IFEZ draws $553.5 million in FDI in Q3, reaching 92.3% of annual goal SEOUL, October 21 (AJP) - The Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) announced that foreign direct investment (FDI) declarations in the third quarter of 2025 reached $553.5 million, achieving 92.3 percent of its yearly target. Following $494.7 million in the first half, an additional $58.8 million was reported in the third quarter, pushing total declarations close to the full-year goal. IFEZ reported strong results in its key strategic sectors, particularly bio and semiconductor industries. Major investments declared earlier in the year included Sartorius Korea Operations ($250 million), Lotte Biologics ($28.7 million), TOK Advanced Materials ($24.6 million), renewable energy firm Orsted ($119.6 million), and retail developer Costco Cheongna ($61.4 million). In the third quarter, Starfield Cheongna joined with a $52.5 million declaration. Actual FDI inflows reached $391.2 million—112 percent of the annual goal of $350 million and more than 2.8 times the previous year's figure. Since its establishment, IFEZ has accumulated a total of $16.72 billion in declared FDI. Despite global economic uncertainty, trade tensions, and political instability at home and abroad, IFEZ attributed the steady growth to its active investor relations efforts and the continuous expansion of infrastructure supporting foreign residents and businesses. Maintaining its annual targets of $600 million in FDI declarations and $350 million in inflows, IFEZ has set out the "2025 Comprehensive Investment Promotion Plan," focusing on three main pillars: the medical and bio industry, advanced and strategic industries such as semiconductors, and tourism, leisure, and cultural content. Commissioner Yun Won-sok said he expects IFEZ to surpass $600 million in FDI declarations for the second consecutive year. "Large-scale investment projects in bio and semiconductor sectors are progressing, and we are seeing tangible results from the K-Con Land initiative led by the U.S.-based Kessler Group, aimed at building an Asian version of Hollywood," he said. 2025-10-21 10:36:59

KAIST develops light-based process that boosts hydrogen catalyst efficiency sixfold SEOUL, October 20 (AJP) - A research team at KAIST has developed a light-powered process that can produce high-performance hydrogen catalysts using only a fraction of the usual energy. The technique uses an ultra-short flash of light to generate extreme heat, enabling the rapid creation of advanced materials for clean energy applications. The study, led by Professor Il-Doo Kim, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Professor Seongyool Choi, School of Electrical Engineering, introduced a platform called "direct-contact photothermal annealing." By flashing light for just 0.02 seconds, the system reaches 3,000 degrees Celsius—enough to transform nanodiamond particles into carbon nano-onions, a highly conductive and stable material suited for hydrogen production. The new approach consumes about one ten-millionth of the energy required by conventional heating while making the process hundreds of times faster. During the reaction, metal atoms such as platinum, cobalt, and nickel bond individually to the surface of the carbon nano-onions, creating a highly efficient single-atom catalyst. The platinum-based version showed up to six times higher hydrogen production efficiency using much smaller amounts of metal. Professor Kim said the method marks the first demonstration of a direct-contact photothermal process capable of reaching such high temperatures in milliseconds. "By cutting energy use more than a thousandfold, this integrated process could speed up the commercialization of clean hydrogen and other catalyst technologies," he said. The research was carried out by KAIST doctoral candidate Jeon Kyung-do, Dr. Shin Ha-min (now at ETH Zurich), and Dr. Cha Jun-hoe (now at SK hynix), under the supervision of Professors Kim and Choi. The findings were published as a supplementary cover article in the September issue of ACS Nano, published by the American Chemical Society. 2025-10-20 15:55:12

