Journalist

Kim Hee-su
  • Kangaroo tribes thrive as Seouls 30s hit record-low homeownership
    Kangaroo tribes thrive as Seoul's 30s hit record-low homeownership SEOUL, November 25 (AJP) - Only one in four Seoul residents in their 30s owns a home — the lowest rate on record — fueling the rise of "kangaroo tribes" who cannot afford to move out of their parents' home, let alone imagine starting their own family in a city where apartment prices are nearly three times higher than in other regions. New data released Tuesday by the National Data Portal shows 527,729 households in their 30s in Seoul lived in rental housing last year, an increase of 17,215 from a year earlier and the largest jump since records began in 2015. The number of homeowners in the same age group fell to 183,456, pushing the ratio of renters to owners to nearly three to one. The trend overlaps directly with marriage patterns. Seoul now reports the highest share of unmarried people in their 30s at 37.1 percent, a rate that has risen, along with the jobless rate. Lee Hong-ki, a 34-year-old, lives in a rented space paid for by his father, unable to secure a public-sector job despite four attempts. "I feel indebted and guilty, but I have no choice. It's not that I'm not trying," he said. Demographers note that household formation — not financial handouts — is the most decisive factor in whether young adults marry or have children, and that housing sits at the center of Korea's fertility crisis. "Marriage hasn't even crossed my mind, let alone dreaming of owning a home in Seoul," said 31-year-old Lee Ji-won, who commutes to work from Gyeonggi Province. Homeownership data also reveals widening structural divides. Of Korea's 16 million homeowners, 85.1 percent own a single property, while 14.9 percent — or 2.4 million people — are multi-homeowners. The share of multi-homeowners is highest far from Seoul, reaching 20 percent in Jeju, 17.4 percent in South Chungcheong Province, and 17 percent in Gangwon Province, compared with lower shares of around 13 percent in Gwangju, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province. The pattern underscores a contradiction in Korea's real-estate landscape: Seoul residents struggle to buy even one home, while falling prices in regional markets allow property owners there to accumulate multiple homes. The affordability gap has widened most dramatically in the past decade. According to Real Estate R114, the average Seoul apartment price reached 1.3 billion won ($881,595), versus 354.6 million won in non-capital regions, leaving a 945.1 million won gap that has remained in record territory for four straight years. A decade ago, the gap was just 311 million won — meaning the disparity has nearly tripled in ten years — driven by steady price increases in Seoul and broad declines outside the capital. Analysts expect the gulf to widen further. Government measures rolled out this year have also raised entry barriers for first-time buyers. Tighter loan-to-value and debt-service ratio rules now require more cash upfront to qualify for mortgages, effectively shutting out younger buyers who rely on borrowing to enter the market. The frustration is particularly acute for Seoul residents in their 20s and 30s, who face stagnant wages, rising rents, and shrinking prospects of catching up with housing inflation. Young Koreans, however, cannot let go of the homeownership dream. A Korea Land & Housing Institute survey of 700 single-person renters aged 19 to 39 found that 83.2 percent believe homeownership is essential for financial security and stable living. When asked which policies would help most, respondents cited home-purchase financing support (24.3 percent), long-term jeonse deposit assistance (22.3 percent), expanded public rental housing (18.6 percent), and publicly subsidized apartment sales (14.4 percent). The findings point to a consistent reality: Korea's demographic future will depend on whether young adults can afford to leave their parents' homes and form households — something increasingly out of reach in Seoul without a structural shift in housing affordability. 2025-11-25 14:31:18
  • Foreign students spike in Korea, but not helping rural and high-skilled talent shortage
