Journalist
Lee Hugh
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Samsung Electronics showcases joint HVAC solutions with newly acquired FläktGroup at MCE 2026 SEOUL, March 24 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) solutions jointly with FläktGroup at the MCE 2026 exhibition in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday. The event marks the first joint showcase since Samsung's acquisition of the climate control firm in November. Samsung is displaying a centralized HVAC system that connects FläktGroup's five indoor units with its own outdoor units, such as the DVM S2+, managed through a Building Management Solution (BMS) platform. The companies are targeting high-value industrial sectors, including data centers and clean rooms. Commercial products on display include FläktGroup's 'CAIRplus' Air Handling Unit (AHU) and the compact 'Geko' Fan Coil Unit (FCU). For the residential market, Samsung introduced the 2026 'AI Wind-Free Combo Pro' wall-mounted air conditioner and the 'EHS All-in-One' system. Targeting European regulations and demand for energy efficiency, the EHS and DVM S2+ lineups utilize R32 refrigerant, which features a 68 percent lower Global Warming Potential compared to conventional R410A. The systems also incorporate AI-driven energy-saving modes and waste heat recycling technologies. The biennial MCE exhibition, which features around 1,900 participating companies this year, runs from March 24 to 27. 2026-03-24 15:19:54 -
Tottenham Slips Toward Relegation Zone After Son Heung-min Exit, Winless Run Grows Tottenham Hotspur’s slump has deepened into a relegation fight in the English Premier League, with local media pointing to a leadership vacuum after captain and star Son Heung-min left for Los Angeles FC and to criticism of the club’s top management. After 31 league matches, Tottenham sits 17th at 7-9-15 for 30 points, just one point above 18th-place West Ham United (7-8-16, 29). In the EPL, the teams finishing 18th through 20th after 38 rounds are relegated to the Championship. The recent form is worse. Tottenham is winless in 13 straight league matches (5 draws, 8 losses) and has not won since a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Dec. 29. The club has not won a league match this year, its longest winless run in 91 years. Home results have been especially poor. Tottenham has only two home league wins in 16 matches (4 draws, 10 losses). The Independent reported that, excluding second-division Sheffield Wednesday, which was docked points for financial issues, it is the worst home record across England’s top four professional divisions. The season did not begin this way. Tottenham started under then-coach Thomas Frank and picked up notable wins, including against Manchester City. But results collapsed from November, and Frank was fired on Feb. 11. Interim coach Igor Tudor has failed to lift the mood, going 1 draw and 4 losses in five league matches since taking over. British outlets have cited the loss of a team focal point. The Guardian, in a March 12 analysis of what it described as a growing defeatist mood in the squad, said Tottenham has failed to replace players who “truly loved the club” and connected teammates and fans, including Son, Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) and Eric Dier (AS Monaco). Questions have also followed the new captain. Romero, a central defender, has been unable to anchor the back line because of frequent dismissals and disciplinary bans. Tottenham has conceded 50 goals in 31 league matches (1.61 per game), the league’s fourth-worst defensive record by that measure. Injuries have compounded the problems. Midfield playmaker James Maddison tore an anterior cruciate ligament during a preseason friendly at Seoul World Cup Stadium in August and was ruled out for the season. More key players later went down, and seven regulars missed the March 22 match at Nottingham Forest, a 3-0 loss, because of injuries. Criticism of the club’s leadership has intensified. The Guardian faulted what it called an obsession with commercialization, writing that even as the team slid, the stadium video boards flashed ads for revenue-generating events such as the Skywalk attraction, rugby, the NFL and pop concerts. It also argued that frequent coaching changes have taken a toll, saying players who repeatedly heard they were steeped in a “culture of failure” since Mauricio Pochettino eventually began to play that way. The Independent also criticized Daniel Levy, identified as the club’s previous chairman, and majority owner ENIC Group. In a March 23 report, it said “years of underinvestment, shortcuts and poor management” had caught up with Tottenham, and singled out the appointments of CEO Vinai Venkatesham and sports director Johan Lange as among the club’s worst hiring decisions.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-24 15:19:29 -
