Samsung showcases AI-powered home appliances in Mexico City SEOUL, June 04 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest line of artificial intelligence-powered home appliances at a regional tech event in Mexico City, as the South Korean tech giant ramps up efforts to expand its footprint in the Latin American market. The “2025 Latin America Tech Seminar” brought together about 60 media representatives and industry professionals from 13 countries, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. The event marked the regional debut of Samsung’s 2025 Bespoke AI home appliance lineup, which includes next-generation refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, cordless vacuum cleaners and air conditioners. Part of a broader global outreach campaign, the seminar is the first in a series of planned promotional events aimed at showcasing Samsung’s vision for connected living. The company plans to host similar events across Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and other key international markets later this year. At the event, Samsung demonstrated how its Bespoke AI products leverage artificial intelligence to enhance energy efficiency, user convenience, and security. Features included integrated display screens, Bixby voice controls, and seamless connectivity with SmartThings, Samsung’s smart home ecosystem. Attendees toured a model apartment dubbed “Sam’s House,” a conceptual living space designed to illustrate how AI-driven appliances can optimize everyday routines — automating tasks, adjusting energy usage, and syncing across multiple devices. The Bespoke brand, known for its customizable designs and smart capabilities, has been a central part of Samsung’s strategy to redefine the modern home. The company is now positioning its AI appliances as a key growth engine in international markets, particularly as consumers increasingly seek connected, sustainable home solutions. 2025-06-04 15:37:11

SK hynix overtakes Samsung to claim top spot in global DRAM market SEOUL, June 04 (AJP) - SK hynix surpassed Samsung Electronics in the first quarter of 2025 to become the world’s largest supplier of DRAM chips, according to data released Tuesday by market research firm TrendForce. It marks the first time the memory chipmaker has claimed the top position in the global DRAM market, long dominated by its larger domestic rival. The global DRAM industry recorded $27.01 billion in revenue for the quarter ending in March, a 5.5 percent decline from the previous quarter, amid falling contract prices and weakened shipments of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) products. SK hynix captured 36 percent of the market during the quarter, overtaking Samsung, which fell to 33.7 percent. Just three months earlier, Samsung had held a commanding lead with a 39.3 percent share, compared to SK hynix’s 36.6 percent. The reversal underscores a sharp shift in industry dynamics, particularly given that Samsung held a 43.9 percent share as recently as the first quarter of 2024. Despite a 7.1 percent decline in quarterly revenue to $9.72 billion, SK hynix gained ground on the strength of shipments of its high-value HBM3E chips, a key component in advanced computing systems. Samsung, by contrast, reported a steeper 19.1 percent drop in DRAM revenue, to $9.1 billion — an outcome attributed to restricted HBM sales to China and delays stemming from product redesigns. Micron Technology, the American memory maker, maintained its position in third place with $6.58 billion in revenue and a 24.3 percent market share. Separate figures from Counterpoint Research echoed the TrendForce findings, placing SK hynix at a 36 percent share, narrowly ahead of Samsung at 34 percent. TrendForce projected a rebound in DRAM shipments in the second quarter, as PC and smartphone manufacturers complete inventory adjustments and scale up production. The firm also pointed to a temporary 90-day suspension of mutual tariffs between the United States and China as a catalyst for renewed demand. With inventory levels expected to stabilize, analysts anticipate a more favorable pricing environment that could lift revenues across the memory sector in the coming months. 2025-06-04 13:34:16

