Trump Burger and Silla gold crown in Gyeongju APEC-themed travel package SEOUL, November 21 (AJP) - A “Trump” hamburger named after the U.S. president who enjoyed it during his visit to South Korea for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) event — along with a chance to view authentic Silla dynasty crowns instead of the replica that pleased the VIPs — are among the highlights of a new tourism package launched to capitalize on APEC summit week in late October. Gyeongsangbuk-do Culture & Tourism Corporation (GCTO) will be offering a two-day “Gyeongju APEC Trail” tour through domestic travel agencies. The program reproduces the key sites, meals, and cultural stops experienced by world leaders and their spouses during the APEC Summit held in Gyeongju. The tour begins at Gyeongju Expo Park inside the Bomun Tourist Complex, where travelers can enter a full-scale reproduction of the APEC summit venue — the same setting where leaders from 21 economies gathered to negotiate agendas ranging from supply-chain resilience to digital governance. Visitors then move to the Hilton Gyeongju, where the “Trump Cheeseburger Set,” specially ordered by the U.S. president during summit week, will be served. Inside the hotel’s Wooyang Museum of Art, travelers can explore the exact venue where the joint Foreign and Trade Ministers’ Meeting was held. In the afternoon, the group visits Bulguksa Temple, which hosted the program for leaders’ spouses and daughters during the summit, offering a hands-on encounter with Silla Buddhist heritage. After dinner, travelers enjoy night-time attractions newly installed at Bomun Lake Square, including the APEC symbolic sculpture, immersive media art at Yukbuchon, and a lakefront 3D light show. The itinerary also includes premium Korean dishes featured during summit week — including the seafood pancake from Kolon Hotel that appeared on Xi Jinping’s dinner table for two consecutive nights. On day two, breakfast is served at Gyeongju Jungang Market, where Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and his wife famously praised the local “sundae gomtang” and “somerigukbap.” Travelers then tour major heritage sites, including Daereungwon, Cheomseongdae, and the National Museum of Gyeongju, where six Silla gold crowns — including one shown only as a replica during the APEC spouses’ program — are now on special display. The tour closes with a visit to Hwangnidan-gil that hosted K-Beauty Pavilion, to which U.S. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt visited immediately after the Korea–U.S. summit and posted the unpacking of her shopping of Korean beauty products. Souvenir recommendations include APEC’s official dinner liquor, Gyo-dong Beopju, and Hwangnam-ppang, to which Chinese President Xi showed liking. The package, priced in the 100,000-won (around $70) range per person, includes round-trip chartered bus service from the Seoul metropolitan area, one night of lodging, three meals, admission fees, a guide, and insurance. “By transforming APEC’s most memorable moments into a travel experience, we aim to elevate Gyeongju’s cultural brand value,” said Kim Nam-il, CEO of GCTO. The city has already seen a measurable boost. According to Hana Card data, foreign visitors spent 3.22 billion won in Gyeongju between Oct. 27 and Nov. 2 — more than triple last year’s level. Beauty-sector transactions surged more than fourfold, while hotel spending tripled. Even after the summit ended, foreign visitor spending remained nearly 50 percent higher than a year earlier, suggesting that the APEC spotlight is delivering a lasting tourism windfall. 2025-11-21 14:10:54

