AJU PRESS ASIA FIRST NEWS AGENCY

Journalist

Jung Yeon-woo
  • Daekyo to Provide Eye-Level Learning Program for Low-Income Single-Parent Families
    Daekyo to Provide Eye-Level Learning Program for Low-Income Single-Parent Families Daekyo said on 27 it will take part in an education support project led by the Lotte Scholarship Foundation, providing its Eye-Level Learning program to children from low-income single-parent families nationwide. The program will serve 223 children, from infants and toddlers through elementary, middle and high school students, and will run for nine months through December. The project aims to narrow education gaps for children whose learning opportunities are limited by financial and environmental constraints, while strengthening basic academic skills and supporting self-directed learning. Daekyo will offer Eye-Level Learning in core subjects including Korean, math, English, social studies and science, along with digital learning to improve results. It will also provide pre-program counseling and step-by-step, tailored learning plans to help build key competencies and independent study habits. To improve access, Daekyo will use its nationwide offline learning network, allowing families to choose between home-visit instruction and classes at nearby Eye-Level Learning Centers. The company said the approach is intended to support sustained participation and help reduce regional education disparities. A Daekyo official said it was meaningful to join an effort that helps children with limited educational opportunities grow in a stable environment, adding that the company will continue expanding support for underserved groups so more children can access learning opportunities.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-27 14:31:05
  • Delivery App Fee Talks Stall as Second Meeting Collapses
    Delivery App Fee Talks Stall as Second Meeting Collapses A social dialogue body launched under the leadership of the Democratic Party’s Euljiro Committee to discuss overhauling delivery platform commission structures is faltering from the outset, with talks on shared-growth measures such as fee cuts repeatedly stalling. Industry officials said the second meeting of the delivery app coexistence consultative body, scheduled for the 27th, was called off after merchant groups that list on the platforms did not attend. The first meeting on April 10 ended with the two sides confirming their differences, and plans for follow-up discussions have now also broken down. The consultative body includes delivery platforms such as Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats, along with major merchant groups including the Owners’ Association for a Fair Platform, the National Franchisee Council, the Korea Foodservice Industry Association, the Korea Franchise Industry Association and the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises. Delivery platforms are currently applying a tiered commission system introduced in November 2024. They charge brokerage fees of 7.8% to the top 35% of merchants by sales, 6.8% to those in the 35% to 80% bracket, and 2.0% to the bottom 20%. At the first meeting, platforms were reported to have proposed expanding the 2.0% tier from the bottom 20% to the bottom 30%, while applying 7.8% to the remaining 70%. They also proposed creating a new category for deliveries within 1 kilometer, applying commissions in the 5% range and delivery fees in the high 2,000-won range. The Euljiro Committee argued that the revision could increase the fee burden for some merchants and called for an overall reduction in commissions, but platforms maintained that further cuts would be difficult. Merchant groups responded coolly, saying small business owners are already at their limit due to cost pressures from inflation linked to the war in the Middle East. They said the talks should include not only lower commission rates but also practical support such as help with packaging materials and food ingredients. Complicating matters are differing interests within the merchant groups themselves. With groups varying in size and business type, their demands differ, making it structurally difficult to reach a unified position. No follow-up schedule has been set since the second meeting collapsed. “Each group’s interests are so sharply divided that coordination does not look easy,” an industry official said, adding that the effort is “losing momentum to the point that they cannot even set the next meeting.” The official said the government should first prepare support measures for the most urgent micro and small business owners, then guide the process toward step-by-step alternatives for the merchant groups. 2026-04-27 14:25:01
  • KOSME, KT&G Sign Deal to Support Youth Startups and Boost Local Economies
    KOSME, KT&G Sign Deal to Support Youth Startups and Boost Local Economies The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency and KT&G signed a business agreement on April 24 at KT&G Sangsang Planet in Seoul's Seongdong district to expand social contributions and promote shared growth with local communities. KOSME said on April 27 the two organizations agreed to cooperate in several areas, including promoting local spending and revitalizing regional economies, carrying out community-focused social contribution programs, fostering youth-led startups, and strengthening young people's capabilities through cultural events and education. The partners plan to link KOSME's Youth Startup Academy with KT&G's Sangsang Startup Camp to build a support base for young entrepreneurs from the preparation stage through commercialization. They also will jointly run market-access events, including flea markets, to help energize local communities. As part of the agreement, KOSME held a youth-focused talk concert titled "Youth, Play" on April 26 at KT&G Sangsang Planet. The event was designed to ease young people's uncertainty about career paths and the burden of starting a business, while sharing examples of career changes and encouraging new challenges. KOSME Chairman Kang Seok-jin said the agency will broaden opportunities for young people through cooperation with the private sector and will continue to support shared growth with local communities and the development of youth entrepreneurship.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-27 13:45:15
  • Korea SME Agency Highlights Budget-Friendly Diet Foods at April Shopping Festival
