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 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

HYBE flies on rosy outlook with NewJeans and BTS pipeline, but NewJeans remain question SEOUL, November 13 (AJP) - Korea's entertainment giant HYBE gained a boost — 6 percent on Thursday on high expectations for a full-member comeback of their budding and steady stars NewJeans and BTS, after the breakaway girl group hinted they would return home following an epic split last year. The rise was more muted than the near-9 percent after-hours jump late Wednesday as the market grew cautious about whether reconciliation is real, given the deep distrust NewJeans members expressed throughout their legal dispute with parent company HYBE and ADOR. "We are yet to confirm the other members and cannot confidently assure a full return," a HYBE official said Thursday on condition of anonymity. ADOR, a HYBE subsidiary, posted on X on Wednesday that Haerin and Hyein had conveyed their intention to continue activities under the label in accordance with last month's court ruling, which upheld the validity of their exclusive contract through July 31, 2029. Hours later, Minji, Hanni, and Danielle reportedly told a local outlet they too intended to return to ADOR. The company, however, said it had not been formally contacted by the three members, while the members' side claimed ADOR was not responding to their attempts to communicate. The development follows NewJeans' loss in the first trial of their contract lawsuit. The Seoul Central District Court rejected the group's claim that a "breakdown in trust justified terminating the contract," ruling that the evidence fell short of the threshold required under Korean law. Although their law firm, Shin & Kim, initially said it would file an immediate appeal, more than ten days have passed without a filing. The deadline is midnight Thursday. Legal experts expect the second trial to favor ADOR unless new evidence emerges. If the members attempt independent activities without ADOR's approval, they could face heavy financial penalties. Industry estimates place potential liability at up to 600 billion won ($408 million) based on the group's average monthly earnings and remaining contract period. In a separate ruling in May, the court granted ADOR's request for indirect compulsory execution, ordering the members to pay 1 billion won per violation for any unauthorized activity — a penalty that applies regardless of additional damages. It remains unclear whether former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin played any role in the latest developments. NewJeans had previously demanded Min's reinstatement as a key condition for returning to the agency. Min has since launched a new company, OOAK (One Of A Kind), and is engaged in a separate legal clash with HYBE over a put-option agreement, making any renewed partnership unlikely. For HYBE, the clearer upside lies with BTS, who are set to resume group activities next year after completing mandatory military service. The company has signaled that BTS' formal schedule will begin in the spring. "NewJeans' return could contribute an additional 20 to 30 billion won in annual profit from 2027 onward," Meritz Securities said Thursday, raising its target price for HYBE from 370,000 won to 380,000 won. Hana Securities analyst Lee Ki-hoon noted that HYBE reported third-quarter revenue of 727.2 billion won and an operating loss of 42.2 billion won — well below market expectations — weighed down by around 87 billion won in one-off expenses tied to North American restructuring and the launch of new global groups. "HYBE will need to show earnings leverage next year as BTS resumes group activities," he said. HYBE shares have surged more than 50 percent this year, though still trailing the broader KOSPI's gain of over 70 percent. 2025-11-13 16:24:45

Why Korea should benchmark Japan in tweaking retirement age and managing super-aged society SEOUL, November 12 (AJP) - Korea, under strong pressure from labor unions, is moving to extend the statutory retirement age to 65 as it enters a super-aged demographic structure, but the shift could strain public finances and the national pension system if it fails to draw voluntary participation from the private sector, responsible for most hiring. Korea's two largest umbrella unions are urging the progressive government and ruling party to mandate a "blanket, unconditional extension to 65 without wage cuts" within the year. The ruling Democratic Party has proposed raising the statutory retirement age gradually to 65 by 2033, in line with the scheduled rise in the national pension eligibility age. Korea joined the ranks of "super-aged" societies last year, with people aged 65 and older accounting for more than 20 percent of the population. Although the legal retirement age is 60, the national pension does not begin paying benefits until age 63 — a threshold that will rise to 65 by 2033. The gap has left many