    Foreign students spike in Korea, but not helping rural and high-skilled talent shortage SEOUL, November 24 (AJP) - Non-Chinese students now make up the majority of foreign enrollment at Korean universities, as the number of international degree-seekers has tripled over the past decade. Foreign students also fill one in every six postgraduate seats — a striking figure for a country facing a shrinking workforce and rising demand for highly skilled talent. According to the Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI), 179,190 international students were enrolled in degree programs at Korean universities and two-year colleges as of April, a 3.2-fold jump from 55,739 in 2015. A decade ago, Chinese students accounted for more than 60 percent of all foreign degree-seekers. This year, their share has fallen to 38 percent (68,045 students), even though their absolute numbers nearly doubled over ten years. The shift reflects an explosive rise in students from elsewhere: Vietnam ranked second with 40,865 students, followed by Uzbekistan (14,318), Nepal (12,626) and Mongolia (10,570). Vietnam alone added nearly 10,000 new students in a single year. One notable trend is the growing number of foreign students majoring in humanities, social sciences, and the arts, particularly at the doctoral level — a phenomenon widely linked to the global popularity of K-pop, K-dramas, and Korean film. But this diversification masks a critical gap: Korea still struggles to attract students in natural sciences, engineering, high-tech fields and regional manufacturing. Enrollment in these areas has grown only marginally, and the overall share has fallen over the past decade. The number of engineering students at the master's and doctoral levels increased by only around 1,000 during the same period — far too small to ease shortages in semiconductors, batteries, mobility, and industrial R&D. Vu Giang Thanh, a 26-year-old Vietnamese graduate of Seoul National University of Science and Technology, told AJP that most international students come to Korea with two main goals: experiencing a global learning environment and earning more than they could at home while studying. "Korea's cultural familiarity and relatively accessible admission policies are appealing," she said. "But most students I know aren't here to build long-term careers. They come for the experience and financial benefits — and leave after five to seven years." Regional universities face an additional challenge. They continue to receive a high proportion of non-degree students on short-term programs, limiting both local retention and the creation of a stable talent pool for regional industries. "As competition intensifies globally for skilled workers, Korea needs policies that support foreign graduate-level students at every stage — recruitment, study, employment, and settlement," said Choi Jung-yoon, senior researcher at KEDI. "Simply expanding headcounts won’t solve regional workforce shortages." She emphasized the need for a data-based policy evaluation system, with periodic goal-setting and analysis of foreign students’ characteristics and needs at each stage. Japan is a key reference point. After launching a "100,000-student plan" in the 1980s and a "300,000-student plan" in 2008, the country hit its 300,000 target early in 2019. It is now pursuing a 400,000-student plan for 2023 to 2033, shifting focus from quantity to high-quality talent positioned to contribute to economic development. A notable feature of Japan's approach is multi-ministry coordination — with education, justice, foreign affairs, labor and others jointly managing admissions, immigration, campus support, employment pathways, and long-term settlement. Regional universities, particularly in Osaka and the northeast, are also building program strengths aligned with local industries. Gunma University, for example, promotes local settlement through internships tied directly to regional economic needs. The contrast with Korea is clear: more than 60 percent of foreign students in Korea want to work in Seoul regardless of where they studied. Meanwhile, 89 of Korea's 226 municipalities — nearly 40 percent — are officially designated as depopulating regions. Korea introduced the F-2-R visa last year, allowing foreign graduates to gain residency if they work in depopulating regions. The visa offers long-term stay, family accompaniment, and fewer job restrictions. "Local governments' economic plans and industry demand must be directly tied to foreign student recruitment," said a researcher at the Korea Migration Research and Training Center. "Key industries should be matched with relevant academic departments at nearby universities. Otherwise, neither local industries nor universities can gain real momentum." 2025-11-24 17:50:32
  • Fried chicken beats kimchi as Koreas global signature dish