Samsung narrowly steals back No. 1 DRAM rank from SK hynix Q3- CFM SEOUL, November 20 (AJP) - South Korea's Samsung Electronics has narrowly reclaimed its No. 1 rank in global DRAM sales in the third quarter after yielding the position to its home rival SK hynix in the first half for the first time amid the surge in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) demand. The shift underscores rapidly strengthening DRAM prices due to frantic stockpiling of memory chips that power servers and a wide range of electronic devices, driven by fears of supply shortages as manufacturers prioritize output for AI servers, a latest market study showed. According to China Flash Market (CFM) data posted earlier this week, Samsung Electronics accounted for 34.8 percent of global DRAM sales in the third quarter, up 29.6 percent on quarter and edging SK hynix at 34.4 percent, whose quarterly gain slowed to 12.4 percent. Micron also logged a big of 27.1 percent, closely trailing in third place with a 22.4 percent share. The latest DRAM data mirrors a cut-throat market without the clear, decisive winner seen in past cycles, as AI reshapes the DRAM segment amid structural output shortages from hyperscale servers to laptops, intensified by growing demand for high-performance chips and sanctions on Chinese producers of legacy memory. The global DRAM market expanded 24.7 percent on quarter and 54 percent on year to $40.037 billion in the third quarter, while the NAND Flash market grew 16.8 percent to $18.422 billion. Combined, the semiconductor memory market reached a record $58.459 billion and is expected to continue its record-setting streak in the fourth quarter, the Chinese market watcher said. Both DRAM average selling prices and bit shipments increased in the past quarter, lifting quarterly revenues for all suppliers. Samsung returned to the No. 1 position, driven by an 85 percent quarter-on-quarter surge in HBM bit shipments and strong pricing in conventional DRAM, pushing its total DRAM revenue to a historic high. Chinese memory suppliers also accelerated capacity to offset the supply gap left by some competitors exiting older product lines, expanding their market presence amid rising prices. Samsung Electronics, which also produces smartphones, comfortably retained the top spot in the sales of NAND Flash powering mobile devices with a 29.1 percent share, followed by SK hynix at 19.2 percent and Japan’s Kioxia at 16.5 percent. Global NAND Flash revenue reached $18.422 billion in the third quarter, rising 16.8 percent on quarter but declining 3.1 percent on year. Although bit shipments continued to increase, rapid inventory reductions and migration to more advanced nodes have constrained output for some suppliers heading into the final quarter, the report said. 2025-11-20 10:07:19

Seoul finally puts Lone Star saga behind after ICSID declares complete win SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) -South Korea has finally put to rest its years-long investment dispute with U.S. private equity firm Lone Star, after the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) overturned its earlier ruling that ordered Seoul to pay $216.5 million in compensation plus interest over the fund’s 2012 sale of a Korean bank. “The government's compensation liability — about 400 billion won at today’s exchange rate — has been retroactively cancelled,” Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said late Tuesday, announcing the final ruling by the Washington-based tribunal. Instead, Lone Star has been ordered to cover South Korea's legal expenses of 7.3 billion won ($5 million) within 30 days. The nullification marks a rare reversal by ICSID: only eight such cases have been overturned out of 503 settlements since the tribunal’s establishment in 1972. Seoul appealed the arbitral court’s 2022 decision, which had partially sided with Lone Star’s claim that it incurred losses of $4.67 billion due to alleged government interference in the sale of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB). The presidential office welcomed the ruling as a “correction” of the earlier interpretation. Lone Star purchased KEB in 2003 for 1.38 trillion won during the banking failures that followed South Korea’s Asian financial crisis and 1998 International Monetary Fund bailout. After multiple failed attempts to offload the lender, the fund sold KEB to Hana Financial Group in 2012 for 3.92 trillion won. The two sides have been locked in legal battles ever since, with Lone Star alleging that Seoul’s heavy involvement in the sale process depressed the bank’s value. 2025-11-19 07:25:39