Kazakhstan bids Korean companies onboard in its digital, crypto drive SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) - Kazakhstan is envisioning Alatau Smart City as a regional capital of innovation and digital finance and sees South Korea as an ideal partner for the goal, said the country's deputy prime minister. "The government's goal is to position Alatau as an innovation center," Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said in Seoul this week. He led a high-level delegation for a two-day forum aimed at drawing Korean participation and investment in the country's ambitious initiative. "We welcome all innovations coming from Korea," he said, adding that U.S. and Chinese capital are already committed to the ventures. "The city's industry and infrastructure will be filled with innovation from the very beginning. It will be developed as a smart city built on intelligent systems and digital technologies applied across all sectors," he said. He also described Alatau as a "crypto city," where blockchain and digital finance will be part of daily life. "There will be crypto mortgages, crypto exchanges, and stablecoins in circulation," he said. "This kind of system does not exist yet in Kazakhstan or anywhere else in Central Asia, so we will test it within a regulatory sandbox." Bozumbayev said Kazakhstan plans to introduce AI-driven mobility, drone logistics, and other smart infrastructure as part of the city's growth, and hydrogen energy is one of the most promising fields for collaboration. "We hope that Doosan's innovative technologies will also be implemented in Alatau, particularly in the field of blue and green hydrogen," he said. "Together with Korean partners, we can build the infrastructure for hydrogen production, transport, and storage, and eventually develop hydrogen-powered engines for vehicles and trains." Alatau will operate under a special legal framework that allows faster approval and certification for new technologies. "If national laws do not perfectly fit the city's innovative projects, the city will be able to create its own local regulations to support them," he said. "We plan to make Alatau the first city in the world to combine all of these elements into one system." The project, which consists of four districts — Gate, Golden, Growing, and Green — will bring together finance, education, industry, and leisure in a single ecosystem. The Kazakh government is seeking participation from South Korean construction and engineering firms such as Samsung C&T, Hyundai E&C, and Daewoo E&C during the city's initial development phase. Bozumbayev said nurturing human talent is central to the project. "Around half a million people are born in Kazakhstan every year. In 18 years, that's half a million new workers joining the labor market," he said. "We are a young nation, and we need to train more specialists in technical fields." Talks are underway with Korean institutes to establish a campus in Alatau focused on AI, robotics, and mobility systems. The project also includes plans for a Korean medical cluster and a K-content complex called K-Park. "We are already seen as a regional leader, and many neighboring countries are learning from our experience," Bozumbayev said. "What succeeds in Alatau will later be expanded to other cities across Kazakhstan and beyond." 2025-10-16 15:56:30

KAIST develops AI that learns across hospitals and banks without sharing private data SEOUL, October 15 (AJP) - KAIST researchers have created a new kind of artificial intelligence that can learn from multiple institutions, like hospitals and banks, without ever sharing personal information. The technology is based on "federated learning," a method where different organizations train a shared AI model using their own data locally instead of sending it all to one place. The team led by Professor Park Chan-young from KAIST's Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering found a way to fix a major weakness in existing federated learning systems. Normally, when each institution adjusts the shared AI model to fit its own environment, the AI becomes too specialized and loses its ability to handle new situations. This problem, called "local overfitting," makes the AI less useful outside of one organization's data. For example, if several banks develop a shared AI for loan evaluations and one bank fine-tunes it using only large corporate customer data, the AI might work well for those clients but perform poorly when reviewing small business or personal loans. To solve this, Professor Park's team used a method called "synthetic data." Instead of using actual personal data, they created artificial datasets that imitate key patterns found in the real data but do not contain any private information. This allows each organization to fine-tune the AI for its own use while keeping privacy intact and maintaining the AI's ability to generalize across different data sources. Tests showed that this method worked well not only for secure fields like healthcare and finance but also for fast-changing areas such as social media and online shopping. The AI kept its performance stable even when new institutions joined or when the data environment changed quickly. Professor Park said the research offers a new approach for developing AI that protects privacy without giving up performance. He said it could help fields like medical diagnostics and financial fraud detection, where sharing sensitive data has always been difficult. The study was led by graduate student Kim Sung-won, with Professor Park as the corresponding author. Their paper, titled "Subgraph Federated Learning for Local Generalization," was presented at the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR) 2025 in Singapore, one of the world's leading AI conferences. It was selected as an oral presentation, an honor given to only about 1.8 percent of papers submitted. 2025-10-15 15:54:11

