AJU PRESS - ASIA NEWS HUB

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Candice Kim, Lim Jaeho candicekim1121@ajupress.com, ajupresswogh@ajupress.com

South Korea, Japan agree to launch joint response body for common challenges President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru shake hands after a press release/ Yonhap SEOUL, August 23 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru agreed Saturday to establish a bilateral consultative body to address shared challenges including low birth rates, aging populations, and disaster management following their summit meeting in Tokyo. The leaders also committed to close coordination on North Korea policy and strengthening trilateral cooperation with the United States, according to a joint statement released after the talks. Lee emphasized that both leaders recognized the critical importance of unwavering Korea-Japan and Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation frameworks with Washington. The summit covered extensive discussions on Korean Peninsula denuclearization, economic cooperation in hydrogen and artificial intelligence sectors, and various social policy challenges. Lee said the talks addressed common issues facing both nations including low birth rates, metropolitan area concentration, agriculture, and disaster safety management through the proposed joint consultative mechanism. On security matters, both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and building lasting peace. They agreed to maintain close coordination on North Korea policies while supporting successful hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju in October and the Korea-Japan-China trilateral summit chaired by Japan. Lee highlighted the historic nature of his visit, noting he became the first South Korean president to choose Japan as the initial bilateral destination after taking office since diplomatic normalization in 1965. The joint document release marked the first such announcement following a Korea-Japan summit in 17 years, demonstrating the countries' commitment to relationship development. The leaders agreed to resume shuttle diplomacy between the two nations and expand youth exchanges through increased working holiday program participation. Lee described the summit as launching a new journey toward building genuine trust between the two countries and their peoples. Lee characterized both nations as optimal partners for mutually beneficial cooperation across social, cultural, and environmental sectors. He emphasized his administration's commitment to practical diplomacy centered on national interests while pursuing future-oriented win-win cooperation pathways with Japan. 2025-08-23 20:44:17
Lee pledges support for Korean diaspora during Tokyo visit SEOUL, August 23 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae-myung held his first official meeting with Korean residents in Japan at a Tokyo hotel luncheon on Saturday, praising their contributions to Korea-Japan relations and promising expanded government support. The president described their historical struggles as foundational to both countries' development, citing their perseverance through colonial rule, national division, and life as overseas residents. Lee acknowledged the role of Korean diaspora in creating what he called a "new history" of bilateral relations, pointing to cultural exchange successes in districts like Shin-Okubo and Osaka's Ikuno Korea Town, which attracts 2 million annual visitors. He credited Korean residents with fostering trust between the two nations through cultural bridges including Korean food, K-beauty, and K-pop. The president formally apologized for historical injustices against Korean residents in Japan, specifically referencing spy fabrication cases during South Korea's democratization period. Lee stated that Korean diaspora members were "unfairly victimized" by state violence and expressed official condolences to affected families and victims. Lee emphasized his administration's commitment to protecting overseas Korean nationals' safety and rights, describing it as a fundamental government duty. He pledged to expand support for diaspora communities and promised to build a Korea that enhances their pride and confidence in their homeland. 2025-08-23 17:32:02
South Korea's Lee departs for Japan-US diplomatic tour SEOUL, August 23 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed Seoul Airport on Saturday morning for a six-day diplomatic visit to Japan and the United States, accompanied by First Lady Kim Hea Kyung. The tour includes summit meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump as part of Lee's "national interest-centered practical diplomacy" centered on the Korea-U.S.