Hirst and Sehgal Draw Crowds With Opposite Approaches: Exposure vs. No Photos Bare it all, or keep it tightly hidden. Two exhibitions drawing attention in Seoul are doing so in opposite ways: a Damien Hirst solo show at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, leans into exposure, while a Tino Sehgal solo show at the Leeum Museum of Art draws curiosity by refusing it. Online posts on the 24th have focused on “Damien Hirst: There Is No Truth, Everything Is Possible,” now on view at MMCA Seoul. The show has been closely watched since before it opened, after debate over whether MMCA should mount a solo exhibition for Hirst, whom some critics describe as past his peak or as a star artist aimed at box-office appeal. Images and reviews of the exhibition have followed. Hirst, whose name functions as a brand, is known for actively using the media, audiences and social platforms. In the 1990s, he drew explosive attention with shocking works, including a dead shark displayed in a glass tank filled with formaldehyde. His unconventional moves, including producing work with a large team of assistants, helped elevate him to celebrity status. At a recent news conference, Hirst did not take questions but posed in various ways for photographers. The MMCA exhibition also highlights personal details, including music he says he listens to regularly and a space designed to recreate his London studio. Hirst is also an active social media user, with more than 1.04 million Instagram followers. In 2018, he posted a photo of himself in his studio wearing only underwear and offered a free artwork to the follower who wrote the wittiest caption. The post drew about 10,000 comments. In 2022, through his project “The Currency,” buyers were told to choose between an NFT and a physical artwork. After collectors chose the NFT version, Hirst burned more than 1,000 of the original works. The burning was livestreamed on social media, and the destroyed works were valued at about 10 million pounds (about 17 billion won), according to assessments at the time. Sehgal, by contrast, keeps his distance from social media. Britain’s The Guardian has described him as an “Instagram users’ nightmare.” His exhibitions leave no photos or videos behind. At Leeum, photography and video recording are banned, and the work is meant to be carried forward only in visitors’ memories. Sehgal, who pursues what he calls “de-production,” urges visitors to put down smartphones and cameras and stay with the present moment. Asked at a news conference in February whether he regretted being unable to promote his work through social media, he said, “My work is about asking what we can do beyond objects.” He added, “In a way, I think I benefit in the screen era,” citing growing research on the negative effects of screen activity. “I don’t think you can say my work only loses out,” he said. He also said teenagers often described as “digital natives” are realizing screen time is not always positive and are paying more attention to real experiences. 2026-03-24 15:18:21 -
DAY6's Wonpil to release solo EP "Unfiltered" on March 30 SEOUL, March 24 (AJP) - K-pop band DAY6 member Wonpil has treated fans on Tuesday by offering an unexpected gift, a glimpse at this upcoming solo album scheduled to be released on March 30. The track preview for the 31-year-old's new album called "Unfiltered" was released through a video uploaded through the group’s official social media channels. The teasers featured snippets of all seven songs on the album, including the title track "Love Ward." Six other songs included in the EP are -- "Toxic Love," "Becoming an Adult," "Up All Night," "Step by Step," "Not a Million Roses," and "Piano." Wonpil's agency JYP Entertainment said that the artist participated the creation of the songs. Day6 is a Korean pop rock band under JYP Entertainment, known for its members’ involvement in songwriting and production. The band is known for songs such as "You Were Beautiful" and "Time of Our Life." Wonpil, born April 28, 1994, is a vocalist and keyboardist of the band. The release marks his first solo project in four years, following his solo debut album "Pilmography" in February 2022. 2026-03-24 15:02:36 -
Gov't mulls export restrictions on naphtha amid supply disruptions SEOUL, March 24 (AJP) - The government is considering imposing restrictions on exports of naphtha amid supply shortages as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East drags on. At a press briefing at the government complex in the administrative city of Sejong on Tuesday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, "We are discussing with relevant ministries steps to take, which would include restrictions on exports and a ban on hoarding." Naphtha, a primary raw material for petrochemical products, is produced domestically by refiners, accounting for about 55 percent of domestic supply, with the remainder imported. Disruptions to supply chains in the Middle East have prompted some petrochemical companies to halt operations. The remarks came just a day after LG Chem decided to halt operations at its plant in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, which has an annual ethylene capacity of 800,000 tons. Yeochun NCC, an industrial complex in the same southern province, also halted its olefin conversion process to adjust output after the operating rate of its naphtha cracker declined. The ministry said, "Export restrictions alone would not be enough to resolve the shortage, so we are also preparing emergency supplies through a supplementary budget, as well as importing substitutes." But it added, "Exports of naphtha are not that large in volume, so we may prioritize supplies for petrochemical companies to help them maintain operations while restricting others." Despite rising prices of naphtha, the ministry said it has no plans to directly control prices, adding that any increase would have a limited impact on consumers. 2026-03-24 14:57:27 -
