Journalist

Lee Hugh
  • Naver expands healthcare portfolio with acquisition of cloud EMR firm Cenacle
    Naver expands healthcare portfolio with acquisition of cloud EMR firm Cenacle SEOUL, November 26 (AJP) - Naver has acquired a controlling stake in cloud-based electronic medical records (EMR) company Cenacle as it accelerates its expansion into the digital healthcare sector. The acquisition price was not disclosed, and Naver said it ultimately aims for full ownership. Cenacle operates the cloud EMR platform “Orem Chart” and the patient health-management app “Clea,” serving clinics across internal medicine, pediatrics and other specialties. In September, TIME and Statista named Cenacle one of the “World’s Best Health Tech Companies 2025.” The deal marks Naver's latest move in the healthcare space. This year, the company has invested in domestic clinical trial platform JNP Medi and InBody, a global leader in body-composition analysis, as part of efforts to strengthen its healthcare platform. Naver said discussions with InBody are continuing on senior-care initiatives and data-driven personalized health services. “With Cenacle’s technical capability and scalable platform, we will drive innovation in core EMR infrastructure for medical institutions,” said Choi In-hyuk, CEO of Naver Tech Business. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-11-26 14:53:45
  • South Korea avoids tougher contenders ahead of World Cup draw in Washington
    South Korea avoids tougher contenders ahead of World Cup draw in Washington SEOUL, November 26 (AJP) - South Korea, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, has avoided strong contenders like Croatia and Uruguay in the upcoming group draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be take place in Washington, D.C. next week. The quadrennial global extravaganza, which will be the first to feature 48 teams and three host countries -Canada, Mexico, and the United States - will be held next summer. According to the football governing body, 42 teams have been assigned to four different groups for the draw based on November's world rankings, with the remaining six to be determined after the European and intercontinental playoffs. South Korea, ranked 22nd, has been grouped with Austria, Australia, Croatia, Colombia, Ecuador, Japan, Iran, Morocco, Senegal, Switzerland, and Uruguay. This gives the country some relief as teams from the same group or the same continent, with the exception of Europe, cannot be drawn together for the group-stage matches. The top-tier group features the three host countries, along with nine football powerhouses such as Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands. The draw will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center in the U.S. capital on Dec. 5. 2025-11-26 14:34:04
  • South Korean petrochemical firms seek approval for major restructuring deal
    South Korean petrochemical firms seek approval for major restructuring deal SEOUL, November 26 (AJP) - Lotte Chemical and HD Hyundai Chemical have submitted a preliminary review request for their planned merger of petrochemical facilities, South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said on Wednesday. This marks the first restructuring case to move forward under a government-led initiative to revive the struggling petrochemical sector. Both companies operate naphtha cracking facilities within the Daesan petrochemical complex in South Chungcheong Province. The FTC’s preliminary review is intended to assess whether the deal could substantially restrict competition before the companies proceed with a formal merger filing. Under the restructuring plan, Lotte Chemical will spin off its Daesan plant and merge the unit with HD Hyundai Chemical, after which Lotte Chemical will acquire additional shares in the combined company. Lotte Chemical and HD Hyundai Oilbank — the parent company of HD Hyundai Chemical — will ultimately each hold a 50 percent stake in the merged entity. The move comes as South Korea’s petrochemical industry faces its most severe downturn in years, driven by global overcapacity, weak demand, and intensifying competition from China and the Middle East. Margins for key products such as ethylene and polyethylene have fallen sharply, and domestic firms have been under pressure to consolidate production, close inefficient facilities and scale up investments in higher-value materials. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-11-26 14:24:12
  • Seoul wields strongest-yet rhetoric to reverse KRW slide toward historic lows
    Seoul wields strongest-yet rhetoric to reverse KRW slide toward historic lows SEOUL, November 26 (AJP) - South Korea must establish a new management framework for the National Pension Service (NPS) — the world’s third-largest pension fund and a market force amplified by an aging population already accounting for 20 percent of the nation — as its outsized footprint increasingly shapes both the capital market and the Korean won’s plunge to record-weak levels, the country’s top financial chief warned Wednesday. In a rare press briefing devoted largely to the foreign-exchange issue, Finance and Economy Minister Koo Yun-cheol described the NPS as the “single largest player” in Korea’s FX market. As of August, the NPS managed 1,322 trillion won in assets, roughly half of Korea’s 2024 real GDP of 2,292.2 trillion won. Its overseas holdings — 486.4 trillion won in equities and 94.3 trillion won in bonds — roughly on par with the Bank of Korea’s foreign-exchange reserves of $428.8 billion at end-September at current exchange rate. SEC filings show the fund holding $128.8 billion in U.S. equities alone. The government has held a flurry of meetings with the NPS and major brokerages this week as the dollar moved toward the unfamiliar four-digit zone of 1,500 won. Bank of Korea data show this year’s volume-weighted average dollar-won rate reaching 1,417 won as of Tuesday — surpassing the previous record of 1,398.88 won set in 1998 when the country was under international bailout. The annual average was 1,276.4 won in 2009 after the global financial crisis. The won has grown structurally weak against the greenback since the 2021–2022 pandemic years, driven by a surge in retail day-trading and overseas stock purchases — a shift amplified this year by the AI-fueled rally in U.S. tech equities. “The dollar can become structurally short in our market,” Koo said, noting NPS reserves are projected to nearly triple to 3,600 trillion won by 2071, with overseas investment rising in parallel. He warned that overshooting in the dollar-won rate — despite robust underlying fundamentals — could hurt the economy if inflation and diminished purchasing power erode real incomes. Koo stressed the need for a long-term FX-protection roadmap for NPS reserves, warning that severe two-way volatility could erupt if the fund ever had to convert large volumes of dollars into won at once. “We need a fundamental, long-term solution to operate the fund without undermining returns for pensioners,” he said. He emphatically denied speculation that the government may tap the NPS’s dollar holdings to artificially prop up the won, but cautioned against “excessive one-sided” volatility and speculative trading. The government has met with exporters as well as brokerage houses and will “meet with anyone” and “use all possible options” to stabilize the FX market — signaling interventionist intent while avoiding actions that could draw scrutiny from Washington. On hedging, Koo said the decision remains with the NPS, which is permitted to hedge up to 10 percent of overseas assets with investment-committee approval. But he added the finance ministry will raise its voice as a committee member to better balance the fund’s safety and profitability. He added that the government may consider incentives for exporters to convert part of their dollar revenue into won if necessary. Korea is not currently reviewing taxes to curb foreign stock investment, he said, but left the door open, noting policy “can change depending on circumstances.” The market took a wait-and-see attitude to gauge how serious Seoul's resolve can be, with the dollar edging up 0.4 won to 1,466.8 won as of 2:00 p.m. 2025-11-26 14:20:48
  • LS Electric secures largest-ever power equipment deal in US
    LS Electric secures largest-ever power equipment deal in US SEOUL, November 26 (AJP) - South Korea’s LS Electric said on Wednesday it has secured a $315 million contract to supply high-voltage transformers in North America, the largest deal in the company’s history. The agreement, signed with a major U.S. private utility, covers the delivery of 525-kilovolt transformers to renewable energy facilities across the southeastern U.S. through 2029. The equipment will serve as critical power sources for large data centers in the region, the company said. The contract marks a significant expansion of LS Electric’s product portfolio, extending its transformer offerings from 115kV and 354kV units to the 525kV segment. The company said the deal underscores international confidence in its transmission and distribution technology and is expected to strengthen its position in the fast-growing data center power infrastructure market. LS Electric reported an order backlog of 4.1 trillion won as of the third quarter, including more than 2 trillion won in high-voltage transformer orders. “This contract reaffirms global recognition of our technology and positions us as a long-term, sustainable partner,” LS Electric said in a press release. “We plan to expand our presence in North America’s hyperscale data center, renewable energy and utility sectors to secure leadership in the high-voltage market.” * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-11-26 13:43:15
  • Asian stocks reinvigorated by Googles AI fuel
    Asian stocks reinvigorated by Google's AI fuel SEOUL, November 26 (AJP) - Asian stocks snapped out of their correction phase Wednesday as renewed euphoria over Alphabet’s “Gemini 3.0” reignited AI-driven appetite and lifted sentiment across the region. The benchmark KOSPI gained 1.9 percent to close in on the 4,000 mark in the morning earnings session. Institutions returned in force, with domestic institutions buying 702 billion won and foreign institutions 1.223 trillion won. Confidence also improved after FX authorities took coordinated action to defend the weakening Korean won, with the finance ministry rounding up the National Pension Service and major brokerages. The dollar fell sharply by 5.9 won to 1,460.9 won as a result. Tech shares were mixed. Samsung Electronics rose 1.2 percent to 100,500 won, reclaiming the hard-won 100,000-won threshold on expectations tied to its partnership with Broadcom, a key Alphabet ally in developing Gemini 3.0. SK hynix fell 1.8 percent to 500,900 won on worries that Alphabet’s breakthrough in creating its own inference chips could chip away at Nvidia’s halo—an unease reflected in Nvidia being the only Magnificent 7 stock to decline overnight, losing 2.6 percent. Defense and reconstruction themes were strong following U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that the end of the Russia–Ukraine war is imminent. Infrastructure and nuclear-related stocks rallied sharply. Hyundai Engineering & Construction jumped 7.7 percent to 65,500 won, and Samsung C&T climbed 4.8 percent to 239,500 won. Doosan Enerbility advanced 6 percent to 78,000 won on renewed expectations for Ukraine’s nuclear-power rebuilding. Defense stocks extended gains. Hanwha Aerospace added 2.4 percent to 880,000 won ahead of the imminent launch of its KSLV-II rocket, known as “Nuri.” Hyundai Rotem rose 1.75 percent on expectations of winning rolling-stock contracts tied to Ukraine’s reconstruction. LIG Nex1 gained 1.17 percent to 389,000 won, and Poongsan rose 2.2 percent to 96,400 won. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 1.8 percent higher at 49,549 as of 10:30 a.m., mirroring Seoul’s rebound. But semiconductor stocks were sharply divided. Advantest, a chip-testing equipment maker, rose 1.7 percent to 19,410 yen ($124.5), while Ibiden, a major Nvidia partner, plunged 5.6 percent to 10,700 yen. Taiwan’s TAIEX was up 1.54 percent at 27,327. TSMC rose 1.4 percent to 1,435 Taiwan dollars ($45.7), supported by expectations around producing AI chips for Alphabet and Broadcom, though upside momentum has been capped by reports that Alphabet may source future packaging from Intel. MediaTek surged 9.7 percent to 1,300 Taiwan dollars after Alphabet’s earlier signal that it would entrust the company with next-generation AI chip design. Chinese markets were mixed. The SZSE Component rose 0.69 percent to 12,868 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.76 percent to 26,098, showing a characteristically sharper rebound for tech-heavy markets. The Shanghai Composite was flat at 3,872, up just 0.06 percent. 2025-11-26 11:30:57
  • Lee returns home after 10-day multi-nation tour
    Lee returns home after 10-day multi-nation tour SEOUL, November 26 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung returned home after his 10-day overseas trip to the Middle East and Africa. He arrived at a military airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province at 8:20 a.m., where he was greeted by key officials including Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik. Starting with a state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last week, Lee traveled to Egypt before attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, and concluded his tour with a brief stop in Turkey. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-11-26 11:07:35
  • HBM chips are now edible in rare chipmaking collabo
    HBM chips are now edible in rare chipmaking collabo SEOUL, November 26 (AJP) - Chips responsible for a quarter of South Korea’s exports are now edible — coated with honey and banana — thanks to a rare collaboration between convenience-store chain 7-Eleven and memory behemoth SK hynix. The new 7-Select Honey Banana Flavor snack plays on this year’s buzzword, HBM (high bandwidth memory) — the ultra-fast DRAM that powers Nvidia chips and other AI accelerators, and which accounts for about 70 percent of revenue at SK hynix, the world’s dominant supplier in the AI-specific chip market. HBM is a vertically stacked array of DRAM dies that sits directly atop a CPU or GPU, delivering far greater bandwidth per package than conventional DRAM. SK hynix, which controlled more than 60 percent of the HBM market as of June through its exclusive supply relationship with Nvidia, has also been the strongest-performing stock on the KOSPI this year. 7-Eleven said the tie-up marks the first collaboration between a convenience-store brand and a semiconductor company to create a “novel consumer experience” amid the AI-driven tech boom. The snack is shaped like an HBM chip — a neat square block — and features sweet honey-banana cream layered over crunchy corn chips. The smooth sweetness and sharp crunch are meant to mimic HBM’s fast data throughput and precision. An SK hynix–style product-launch parody video will accompany the release, ending with a humorous reveal of the “Honey Banana Flavor HBM Chip.” “We wanted to infuse a high-tech narrative into everyday snacks to offer a new brand experience,” said Park Sun-kyung, snack team MD at 7-Eleven. “We will continue to deliver unexpected enjoyment through cross-industry collaborations.” 2025-11-26 10:50:13
  • KAIST to test plasma thruster for small satellites on Nuri rocket
    KAIST to test plasma thruster for small satellites on Nuri rocket SEOUL, November 26 (AJP) - The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said on November 26 that its cube satellite K-HERO will fly on South Korea's Nuri rocket early tomorrow to test a next-generation plasma thruster designed for small satellites. Nuri, also known as KSLV-II, is the country's first fully domestic launch vehicle. The upcoming fourth launch is scheduled for November 27 at 0:55 a.m. from the Naro Space Center in Goheung. It is also the first flight in which Hanwha Aerospace is serving as the system integrator after receiving technology transfer from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). The shift is viewed as an early step toward moving South Korea's launch vehicle development from a government-led model to a more private-led structure. The mission will carry 13 satellites into a 600-kilometer orbit, including the main payload, Next-Generation Small Satellite 3, along with 12 cube satellites from universities, research institutes, and companies. K-HERO is one of them. K-HERO, which stands for KAIST Hall Effect Rocket Orbiter, is a 3U cube satellite developed by Professor Choi Won-ho's team in the Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering. The satellite measures 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters by 30 centimeters and weighs 3.9 kilograms. The project began after the team was selected as a basic satellite group in the 2022 cube satellite competition overseen by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. As a basic test satellite, K-HERO is designed to confirm whether early designs and components can operate reliably in space before moving to a full flight model. Its main mission is to demonstrate the operation of a miniature plasma thruster in orbit. The engine is a 150 watt Hall thruster that the team redesigned so it can also operate at about 30 watts, which is important for small satellites with limited power. A plasma thruster uses electricity to ionize xenon gas and then pushes the plasma out the back to generate movement. The propulsion is gentle but highly efficient, making electric engines well-suited for small satellites and satellite constellations that require precise maneuvering while conserving energy. Large geostationary satellites and deep space probes have used electric propulsion for decades, but scaling the technology down for lightweight satellites has become increasingly important as the global space industry shifts toward clusters of small spacecraft. KAIST said K-HERO will be the first attempt to test a fully domestic miniature plasma thruster in space. The university said the demonstration could help strengthen South Korea's competitiveness in the growing small satellite market. Professor Choi's group has researched Hall thrusters since 2003 and previously flew a 200 watt model on KAIST's Science and Technology Satellite 3 in 2013. The new thruster is smaller and more efficient so it can support missions in low Earth orbit. CosmoB, a startup from Professor Choi's laboratory, also contributed to the K-HERO project to support future commercialization. Professor Choi said the thruster being tested on K-HERO can be applied to missions such as low Earth orbit surveillance satellites, 6G communication satellites, ultralow orbit imaging satellites, and small asteroid probes. KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung said the mission is an opportunity to verify the university's electric propulsion technology in space again and can help improve the country's competitiveness in small satellite platforms. 2025-11-26 10:46:58
  • Mourners flock to memorial altar to pay respects to tireless actor
    Mourners flock to memorial altar to pay respects to tireless actor SEOUL, November 26 (AJP) - A steady stream of mourners from all walks of life are paying their last respects to actor Lee Soon-jae at a memorial altar in Seoul on Wednesday. Lee, widely regarded as one of South Korea's most distinguished and prolific actors, died at the age of 91 at his home in the traditional wealthy district of Seongbuk-dong in northern Seoul the previous day, with his family by his side in his final moments. His memorial altar set up at Asan Medical Center in southern Seoul has been visited by fellow actors, colleagues and political figures including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, reflecting his broad influence across various fields. With an illustrious career spanning nearly seven decades in film, television, and theater, Lee worked tirelessly, appearing in more than 140 dramas, shows, and plays, and remained active as South Korea's oldest actor until sudden health issues forced him to step down late last year. Born in 1934 in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province, an area that is now part of North Korea, Lee moved to Seoul at the age of four. While studying philosophy at the country's most prestigious university, Seoul National University, Lee realized that acting was his calling and became a movie buff. He chose an unconventional path, as elite students rarely pursued careers in the showbiz industry at the time. Captivated by British actor and director Laurence Olivier's performance in the 1948 cinematic adaptation of William Shakespeare's epic tragedy "Hamlet," Lee developed a passion for cinema, which eventually led him to make his acting debut in 1956 in a low-budget play adapted from "Beyond the Horizon" by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. Lee began his professional acting career in 1965 as a contracted actor with TBC, one of South Korea's early terrestrial broadcasters, and went on to appear in countless television programs, including dramas, sitcoms, and variety shows. His acting career was catapulted when he appeared in MBC's megahit series "What Is Love" in 1991, thanks to his vivid portrayal of a traditional, conservative, stern father that reflected the social values of the time. The drama's popularity was so immense that nearly all the streets would empty whenever a new episode aired. After a brief venture into politics in 1992, he returned to showbiz, taking his career to new heights in 2006 with sitcom "High Kick Through the Roof," where he revealed a different side of himself by playing the role of a grumpy but harmless elderly man like the neighbor from next door. Later in life, he enjoyed another heyday in 2013 when cable channel tvN's travel-themed reality show "Grandpas Over Flowers" became an immediate hit. Lee will be laid to rest at a cemetery in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province after a funeral service at the hospital on Thursday. He is survived by his wife and two children. Meanwhile, the government posthumously awarded him the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, the highest decoration given to individuals who have contributed to the development of Korean culture. 2025-11-26 10:42:07