INTERVIEW: Beauty brand Moumou founder turning tutorials into sales SEOUL, June 02 (AJP) - For Yu Hyeon-gyeong, a veteran makeup artist with two decades of experience, the path from the broadcast studio to beauty entrepreneurship was anything but planned. Yet since launching her cosmetics brand, Moumou, in December 2023, she has quietly built a devoted following — driven largely by a steady stream of tutorial-focused Instagram content. “The secret to our success? Merely Instagram,” she said in a recent interview at her Cheongdam-dong salon, The Class Monarch. Yu, who spent more than a decade working with leading Korean broadcasters such as SBS and MBC, became a familiar name in media circles as the artist behind the polished looks of high-profile news anchors like Park Sun-young and Bae Hyun-jin. “I wasn’t someone who set out to start a business,” Yu said. “My parents were entrepreneurs, so I knew it wasn’t always a happy path.” Still, her move into cosmetics was a natural evolution, particularly as social media reshaped the beauty industry. Her salon began gaining traction on Instagram as early as 2016, well before the platform became mainstream in South Korea. “Every makeup artist dreams of creating their own brand,” she said. “We have a deeper love for cosmetics — and unique styles we want to express.” With Moumou, Yu aimed to break from the image of professional makeup brands she found too “sophisticated and difficult,” and instead positioned her products with an emphasis on usability. Her brand is built on what she calls a “friendship artist” philosophy. “I wanted cosmetics that not only looked pretty but also came with instructions on how to use them to look pretty,” she explained. “Like an appliance manual — but for makeup.” Naming the brand proved to be an unexpectedly complex process. She wanted a name that began with “M” to echo her salon, Monarch. After facing a series of trademark rejections, she settled on “Moumou” — a simple, visually intuitive name that she said even elementary schoolers could recognize online. “People don’t discover products by sound anymore. It’s all visual.” Yu’s business model eschews traditional advertising in favor of educational content. “If we release a grapefruit-colored product, we focus on showing people how to use it, not just how it looks in a photo,” she said. Her tutorials regularly attract between 800,000 and 1 million views, with demonstrative content far outperforming static imagery in generating sales. The strategy appears to be working. The brand has gained a particularly strong following in Japan, where consumers are drawn to Moumou’s soft, princess-inspired aesthetic. Japanese customers now represent roughly 80 percent of Moumou’s overseas clientele. “Distributors even asked if we created the brand specifically for Japan,” she said with a laugh. “We didn’t — but apparently the style resonates.” In April, Moumou entered the Japanese market through Bihibi, a distributor known for bringing Korean brands such as Skin Angel and AOU to local shelves. The company plans to expand into Loft stores by the second half of 2025. Yu attributes her trend sensitivity to her salon’s location in Seoul’s upscale Cheongdam-dong neighborhood, where beauty-savvy clients arrive with highly specific requests. “They won’t just ask for a pink lipstick,” she said. “They'll ask for detailed under-eye techniques or specific lip-overlining styles.” Despite close working relationships with her team — many of whom followed her from her broadcast days — Yu maintains clear boundaries. “Even though my deputy director and I have worked together for 17 years, we’ve only had two meals together,” she said. “I don’t message staff after hours unless it’s urgent. That distance keeps the relationship healthy.” As her employees began building social media followings of their own, Yu restructured the salon’s employment model, shifting from salaried positions to freelance contracts. “When they started receiving brand deals, I encouraged them to go freelance,” she said. “They can keep their outside income and still earn incentives through salon work.” Yu has turned down offers to expand through major platforms such as Amazon, preferring a deliberate, incremental approach to growth. “We’re a small brand, and I believe in doing each step right, rather than rushing.” While international markets beckon, her immediate focus remains on deepening Moumou’s presence at home. “My goal isn’t just to sell makeup — it’s to teach people how to enjoy it,” she said. “I want to help solve the concerns that clients bring to me every day.” 2025-06-02 16:10:20

Fans flock to Incheon for K-pop's global gathering SEOUL, June 02 (AJP) - Thousands of K-pop fans from across the globe converged on Incheon’s Inspire Entertainment Resort over the weekend for the 2025 Weverse Con Festival, the fourth installment of Hybe’s annual music celebration. Spanning two days, the event drew such a surge of international visitors that local restaurants within the sprawling resort struggled to accommodate the influx. The festival has evolved into a global pilgrimage for fans of Korean pop music, with attendees traveling from as far as Australia, China, and Japan. One fan from Sydney described herself as having become a “K-pop fanatic” during the early days of the pandemic. “It started with BTS in 2020,” she said. Since 2022, she has returned to Korea four times, initially for BTS tours and now, she noted, “on another tour for different artists with the BTS Australian ARMY.” The opening day was headlined by ENHYPEN, whose hour-long set featured 15 tracks performed with live band accompaniment. The seven-member boy group delivered an eclectic mix of songs, from the tender “Loose” and “XO (Only If You Say Yes)” to the darker, fantasy-infused “Bite Me.” They also premiered the unreleased “Far” from their forthcoming mini-album Orange Blood and previewed choreography from their new single “Bad Desire (With or Without You),” slated for release Thursday. Sunday’s lineup reflected the breadth of Hybe’s talent roster. Girl group LE SSERAFIM performed without member Huh Yunjin, who is recovering from a back injury, but the remaining members carried the set with high-energy renditions of “CRAZY,” “HOT,” “UNFORGIVEN,” and “ANTIFRAGILE.” Rising boy group TWS drew loud cheers as they returned to the festival for a second year. They performed fan favorites and surprised the crowd by joining a dance tutorial segment, an unscheduled but warmly received interlude. TOMORROW X TOGETHER closed out the festival for the third consecutive year, offering a 17-song set that included their recent digital single “Love Language” and several solo tracks. Veteran performer BoA took the stage as the festival’s tribute artist, marking her 25th anniversary with a nostalgic medley of early-2000s hits. The audience joined in for “Atlantis Princess” and “No. 1,” and the singer — long considered one of K-pop’s formative figures — announced a new album scheduled for August. The weekend also offered a glimpse into the next generation of K-pop. Newcomers such as P1Harmony and the Dreamcatcher subunit UAU rounded out the bill, offering performances that underscored Hybe’s efforts to cultivate emerging talent alongside its more established acts. 2025-06-02 13:52:16