Korea braces for fertilizer crunch on top of energy crisis in Gulf fallout SEOUL, March 24 (AJP) - As the Middle East war drags into its third week, the extensive closure of Strait of Hormuz is no longer just an energy story. Beneath the surface, it is beginning to choke the fertilizer supply chain that underpins global food production — a shift that could soon translate into higher food prices for import-dependent economies like South Korea. About 40 percent of South Korea's urea and ammonia — key inputs for nitrogen fertilizers — move through the chokepoint, according to the Korea International Trade Association. While domestic fertilizer output exceeds local demand, the industry remains structurally dependent on imported feedstocks. That dependency leaves Korea exposed to what analysts describe as a "second-round shock": not just higher energy prices, but a breakdown in the economics of fertilizer use worldwide. "The immediate impact will be on raw material costs for fertilizer exporters, but the bigger picture is that fertilizer prices, oil prices and exchange rates are all moving together, driving up overall agricultural production costs," said Chung Dae-hee, a researcher at the Korea Rural Economic Institute. "If imports of not just fertilizer but also pesticides and other raw materials remain disrupted, it will directly affect agricultural commodity prices." The Strait of Hormuz disruption is particularly acute because it hits the fertilizer chain at its source. Nitrogen fertilizers — which account for more than half of global usage — are produced from natural gas, much of it supplied or priced off exports from Gulf producers such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The same corridor also carries large volumes of ammonia and urea shipments to Asia. With shipping effectively halted since late February, at least 21 vessels carrying nearly 1 million metric tons of fertilizer remain stranded in the Gulf. Major suppliers including Qatar's Industries Qatar and Saudi Arabia's SABIC Agri-Nutrients have declared force majeure on deliveries to Asia. The result is a sharp spike in global fertilizer prices, with some contracts jumping from $750 to $1,000 per ton within weeks. More critically, the surge is already altering planting decisions. U.S. Department of Agriculture projections show corn acreage falling to around 94 million acres this year from nearly 99 million in 2025, as farmers shift to less fertilizer-intensive crops such as soybeans. Some growers are planning to cut fertilizer application by as much as 25 percent — a move that directly lowers yields. Brazil, which imports about 85 percent of its fertilizer, has warned of an "extremely high risk" to its 2026–2027 harvest. Any disruption there feeds straight into South Korea, which depends heavily on Brazilian and U.S. soybeans for cooking oil, animal feed and processed foods. The crisis extends well beyond fertilizer. South Korea's wheat self-sufficiency rate stands at around 2 percent, and the country ranks among the world's top five corn importers. Overall grain self-sufficiency — excluding rice — hovers near 20 percent, underscoring its exposure to global supply shocks. What makes the current disruption more severe than past crises is its reach across both energy and food systems. "Unlike the 2022 Ukraine shock, which primarily hit grain exports, this crisis is choking fertilizer inputs that every major food-producing country depends on," said Lorenzo Rosa, a principal investigator at the Carnegie Institution for Science, as cited by the World Economic Forum. That dynamic creates a lagged but more entrenched risk. While energy and shipping costs rise immediately, the impact on food supply emerges months later as lower fertilizer use translates into weaker harvests. At the same time, policy responses are compounding the pressure. China has expanded export controls on fertilizers, including nitrogen-potassium compounds and certain phosphate products, on top of existing urea restrictions. India's urea production has been disrupted by reduced LNG inflows from Qatar, while Bangladesh has shut down four of its five fertilizer plants, according to Hana Securities analyst Yoon Jae-sung. The United Nations World Food Programme warned on March 8 that rising fuel and food costs could push more households into food insecurity, calling the situation a rare "dual chokepoint" crisis spanning both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. "If agricultural production costs rise like this, margins that are already razor-thin will force producers to pass costs onto consumers," Chung said. "Food price increases are particularly sensitive for the public — it becomes a situation where nobody wins." Seoul is scrambling to contain the fallout. Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung convened an emergency review on March 20, pledging to mobilize all available resources while confirming that domestic fertilizer supplies remain stable through the first half of the year. "In the short term, what matters most is easing the cost burden on importers — freight support covering war-risk surcharges and rerouting premiums, relief on cargo detention fees, and reducing the self-pay ratio on exchange-rate hedging insurance," Chung said. "Over the medium to long term, diversifying import sources toward countries such as China and the United States will need to be explored." But diversification offers only partial relief in a market where supply is tightening globally at the same time. With its fertilizer industry reliant on imported inputs, limited strategic reserves, and a grain supply chain that depends overwhelmingly on overseas harvests, Korea is now confronting a deeper question emerging across global agriculture: not just how much food can be shipped — but whether farmers can afford to grow it at all. 2026-03-24 14:57:05 -