Nami Island hosts "Peru Week" showcasing Peruvian art, music, and traditions SEOUL, October 15 (AJP) - Nami Island in Gangwon Province turned into a lively cultural hub last month as it hosted "Peru Week," a weeklong event celebrating the art, heritage, and traditions of the South American country. Organized in partnership with the Embassy of Peru in South Korea, the program ran from September 20 to 28 and attracted thousands of visitors, both Korean and international. Held during the island's peak autumn season, when an average of 12,000 visitors arrive each day and nearly 20,000 on weekends, the festival offered a mix of performances, exhibitions, and hands-on experiences. Guests were invited to explore Peru's cultural and natural diversity through dance shows, music, art displays, and interactive workshops designed for all ages. During the opening ceremony, Paul Duclos, the Ambassador of Peru to South Korea, joined the CEO of Nami Island Arts & Education to welcome guests. "We are delighted to see the beauty and diversity of Peru shared with Korean and international audiences in such a meaningful setting," the ambassador said. The ceremony was followed by lively performances from the Peruvian Cultural Association C.I.D.A.N. "Mi Perú" and the music ensemble "Peru Latin," filling the island with the rhythms of traditional Peruvian sounds. Peruvian flags and banners decorated the island's main entrances, walkways, and ferry docks throughout the week, creating a colorful display of friendship between Peru and South Korea. Visitors took part in family-friendly activities such as painting tote bags with Peruvian motifs, coloring traditional patterns, and playing simple versions of classic Peruvian games. Local Korean groups also joined in, performing Latin-inspired music to add to the festive mood. One of the highlights was the exhibition "Treasures of Peru: The Amazon Rainforest," held at Paz Gallery. The show featured vivid images of Peru's Amazonian landscapes, wildlife, and communities, including "Portraits of My Blood," a photography series by David Díaz portraying the Shipibo-Konibo people of the Amazon region. The HEI School Nami Island, part of the Helsinki International Schools network, also held a special educational session on September 27. Students learned about Peru's geography, culture, and biodiversity through interactive activities, baking alfajores, and decorating Ayacucho retablos, dolls, and bags with designs inspired by Machu Picchu, Pucará bulls, and alpacas. The event wrapped up with live performances by Peruvian musician Ángel Puma, who played traditional melodies that drew crowds across the island and offered visitors a memorable glimpse of Peru's cultural identity. 2025-10-15 12:07:36

Kathakali performance opens 11th Sarang Festival in Seoul SEOUL, October 15 (AJP) - The 11th edition of Sarang: The Festival of India in Korea opened on Tuesday evening with a dazzling Kathakali performance at Ewha Womans University's Samsung Hall in Seoul. Around 300 people from South Korea, India, and other countries filled the hall, their attention drawn to the vibrant rhythms and colorful movement unfolding on stage. The air was alive with music as the deep beat of drums, the clash of cymbals, and the resonant chanting of singers created a soundscape that carried the audience into another world. Dancers, dressed in ornate costumes with intricate face paint and towering headpieces, moved with precision and grace. Each gesture and expression told part of an age-old story, weaving emotion and mythology into a single flow. The performance was led by the renowned artist Sreenathan Sreenatha Mandiram and his troupe, invited by the Embassy of India in Seoul to mark the start of this year's Sarang Festival. In his opening remarks, Chargé d'Affaires Shri Nishi Kant Singh described Sarang as "a celebration of mankind's love for life and a reflection of the diversity that the world represents." He also spoke about the enduring cultural ties between India and South Korea, tracing back to the legend of Queen Heo Hwang-ok of Ayodhya and the historical Buddhist exchanges that followed. Kathakali, which emerged in the southern Indian state of Kerala in the 17th century, is one of India's most distinctive classical dance traditions. The art form combines dance, drama, music, and mime, using elaborate gestures and facial expressions instead of spoken dialogue. The stories are usually drawn from the Hindu epics—the Ramayana and the Mahabharata—and are performed through stylized movements accompanied by live percussion and song. Following the Seoul performance, the troupe will continue its tour with shows in Kunsan, Nami Island, Busan, and Miryang, as well as workshops for local dance students. The Sarang Festival, organized annually by the Embassy of India in collaboration with Korean partners, will feature a range of cultural events across South Korea throughout the season. 2025-10-15 10:10:20