Samsung Pay outage disrupts morning transactions across country SEOUL, June 02 (AJP) - A three-hour outage of Samsung Pay, the popular mobile payment service, disrupted morning routines across South Korea on Monday, leaving customers unable to complete transactions and prompting widespread frustration among users and retailers. The disruption began around 7 a.m. and was resolved by 10:22 a.m., according to Samsung officials. During the outage, users attempting to make purchases with their smartphones reported failures at convenience stores, cafes and other retailers, with some customers reportedly abandoning transactions altogether. Online forums and social media quickly filled with complaints. “Samsung Pay isn't working, so make sure to carry your physical card,” one user wrote. Another added, “I was trying to pay at a convenience store and was flustered because Samsung Pay didn't work.” In a statement posted to its community page, Samsung’s Wallet operation team said, “The issue causing errors when attempting card payments and registrations has been resolved, and normal usage is now possible.” The company said it is still investigating the precise cause of the malfunction. This is not the first technical issue to affect the service. On May 16, Samsung Pay experienced a brief disruption due to what the company described as a “temporary network equipment problem.” That incident was resolved within minutes. Samsung Pay, launched in 2015, is widely used in South Korea, where mobile payment adoption is among the highest in the world. 2025-06-02 11:22:22

Candidates blitz key battlegrounds as presidential race enters final stretch SEOUL, June 01 (AJP) - South Korea’s leading presidential contenders crisscrossed the country on Sunday in a final bid to rally voters ahead of Tuesday’s election, with both major candidates making strategic forays into regions outside their political comfort zones. Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party spent the day traversing the conservative stronghold of Yeongnam, seeking to peel away support from traditional bastions of right-wing dominance. Beginning in his hometown of Andong, in North Gyeongsang Province, Lee made stops in Daegu and Ulsan before concluding with a twilight rally at Busan Station Plaza. Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party, a former governor of Gyeonggi Province, concentrated his final Sunday push closer to the capital. Touring the greater Seoul metropolitan area, Kim emphasized his track record in infrastructure and regional development — notably the Great Train Express (GTX), a high-speed commuter rail project aimed at transforming transit across the capital region. His campaign stops included Gwanggyo, Seongnam, Guri, Namyangju, Uijeongbu and key districts in northern Seoul. Latest polling suggests a surprisingly competitive race, even in conservative strongholds such as the TK region (Daegu and North Gyeongsang) and the PK region (Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang). In some surveys of the PK region, Lee is polling within the margin of error against Kim. In a symbolic gesture aimed at consolidating conservative support, former President Park Geun-hye — still a revered figure among many in the TK region — made a rare public appearance on Friday at a traditional market in Daegu, urging voters to support Kim. Meanwhile, Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party campaigned in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, where he eked out a narrow victory in last year’s general election. Lee addressed supporters at Dongtan Lake Park in the afternoon, appealing to younger and independent voters in a last-ditch effort. Later in the evening, he appeared at Seoul Station to engage with travelers heading home after the weekend. The candidates are set to close their official campaigns on Monday with rallies in Seoul. Lee will hold his final event in Yeouido Park, directly facing the National Assembly building — a site he has framed as emblematic of democratic resistance, recalling the Assembly’s revocation of martial law on December 3. Kim, for his part, will conclude his campaign at Seoul City Hall Plaza. 2025-06-01 15:46:11

Public opinion manipulation allegations roil final days of election SEOUL, June 01 (AJP) - With just two days remaining before South Korea's presidential election, Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung on Sunday accused a far-right group of orchestrating an online campaign to manipulate public opinion in favor of his conservative rival, calling the alleged operation an “insurrection.” Lee urged law enforcement authorities to launch an immediate and thorough investigation into what he described as a "systematic attempt to distort the electoral process." “I firmly believe there is a connection to the People Power Party,” Lee said, referring to the group in question, Rhee Park School — a conservative organization known for promoting the legacies of former Presidents Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee. The allegations stem from an investigative report published on May 31 by Newstapa, a nonprofit journalism outlet. The report claimed that Rhee Park School assembled a dedicated team to post politically charged comments on news websites, lauding the People Power Party’s candidate, Kim Moon-soo, while disparaging Lee. According to the report, members of the group were allegedly recruited with promises of after-school instructor certifications, qualifying them to work with elementary school students. The report further alleged that some of those instructors have since been dispatched to schools nationwide, spreading what critics have called “distorted historical views” under the guise of extracurricular education — a program that began under the previous administration of Yoon Suk Yeol. The People Power Party has firmly denied any connection to Rhee Park School or the alleged campaign. “Kim Moon-soo, his campaign office, and the People Power Party have absolutely no relation to this matter,” the party said in a statement. “To suggest otherwise is baseless and irresponsible.” Jang Dong-hyuk, a senior strategist for the PPP, held an emergency news conference in Seoul, accusing the Democratic Party of attempting to sway the election through what he called “sinister schemes.” “The Democratic Party knows the election landscape is unfavorable for them, and so they’re once again resorting to negative campaigning and conspiracy,” Jang said. 2025-06-01 14:20:08