'Baby Shark' creator Pinkfong garners more than 210 billion views, 300mln subscribers SEOUL, March 24 (AJP) - The Pinkfong Company, the creator of global children's hit "Baby Shark" song, has surpassed 210 billion cumulative views and 300 million subscribers, highlighting the global popularity of the online content that united children across the globe for more than a decade, the company said Tuesday. Baby Shark gained global popularity through a combination of simple repetition, an easily recognizable melody, and strong visual synchronization, making it highly accessible to young audiences. Its short phrases, repetitive lyrics and hand gestures encourages participation, allowing children to engage with the content actively rather than passively. The song’s rapid spread was further amplified by platforms such as YouTube, where algorithm-driven recommendations and short-form viewing habits helped it reach audiences beyond its original target demographic, turning it into a cross-generational viral phenomenon. According to the company, Pinkfong's YouTube videos were watched about 66.5 billion times in 2025, up 52 percent from 43.6 billion a year earlier. The growth in accumulative view counts was driven largely by overseas audiences consuming Korean-language content, the company analyzed. Views of Korean-language videos reached 11.1 billion in 2025, nearly quadrupling from the previous year, while the share of overseas viewers rose to 90 percent from 75 percent. Its flagship "Baby Shark Dance" video has accumulated 16.7 billion views as of March 2026, maintaining its position as the most-viewed video on YouTube for 64 consecutive months. "We are seeing a rapid expansion of IP influence in the global market," adding "As global demand for Korean-language content increases, we are also contributing to the broader expansion of K-content." said Kwon Bit-na, chief strategy officer at The Pinkfong Company. 2026-03-24 14:56:50 -
Beyond HBM: The next AI memory race is already underway DAEJEON, March 24 (AJP) - High bandwidth memory (HBM) is what enabled the current artificial intelligence boom, giving chips the speed needed to train large-scale models. But as AI shifts from training to real-world deployment, the industry is running into a different constraint — not speed, but scale. That shift is beginning to redefine the competitive landscape. The next phase of the AI chip race may hinge not on HBM itself, but on what comes after it: high bandwidth flash (HBF). Joung-ho Kim, a professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and dubbed as the “father of HBM,” argues that this shift is not incremental but structural. In an interview with AJP, he argued the future of AI competitiveness will hinge on how quickly companies adapt their memory architecture to this new reality. “The memory architecture must be fundamentally restructured,” Kim said. “HBM defined the last decade, but HBF will likely determine the next.” The urgency stems from the rapid expansion of AI workloads, particularly in inference — the stage where trained models generate responses in real time. Unlike training, inference relies heavily on key-value (KV) caches, which store intermediate data and grow rapidly as models process longer context windows. What was once a manageable memory demand is now pushing into the terabyte range per system, exposing the limits of existing HBM-based designs. HBM, built on stacked DRAM, has served as an ultra-fast layer closely attached to GPUs, effectively acting as the system’s “working memory.” But its strengths — speed and bandwidth — are increasingly offset by limitations in scalability and cost. As models expand, simply adding more HBM becomes inefficient and prohibitively expensive. HBF addresses this bottleneck by introducing NAND flash into the memory hierarchy. While slower than DRAM, NAND offers significantly greater capacity at a fraction of the cost, enabling a new layered approach in which high-speed HBM handles immediate computation while HBF stores the massive datasets required for sustained inference. This shift marks a subtle but critical change in how AI performance is defined. “Once decoding begins, throughput becomes memory-bound,” Kim noted. “At that stage, capacity matters as much as bandwidth.” The implications are already shaping corporate strategies. SK hynix, which secured an early lead in HBM through aggressive investment in the 2010s, is once again moving ahead of the curve. In February, the company launched a high bandwidth flash standardization consortium with U.S.