Korea's top delivery operator Woowa takes in No. 1 industrial accident claim infamy with pride SEOUL, October 14 (AJP) - Woowa Youths, the logistics arm of Woowa Brothers, operator of South Korea's largest food delivery platform Baemin, remains atop the corporate rank on industrial accident insurance claims, but admits the infamy with grace rather than excuse. According to Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service data provided to Democratic Party lawmaker Park Hae-cheol, Woowa Youths filed 1,135 industrial accident claims as of August this year, with 1,071 approved—a 94 percent approval rate. While the numbers suggest the company has achieved top accident statistics for the fourth consecutive year, Woowa officials say the data tell a different story. "There are around 480,000 to 500,000 active riders nationwide, which is far larger than the workforce of any single industry," a Woowa Youths official told AJP on Tuesday. "Our rate of accidents per 1,000 riders has actually been dropping every year. What you’re seeing is a reflection of our scale and the fact that we don’t reject claims. We accept nearly every rider’s application." In industries like construction or manufacturing, industrial accident claims are often met with resistance from employers who fear the financial or reputational fallout. Delivery riders, on the other hand, work as independent contractors and are free to file claims themselves, resulting in a naturally higher volume of applications. Company figures show that the overall accident rate among riders has dropped by more than half, from 2.93 percent in 2022 to 1.38 percent in 2024. Woowa Youths attributes this steady decline to the Baemin Rider School, a safety education program the company has operated since 2018. Originally located in Namyangju, a satellite city of Seoul, the school moved this year to a larger, purpose-built facility in Hanam City, east of the capital. Construction was completed in September, and the new site will begin full-scale operations in November. The training center offers real-world riding simulations and defensive driving courses for delivery workers. More than 20,000 riders have completed the program so far. Woowa Brothers, which dominates South Korea's food delivery market with a 58.7 percent share as of May 2025, according to pollster IGAWorks' Mobile Index, was the first in the industry to voluntarily provide industrial accident insurance to riders starting in 2015, years before it became mandatory by law. The company says its priority remains the safety and well-being of delivery workers, even as competition in the market intensifies. "We believe rider protection is not just a legal duty but a responsibility," the official said. "Education, safety investment, and fair compensation are what will make the delivery industry sustainable." 2025-10-14 15:08:50

Kazakhstan taps South Korea as key partner for its national drive towards digital powerhouse SEOUL, October 13 (AJP) - Kazakhstan, the Central Asian hub eager to break away from its raw materials-based economy, is turning to South Korea as a strategic partner in its ambitious push to become a global digital and artificial intelligence powerhouse. A high-profile government delegation will visit Seoul this week to present Kazakhstan’s institutional and systemic transformation, highlighting the Alatau Smart City project as its flagship initiative. “Kazakhstan has focused heavily on digital transformation,” said Nurgali Arystanov, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to South Korea, in an interview with AJP ahead of the Alatau Rise with Kazakhstan forum in Seoul on October 15–16. “Every ministry now has a department of information technology, and most administrative work is handled digitally. This shows how serious we are about building a digital society.” The envoy pointed to the shared aspirations of Astana (formerly Nur-Sultan) and Seoul to become global digital leaders. He said Kazakhstan’s digital strategy aligns closely with South Korea’s national drive under President Lee Jae Myung to integrate AI into public services. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced last month an ambitious goal to transform Kazakhstan into a fully digital nation within three years by embedding AI across all sectors. His administration recently launched the Ministry of AI and Digital Development to spearhead the initiative. “Both our countries are working toward the same goal — to make people’s lives better through technology,” Arystanov said. Located 47 kilometers north of Almaty, the Alatau Smart City is designed as a next-generation urban model integrating artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, green energy, water-saving systems, and urban air mobility, with plans for an international airport. The Kazakh government has looked to Shenzhen and other global innovation hubs for inspiration, seeking foreign investment through special legal status and generous tax incentives. “Alatau City is not just a construction project,” Arystanov said. “It represents a new way of living — sustainable, smart, and connected. We see Korea as a natural partner because of its advanced technology and our long-standing trust.” Kazakhstan sees Korea as an ideal partner for its digital transition, backed by a robust oil-based economy growing by five to six percent annually and a highly digital-literate workforce that makes up 60 percent of its 18 million people. South Korea is already Kazakhstan’s third-largest investor after Russia and the Netherlands, with some 876 Korean-capital companies operating in the country, according to the ambassador. Tourism and people-to-people exchanges are also on the rise, with weekly flight connections between Seoul, Busan, Astana, Almaty, and Shymkent now averaging 20 services — a 20 percent increase from last year. The Seoul forum aims to elevate bilateral economic ties to a new level. The delegation includes senior officials from Kazakhstan’s ministries of economy, land, transport, infrastructure, investment, and digital development, who plan to detail investment incentives, tax breaks, and supportive measures such as 30-day visa-free entry and English-language accessibility through the Astana International Financial Center’s common law framework. Historic ties also reinforce the partnership. Kazakhstan is home to about 120,000 ethnic Koreans, a community that continues to serve as a bridge between the two nations. On September 23, the Kazakhstan-Korea Friendship Association was launched in Seoul under Kwak Young Kil, chairman of Aju Media Corporation, as a platform for cultural, tourism, sports, and business exchanges. Academic and research cooperation is also expanding, with Kazakhstan’s education minister recently visiting Korean universities and encouraging Korean firms to consider establishing R&D centers in Kazakhstan. 2025-10-14 08:00:00