seniors with insufficient income and pushed labor force participation among those 65 and older to 37.3 percent in 2023, the highest in the OECD. Korea also records the OECD's highest senior poverty and suicide rates. Japan, which encountered rapid aging decades earlier, offers lessons on how to manage the transition. Tokyo began addressing the issue 25 years ago and provided companies with autonomy and time to adjust. The Japanese government implemented a 12-year grace period, first introducing retirement-age guidelines in 1986 as a "non-binding obligation" before making them legally enforceable in 1998. The same gradual approach applied to raising the effective retirement age to 65: in 2000, Japan revised the Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly Persons, requiring companies to "make efforts" to ensure employment until age 65. If Korea implements its proposed legislation this year without similar staging, the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) warns that the benefits will accrue mainly to full-time workers at large firms and public institutions with strong unions. The business lobby estimates the additional annual employment cost at roughly 30 trillion won ($20.6 billion) — equivalent to hiring around 900,000 workers aged 25 to 29. Moreover, only 21.8 percent of Korean workplaces currently operate under a mandatory retirement system, meaning gains would disproportionately flow to workers in big corporations and the public sector. This helps explain mounting opposition from younger job seekers. Experience from the 2016 introduction of the current 60-year retirement age also suggests unintended consequences. According to the Bank of Korea, the policy increased employment among workers aged 55 to 59 by about 80,000 by 2024, but reduced employment among those aged 23 to 27 by 110,000. For every additional older worker retained, employment for young workers fell by 0.4 to 1.5. Japan's approach since 2006 gives companies three options: extend the retirement age, abolish retirement limits altogether, or provide continued employment for older workers under new contracts. As of April this year, companies must offer continued employment to anyone wishing to work until 65. Under this system, employees formally retire at the designated age but are rehired with adjusted pay and conditions, allowing firms to retain experienced workers while managing labor costs. Watami Co., which operates restaurant chains such as Subway and TGI Fridays in Japan, recently raised its retirement age to 65 and introduced a program enabling employees to work until 75. The move addresses both labor shortages and the desire of older workers to remain active. As of June 2022, 99.9 percent of Japanese companies with 21 or more employees had adopted one of the three systems, effectively lifting the retirement age to 65 in practice, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. More than 65 percent of companies have either formally extended the retirement age or abolished it altogether. 2025-11-12 17:22:56

Sober reckoning on Korea's college entrance ritual as record number awaits test day SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - It's that time of year again in Korea, as the country prepares to solemnly mark "Suneung" — the once-a-year nationwide college entrance exam — on Thursday, when a record 554,174 test-takers will vie for 2026 admissions, clinging to singular hopes despite an increasingly bleak job market for university graduates. On Suneung Day, Korea enters an extraordinary national ritual. Business hours are delayed to clear roads for anxious applicants; air traffic halts during the English listening section; and churches, temples, and chapels of every faith fill with parents and grandparents praying for a smooth, error-free test. Whether or not a household includes a test-taker, the entire country slips into a collective mode of vigilance and supplication. This year's Suneung is a bumper cycle, driven by the unusually large cohort of students born in 2007 — the lunar-calendar "golden pig" year, believed to bring prosperity and luck. That demographic bulge has swelled the senior class, sending candidate numbers up by more than 31,000 from last year. Retakers have also increased sharply as universities expand medical school quotas, intensifying competition across the board. According to Jongro Academy, the nationwide competition rate for early admissions reached 9.77:1, up from 9.42:1 a year earlier. In the Seoul metropolitan area, the ratio soared to 18.83:1, while the Gyeongin region posted 13.08:1 and non-capital regions 6.49:1 — the sharpest jump outside Seoul in years. The pressure does not end with a university acceptance letter. South Korea has topped the OECD in university enrollment for 17 consecutive years; as of 2023, 70.6 percent of Koreans aged 25 to 34 held higher-education degrees, far above the OECD average of 48.4 percent. With seven out of ten young Koreans college-educated, the