-Japan alliance. Lee arrived in Tokyo on Saturday morning and began his official schedule with a luncheon meeting with Korean residents in Japan. He will hold talks with Prime Minister Ishiba to discuss bilateral relationship development, followed by a friendship dinner. The meetings aim to strengthen ties between the two neighboring countries. On Sunday morning, Lee will meet with Japanese political figures from the Japan-Korea Parliamentary League before departing for the United States, arriving in Washington D.C. the same afternoon local time. The Korea-U.S. summit, described as the tour's highlight, is scheduled for Monday morning and will cover detailed discussions on the recent tariff agreement reached last month. The summit agenda includes broad security discussions on issues such as the flexibility of U.S. forces in Korea. Lee will also participate in a business roundtable with Korean and American business leaders and deliver a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank during his packed Washington schedule. On the final day Tuesday, Lee will travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to visit the Philly Shipyard acquired by Hanwha Ocean and other facilities. The president is scheduled to return to Seoul Airport early Thursday morning, concluding the diplomatic tour aimed at reinforcing trilateral cooperation frameworks. 2025-08-23 10:43:41
South Korea revives military service exemptions to keep AI talent at home SEOUL, August 22 (AJP) - South Korea said Friday it would revive a military service exemption program for specialists in artificial intelligence, part of a broader effort to accelerate what officials are calling a national “AI transition” and to prevent the outflow of top talent abroad. The plan, announced in the government’s new economic growth strategy, comes as countries around the world race to secure expertise in artificial intelligence — a field that is increasingly seen as a determinant of economic strength and national security. Beginning next year, graduate students pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees in AI will be given priority placement as “special research personnel.” The designation allows certain science and engineering graduates to complete their military service obligations by working in private-sector research institutes or universities rather than in uniform. Officials said they would amend existing regulations, which currently favor researchers in semiconductors, industrial components and other strategic technologies, to include AI. “AI is no longer a sectoral issue. It is the foundation of competitiveness across all industries,” the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. South Korea maintains one of the world’s strictest conscription systems, requiring almost all able-bodied men to serve 18 to 21 months in the military, depending on the branch. The “special research personnel” program was introduced in the 1970s to help secure expertise in science and technology at a time when South Korea was still an emerging economy. The system has produced some of the country’s most prominent technology leaders, including Kim Jung-ju, the late founder of the gaming giant Nexon, and Kim Taek-jin, the chief executive of NCSoft. But the program has also drawn criticism for being overly generous and unequal. In 2022, the government moved to scale it back, narrowing eligibility and limiting the number of positions. Critics argued that the exemptions allowed privileged students to avoid military service while ordinary conscripts bore the burden. Calls for revival, however, have grown louder in recent years as South Korea has sought to position itself as a leader in artificial intelligence, competing not only with the United States and China but also with smaller, nimble players like Singapore and Israel. Business groups have warned that without new incentives, many of South Korea’s brightest AI minds will choose to study or work overseas, where they face no military obligations. At a parliamentary hearing in February, Park Sung-ho, chairman of the Korea Internet Corporations Association, urged lawmakers to restore the program, saying it was “vital to prevent the country’s most promising AI researchers from leaving.” He added that the policy could help attract foreign talent as well, if South Korea signaled that it was willing to create favorable conditions for innovation. AI has become a particularly urgent priority in Seoul, where policymakers see the technology as critical to boosting productivity in a rapidly aging society and to strengthening defense capabilities against North Korea. The government has pledged billions of dollars in investments to develop domestic AI chips, build large-scale language models and expand AI education at universities. 2025-08-22 16:43:23
Pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan touts 'Made-in-Pyongyang' smartphones SEOUL, August 22 (AJP) - A report in the Choson Sinbo, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper based in Japan, claims that North Korea's Jindallae Mobile Phone Factory is capable of producing hundreds of thousands of smartphones annually. The factory, located in Pyongyang's Mangyongdae district, was reportedly established in March 2018 and has a total floor area of 6,087 square meters. The report, published Aug. 20, highlights the facility’s output of dozens of types of smart and feature phones, beginning with the domestically designed Jindallae 3 model. North Korean officials described the factory’s precision and productivity as being "very high level," with claims of maintaining Class 10 dust-free conditions for the assembly of LCD touchscreens. The production lines are said to be integrated, covering everything from LCD manufacturing and mainboard assembly to packaging and quality inspection. The factory's production capacity, according to the North Korean e-commerce site Manmulsang, is in the hundreds of thousands of units per year. Despite Pyongyang’s assertions, experts are skeptical about the country's claims of independent smartphone design and production. A 2024 report by Martin Williams of the Crimson Center think tank, published in 38 North, suggested that all smartphones sold in North Korea are manufactured by Chinese companies under original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreements. The report details how Chinese firms handle the basic design and production based on North Korean specifications. The finished products are then branded with North Korean names, suggesting that the country’s domestic production claims are likely exaggerated. North Korea, the report concludes, appears to function more as an assembly and rebranding operation than a full-scale independent manufacturer. 2025-08-22 14:55:13
Korean financial regulator inspects firms hit by ransomware attacks SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - South Korea’s top financial regulator has begun on-site inspections of companies struck by recent ransomware attacks, as concerns mount over the security of consumer data in the country’s financial sector. The Financial Supervisory Service dispatched examiners to SGI Seoul Guarantee, the nation’s leading guarantee insurance provider, and to Welrix F&I Loan, a lending affiliate of Welcome Financial Group, according to industry officials, Thursday. Both companies were targeted by overseas hackers in recent weeks. The attack on SGI Seoul Guarantee last month disrupted parts of its computer systems, prompting what the regulator described as a “comprehensive field inspection.” Investigators are also scrutinizing other Welcome Financial Group subsidiaries for possible fallout from the breach at Welrix F&I Loan. A central question is whether sensitive personal information was exposed. Welrix, which specializes in purchasing and collecting nonperforming loans from Welcome Savings Bank and other lenders, holds data on lower-credit borrowers who could be especially vulnerable if details were leaked. Welcome Financial Group has said that, so far, no personal information has been confirmed compromised. The company maintains the breach stemmed from an employee’s personal computer and affected only meeting materials, not customer data. It also emphasized that major units such as Welcome Savings Bank operate on separate servers untouched by the attack. Still, the Russian hacking group behind the intrusion claimed on the dark web that it had exfiltrated more than one terabyte of internal company files, accusing Welcome Financial of “irresponsibility” in safeguarding critical information. Another group that targeted SGI Seoul Guarantee has warned it will soon release stolen data, citing a lack of resources to review the trove itself. Regulators are expected to examine whether SGI Seoul Guarantee complied with electronic financial supervision requirements. 2025-08-21 16:43:30
[[K-Beauty]] Korean cosmetics manufacturer Cosmax to set up India subsidiary SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - Cosmax, the world’s largest cosmetics manufacturer, said it will establish a subsidiary in Mumbai, India, by the end of 2025, underscoring the company’s ambitions to make India a key pillar of its next stage of global expansion. The South Korean company, a leading provider of original design manufacturing (ODM) services for international brands, outlined the plan during an investor relations meeting in Seoul on Wednesday. Founder and Chairman Lee Kyung-soo described the India venture as part of Cosmax’s “new leap” strategy. A senior Cosmax executive said the move is in its final stages, pointing to the rapid growth of India’s cosmetics industry and the opportunity to leverage Korean skin care expertise in a market of 1.5 billion people. India’s beauty and personal care market was valued at $31.7 billion in 2024, expanding at an average annual rate of 4.7 percent since 2022, according to data from the Korea Cosmetic Industry Institute. Cosmax currently operates in 10 countries, including production hubs in China, the United States and Indonesia. Officials said the company may explore a Middle East presence after launching in India. The company’s strategy increasingly aims to compete with France’s luxury beauty houses through partnerships with global giants such as L’Oréal and Estée Lauder, while advancing its own premium positioning. Chairman Lee stressed that Cosmax’s growth will depend not only on scale but also on building world-class research capabilities and aligning with the most competitive international players. 2025-08-21 14:19:42