-based SanDisk, aiming to establish global specifications under the Open Compute Project. The move signals an attempt not just to develop technology, but to shape the broader ecosystem before the market fully materializes. The timeline remains long, with engineering samples expected around 2027 and commercialization closer to 2030. Yet the strategic positioning is taking place now, as companies seek to avoid repeating past missteps. Samsung Electronics, which was slower to commit to HBM in its early stages, is approaching the transition with greater caution. While focusing its immediate resources on next-generation HBM products such as HBM4E and HBM5, it is also investing in NAND-based architectures aligned with the HBF concept. The goal is clear: to ensure it does not lose its footing in another architectural shift. At its core, the emerging competition is less about a single product than about control over the entire memory system. The question is no longer who can produce faster chips, but who can design the most efficient hierarchy of compute and storage for an AI-driven world. The parallels with the past are difficult to ignore. SK hynix’s early bet on HBM reshaped the competitive landscape, while hesitation from rivals proved costly. Kim suggests that the same dynamic could play out again. “If companies fail to invest in HBF now, they could face the same risks we saw before,” he said. HBF may still be years away from commercial deployment, but the direction of the industry is already becoming clear. If HBM enabled the rise of large-scale AI training, HBF is positioning itself as the foundation for scalable, real-time AI services. In that sense, the next phase of the AI race may not be decided by raw processing power alone, but by something less visible — the architecture of memory itself. 2026-03-24 14:41:12 -
Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin Returns as Shareholder Meeting Chair, Predicts Sales Growth Seo Jung-jin, chairman of Celltrion Group, returned to the role of chair at the company’s shareholder meeting for the first time in 11 years, since the 2015 meeting, saying he wanted to explain mid- to long-term responses directly to shareholders as the global business environment shifts rapidly, including the U.S.-Iran war in the Middle East. Seo chaired Celltrion’s 35th annual general meeting of shareholders on the morning of March 24 at Songdo Convensia in Incheon and spoke with shareholders in person. Citing the fast-changing environment, he said, “Our company is export-oriented, so we are not affected by oil prices,” adding, “Since there is no major impact on ongoing business, sales will grow this year as well.” On the stock price, Seo said he does not believe it is “overvalued compared with performance.” Celltrion posted record results last year, with revenue topping 4 trillion won and operating profit exceeding 1 trillion won. This year, it is targeting revenue in the 5 trillion won range. The company also presented a development roadmap for an obesity drug. Seo said Celltrion is developing a fourth-generation obesity treatment and plans to enter Phase 1 clinical trials next year. “The fourth-generation obesity treatment we are developing shows less muscle loss and consistent efficacy, and we are among the leaders in the fourth generation,” he said, adding that clinical development “will move quickly.” Celltrion said it will secure new production capacity, including a major expansion investment of more than 1 trillion won at its Songdo headquarters, to meet demand for its biopharmaceuticals and strengthen global manufacturing competitiveness. The investment will be carried out in stages from this year through 2030 and will expand infrastructure across the Songdo campus in Korea, a U.S. production base and domestic sites. Specifically, it will invest 1.2265 trillion won to expand Plants 4 and 5 simultaneously at its Incheon Songdo campus, bringing total capacity to 180,000 liters. It also finalized an expansion plan for its Branchburg, New Jersey, facility, which is expected to increase capacity to 141,000 liters. “That would make us third in facilities, after Samsung Biologics and Lonza,” Seo said.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-24 14:36:00 -
IBK Industrial Bank of Korea to Provide 2 Trillion Won Package for Regional SMEs IBK Industrial Bank of Korea said March 24 it will launch a 2 trillion won ($) “regional balanced growth” financing package to strengthen the competitiveness of small and midsize companies outside the capital area. The package consists of three programs: liquidity support (1 trillion won), financing-cost relief (1 trillion won) and business restructuring support. The liquidity program targets companies in regional strategic industries and firms relocating to provincial areas. It offers a 0.6 percentage point cut in guarantee fees and up to a 1.3 percentage point reduction in loan rates for three years. To fund the program, the bank will make a special 42 billion won contribution to the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and the Korea Technology Finance Corp. The financing-cost relief program will be linked to interest-subsidy loans backed by local governments and public institutions, under which they cover the gap between commercial bank rates and a policy target rate. IBK said it will add up to a 1.0 percentage point rate cut on top of local-government benefits to ease interest burdens for regional companies. Under the business restructuring program, the bank will provide investment and financing to strong regional companies that need to shift their business lines, aiming to help provincial SMEs improve their fundamentals and pursue sustainable growth. IBK CEO Jang Min-young said the bank will “take the lead in balanced regional development” by offering “meaningful rate benefits that regional SMEs can feel” and supporting local industrial ecosystems.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-24 14:03:40