    Korea SME Agency Highlights Budget-Friendly Diet Foods at April Shopping Festival Rising prices and a weaker won have made diet-friendly meal planning more expensive for many consumers. The Korea SMEs and Startups Distribution Corp. said it is spotlighting lower-priced diet and low-sugar foods during the “April Companion Festival.” The agency, known as KODC, said Saturday the event is intended to go beyond simple discounts by giving consumers a chance to manage household spending while supporting small businesses. Among the featured products is “Dubunola” from Bijiterian. It replaces the oats typically used in granola with okara made from domestically produced soybeans, aiming to boost protein and dietary fiber. The company said one bag contains protein equivalent to three eggs and dietary fiber equivalent to six apples. Ingredients include coconut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup and honey, along with unrefined sugar, it said. Sorang introduced its “low-sugar mini pound cake,” designed for consumers who like desserts but want to avoid flour. The company said it uses almonds and grain flour instead of wheat flour and contains no sugar. It comes in eight flavors: fig, mugwort, chocolate, sesame-peanut, carrot, sorghum-chickpea, pea-black sesame and lemon-Earl Grey. Localow’s “Hottab all-purpose low-sugar gochujang” targets consumers seeking a lower-sugar alternative to traditional red pepper paste, which is typically made with grain syrup or corn syrup and contains natural sugars from peppers. The company said it replaced those sweeteners with allulose and added garlic flavor, cutting sugars by 8% compared with conventional gochujang. It said all ingredients are domestically sourced, including a fiber-rich fermented wheat ingredient from the Honam region and garlic harvested in a clean environment on Jeju Island. Sseobol Lab is offering “Diet Fairy unsweetened Greek yogurt,” made after removing 100% of whey, the company said. It said the product uses domestically produced Grade 1 milk and Danish lactic acid bacteria, with a mild, clean taste and thick texture. The yogurt is unsweetened and contains no sweeteners or stabilizers, it said, and is produced at a HACCP-certified facility under a same-day production and shipping policy. A version with 50% of whey removed is also available, it said. Hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and organized by KODC, the April Companion Festival runs through May 10 with about 33,000 small and midsize companies and small merchants participating, along with more than 200 domestic online and offline retail channels, KODC said. KODC said promotions include discounts of up to 70% on popular items such as food, household goods and fashion across more than 90 online shopping platforms, including Kakao, Musinsa and Coupang. Offline, consumers can try products at special sales events in department stores and big-box retailers and buy items at discounts of up to 90%, it said. A KODC official said the agency is also offering practical benefits to encourage participation during the event period, adding that plans include expanding discount limits for digital Onnuri gift certificates. 2026-04-27 06:04:48
  • Commentary: Defining the Problem Determines the Market for AI
    Commentary: Defining the Problem Determines the Market for AI People often say, “We have the technology, but there’s no market.” That is wrong. The market is not absent; it is unseen — because the problem has not been defined. South Korea has learned to run fast on roads others built — in semiconductors, displays and batteries. It has less often created the road itself. Artificial intelligence is a roadless technology: It can detect tiny factory defects, hidden bottlenecks in logistics routes, or whether an older adult living alone took medication — areas that were hard to see and therefore rarely treated as “problems.” When AI makes them measurable, they become problems, and once they are problems, markets open. I recently met the CEO of an AI company in manufacturing. The firm proved its technology through a government project and had a model ready for the shop floor. The obstacle came next: finding factories that needed it and explaining its value in the language of the workplace — tasks it could not do alone. This is not unique. Many AI firms stall at the market’s doorstep. That is a bottleneck for South Korea’s AI industry. Policy now needs to shift from funding technology to defining problems. Economist Mariana Mazzucato called this “mission-oriented innovation policy.” “We will foster AI” is different from “We will cut emergency response time for older adults living alone by half.” The first attaches money to technology; the second attaches technology to a problem. The logic is similar to the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency using a single autonomous-driving race to spur an industry, or the European Union aligning technology and capital under the Green Deal. The clearer the problem, the easier it is for technology to find its destination, for companies to forecast returns, and for money to move. Two steps are needed. First, set numeric targets and concentrate support on companies that can deliver. Policy should start with challenges drawn from the field — defects in semiconductor back-end processes, farmland yields, emergency response for older adults. Demand should go to the few with the capacity to solve the problem. Spread support evenly and no one grows big. Second, once companies are selected, support must be sustained. Until now, assistance has been fragmented by project and by year, failing to back growth. Computing resources, data, real-world testing, financing and overseas expansion should be linked, with support scaled up when results appear. Some countries are already producing results this way. France, through French Tech Next40/120, selects 120 scale-up companies each year for full national support and links that effort to deep-tech development through French Tech 2030. Singapore’s Enterprise SG Scale-Up has 집중 supported more than 80 companies and generated S$2.5 billion in new revenue in three years. Israel, under a national AI program, has built a dedicated supercomputer, while its Innovation Authority directly supports companies with research foundations and funding. The methods differ, but the common point is clear: pick companies that can win and back them to the end. South Korea faces the same task. To carry this approach into the field, it needs a small- and medium-sized enterprise-focused institution with both the ability to select firms and the policy tools to support them at each stage. In the end, how precisely a problem is defined determines the size of the market. Technology flows in proportion to that size, and industry grows with it.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-27 06:03:55