Korean institutions primary driver of KOSPI gain and reap big from their long bet SEOUL, November 18 (AJP) - South Korean institutional investors have emerged as the primary force behind the KOSPI’s world-leading rally this year, reaping sizable gains from their long-position strategy fueled largely through exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Domestic financial institutions made aggressive bets on Korean equities via ETFs, significantly boosting their bottom line. According to the Korea Exchange, foreigners have been net sellers of 5.86 trillion won (around $4 billion) and retail investors 13.19 trillion won so far this year, taking profits after the record-setting rally. Despite this offloading, the KOSPI has maintained one of the strongest performances among major global indices — rising more than 60 percent — thanks to steady long positioning by local institutions, predominantly financial investment firms. Institutions purchased a net 8.61 trillion won this year, with financial investment accounts alone buying 19.09 trillion won. Financial funds maintained a net-buying stance for most of the year except January. Financial investment accounts refer to brokerage-run proprietary trading divisions that execute arbitrage, hedging, and market-making strategies. Their yearly positions typically net out to near zero, but the surge of ETF inflows has shifted that pattern. When money flows into ETFs, brokers are required to buy the underlying stocks, and these purchases appear in market-making accounts — contributing to consistent net buying by financial investment firms. Analysts note this ETF-driven structure is now offsetting the impact of foreign selling. Even with foreigners unloading around 9 trillion won this month, passive ETF inflows have kept the KOSPI’s upward momentum intact. Passive funds do not shift positions abruptly, reducing the risk of sharp corrections. “The influence of financial investments and ETF flows is becoming more significant than foreign investors in driving the domestic stock market,” said Heo Jae-hwan of Eugene Investment & Securities. “This structure helps limit the downside even if the pace of gains slows.” The long-term bet has been especially lucrative for insurers, who account for a large share of Korea’s typically-long institutional capital. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, Hanwha Life Insurance posted accumulated net profit of 768.9 billion won as of September, up 5.8 percent from a year earlier. Its investment income more than doubled, jumping from 195.6 billion won to 582.2 billion won. Samsung Life’s net profit rose 3 percent to 2.232 trillion won in the third quarter, despite a 6.7-percent drop in insurance profit, as investment income expanded 9 percent to 1.38 trillion won. Kyobo Life also reported a 1.2-percent rise in net profit to 904.1 billion won, driven by an almost 50-percent surge in investment returns. Shinhan Life logged the strongest growth among insurers, with net profit up 10 percent to 514.5 billion won as investment income more than doubled to 128.6 billion won. 2025-11-18 11:00:58

Chip sales to the U.S. and Nvidia take up 70% and 27% of SK hynix revenue as of Sept SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) -SK hynix sold 45.18 trillion won ($31 billion) worth of memory chips to the United States as of September this year, up 65 percent from the seven-month period of last year and taking up 70 percent of the South Korean chipmaker's revenue as of the third quarter. According to the full third-quarter disclosure, the chipmaker owed 17.35 trillion won in revenue to a single buyer as of September, more than doubling from 6.1 trillion won in the same period a year ago and accounting for about 27 percent of the company's 64.32 trillion won in accumulated sales for 2025. SK hynix has an exclusive contract with Nvidia for high-bandwidth memory (HBM)3E and will be rolling out HBM4 next year. The DRAM maker dominates global sales of HBM that powers AI chips. SK hynix accounted for 39 percent of the global DRAM market and 22 percent of NAND flash memory market as of June. Shares of SK hynix soared 7 percent to 599,500 won as of 2:20 p.m. ahead of Nvidia's earnings release. 2025-11-17 14:29:01

Korean and Japanese businesses to hold forum on bilateral FTA and economic bloc SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - South Korean and Japanese business leaders, academics and media professionals will gather next week in Seoul to discuss how Asia’s second- and fourth-largest economies can align to build a tech-driven economic bloc and better navigate global uncertainties. The Korea-Japan Business Forum, co-hosted by Aju Media Group (AJP, ABC, Aju Business Daily) and Japan’s NNA, will take place on Nov. 19 at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club. Participants will explore the shifting global order and the challenges posed by a second Donald Trump presidency, as well as opportunities for deeper economic cooperation between the two neighbors. The event comes as Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman and SK Group leader Chey Tae-won prepares to outline a Korea-Japan economic and AI partnership in Tokyo — a vision he has been promoting alongside the idea of a bilateral free trade agreement to create an economic bloc rivaling the U.S., European Union and China. 2025-11-11 14:11:36