IAA Korea, Clebus team up to digitize art through NFTs SEOUL, October 13 (AJP) - IAA Korea, the Korean branch of the International Association of Art (IAA), has signed a partnership with NFT technology company Clebus to push the art industry into the digital era and expand the global reach of K-art. The agreement marks a rare collaboration between a traditional fine arts institution and a blockchain firm, signaling a growing recognition of NFT technology in the global art world. The signing ceremony took place on September 24 in Seoul’s Jongno district. IAA Korea and Clebus agreed to work together to develop new business models for both the domestic and international art markets. Their plan covers not only painting and sculpture but also illustration, animation, and accessory design, transforming these into NFT-based content for exhibition, sale, and rental. IAA Korea President Lee Kwang-soo, who also serves as a board member of the IAA headquarters in Paris, said he expects the partnership to serve as "an important turning point for the global art market." The two sides plan to focus on creating an NFT-linked art trading platform while developing joint revenue models such as pre- and post-purchase arrangements and consignment sales. IAA Korea has invited Clebus to the IAA World General Assembly set for October 29 and is preparing to extend the partnership to the IAA’s Paris headquarters to strengthen global cooperation. One of the most eye-catching outcomes of the agreement is that Clebus’s art characters have been designated as official mascots of the IAA. It is an unusual move for a K-character to represent an international art organization, and both sides see it as a key step toward promoting K-art on the global stage. Clebus said it hopes the two characters will "grow into globally beloved K-characters, following the success of 'Kpop Demon Hunters.'" Founded in 2019, Clebus is a technology firm that has expanded into blockchain services. Since 2022, the company has provided NFT certification and membership platforms to luxury brands such as Hansung Motor, an official Mercedes-Benz dealer in South Korea, demonstrating its technical expertise and market experience. The collaboration between IAA Korea’s international network and Clebus’s NFT technology is expected to accelerate the digital transformation of South Korea’s art scene and open new opportunities for K-art in global markets. 2025-10-13 17:44:01

Sookmyung startup Labincube brings Nobel-winning material into everyday use SEOUL, October 13 (AJP) - A startup from Sookmyung Women's University has brought a Nobel Prize-winning scientific material into people’s daily lives. Labincube, founded by Professor Choi Kyung-min from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, became the first company to use Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) materials in consumer products such as air purifiers and cosmetic fillers. Professor Choi previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of UC Berkeley Professor Omar Yaghi, one of this year's Nobel Prize winners in chemistry. Building on that connection, Labincube, a subsidiary of Sookmyung’s technology holdings company, signed a technical advisory agreement with Professor Yaghi and succeeded in commercializing MOF-based products in 2024 for the first time anywhere in the world. MOFs are porous materials that can selectively trap or separate specific molecules through tiny openings. They have mainly been used in fields like petrochemicals and semiconductors, but Labincube found a way to adapt them for consumer use, expanding their reach into home appliances, beauty products, and biotechnology. In the home appliance sector, the company worked with LG Electronics to apply MOF materials to air purifiers that remove harmful gases and odors more effectively. In the beauty field, it incorporates MOFs into fillers and skin boosters to improve product stability and performance. Labincube is also developing environmental products that remove moisture and carbon dioxide from the air, as well as bio-materials that could replace antibiotics and antihistamines. The company’s progress led to its selection for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' "Baby Unicorn" program this year, which supports promising early-stage startups. Shin Ji-young, head of Sookmyung's Office of Industry-Academic Cooperation, said the achievement shows how the university's startup system can link world-class scientific research with technologies that improve daily life. She noted that as Sookmyung approaches its 120th anniversary in 2026, it is continuing to evolve as a research-driven university that connects basic science with practical innovation. Professor Choi said that Nobel-winning science often feels distant from everyday experience, but MOF technology is different. It is already being used in air purifiers and bio-materials, he said, adding that it is meaningful that a South Korean university startup was the first in the world to make this possible. 2025-10-13 17:25:29