race for a limited pool of stable, white-collar jobs becomes a zero-sum battle, driving up the number of young NEETs — those neither employed, in education, nor in training. Statistics Korea's September employment data shows youth employment for ages 15 to 29 falling to 45.1 percent, marking a 16-month decline. More than 400,000 young people now describe themselves as "just resting," effectively off the labor force. Japan, by contrast, enrolls far fewer students in higher education — roughly in the 50 percent range — but posts a 98 percent employment rate for new graduates. A Korea Development Institute report underscores the scale of the problem: while the working-age population in their 20s shrank 17 percent over the past two decades, the number of idle youths surged 64 percent, from 250,000 to 410,000. The share of 20s neither studying nor working has doubled, from 3.6 percent to 7.2 percent. Another ranking Korea has long topped is its suicide rate. The country recorded 29.1 suicides per 100,000 people in 2024 — the highest since 2011 — with an average of 40 lives lost each day. Suicide is the leading cause of death among Koreans in their 20s. A Korea University medical team analyzing 100,000 suicide cases from 2013 to 2020 found that 22.5 percent stemmed from economic or occupational distress, underscoring the direct link between socioeconomic pressures and mental health. Suneung marks a pivotal moment for today's young Koreans, but its symbolism now extends far beyond a single exam day. Korea must move beyond habitual ceremony and confront the deeper structural strains threatening the future of its youth. 2025-11-11 17:01:45

AI-leveraged cheating in elite university test on AI calls for new class formula in Korea SEOUL, November 10 (AJP) - ChatGPT has invaded university classrooms and come to test the ethical integrity of students in Korea, as shown by a large-scale exam cheating scandal at elite Yonsei University in Seoul. The case may be only the tip of the iceberg, with 70 percent of Korean universities still lacking any rules or guidelines on AI use. The issue surfaced when a professor teaching the third-year course "Natural Language Processing (NLP) and ChatGPT" at Yonsei's Sinchon campus revealed that "multiple instances of academic dishonesty have been discovered." The professor urged students to voluntarily come forward to avoid punishment beyond receiving zero points for the midterm, warning that dishonesty could result in disciplinary suspension. The course, with roughly 600 students enrolled, was conducted entirely online. The midterm in mid-October consisted of multiple-choice questions through an online platform. Students were instructed to record their screens, hands, and faces during the exam, but many allegedly changed their camera angles or opened extra browser windows to covertly access AI tools. Within the student community, speculation grew that more than half of the class may have cheated. On Everytime, a popular university community app, an anonymous poll of enrolled students found that 190 out of 359 respondents — about 53 percent — admitted to using unauthorized tools during the test. "It's ironic that a cheating scandal broke out in a course on AI," said Yoo Eun-seo, 22, a theology major at Yonsei. "It's regrettable that students used AI during a restricted exam, but universities should start designing learning systems that integrate AI rather than banning it. Coexistence with AI is inevitable." Another student, Cho Je-yi, 21, said she was "shocked" that cheating occurred even with video monitoring. "It seems this wasn't the first time students gained grades through dishonest means," she said. "When more than half your classmates use AI, not using it starts to feel like a disadvantage. Ethical standards clearly need to be redefined." Cho also noted that distinguishing human-written and AI-generated text has become increasingly difficult. "Tools like Copykiller now have a 'GPT-Killer' function to detect AI content, but many students get flagged unfairly. I've had my own work marked as 'AI-like.' The criteria are vague, and since it's practically impossible to tell the difference, banning AI outright is unrealistic." Three years after generative AI became mainstream, many universities still lack a coherent strategy. A survey by the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) found that 71.1 percent of 131 universities nationwide have no official guidelines on generative AI. By contrast, a 2024 study by Wang, Dang, Wu, and Mac — cited in a KCUE report — found that among the top 100 U.S. universities, 67.4 percent have issued guidelines for faculty regarding AI use, but just 17.8 percent have established rules for students. Only 14.7 percent have institution-wide policies. Several education systems abroad have moved aggressively. The New York City Department of Education banned access to ChatGPT across public schools in early 2024, and Seattle schools also imposed