KAI pins hopes on $7 bn U.S. jet trainer program SEOUL, September 17 (AJP) - Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is betting big on winning a $7 billion U.S. Navy contract to replace its aging T-45 trainer jets, leaning on its proven record with advanced trainers already in service worldwide. KAI has teamed up with Lockheed Martin to offer the TF-50N, a naval variant of the single-engine T-50 jet trainer that is in service or on order with seven countries. The U.S. Navy will receive proposals for its Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) in December, aiming to select a preferred design and manufacturing team next year. The project calls for delivery of about 25 aircraft annually, with a minimum fleet of 145. The contract, valued at more than $7 billion, is set to be finalized by January 2027. In a solicitation released in March, the Navy said carrier landing capability would no longer be required, opting instead for virtual practice, simplifying trainer requirements. “The U.S. Navy’s RFI has gone through multiple changes so far,” a KAI official said, noting the challenges bidders face from repeated delays and design revisions. “No specific company currently holds an advantage.” Under the partnership, KAI will lead aircraft manufacturing while Lockheed Martin oversees systems integration. The TF-50N builds on the operational success of the T-50 family, which has been deployed by South Korea and international customers including Indonesia, Iraq, and the Philippines. Competition remains stiff. Boeing, in partnership with Sweden’s Saab, is offering the T-7B after beating the KAI-Lockheed Martin team in 2018 for the U.S. Air Force’s advanced trainer program. Italy’s Leonardo is pitching its M-346N, though it lags behind the KAI-Lockheed consortium in export track record and operational experience. KAI shares climbed to a fresh five-year high of 109,200 won on Wednesday. 2025-09-17 13:43:58

Orderly Gen Z-led uprising in Nepal strikes a chord with Young Koreans SEOUL, September 16 (AJP) - “They are better than us,” said one Korean viewer of a viral video showing Nepal’s royal palace on fire, recalling with bitterness former South Korean President’s stunt of declaring martial law last November. Another Korean remarked on YouTube, “It’s impressive how the Nepalese military maintained neutrality, focused on protection and mediation, and stayed true to their beliefs until the end.” YouTube clips documenting the dramatic developments in Nepal have drawn more than 1 million views, while similar content on Instagram has topped 590,000. Korean viewers expressed awe at the neutrality of Nepal’s armed forces and the orderly nature of the protests, where young civilians were even seen cleaning up streets before leaving riot sites. The demonstrations culminated in the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Sept. 9. Soon after, thousands of young people turned to the online chat platform Discord to collect opinions and demand the dissolution of parliament and the creation of an interim government. Within days, both the president and the military accepted the proposal, and Nepal’s first female chief justice, Sushila Karki, was named interim prime minister through a Discord vote driven largely by Gen Z participants. One viewer likened the revolt to the watershed French Revolution. Much like the upheavals of the 19th century, young Nepalese became the driving force of mass anti-government protests, this time triggered by the government’s closure of social media platforms. In classic authoritarian fashion, officials justified the ban by citing noncompliance with new regulations and the spread of misinformation. But frustrations among Nepalese youth had been brewing long before the SNS sanctions, fueled by deepening social divides and resentment toward the so-called “nepo kids,” a small group of wealthy families flaunting their luxurious lifestyles online. According to the World Bank, more than 20 percent of Nepal’s 30 million people live in poverty. Youth unemployment reached 22 percent in 2022–23, with more than 2,000 young Nepalis crossing borders daily to seek jobs in the Middle East or neighboring countries. The anger of frustrated youth has also spilled beyond Nepal’s borders. In Indonesia, university students recently staged mass demonstrations after revelations that parliamentarians were collecting $3,000 monthly housing allowances — ten times Jakarta’s minimum wage. 2025-09-16 17:41:48

Hyundai E&C wins major seawater plant contract in Iraq SEOUL, September 15 (AJP) - Hyundai Engineering & Construction said Monday it had secured a contract worth more than $3 billion to build a seawater treatment plant in southern Iraq, one of the largest infrastructure projects the country has awarded in recent years. The agreement, signed Sept. 14 in Baghdad at the office of the Iraqi prime minister, is part of Iraq’s Gas Growth Integrated Project, an ambitious initiative that spans oil, gas, solar energy and water infrastructure. Under the contract, Hyundai will construct a facility near Khor Al-Zubair Port, about 500 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, capable of producing five million barrels of water a day. The treated seawater will be pumped to oil fields in Basra, including West Qurna and South Rumaila, to help extract more crude through enhanced recovery techniques. The project is backed by a consortium of global energy firms, including TotalEnergies of France, Basra Oil Company under Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, and QatarEnergy, Qatar’s state-owned oil producer. Construction is expected to take just over four years. Hyundai E&C is no stranger to Iraq. Since it first entered the market in 1978 with the Basra sewage system project, the company has delivered about 40 projects worth $9 billion, ranging from the Al-Mussaib Power Plant and Baghdad Medical City to the Karbala Oil Refinery, which was completed in 2023. The new water treatment plant marks Hyundai’s largest undertaking in Iraq since Karbala. 2025-09-15 15:42:39