South Korea's costly nuclear deal with Westinghouse traces back to 50-year dependency SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - South Korea’s fraught nuclear agreement with Westinghouse Electric of the United States, derided by critics as a “50-year slave contract,” is the culmination of a technological dependency that dates back to the earliest days of the country’s atomic energy program. In the 1970s, South Korea built its nuclear ambitions on American blueprints. The nation’s first reactors were based on designs from Combustion Engineering, a U.S. company that developed the System 80 model. When Westinghouse acquired Combustion Engineering in 2000, the intellectual property rights behind South Korea’s core reactor technology effectively passed into Westinghouse’s hands. At the heart of the current dispute is the APR1400, South Korea’s flagship reactor that it has sought to market abroad as a symbol of its industrial self-reliance. Though Korean engineers spent decades refining the design, the reactor remains rooted in Combustion Engineering’s System 80+, leaving room for Westinghouse to assert intellectual property claims. Those claims came to a head in 2022, after Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, the state-owned operator, secured a $17.1 billion contract to build reactors in the Czech Republic. Westinghouse swiftly filed suit in U.S. courts, arguing that the APR1400 could not be exported without its approval because it was derived from Westinghouse-controlled technology. The legal challenge threatened to derail South Korea’s most important nuclear export deal in years, just as Seoul was trying to reassert itself as a global player in the nuclear market. Facing a March 2025 deadline to finalize the Czech contract, Korean negotiators found themselves under enormous pressure. Industry officials say Westinghouse used that urgency to extract concessions. A settlement was reached in January. Under its reported terms, Korea agreed to pay Westinghouse $650 million per reactor for equipment and services, along with $175 million in licensing fees. Westinghouse also secured restrictions on where South Korea can export its reactors and won the right to review future Korean designs. For South Korea, the deal ensures the Czech project moves forward and preserves its credibility as a nuclear exporter. But it also underscores the limits of the country’s independence in an industry it has long touted as a pillar of national strength. “This is the price of building our industry on borrowed technology,” said one energy policy analyst in Seoul on condition of anonymity. “Even after decades of innovation, the original license still determines what Korea can and cannot do.” The controversy has become a flash point in South Korea, where critics argue that early reliance on foreign technology created structural dependencies that have persisted for nearly half a century. Despite technological prowess and a record of safe operations at home, the country remains tethered to intellectual property rights inherited from contracts signed in a very different era. As Seoul pushes to expand its nuclear exports to new markets, the episode is a reminder that choices made decades ago can cast long shadows — sometimes measured not in years, but in generations. 2025-08-21 13:39:27
[[K-Tech]] From 'Lineage' to AI: How NCSOFT is reinventing itself for new gaming era Editor's Note: This article is the 32nd installment in our series on Asia's top 100 companies, exploring the strategies, challenges, and innovations driving the region's most influential corporations. SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - In the late 1990s, when South Korea’s internet cafes were still filled with teenagers battling each other in primitive shooting games, a young software engineer, Kim Taek-jin, was quietly building something different. Kim, who had helped develop one of the country’s first word processors for the Korean language, launched a role-playing game called Lineage in 1998. It was South Korea’s first massively multiplayer online role-playing game — a virtual world where tens of thousands of players could gather at once, form alliances, and wage endless battles. The release transformed the country’s fledgling gaming industry and turned NCSOFT, the company Kim founded a year earlier, into a household name. More than a quarter century later, Lineage and its sequels still account for most of the company’s revenue. That dependence has been both a blessing and a burden. NCSOFT remains one of South Korea’s largest game publishers, but as the industry pivots toward mobile titles, console blockbusters and emerging platforms like the metaverse, it faces the challenge of reinventing itself while holding onto its most loyal fans. The company’s latest earnings, released this month, reflect that delicate balance. Revenue in the April-to-June quarter rose to 382.4 billion won, or about $284 million. Operating profit surged 71 percent from a year earlier, to 15.1 billion won. But foreign exchange losses pushed NCSOFT