    Fried chicken beats kimchi as Korea's global signature dish SEOUL, November 24 (AJP) - Fried chicken – not kimchi – is the foreign favorite Korean food, which explains Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s choice of dining out with his Korean tycoon friends – Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics and Chung Euisun of Hyundai Motor – last month. Nearly three out of 10 foreigners, or 28.3 percent, named Korean fried chicken as the most Korean menu they had eaten over the past year, according to a poll of 11,000 respondents across 22 cities worldwide conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korean Food Promotion Institute and released on Monday. Staple cabbage dish kimchi closely trailed at 28 percent, followed by bibimbap at 19.9 percent, ramyeon at 16.6 percent, and bulgogi at 14 percent. The same menu topped first-choice preferences for Korean dishes at 14 percent — well ahead of kimchi (9.5 percent), bibimbap (8.2 percent), and bulgogi (5.8 percent). Korean fried chicken has recently drawn global attention after Huang’s chimaek (a Korean combination of fried chicken and beer) night-out at a branch of “Kkanbu Chicken” in Seoul during his trip last month for APEC week. Shares of Kyochon F&B — Korea’s only listed fried chicken franchise — jumped as much as 23.31 percent in early trading to 4,900 won ($3.32) following the news. The company posted a third-quarter operating profit of 11.3 billion won, up 47.2 percent from a year earlier, with revenue rising 6 percent to 135.2 billion won. Net profit surged 68.9 percent to 7.6 billion won. Overall satisfaction with Korean cuisine remained high, with 94.2 percent of respondents who had tried Korean food saying they were satisfied. The share of consumers willing to try Korean food again surpassed 80 percent for the first time, rising 4.5 percentage points from last year to 80.6 percent. The survey also found that Korean cultural content continues to play a major role in boosting interest in Korean cuisine. With the global success of Netflix's animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” this year, 65.1 percent of respondents said Hallyu content initially drew them to Korean food. Based on the findings, the ministry plans to strengthen regional marketing, support overseas Korean restaurants, and expand collaborations linking Korean food with cultural content and ready-to-eat products. “We will expand the designation of outstanding overseas Korean restaurants and tailor promotion strategies to local consumer trends to elevate the global standing of Korean cuisine,” said Jeong Kyung-seok, director-general for food industry policy at the ministry. 2025-11-24 17:39:58
  • Coupang, latest breach in Korea, with no effective guardrail in sight
    Coupang, latest breach in Korea, with no effective guardrail in sight SEOUL, November 21 (AJP) - Coupang has emerged as the latest flashpoint in Korea's widening cybersecurity crisis, with customer data leaking yet again as major companies — from telecom operators to card issuers — continue to fall victim to preventable attacks under a regulatory system that seldom imposes meaningful penalties. Coupang said late Thursday that an "unauthorized third party" accessed the personal information of more than 4,500 customers. According to the company's emergency notice, the exposed data included names, email addresses, phone numbers, delivery addresses, and each user's five most recent order records. The company said it immediately blocked the intrusion route and has so far found no evidence of misuse. It apologized to affected customers and advised them to contact its service center for assistance. The breach comes amid a series of major security incidents across Korea's telecommunications and financial sectors this year, intensifying concerns over the country's ability to safeguard personal information despite its reputation as one of the world's most digitalized societies. SK Telecom is preparing for legal disputes over a large-scale USIM-related leak disclosed in April. The company has rejected a state mediation panel's recommendation to compensate the 23 million individuals affected at 300,000 won ($203.28) per person. It has already incurred more than 1 trillion won in costs related to the incident. KT customers experienced more direct financial losses after illegally smuggled femtocell devices were used to impersonate cell towers, intercept authentication codes, and trigger unauthorized small-sum mobile payments. Hundreds of victims have filed official complaints, and both police and the Korea Communications Commission are investigating the case. LG Uplus reported suspicious access attempts to its internal network around the same period, resulting in the confirmed leak of 300,000 customer records and fines exceeding 6 billion won. In the financial sector, Lotte Card suffered a major cyberattack that compromised nearly 300 million customer data files, amounting to about 200 gigabytes of internal records. Government data points to the scale of the problem. According to the Personal Information Protection Commission, 88.54 million pieces of personal information have been leaked across public and private institutions over the past five years. Public-sector breaches alone rose from 