restrictions. The University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, and Sciences Po in France have prohibited the use of ChatGPT in coursework. Universities in Australia have redesigned exams to prevent students from relying on AI-generated answers. Park Han-woo, professor of media and communication at Yeungnam University and chair of the Korea organizing committee for Internet Research 15 (IR15), said the online format of the exam made it highly likely for students to rely on AI tools. "The issue is not that students used AI," he said. "We need to talk about responsible and ethical use of AI, because banning it altogether isn't realistic." Park said Korean universities must develop new teaching and evaluation models suited for the AI era. 2025-11-10 17:33:34

Over-crowded Korean coffee market squeezes small franchises to venture overseas SEOUL, November 06 (AJP) - Koreans are the world's most avid coffee consumers, and the market has now grown so dense that smaller franchises are increasingly looking abroad to survive. According to Euromonitor, Koreans on average drank 416 cups of coffee per person last year, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region. Consumption far outstripped Singapore's 290 cups and Japan's 281 cups, and was nearly six times the regional average of 57. By the end of 2022, Korea had around 100,000 coffee shops nationwide — almost double the 52,000 stores operated collectively by the country's four major convenience-store chains (GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, Emart24). Coffee shops also outnumbered chicken restaurants, which totaled 81,000. Coffee franchise brands numbered 886, exceeding the 669 chicken franchises. With such density, prices vary widely: budget chains sell Americanos for 1,500–2,000 won ($1.38), while premium cafés charge 4,500–5,500 won. Budget chains have expanded rapidly amid long-running economic pressures and high youth unemployment. The top five value brands — Mega MGC, Compose Coffee, Paik’s Coffee, The Venti, and Mammoth Coffee — operate around 11,000 stores nationwide, more than double the 4,800 outlets run by the top five premium chains: Starbucks, Twosome Place, Hollys, Coffee Bean, and Angel-in-us. Even market heavyweight Starbucks Korea shows signs of plateauing. Its store count edged up from 2,009 at the end of 2023 to 2,050 in the first half of 2024. Twosome Place saw similarly modest growth, rising from 1,670 to 1,700 stores. By contrast, Mega MGC Coffee is racing toward the 4,000-store milestone. After passing 3,000 stores in May 2023, it reached 3,500 by March and more than 3,800 by August 2024 — adding roughly 800 locations in just over a year. Its operator, N-House, has posted solid financial gains: revenue grew from 315.8 billion won in 2022 to 455.8 billion won in 2023 and is estimated to reach 545.9 billion won this year. Operating profit jumped from 54.5 billion won in 2022 to 104.3 billion won in 2023 and 118.1 billion won in 2024, keeping margins near 20 percent for three consecutive years. Starbucks Korea, operated by SCK Company, recorded 3.1 trillion won in sales last year, up 5.8 percent from 2022. But its store expansion rate has declined sharply — from 8.7 percent in 2021, when Emart acquired the company, to 6.1 percent in 2023. With domestic expansion reaching its limits, small and mid-sized franchises are turning overseas. Mega MGC Coffee opened its first overseas branch in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, last May and has grown to five locations within a year. Paik's Coffee has focused on Southeast Asia, expanding from its first Manila store in 2016 to 18 outlets across the Philippines and Singapore. Compose Coffee launched its third store in Singapore this year and is expected to accelerate expansion after management rights were acquired by Jollibee Foods, a major Philippine restaurant conglomerate. The Venti embarked on global expansion this year with its first store in Canada, followed by openings in Vietnam and Jordan, tailoring Korean-style menus to local tastes. Mammoth Coffee entered Japan with its first store, marking the brand's overseas debut. According to the Food Information Statistics System, the global coffee market has grown steadily since 2019 and is projected to reach $174.1 billion by 2028, up 20 percent from 2025 — offering headroom for Korean franchises seeking growth beyond a home market that has little space left to fill. 2025-11-06 17:56:16