Korea's exports slip in May, undermined by US tariffs SEOUL, June 01 (AJP) - South Korea’s exports declined in May, snapping a three-month streak of gains, as shipments to key markets including the United States and China weakened, government data showed Sunday. Exports fell 1.3 percent from a year earlier to $57.3 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The downturn was attributed largely to a sharp drop in shipments to the United States, where the Trump administration’s tariff policies have weighed on South Korean automotive exports. Imports also contracted, falling 5.3 percent year-on-year to $50.3 billion. The resulting trade surplus stood at $6.94 billion. Shipments to the United States slid 8.1 percent to $10 billion, with the automotive sector particularly affected by the administration’s 25 percent tariffs on imported vehicles. Exports to China, South Korea’s largest trading partner, also dropped 8.4 percent to $10.4 billion, amid waning demand for semiconductors and petrochemical products. Deliveries to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations declined 1.3 percent to $10 billion. In contrast, exports to the European Union rose for the third consecutive month, gaining 4 percent year-on-year to reach $6 billion, buoyed by strong demand for automobiles and chips. 2025-06-01 10:02:59

Calls grow for certified quality checks on exports amid global used car boom SEOUL, May 30 (AJP) - With the rapid expansion of secondhand vehicles in the global market, there are mounting calls for South Korea to implement quality-certification measures for its exports. In a report released by the Korea Automotive Technology Institute on Friday, the used car market is expected to continue growing, with South Korea having ample potential for exports. Trade volume for used cars in the global market increased by 88.9 percent over the last decade, rising from 5.4 million units in 2010 to 10.2 million units in 2022, driven by economic growth in emerging markets. The country's largest shipments went to Libya with 121,000 units, followed by Kyrgyzstan with 72,000 units, together accounting for 36.2 percent of total exports. By value, Kyrgyzstan ranked first with $1.49 billion, accounting for more than one third or 31.4 percent of the total revenues. The report cited Japan and China as benchmarking cases for quality control, with Japan's used car market valued at 1 trillion yen in 2023 and China seeing an average annual growth rate of 208 percent since 2019. The report stressed the need to secure certified quality assurance through authorized institutions, which also helps gauge demand in emerging markets. The report also proposed building integrated complexes that handle logistics alongside quality checks to improve efficiency and create synergy. 2025-05-30 14:56:42

Saltlux unveils new AI agent platform at annual forum SEOUL, May 29 (AJP) -South Korean artificial intelligence company Saltlux introduced its latest suite of AI technologies on Thursday, showcasing ambitions to gain a stronger foothold in the intensifying global AI race. At its 20th annual AI conference, held at GS Tower in Seoul, the company unveiled LUXIA 3, a next-generation AI model comprising three core components: LUXIA3 LLM for language generation and understanding, LUXIA3 Deep for advanced reasoning and decision-making, and LUXIA3 VLM for processing unstructured data. The system, according to company executives, represents a significant step toward autonomous AI capabilities beyond conventional chatbot functions. The centerpiece of the presentation was the official rollout of Goober, Saltlux’s AI agent platform. First previewed in 2024, the platform has since been refined with a faster interface and an expanded feature set, including automated podcast creation and customized content delivery through services like “Weekly Goober” and “Daily Goober,” which push updates to users via email and text. Saltlux highlighted Goober’s “deep research” function, which integrates reasoning and real-time data aggregation to generate analytical reports. The platform is capable of producing documents exceeding 20 pages by synthesizing insights from over 100 high-quality sources, including proprietary research and institutional databases. “AI agents will revolutionize not only how we interact with machines, but how value is created across entire industries,” said Lee Kyung-il, Saltlux’s chief executive, during the keynote address. He warned that automation was already reshaping labor markets, noting that more than 300,000 software developers had been laid off in the United States over the past 18 months due to advances in AI. The conference also featured demonstrations from Diquest, a Saltlux subsidiary, which presented applications of AI agents in content production, customer service, and even emotional communication. In the afternoon, industry partners including Samjong KPMG, translation company DeepL, and AI chipmaker Rebellions shared real-world case studies of Saltlux’s technology in use. Saltlux said full coverage of the event would be made available for streaming on its official YouTube channel. 2025-05-29 17:26:43