650,000 cases in 2022 to 3.52 million in 2023 and 3.91 million in 2024. Penalties, however, remain limited. Between 2021 and July 2025, Korea recorded 451 data-security incidents but issued only 87.7 billion won in fines and 2.49 billion won in administrative penalties, averaging just 1,019 won per leaked data entry. Korean law allows fines of up to 3 percent of company revenue, but firms may exclude revenue deemed unrelated to the violation when calculating penalties. This contrasts sharply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, which permits fines of up to 20 million euros ($23.2 million) or 4 percent of annual global turnover. In 2021, Luxembourg imposed a 746 million-euro fine on Amazon for GDPR violations. A recent KAIST study found that widely used security plug-ins required by Korean financial and public institutions can themselves become attack pathways. These non-standard programs often conflict with the built-in security architecture of global web browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox, which follow unified W3C and WHATWG standards designed to maintain consistent security protocols. The study concluded that the vulnerabilities stem from Korea's continued reliance on proprietary, mandatory security software that can undermine rather than strengthen consumer protection, even as companies claim compliance with existing regulations. 2025-11-21 17:31:59
  • Korea braces up for travel boon during winter holiday season from China–Japan fallout
    Korea braces up for travel boon during winter holiday season from China–Japan fallout SEOUL, November 20 (AJP) - Korean travel agencies and the industry are bracing up to seize a potential boon from the fallout and escalating hostility between China and Japan over remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in early November on a potential Taiwan contingency that have led to a series of boycott-driven cancellations. Nearly 500,000 Chinese travelers have reportedly canceled Japan-related bookings — 32 percent of all Japan-bound reservations — after Beijing issued a warning against travel to Japan. Independent aviation analyst Li Hanming said cancellation rates surged to 82.1 percent on Sunday and 75.6 percent on Monday, noting that "the number of cancellations was 27 times higher than new bookings — a flurry of withdrawals unseen since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic." Chinese travel agencies, in compliance with the state advisory, are offering full refunds for canceled Japan tour packages. Korea has quickly emerged as the top alternative destination in the region. Data released Sunday by Chinese travel platform Qunar showed Korea ranking first among overseas destinations for Chinese travelers over the weekend of November 15 to 16, overtaking long-time No. 1 Japan. Korea also led in flight payments and travel-related search volume, with Seoul recording the highest number of queries. Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia followed. The travel disruption stems from remarks Prime Minister Takaichi made during a parliamentary budget committee session on November 7, in which she suggested that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan — and subsequent U.S. military intervention — could constitute an "existential crisis" for Japan and potentially invoke Japan's right to collective self-defense. Beijing demanded an immediate retraction and issued a de facto travel ban urging citizens to avoid Japan from November 14 after Tokyo refused. Korea stands to benefit most on the tourism front, as Chinese and Japanese travelers together make up nearly half of foreign arrivals. According to the Korea Tourism Organization's Data Lab, of 18,316,412 foreign visitors to Korea between October 2024 and September 2025, 5,233,649 were from China and 3,583,533 from Japan — a combined 48.1 percent of all inbound travelers. "We are carrying out our annual plans as scheduled. For the Chinese market, we are continuing pre-planned promotions targeting the winter vacation period and long holidays, particularly through online campaigns," said a spokesperson for the Korea Tourism Organization, adding that it was too early to assess the direct impact of China's travel advisory. Still, the travel industry is bracing up for a potential surge in traffic during the year-end holiday season and leading up to the Lunar New Year. Korean Air recently formed a strategic partnership with Chinese online travel giant Ctrip, part of the Trip.com Group, which has more than 300 million registered users. Korean Air already operates the largest number of Korea–China routes among carriers from both countries. As of August this year, the airline operates over 200 weekly flights between the two nations. 2025-11-20 17:29:46