POST-APEC: K-pop stars as vital economic and diplomatic leverage SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - "Oh my gat, the real one has arrived," K-pop star G-Dragon wrote on social media, sporting a black fedora draped with a pearl chain resembling a traditional Korean "gat" headpiece he wore while performing his latest hit "Power" at the APEC Leaders' Meeting gala in Gyeongju last Friday. The pun paired his fashion humor with a nod to the gat reimagined by the "Saja Boys" in Netflix's hit anime "KPop Demon Hunters" while reflecting his excitement about performing before an audience of global leaders. His performance of "Drama" using a microphone wrapped in the Korean and APEC flags further accentuated K-pop's persuasive power to captivate no-nonsense global leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. For some leaders, it was the most memorable moment of their visit. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim later posted a clip of the performance with the hashtag #KpopForever, calling it a highlight of the summit. Celebrity-level political figures — U.S. President Donald Trump, China's Xi, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang — captured most headlines during the weeklong summit in historic Gyeongju. But it was Korean culture, especially K-pop, that shared the global spotlight. The rare APEC consensus, named the Gyeongju Declaration, for the first time elevated culture and creative industries as a formal regional growth engine in a leaders' summit document — placing it on par with trade, investment, and digital cooperation. K-pop's ascent as an economic asset was reinforced again at the APEC CEO Summit, where BTS leader RM delivered a keynote speech on Korea's soft power. "K-pop is like bibimbap," RM said. "You don't turn away elements of Western music — hip-hop, R&B, EDM. Like bibimbap, each part keeps its identity but mixes to create something new, fresh, and delightful." This inclusive originality RM highlighted is the essence of K-pop's universal appeal — and a form of soft power capable of moving even the world's toughest minds. President Lee Jae Myung brought JYP Entertainment founder and producer Park Jin-young — newly tapped as co-chair of a presidential committee on pop culture — to an informal meeting with Xi. During the meeting, Xi was said to have spontaneously floated the idea of hosting a large-scale K-pop event in Beijing, instructing Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the spot to explore the idea. The leak immediately stirred expectations of China easing its years-long unofficial ban on Korean entertainment in fear of "corrupting" young Chinese people. The scale of the industry is now too large for governments at home and abroad to overlook. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea's music exports reached $1.2 billion in 2023, up from $277 million in 2013 — a 4.4-fold jump. At the current pace, exports are expected to exceed 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion) this year. The K-pop events market — concerts, fan meets, festivals — is also set for explosive expansion. Allied Market Research projects the global sector, valued at $8.1 billion in 2021, will grow at an annual average of 7.3 percent, reaching $20 billion by 2031. 2025-11-05 17:10:11

Four out of ten Korean tech workers eye work abroad as firms vie to keep them home SEOUL, November 04 (AJP) - Four out of ten South Koreans employed in science and engineering say they want to work abroad in pursuit of higher compensation and better social recognition, underscoring the talent pressures Korean companies face as global competition intensifies in AI and IT. A recent Bank of Korea study found that 42.9 percent of salaried STEM-degree holders are considering relocating overseas within the next three years, and the share rises to about 70 percent among those in their 20s and 30s. Financial factors were the most frequently cited motivation, with 66.7 percent pointing to higher pay abroad. Yoon Yong-june, head of the macroeconomic studies team at the Bank of Korea's Research Department, noted that STEM professionals in countries such as the United States enjoy strong respect, high compensation, and greater career mobility. "Talented students often enter institutions like Stanford or MIT and then build careers in AI and IT in Silicon Valley, frequently becoming key innovators or founders," he said. "In Korea, by contrast, elite students in the post-IMF era increasingly opted for medical schools from the early 2000s onward, reflecting a preference for job security over engineering paths." Dissatisfaction was highest among workers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices, followed by electronics and semiconductors, and IT and communications. Even in high-paying fields such as semiconductors and mobility, many master's and Ph.D.