K-pop nears "golden moment" by scoring big on Grammy nominations SEOUL, November 08 (AJP) -K-pop is approaching a “golden moment” on the global stage as a wave of Korean female artists secured nominations in top categories for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. “APT.,” BLACKPINK member Rose’s collaboration with Bruno Mars, and “Golden,” an original soundtrack piece from Netflix’s blockbuster anime KPop Demon Hunters, were both shortlisted for major honors including Song of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The Recording Academy announced the 2026 nominees across 95 categories on Thursday ahead of the Feb. 1 ceremony at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Rose earned multiple nods, with “APT.” shortlisted for Song of the Year and Record of the Year — two of the Grammys’ prestigious “Big Six” general field categories — in addition to Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Golden" from "Kpop Demon Hunters" was nominated for the Song of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Song Written for Visual Media and Best Remixed Recording. The film was also nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media. International girl group Katseye under Hybe, the label behind K-pop superband BTS -- was nominated for the Best New Artist and the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. It marks the first Grammy nominations for K-pop act since BTS received a nomination with "My Universe," a collaboration single with global pop icon Coldplay, in 2023. If any of them take home a Golden Gramophone in February, it would be the first for a Korean artist. Rose's "APT”, a track from her first full-length album, "rosie” dominated major music charts in South Korea and abroad after its release for its addictive hook rhythm and playful twist on Korean’s drinking game. In September, Rose won Song of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards in the United States for "APT." "Golden" is performed by Korean American artists Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami as the singing voices behind fictional girl group Huntr/x. It achieved a milestone for K-pop, topping both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the British Official Singles Chart Top 100. Additionally, 2025 Tony-awarded Korean musical and Broadway hit "Maybe Happy Ending" was nominated for Best Musical Theater Album. Final-round voting to select the winners will run from Dec. 12 through Jan. 5. 2025-11-08 11:40:28

INTERVIEW: Korean biz at home and abroad must unite to leverage and lengthen K-power:OKTA chair SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) -An economic bloc representing 50 million South Koreans and 7.5 million ethnic Koreans overseas — built on a self-sustaining trade and supply-chain network that links the manufacturing base at home with capital and distribution capabilities abroad — is the vision of the World Federation of Overseas Korean Economic and Trade Association (World-OKTA), its chair said. Korean entrepreneurs at home and abroad have risen to global prominence and must now “build a system where exports and imports co-exist,” creating a firmer foundation for the next generation of business leaders to grow under “one Korean identity,” said Park Jongbum. Park, recently re-appointed to lead the organization for a second term — the first back-to-back leadership in its 44-year history — oversees 155 overseas chapters run by more than 7,000 ethnic Korean entrepreneurs across 75 countries. To unite Korea’s domestic and overseas business assets, Park is championing a bill that would grant World-OKTA legal status as Korea’s seventh official business association — a long-pursued agenda he says is crucial to elevating the organization’s role. “It is not easy, as it would mean providing government-level support to businesses based overseas,” he said. “But a unified Korean business network is essential to withstand global headwinds such as supply-chain disruptions.” Park stressed that Korean SMEs continue to face major hurdles in entering foreign markets. “This is a challenging global environment. Koreans at home and abroad must widen cooperation through consistent, physical exchanges and communication,” he said. That urgency, he added, was reflected in the scale of last month’s expo in Incheon. The 2025 Korea Business Expo Incheon, held Oct. 27–29 in Songdo, brought together more than 1,100 members from 58 countries, 150 buyers from 21 countries, and 434 Korea-based companies. The event generated 3,809 business meetings involving projects valued at $228 million. Park underscored the symbolic significance of Incheon as the gateway of Korean migration. “Korean migration began in Incheon in 1902, when 120 people boarded a ship to Hawaii to work in sugar cane fields. Now, 123 years later, their descendants are returning to Incheon to buy Korean products. This is the second wave of Korean migration,” he said. Of World-OKTA’s roughly 7,000 members, about half are under the age of 39. These young entrepreneurs, Park noted, have built strong networks with youth-led Korean startups and actively share insights, experiences, and pride in Korean identity. Around 100 young business founders were invited to showcase their ideas, innovations, and products during a weeklong startup program held alongside the Songdo expo, giving them first-hand experience pitching to potential buyers and investors. While early-stage funding remains modest — $500,000 for one startup and $150,000 for another — Park believes opportunities will broaden as exchanges deepen and K-power rises globally. “K has become synonymous with a legacy brand,” he said. “We now attach ‘K’ to everything — K-defense, K-shipping, K-steel, K-chip, and of course K-food and K-content. Global familiarity with Korean products and culture has expanded, and it is the role of Korean businesses to keep that glow alive.” 2025-11-05 10:47:01