  • K-pop groups once again caught in diplomatic crossfire amid China–Japan fallout
    K-pop groups once again caught in diplomatic crossfire amid China–Japan fallout SEOUL, November 20 (AJP) - K-pop groups that have recently become regulars on Japanese television are once again caught in the crossfire between China and Japan, as renewed tensions under Tokyo's new hawkish leadership spill over into pop culture. The diplomatic standoff has revived decades-old antipathy between the two countries and is sending ripple effects across multiple fronts — from tourism to entertainment. Chinese music platform QQ Music announced Monday via social media that a fan event for Japanese boy band JO1 scheduled for later this month in Guangzhou was canceled due to "force majeure." The 11-member group, formed through Produce 101 Japan in 2020 — the Japanese adaptation of the Korean idol audition franchise — is managed by Lapone Entertainment, a joint venture between CJ ENM and Yoshimoto Kogyo. K-pop girl group aespa, which includes Chinese member Ningning, also received a direct hit. After news broke that the group would appear on NHK's year-end "Kōhaku" music program, a petition demanding their removal surfaced on change.org on Monday. Ningning had previously drawn ire in Japan after posting mushroom-shaped lighting in 2022 that some interpreted as resembling an "atomic bomb." Petitioners argue her appearance would "damage Japan's international image" and "hurt victims of the Hiroshima bombing." The petition gathered more than 50,000 signatures within 24 hours, rising to 70,000 as of Thursday. The four-member group has become "one of the biggest cultural casualties of the current diplomatic rift," Hong Kong–based Sing Tao Daily wrote, adding that whether aespa ultimately performs on "Kōhaku" could serve as a barometer of the depth of the China–Japan conflict. Beijing's reaction is rooted in its strict adherence to the "One China" policy, under which Taiwan is considered part of greater China. Ahead of his third term, President Xi Jinping emphasized ideological discipline and cultural purification, leading to heightened censorship since 2021 under the stated goals of protecting youth from "harmful cultural consumption" and restoring "proper values." Korean pop culture has faced de facto sanctions under this framework. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent comments align with long-standing defense views — that Japan may need to adopt a self-defense posture should Chinese actions toward Taiwan create a "survival-threatening situation." Beijing denounced the remarks as provocative and insulting. This is far from the first time Korean entertainers have been drawn into political tensions. Tzuyu of TWICE was forced to issue a public apology in 2016 after holding a Taiwanese flag on Korean television, triggering intense backlash from Chinese netizens. EXO's Lay terminated an endorsement deal with Samsung after the company listed Taiwan and Hong Kong as separate entities on its website. In 2019, during a Korean boycott of Japanese goods following Japan's export restrictions on semiconductor materials, some online communities demanded the removal of TWICE's Japanese members — Sana, Momo, and Mina — from Korean broadcasts. "Asia is fundamentally collectivist. They cannot separate individuals from the actions of their group or nationality," said Yu Hyun-jae, professor at Sogang University's College of Communication, explaining that such reactions reflect deeper cultural patterns in East Asia. "Social media is extremely powerful. Information spreads fast regardless of facts or nuance, making it an ideal environment for agitation. Fan communities that grow under these conditions can easily become distorted or extreme," he added. 2025-11-20 17:29:21
  • AI cover controversy in New Zealand poses wake-up call for Korean publishers
    AI cover controversy in New Zealand poses wake-up call for Korean publishers SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - It took less than a minute for ChatGPT to deliver a fully rendered image of Seoul's landmark Gwanghwamun draped in autumn leaves in the warm, painterly style of Studio Ghibli, the iconic Japanese animation studio. Image-making has become easy and ubiquitous ever since OpenAI added its image-generation feature, allowing users to transform their portraits into Ghibli-style illustrations within seconds. The feature quickly went viral across social media, sharply boosting ChatGPT's global usage: weekly active users jumped 30 percent in the first quarter, and as of last month, the platform counts more than 800 million users worldwide. But the spread of everyday AI assistance in visual and creative work is also complicating life for creators — a reality underscored by a recent case in New Zealand. Two New