Homeplus, other retail chains struggle to attract buyers amid restructuring SEOUL, September 15 (AJP) - South Korea’s retail industry is in crisis, with once-prominent chains flooding the market in search of new owners. Yet despite months of outreach, potential buyers are steering clear, leaving companies from hypermarkets to e-commerce platforms stuck in limbo. Homeplus, one of the country’s largest hypermarket chains, has been searching for investors since March, when it entered restructuring to protect jobs and stabilize operations. Despite months of outreach, not a single bidder has shown interest. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court has now extended the company’s deadline to submit a new restructuring plan, including its M&A strategy, until November 10. Analysts say the lack of interest underscores the depth of the retail slump. Weak consumer spending, shrinking offline sales and fierce competition from Chinese e-commerce platforms like AliExpress and Temu are making acquisitions look too risky. Speculation once centered on rivals E-Mart and Lotte Mart. But both chains have backed away, focusing instead on renovating existing stores and pushing into international markets. Lotte Mart has already reduced its domestic footprint from 125 locations in 2019 to 112 today. E-commerce giant Coupang isn’t interested either, citing an incompatible business model. Another retail giant Nonghyup Agribusiness Group has denied any interest, pointing to mounting losses at its own retail subsidiaries. With no rescue in sight, labor unions and civic groups are urging the government to intervene, warning that the fallout could hit jobs and local economies hard. “This is not just a management issue,” Kim Dae-jong, professor of business administration at Sejong University, told AJP. “It’s a structural shift in offline retail that affects employment and entire regional economies. The government should create a social dialogue to find solutions.” Even the once high-flying e-commerce sector is feeling the squeeze. WeMakePrice, which collapsed into receivership last year after a payment and refund crisis, has been unable to find a buyer for over a year. Earlier this month, a Seoul court terminated its rehabilitation proceedings, leaving the company headed for liquidation. Interpark Commerce, also under restructuring, is still struggling to attract investors. Analysts say the problem is structural: offline retail is shrinking while online growth slows under pressure from Chinese competitors. That combination has left distressed companies with few options. “The appetite for risky takeovers just isn’t there,” said one retail executive. “Nobody wants to inherit these problems.” 2025-09-15 14:07:01

South Korea launches AI push in robotics, self-driving cars SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - South Korea unveiled an ambitious plan on Wednesday to transform its manufacturing sector through artificial intelligence, launching a project that brings together more than 1,000 companies, universities and research institutions. The initiative, led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, aims to bridge what officials call a weak link in the country’s industrial base: the lack of collaboration between manufacturers and fast-growing AI firms. “Our goal is to build an AI-powered manufacturing powerhouse that generates over 100 trillion won in added value by 2030,” Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan said at the launch ceremony in Seoul. “AI is already transforming every aspect of our daily lives. Especially, Physical AI has become the new battleground in the global economic war.” The government has outlined 10 alliances under the plan, seven focused on so-called Physical AI — machines capable of perceiving, judging and acting independently — and three targeting manufacturing and services. One flagship effort centers on autonomous driving. The government intends to develop software-defined vehicle platforms by 2028 and begin mass production of fully autonomous cars by 2030. To support that timeline, it will invest 1 trillion won (about $722 million) over the next five years in automotive semiconductors, driving simulators and core component technologies. Another focus is humanoid robotics. A coalition of 224 institutions, including major companies and universities, will work to build foundation models for general-purpose robots, while developing localized hardware and components. The government hopes to establish a system capable of producing more than 1,000 humanoid units annually by 2029. The government also plans to apply artificial intelligence to industrial operations, with a goal of deploying 500 AI-enabled factories by 2030. Key players such as Hyundai Motor, Kia, LG Electronics and steelmaker POSCO will collaborate with AI companies and academic researchers to create sector-specific models by 2028. 2025-09-10 16:16:03