into the red, with a net loss of 36 billion won. The numbers underline a paradox: NCSOFT remains highly profitable when it leans on Lineage, but its long-term ambitions hinge on proving it can do more. In recent months, Kim has reorganized the company to prepare for that future. He stepped into a co-chief executive role alongside Park Byung-moo, who now manages business operations and acquisitions, freeing Kim to focus on the creative side of game development. NCSOFT has also invested in overseas studios in Sweden and Poland, betting that fresh talent can help diversify its catalog. Seven new titles are planned by 2026, including Aion 2, a sequel to one of its earlier hits, and Cinder City, a massively multiplayer tactical shooter that has already been delayed. Perhaps the company’s boldest move lies in artificial intelligence. NCSOFT has been rolling out Varco Studio, a proprietary generative AI tool that can build avatars, synthesize voices and automatically generate storylines. The company even spun off an AI subsidiary to accelerate development. Executives say the technology could dramatically reduce the time and cost of producing new games. “We’re at an inflection point,” said one Seoul-based industry analyst. “If NCSOFT can translate its AI investments into compelling new titles, it has a chance to break out of the Lineage shadow. If not, it risks being seen as a one-franchise company.” For Kim, the stakes are personal. At 56, he still sees himself less as a corporate chairman than as a developer. Friends and colleagues describe him as a tinkerer who would rather spend time with designers than board members. In that sense, the dual leadership model — with Park handling the business and Kim shaping the creative vision — reflects not just a corporate strategy but Kim’s own identity. The company’s ambitions are not limited to gaming. It operates a professional baseball team, the NC Dinos, and runs philanthropic programs through the NC Cultural Foundation, which supports education and campaigns against gaming addiction. NCSOFT is also experimenting with blockchain-based games and metaverse-style community platforms, signaling its intention to remain at the forefront of digital culture. Still, challenges abound. NCSOFT competes not only with domestic rivals like Nexon and Netmarble but also with global powerhouses like Blizzard and Riot Games, whose titles dominate esports arenas and streaming platforms. For all its technological prowess, NCSOFT has yet to produce a global cultural phenomenon on the scale of League of Legends or World of Warcraft. Yet in the company’s glassy headquarters south of Seoul, there is quiet confidence. After all, Kim has been here before: trying to convince the world that a small Korean developer could build something players would devote their lives to. In 1998, that gamble reshaped online gaming. The question now is whether NCSOFT can do it again — this time, with artificial intelligence and a new generation of players. 2025-08-21 10:26:46
South Korea launches petrochemical restructuring plan amid global glut SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - South Korea’s finance chief pledged government support for sweeping cuts in the country’s petrochemical industry, Wednesday, as officials seek to shore up competitiveness in a sector battered by global oversupply. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol said that 10 major petrochemical companies have agreed to reduce as much as 3.7 million tons of production capacity by the end of the year. The pledge came after the Lee Jae Myung administration convened its first inter-ministerial meeting on industrial competitiveness, held at the government complex in Seoul. Koo criticized domestic producers for ignoring repeated warnings of oversupply and instead expanding facilities during past boom years without moving quickly enough into higher-value products. “Resolving this crisis requires drastic capacity reduction and fundamental competitiveness enhancement, pursued with a do-or-die determination,” he said. Under the plan, participating firms must submit detailed reorganization strategies by the end of 2025, with a focus on scaling back their naphtha cracking operations, the backbone of petrochemical production. Koo pressed companies and their shareholders to put forward binding restructuring plans grounded in “painful self-rescue efforts,” and urged them to begin implementing changes as early as next month. The government said it would provide regulatory easing, tax incentives and financial assistance to companies that commit to restructuring. But Koo warned that firms attempting to delay or avoid the process would be excluded from support programs and could face punitive measures. He cited the shipbuilding industry’s recovery through painful restructuring as a precedent the petrochemical sector should follow. Officials plan to hold regular reviews of the industry’s progress and promised further intervention if needed, with the aim of what Koo described as a “revival” of South Korea’s petrochemical industry. 2025-08-20 15:08:39