Zealand writers, Stephanie Johnson and Elizabeth Smither, were disqualified from the country's most prestigious literary prize, the Ockham Book Awards, making them ineligible for next year's NZ$65,000 fiction award. The decision came after the awards committee discovered that the publishers' design team had used artificial intelligence (AI) to create the book covers without informing the authors beforehand. The affected books, Johnson's short-story collection "Obligate Carnivore" (2025) and Smither's novella collection "Angel Train" (2025), shocked the literary world due to the absence of clear regulatory guidelines. A less dramatic but similar case occurred in Korea when it was revealed that the 2023 youth edition of "Almond" — the million-selling bildungsroman by Sohn Won-pyung about a boy who struggles to feel emotions — used AI in its redesigned cover. Before this incident, AI usage had largely been limited to publish-on-demand (POD) or self-published works. This was the first time AI had been used for the re-covering of a major bestseller. The core of the controversy centered on copyright: under current Korean law, AI cannot be recognized as a copyright holder. Korea will put its AI Basic Act into effect in January next year, but it barely touches the broad, day-to-day issues emerging across the many sectors AI has already penetrated. "Without clear rules, everything is judged on a case-by-case basis. But the trend is moving toward acknowledging rights for AI-assisted creations. Even if the themes are similar, different texts receive separate copyright protection," said Kim Hyung-geun, CEO of publishing house Seoul Selection, who added that the lack of regulations places publishers in limbo. AI-generated works differ fundamentally from traditional publishing, with the most notable changes appearing in the dramatic reduction of time and cost. Yet the law does not specify how disclosure requirements should apply to AI-produced covers, illustrations, or text. "Hiring designers for covers is expensive, and works created with ChatGPT are clearly copyright-free, so I don't see a legal issue there," observed Park Han-woo, media and communication professor at Yeungnam University. He suggested that Korea incorporate NFT-style systems to track the provenance of AI-generated content. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital certificates recorded on a blockchain that verify ownership and trace the history of a digital asset. Even if identical copies of an artwork circulate online, only the NFT-registered version carries true ownership rights — which could help ease confusion while authorities catch up with appropriate regulations, he said. 2025-11-19 17:19:07
  • K-beauty set to be next collateral damage from localization fever in China
    K-beauty set to be next collateral damage from localization fever in China SEOUL, November 18 (AJP) - Korean beauty brands were virtually absent from this year's Singles' Day shopping festival — often dubbed China's version of Black Friday — marking a stark retreat from a market they once dominated and positioning K-beauty as the next collateral damage of China’s localization drive after smartphones and cars. The simultaneous withdrawal of Korean players underscores both the sophistication and rising confidence of Chinese manufacturing — from AI phones to skincare — under Beijing's state-steered industrial system. It also highlights the failure of Korean brands to either localize deeply or assert a distinctive identity compelling enough to withstand China’s fast-advancing competitors. China's largest e-commerce platform, Tmall, reported that Proya, a Chinese skincare giant, was the top-selling beauty brand this Singles' Day. Proya surpassed 100 million yuan ($14 million) in sales within the first minute of pre-sales and ranked No.1 throughout the Oct. 15 to Nov. 11 promotion period. Chinese beauty labels consolidated their dominance across platforms. Five domestic brands — Proya, Winona, Kefumei, Herborist, and Mao Geping — made the Tmall top-20 ranking, reaffirming the sector’s shift to high-performing local names. With the exception of Mao Geping, a color-cosmetics specialist, most are skincare labels built around plant-based ingredients, hydration, and sensitive-skin solutions. No Korean brands made Tmall's top-20 list. LG Household & Health Care's luxury label, The History of Whoo, managed only ninth place on Douyin's beauty sales chart. Demand for dermacosmetics — functional skincare that blends dermatology with cosmetics — is also surging in China, particularly for sensitive-skin consumers. According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency's Hangzhou office, 36.1 percent of Chinese women today have sensitive skin, a figure projected to reach 48 percent by 2030 due