OpenAI opens office in South Korea, its largest market in Asia-Pacific SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - OpenAI, the San Francisco artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT, has opened an office in Seoul, its third in Asia and 12th worldwide. “Our mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity,” Jason Kwon, OpenAI’s chief strategy officer, said at a press briefing in Seoul, Wednesday. “We can’t achieve that mission unless we are partnering closely with countries like Korea.” South Korea, he noted, offers a unique combination of advanced infrastructure, globally competitive technology companies and early adopters eager to embrace new tools. “Korea has long been recognized as a global technology powerhouse,” Kwon said. OpenAI’s user base in South Korea has grown rapidly. Weekly ChatGPT users have quadrupled over the past year, the company said, while paid subscriptions have more than tripled, making Korea its largest market in the Asia-Pacific region. The company said it hopes to position itself as a “trusted partner” for Korea’s AI transformation by working with local industries, universities and government agencies. In February, OpenAI announced a strategic partnership with Kakao, the country’s leading internet company. The U.S. firm said it was preparing to integrate ChatGPT across Kakao’s digital ecosystem. Beyond the tech sector, OpenAI said it is collaborating with Korean companies in industries ranging from construction and electronics to finance, travel, gaming and entertainment. The company is also moving to deepen ties with academia. On Sept. 11, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Seoul National University, with plans to expand research collaborations with other institutions. “Our presence here isn’t just about reaching more users,” Kwon said. “It’s part of our goal to become a true partner for Korea’s AI transformation.” 2025-09-10 14:19:15

Lotte Chemical's struggles mirror South Korea's petrochemical crisis SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - Lotte Chemical, once seen as a pillar of South Korea’s industrial strength, is now grappling with a series of setbacks that mirror the broader malaise in the country’s petrochemical sector. The company’s Malaysian unit, Lotte Chemical Titan, has recorded losses for 10 consecutive quarters, culminating in a roughly 1 trillion won ($721 million) impairment charge late last year. Once a reliable profit engine, the subsidiary has become a financial burden, forcing the parent company to shutter plants in Malaysia and seek a buyer for the struggling business. Lotte Chemical has responded with sweeping asset sales, divesting operations from Pakistan to the United States and Japan. Over the past two years, it has raised about 1.7 trillion won ($1.23 billion) through sales of subsidiaries and stakes in joint ventures, money earmarked for debt repayment and working capital. At home, the company is racing to reposition itself in higher-value materials, including copper foil for electric vehicle batteries, and to push into hydrogen and specialty chemicals. The company is now focusing on portfolio advancement through expansion of hydrogen energy business and next-generation battery materials. At a company leadership meeting in July, Lee Young-jun, who oversees Lotte’s chemical business group, urged executives to return to fundamentals. “Let’s understand our core competencies and actively seek out business opportunities based on them,” he said. The crisis facing Lotte Chemical underscores deeper problems across South Korea’s petrochemical industry. On Aug. 20, the government, together with relevant ministries, announced a sweeping restructuring plan aimed at cutting annual naphtha cracking capacity by as much as 3.7 million tons. Officials acknowledged that global oversupply, driven by massive capacity additions in China and the Middle East, had left Korean producers exposed. The timing has been especially punishing for Lotte. Its ambitious overseas investments, from Titan in Malaysia to its ethylene glycol plant in Louisiana, have struggled in the face of weak demand and depressed margins. Even as it sheds assets, the company is under pressure to accelerate its shift into higher-value sectors before its traditional petrochemical business erodes further. Lotte Energy Materials, the company’s advanced materials arm, is at the center of that pivot. The division has expanded sales of copper foil products for batteries and plans to begin mass production in Malaysia next year. It is also stepping up research into solid electrolytes, lithium iron phosphate cathodes and silicon anodes — technologies seen as critical to the next generation of batteries. Whether that strategy can offset the losses mounting abroad remains uncertain. For now, Lotte Chemical’s turnaround effort has become a test case for an entire industry under strain. 2025-09-09 15:24:00

Defense company LIG Nex1 establishes European hub in Munich SEOUL, September 08 (AJP) - South Korean defense firm LIG Nex1 said Monday that it has opened a representative office in Munich, establishing its first operational hub in Europe. The office was inaugurated on Sept. 4 with a ceremony attended by LIG Nex1’s chief executive, Shin Ick-hyun, along with German officials and executives from European defense firms. The company said the Munich office will serve as a platform for deeper collaboration with European partners in research, development, production and marketing. It also plans to offer tailored solutions for the European defense sector across its portfolio, which includes guided weapons, command-and-control systems and electronic warfare technologies. LIG Nex1 is particularly aiming to strengthen cooperation in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and space systems. 2025-09-08 15:15:48