-level researchers said their compensation did not align with the performance of their companies. Korean firms in IT, software, and biotech maintained similar ratios of labor costs to sales, while the ratios in core manufacturing industries such as semiconductors, electronics, and automobiles were lower. In contrast, U.S. tech giants such as Apple and Tesla have achieved high profitability by outsourcing production and focusing on design, software, and platforms, enabling them to reinvest more aggressively in R&D and employee rewards. The report also pointed to structural drawbacks in Korea's R&D career path, where researchers are evaluated on short-term performance, hindering breakthrough research. It emphasized that incentives must be tied to long-horizon achievements. Korea's lack of a Nobel laureate in the sciences can explain the structural constraint. Recent shifts in the labor market, however, suggest engineering roles are regaining appeal. With the rise of chip supremacy and escalating compensation packages, applicants for semiconductor-related university programs outnumbered those for medical schools in this year's early admissions cycle, according to Jongro Academy in Seoul. Corporations are also moving aggressively to retain talent. Samsung Electronics announced a new Performance Stock Unit program that ties employee rewards directly to the company's share price. Under the plan, employees will receive Samsung stock based on share-price growth over the next three years, with 200 shares granted to entry- and junior-level workers and 300 shares to mid-level managers, vesting gradually from 2028. SK hynix, meanwhile, revised its annual bonus structure through a labor–management agreement reached in September. The company will allocate 10 percent of its annual operating profit to employee bonuses, a level that, given its workforce of around 33,600, amounts to more than 100 million won—about 70,000 dollars—per employee on average. 2025-11-04 17:35:17

Korean brands still in hangover over Jensen Huang's Seoul evening binge SEOUL, November 03 (AJP) - There was nothing casual about the tech boys' night-out in Seoul for "chimaek" — the beloved chicken-and-beer pairing — given the multi-trillion-dollar businesses they represent and the influence they wield over the global economy. The APEC week has officially ended, but the afterglow — and hangover — from Thursday's late-night binge among Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun continues to ripple across Korean markets, from stocks to retail sales. The rare sight of the trio — who collectively helm corporate empires near $6 trillion at the time — squeezing into a fried-chicken joint offered an intimate glimpse into the personal lives of some of the world's wealthiest and most influential figures. The scene went instantly viral worldwide. According to Google Trends, global search interest in "chimaek" surged after the meetup, climbing to a score of more than 75 out of 100 the next day — a clear sign of heightened curiosity about Korea's distinctive drinking and food culture. Huang also displayed enthusiasm for Korea's "somaek" — a soju-beer mix — after Samsung's Lee demonstrated the "Tera Tower," Korean liquor company Hite Jinro's beer-soju blending gadget that went viral following its 2022 debut. Somaek is a quintessential Korean drinking ritual often accompanied by games or social gatherings. The term even inspired the global hit "APT." by BLACKPINK's Rosé and Bruno Mars — a reference to a Korean drinking game that propelled the song's popularity. The frenzy extended far beyond the tech sphere, delivering an unexpected viral marketing bonanza for Korean consumer brands. Shares of Kyochon F&B — the only listed fried-chicken franchise — jumped more than 10 percent in early trading, while rival chains BBQ and BHC reported spikes in sales inquiries. Videos of Huang greeting fans outside the restaurant and handing out Korean snacks like banana-flavored milk spread rapidly across social media. Binggrae, the company that produces the banana milk, swiftly seized the moment, posting on Friday: "Giving away 100 banana milks! Thank you, Mr. Huang!" The company said it will randomly select 100 commenters by Thursday to receive an e-gift card and plans to accelerate export promotions while global attention is fixed on the brand. Even the red ginseng product Huang received from a fan drew fresh attention. The item — from Jung Kwan Jang, Korea's leading ginseng producer — was also featured among hospitality gifts provided to visiting leaders at hotels in Gyeongju during the APEC summit. "Korean consumers are especially drawn to products with stories," said Lee Eun-hee, honorary professor of consumer studies at Inha University. "It's not just about taste or quality. People find joy in consuming things tied to a narrative or cultural context. With social media amplifying that storytelling, these moments attract even more attention." After the chimaek spectacle came serious and win-win business. At the APEC CEO Summit, Huang announced Nvidia's plan to supply up to 260,000 GPUs — worth roughly 14 trillion won — to Korean partners, including Samsung, SK Group, Hyundai Motor, and Naver Cloud. Samsung, in turn, will provide next-generation HBM4 memory essential for Nvidia's top-tier GPUs, securing a stable components pipeline amid intensifying global AI demand. Nvidia's collaboration with Hyundai Motor is also expected to deepen, positioning the U.S. chipmaker's "Drive" platform as a potential backbone for Korea's fast-evolving autonomous driving ecosystem. 2025-11-03 17:41:28