to pollution, stress, UV exposure, and changing lifestyles. This shift has rapidly fueled demand for irritation-free, dermatology-backed products — a category where Chinese brands have strengthened capabilities far faster than their Korean rivals. Kim Hee-jong, CEO of the China-based Sangsangrak Creative Center and a researcher with the China Specialist Forum (CSF) under the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, noted that "Guochao" — China's homegrown consumer-product wave — is reshaping sectors from cosmetics and food to home appliances and apparel. "Guochao products may look trendy, but their core appeal is high quality at practical prices," he said. "People used to distrust domestic brands, but once they try them, they find the quality surprisingly strong. With social-media-savvy Gen Z embracing Guochao as cultural identity, the trend is here to stay." Lee Wook-yon, a professor of Chinese Culture at Sogang University, said in a CSF column that Guochao first gained momentum in 2018, the year U.S. sanctions on Huawei escalated the U.S.–China tech rivalry. "What began as niche consumer behavior under external pressure has now become a mass phenomenon," he said. A similar story has played out in China's smartphone market. Xiaomi, Samsung, Huawei, and Apple once competed fiercely. But when U.S. sanctions throttled Huawei's access to advanced 5G chips in 2019, citing security risks, its market share collapsed. Apple captured the premium segment as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo strengthened their grip on mid-range categories. Defying restrictions, Huawei partnered with China's SMIC to develop its own 7-nanometer chips. Its 2023 launch of the Mate 60 Pro, powered by the Kirin chipset, marked a symbolic return to 5G prowess. While Huawei still faces hurdles abroad, its domestic brand power has sharply rebounded. Korean firms lost ground. Samsung, which held nearly 20 percent of China's smartphone market a decade ago, now has less than a 3 percent share. Chinese EVs and SUVs account for more than half of the automotive market, pushing Hyundai Motor to shut down its Beijing sales unit in September as demand in major cities wanes. Business prospects in the world's second-largest consumer market have grown dimmer as Beijing intensifies its push for self-sufficiency and domestic consumption. China's research and development spending surpassed 700 trillion won ($477 billion) last year — more than Korea's entire fiscal budget. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's R&D expenditure reached 3.63 trillion yuan in 2023, up 8.9 percent from a year earlier. From 2021 to 2024, R&D spending grew at an average annual rate of 10.5 percent, underscoring its accelerated drive for technological competitiveness. 2025-11-18 17:01:09
  • Korea weighs standardized vet fees to address runaway inflation in pet care
    Korea weighs standardized vet fees to address runaway inflation in pet care SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - Three out of ten Korean households now own a pet, and the government is considering a standardized payment system for veterinary care to address soaring medical costs and widening price disparities. The move follows mounting public frustration over bills that vary dramatically by clinic and location. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), the cost of a first-time checkup for a 5-kilogram pet ranges from as low as 1,000 won ($0.69) to as high as 65,000 won. With no standardized fee schedule and all services priced independently, the same treatment can cost several times more at clinics in affluent districts. "I took my cat to a vet in Gangnam after it swallowed a thread. An MRI scan to locate it and the removal procedure cost 1.5 million won, which was almost half my monthly salary. It's insane," said Park Jae-wook, a 29-year-old Seoul resident. Rising medical bills have become a growing financial burden and a leading factor behind pet abandonment. A 2024 report by the KB Financial Group Research Institute found that pet-owning households spent an average of 194,000 won per month on pet care, or about 2.1 million won annually — nearly equivalent to one month of minimum-wage earnings. Spending patterns are becoming increasingly polarized, with the share of households spending less than 50,000 won a month rising from 9.2 percent in 2021 to 18.8 percent in 2024, while those spending more than 250,000 won grew from 14.2 percent to 20.6 percent. Private pet insurance has failed to ease the burden. Although 89 percent of pet owners are aware of insurance products, only 11.9 percent carry coverage due to high premiums and limited benefits. Owners surveyed in 2023 cited cost as the biggest barrier, followed by restrictive reimbursement terms. MAFRA plans