rate has fallen to 1.9% this year and is projected to drop further to 1.7% next year—less than half the pace recorded in the early 2000s. Among 41 OECD economies, South Korea is expected to rank only 24th next year, trailing not only the United States but also smaller, slower-growing peers such as Australia and Spain. Such a decline would be unremarkable for a fully mature economy, were it not for the speed at which it is occurring. Korea’s potential growth rate has fallen faster than that of most advanced economies, despite its relatively smaller economic size and higher historical catch-up capacity. The Bank of Korea has warned that without structural reform, the figure could fall towards zero by the 2040s. Demographics explain part of the slide. A shrinking workforce and rapid ageing are eroding the labor input that once powered expansion. But the data suggest another, less discussed culprit: the extreme concentration of people, capital and decision-making in the Seoul metropolitan area. More than half of South Korea’s population is now clustered in the capital region. The share continues to rise even as the national population contracts. Since 2017, Seoul and its surrounding areas have recorded net population inflows every year, drawing in young adults and prime-age workers while provincial regions steadily empty out. This spatial imbalance is no longer merely an issue of regional inequality. It is increasingly a macroeconomic constraint. Agglomeration once boosted productivity during South Korea’s industrial ascent, but at today’s scale it is generating congestion costs, housing inflation and labour misallocation—dragging on national efficiency rather than enhancing it. The flip side is accelerating regional extinction. More than 60% of South Korea’s municipalities are now classified as being at risk of demographic collapse. Schools are closing, hospitals are disappearing, and local labor markets are thinning to the point where private investment becomes self-defeating. Once a region loses its young population, recovery becomes statistically improbable. The economic consequences are visible in output data. Over the past decade, gross regional product in the capital area has grown nearly twice as fast as in non-capital regions. The Seoul area now accounts for over 52% of national GDP, even as it occupies just 12% of the country’s landmass. What appears as dynamism in the capital masks stagnation elsewhere. This is not a benign concentration of excellence. It is a zero-sum geography in a shrinking nation. Talent flowing into Seoul does not raise overall fertility or productivity enough to offset what is lost in the regions. Instead, it amplifies housing stress in the capital while hollowing out the economic base beyond it. In that sense, South Korea’s overconcentration problem has crossed a threshold. What once functioned as an engine of growth is now constraining the country’s long-term potential—turning large parts of the nation into economic periphery, and some into zones edging towards extinction. *The feature article was published in Aju Business Daily, translated by AI, and edited by AJP. 2025-12-19 07:40:04
  • Tax watchdog launches audit of trendy bakery café
    Tax watchdog launches audit of trendy bakery café SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - The National Tax Service on Thursday launched a special tax audit of trendy bakery café London Bagel Museum, which has come under scrutiny following the death of a young employee in his 20s allegedly due to overwork. According to industry sources, tax authorities raided the café's operator LBM in central Seoul and seized tax-related documents. Specific reasons for the audit were not immediately disclosed, with the tax watchdog saying it could not confirm details regarding audits of individual taxpayers. The audit comes as the café works to improve overall working conditions following the employee's death, which exposed excessive overtime, rampant workplace abuses, and other labor violations. 2025-12-18 17:29:44