South Korea's martial law crisis revisited at IBA by leading constitutional scholar SEOUL, November 04 (AJP) - South Korea has successfully defended its democratic institutions in the face of its first declaration of martial law under a democratic government and a surge of disinformation that culminated in a presidential impeachment, a leading Korean constitutional scholar told a global legal audience. Sung Nak-in, former president of Seoul National University and one of Korea’s foremost constitutional experts, detailed the short-lived but deeply damaging martial-law crisis before more than 5,000 delegates at the International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference in Toronto, which runs from Sunday to Friday. He spoke at the session titled “Democracy in Crisis: What Is the Role of Access to Justice?” on Monday. South Koreans witnessed the imposition of martial law for the first time in over four decades when then-President Yoon Suk Yeol — a former prosecutor general — made a sudden late-night televised declaration on Dec. 3, 2024. The order was nullified hours later after opposition lawmakers pushed through a legislative veto with the help of civilians who rushed to the National Assembly at midnight to secure entry and enable the vote. Yoon was impeached on Dec. 14 and later arrested and tried on multiple charges. A snap presidential election was held in June, bringing current President Lee Jae Myung to office. Sung, a Paris-educated scholar of constitutional law, described how South Korean society navigated political upheaval, social fragmentation, economic strain, and a proliferation of conspiracy theories and fake news by relying firmly on the rule of law and democratic procedures. The IBA represents more than 80,000 legal professionals from 170 countries. This year’s conference addresses a wide range of global legal challenges including AI and law, business law, climate justice, and the rule of law. 2025-11-04 09:20:28

Korea launches first private Korea-India association for southern pivot traction SEOUL, October 31 (AJP) - Former and incumbent diplomats, along with large and small businesses, joined hands Friday to launch South Korea’s first non-governmental Korea–India friendship association, adding private-sector momentum to Seoul’s expanding southern pivot beyond China and Southeast Asia. “India is now the world’s most populous country with a median age in the 20s among its 1.5 billion people. It is set to overtake China not only in population but also in economic scale as it grows nearly 7 percent annually. Yet we know far too little about the country,” said Shin Bong-kil, president of the Korean Council on Foreign Relations, at the inauguration ceremony. Shin pointed out that while there are hundreds of private associations devoted to Korea–China relations, there has been none for Korea–India relations—until now. The newly launched Korea–India Future Society is an initiative Shin conceived during his tenure as South Korea’s ambassador to India from 2018 to 2021, aiming to close the gap between Korea’s rapidly rising business interest in India and the persistent lack of understanding and bias toward the South Asian nation. "The society has chosen 'future' instead of exchange or friendly to define the forward-looking direction for the body's role," Shin said. The launch drew attendance from Korea’s major conglomerates — Posco, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and LG Chem — as well as SMEs including AutoGen, which operates manufacturing facilities in India. Scholars and cultural figures also joined, among them Abhishek Gupta, the Indian entertainer and businessman widely known in Korea as Lucky from JTBC’s “Abnormal Summit.” “Interest in Korea has risen sharply, and I hope I can contribute in cultural exchange,” Lucky said. India has been making frequent business headlines for Korean companies posting record-setting IPOs — LG Electronics’ $1.3 billion listing earlier this month and Hyundai Motor’s $3.3 billion IPO last year. Yet India’s share in Korea’s overall economic footprint remains small. Korea–India trade averages around $20 billion, far below Korea–Vietnam’s $82 billion and Korea–China’s $273 billion as of 2024. Fewer than 1,000 Korean companies currently operate in India — a figure that should be “at least ten times larger, given India’s size and opportunities,” said Park Euy-don, managing director of Haryana-based Seela Infratech, who has worked in India for over two decades. India’s multi-ethnic society, complex layers of federal and state regulations, and cultural differences continue to pose challenges. These hurdles are a key reason major firms such as Hyundai Motor and LG Electronics chose to list their Indian subsidiaries locally — a move that helps navigate India’s regulatory fragmentation between New Delhi and state governments. Still, “business should follow the market,” said Cho Hong-shin, vice chairman of AutoGen, which operates a plant in Khed City, Pune, producing ultra-high-strength steel components for automotive bodies for clients such as Mahindra & Mahindra. Founded with a modest membership, the Korea–India Future Society aims to expand alongside deepening bilateral ties, with plans to sponsor forums, cultural programs, and academic partnerships to strengthen long-term cooperation between the two countries. 2025-10-31 15:31:16