to develop a feasible payment model by the second half of next year after consultations with veterinary groups and industry officials. But with no public insurance system for animals and wide differences in clinic size, equipment, and staffing, officials acknowledge that introducing mandatory standardized fees would be difficult to enforce. The Korean Veterinary Medical Association has opposed the plan, calling it "excessive" and impractical given the cost differences across clinics. The association warned that fixed prices could undermine service quality and limit investment in medical equipment. A senior official at MAFRA's Companion Animal Industry and Animal Health Care System division said the government is considering applying standardized fees only at designated public veterinary hospitals that treat vulnerable households or abandoned animals. The official added that introducing a nationwide public insurance system for pets would require broad public support, which remains uncertain since only about a quarter of Koreans own pets. As of the end of 2024, the number of pet owners stood at 15.46 million, or 29.9 percent of the population. Pet-owning households numbered 5.91 million, accounting for 28.6 percent of all households, a ratio that has remained near the 30-percent level for the past five years despite a declining population. By age group, pet ownership was highest among people in their 50s at 23.17 percent, followed by those in their 30s at 22.01 percent and 40s at 21.88 percent. Only 9.91 percent of pet owners were in their 20s, contradicting the belief that younger generations are replacing children with pets amid falling birthrates. 2025-11-17 16:46:11
  • Despite drone boom, South Korea lags behind amid heavy reliance on Chinese components
    Despite drone boom, South Korea lags behind amid heavy reliance on Chinese components SEOUL, November 14 (AJP) - South Korea's exports of drones have grown nearly tenfold over the past two years, yet the country still holds less than 0.5 percent of the global market. According to a report released on Friday by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the country's exports of drones surged from $2.81 million in 2022 to $27.54 million in 2024. "Despite the rise in export volumes, the country's market competitiveness still lags far behind that of major overseas players," said Kim Mu-hyun, a senior researcher at the KITA. Although the number of drone manufacturers has increased in response to surging demand in this nascent high-tech industry, many lack sufficient infrastructure and R&D facilities, hindering further growth. Among some 265 drone manufacturers surveyed by the Korea Institute of Aviation Safety Technology in 2023, only 71 had such facilities, forcing many of them to conduct limited experiments that constrain consistent research and development." Profitability is another concern for the industry. Last year's survey by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport found that the country's drone market grew 12.1 percent to 1.1 trillion Korean won ($754 million) in 2023 from the previous year. However, of nearly 7,000 firms in the industry, average revenue stood at a mere 200 million won. According to market researcher Hana Institute of Finance, even firms with more than seven years in the industry posted average annual sales of just 350 million won. Among the major global players, China dominates the market, accounting for nearly 90 percent, followed by the U.S. and Israel. South Korea ranked 20th as of 2024, although it had jumped significantly over the previous three years. Most domestic firms have heavily relied on Chinese imports for essential parts and components, which account for nearly 70 percent of all drones made here. "In the long term, localization of core components is essential," Kim said. "But The country's heavy reliance on Chinese imports is not simply due to a lack of technical capability, but stems from structural issues such as low profit margins, often linked to a focus on low-cost models for civilian use," he explained. He added that developing commercial models is crucial for nurturing the industry, as this would stimulate demand among businesses, creating a virtuous cycle that increases the use of locally produced components. For example, in the U.S., retail giant Walmart has partnered with startups such as DroneUp, Zipline, and Flytrex to roll out drone-based commercial delivery services, leveraging its nationwide store network and IT infrastructure to provide these startups with stable demand. Swedish DIY retailer IKEA has deployed autonomous indoor drones developed by local startup Verity since 2021 to track and manage inventory across more than a dozen stores in Belgium, Germany, and other countries. 2025-11-14 17:15:47