Labor strife deepens at GM Korea amid speculation over company's future SEOUL, September 08 (AJP) - General Motors Korea resumed formal wage negotiations with its labor union on Monday, the first such talks in nearly two months, as disputes over restructuring and persistent speculation about the automaker’s long-term presence in South Korea add to rising tensions. Talks began at 2 p.m., marking the 14th round of bargaining this year and the first since July 15. In the interim, the two sides had engaged in lower-level discussions without reaching a breakthrough. The union, which has already secured the legal right to strike, staged partial walkouts from July 10 to 14, and resumed two-hour stoppages on Aug. 19, later escalating them to four hours beginning Aug. 21. At the center of the standoff is GM Korea’s plan, announced in May, to shut nine company-owned service centers and sell idle land at its Bupyeong plant, a key facility outside Seoul. The union is demanding collective bargaining that includes guarantees for jobs and alternatives to closures. “The reason the union opposes some of the sales is because GM Korea’s continued restructuring from GM headquarters and the overseas subsidiary plant closure processes follow a worryingly similar pattern,” Ahn Kyu-baek, head of the GM Korea union, said at a Sept. 4 press conference. Adding to the uncertainty are renewed questions about GM’s commitment to the South Korean market. Industry officials say GM headquarters recently halted development of the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt, which had been slated for production in 2029 at GM Technical Center Korea. The decision has fueled speculation that the automaker may scale back its footprint in the country. A GM Korea spokesperson downplayed such concerns, saying that product development road maps are “established as part of global strategy to respond to worldwide market environment changes and customer demand” and that priorities are regularly reviewed. The spokesperson added that GM’s Korean technical center “plays a crucial role” in the company’s global engineering and design network and would continue to do so. Still, GM Korea has faced recurring withdrawal rumors as its export-focused business model comes under pressure. The company ships about 90 percent of its vehicles produced in South Korea to the United States, where changes in tariff and trade rules have eroded some of its competitive advantages. Tensions were further inflamed after it was revealed that Hector Villarreal, GM Korea’s chairman, had urged the government to reconsider the recently passed Yellow Envelope Law, which expands protections for striking workers. 2025-09-08 14:39:03

Joint Korean university team uses magnetic nanohelices to control electron spins at room temperature SEOUL, September 05 (AJP) - Researchers from Korea University and Seoul National University have created tiny magnetic structures that can control the spin of electrons at room temperature, a breakthrough that could push spintronics — a new kind of electronics — closer to real-world use. The study, led by Professor Kim Young-keun of Korea University and Professor Nam Ki-tae of Seoul National University, was published in Science on September 4, 2025. Their team successfully made "nanohelices," or spiral-shaped magnetic structures, that filter electron spins based on their handedness, or chirality. This could help build faster, more energy-efficient electronic devices in the future. Spintronics is a new way to process information using the spin of electrons rather than just their charge. It promises smaller, faster, and less power-hungry data storage and computing. However, one of the main challenges has been finding materials that can easily and reliably control spin direction. The team discovered that combining shape and magnetism can solve this problem. By making spiral structures out of magnetic materials, they discovered that they could control the direction of spin simply using geometry and the material’s natural magnetism — and it works at room temperature. "These nanohelices achieve spin polarization exceeding about 80 percent, just by their geometry and magnetism," said Professor Kim. "It is a rare combination of structural chirality and intrinsic ferromagnetism, and it works at room temperature. We do not need complex magnetic circuits or cooling systems." To build the nanohelices, the researchers used an electrochemical method and added tiny amounts of chiral organic molecules like cinchonine or cinchonidine. These molecules acted like templates that helped the metal form into spirals with either left-handed or right-handed twists. This kind of control is well known in organic chemistry but almost never achieved in metals. Once the helices were made, the team showed that right-handed ones allowed one spin direction to pass through, while blocking the opposite spin. That makes them function like spin filters. This is the first time this effect has been observed in a 3D inorganic structure. To prove the handedness of each nanohelix, the researchers invented a test based on electromotive force, or emf. When they rotated a magnetic field around the helices, the left- and right-handed spirals generated opposite emf signals. This lets them measure chirality even in materials that do not react to light. Because the nanohelices are magnetic, they can also send spin information across long distances — even without being aligned in a specific direction. This effect did not happen in non-magnetic versions of the same helices, showing that magnetism is essential for this behavior. The team also built a working solid-state device that showed different electrical signals depending on whether it used left- or right-handed helices. This shows that the technology can be used in real electronic devices. "Chirality is well-known in organic chemistry and biology, where the left or right twist of a molecule can determine how it functions," said Professor Nam. "But controlling chirality in metals is extremely difficult. We achieved it here just by adding a small amount of chiral molecules, which is a major breakthrough in materials chemistry." Professor Kim said, adding: "We believe this system could become a platform for chiral spintronics and help design more advanced magnetic nanostructures." The team’s technique also allows them to control not just the direction of the twist, but also how many strands the helix has, which could open even more possibilities in future electronics. 2025-09-05 14:12:23