  • Maeil Marine CEO Kim Myeong-jin Pledges Advanced Materials to Link Shipbuilding, Defense
    Maeil Marine CEO Kim Myeong-jin Pledges Advanced Materials to Link Shipbuilding, Defense "We will go beyond distributing ship supplies and become a global marine technology group representing South Korea," Kim Myeong-jin, CEO of Maeil Marine and chairman of the Maeilbiz Association, said at a press briefing on April 23 at the company’s plant in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. Kim said the company is shifting from a ship-services business to a broader marine technology company spanning manufacturing, renewable energy, defense and nuclear-related fields. Founded in 1995, Maeil Marine grew on its ship-supply business and has become a top-tier player with 30 billion won in revenue and about 50 employees, the company said. Kim said Maeil Marine strengthened its position through mergers and acquisitions and rebranded as Maeil Marine Partners. Starting with the 2018 acquisition of Sehwa Machinery, the company secured precision machining capabilities and localized production of key ship components such as turbochargers. In 2020, it merged SAS into its plant business division to build an environment for producing shipbuilding and onshore and offshore power-generation plants. In 2025, it acquired Samyang Trading to build logistics infrastructure linking Northeast Asia. Kim said Maeil Marine plans to combine advanced-materials technology from affiliate Maeil Ceracam with its ship-services know-how to build an end-to-end value chain, from manufacturing ship engine parts and fabricating structures to distributing ship supplies. The company is also reshaping its portfolio by moving into new businesses tied to the energy transition, including offshore wind power, and by expanding into defense, Kim said. He said Maeil Marine aims to target global markets by building an edge in marine defense technology. A tour of the Changwon production site ahead of the briefing highlighted Maeil Ceracam’s core technology: an advanced material that the company said maintains Level III-A ballistic protection while also withstanding temperatures of 1,100 degrees Celsius for more than four hours. The material is expected to be used in special-purpose ship structures, as well as in the defense industry and high-spec construction markets, the company said. Kim said the company is also developing electromagnetic shielding and radiation-shielding coating technology for stealth applications, targeting higher-value markets such as naval vessels, military vehicles, and nuclear and security facilities. "If we focused on distributing ship supplies in the past, we are now putting all our efforts into manufacturing for offshore wind plants and developing future technologies such as ship drones," Kim said. He said diversification would create new market value of 1 trillion won a year. "Based on our distribution and manufacturing know-how, we will change the landscape of the global marine industry through an integrated value chain that links shipbuilding and defense," he said. 2026-04-26 12:18:19
  • SME Ministry Holds Startup Forum at Sungkyunkwan University; K-Beauty Vietnam Push and More
    SME Ministry Holds Startup Forum at Sungkyunkwan University; K-Beauty Vietnam Push and More SME Ministry holds startup forum at Sungkyunkwan University, shares support plans The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said April 24 it held a roundtable at Sungkyunkwan University’s Natural Sciences Campus with student startup clubs, students interested in entrepreneurship and alumni founders. Participants shared startup ideas and discussed difficulties in preparing to launch businesses, along with areas they said need improvement. The ministry also heard views on campus startup-support programs, ways to link them with the “Startup for Everyone” initiative, and policy support needed in the early stages. First Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok said he hopes young people will use “Startup for Everyone” to become more comfortable with entrepreneurship and to develop their ideas. “The government will be a reliable helper so that young people’s creative ideas can lead to real startups,” he said. KOSME backs K-beauty expansion into Vietnam with 1-on-1 buyer meetings The ministry and the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency said they held a business matchmaking event April 24 (local time) at the Lotte Hotel Hanoi to support K-beauty companies entering Vietnam. The event paired Korean K-beauty small and midsize companies with local buyers for one-on-one export talks on site, and was designed to support market entry based on advance research into distribution channels. Fifteen K-beauty SMEs with strong potential for local expansion took part. Vietnamese beauty buyers visited booths to review products and technology and hold in-depth discussions. Park Jang-hyeok, KOSME’s director for global growth, said the program goes beyond consultations by linking companies to distribution placement and follow-up support. He said KOSME will continue expanding on-the-ground assistance for entry into promising overseas markets. Public Home Shopping wins culture minister’s top plain-language award for 2nd year Public Home Shopping said April 24 it received a Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry minister’s commendation for a second straight year after being named the top institution in the “2025 Easy and Correct Public Language” evaluation at the “2026 Joint Training Session for Korean-Language Officers and Language-Culture Centers.” In a news release, the company said it ranked first among 331 public institutions for avoiding difficult words, Chinese characters and foreign scripts. Public Home Shopping said it was selected as one of 24 outstanding institutions in the 2023 evaluation, then was named a top public-language institution in 2024 and 2025. A company official said it has worked to use proper Korean in the distribution industry, where loanwords are common, and pledged continued efforts to communicate with consumers in easy, comfortable language. KD Navien installs dehumidifying ventilation air purifiers in Seoul smart shelters KD Navien said April 24 it installed its dehumidifying ventilation air purifier — with dehumidification, ventilation and air-cleaning functions — at 20 “smart shelter” bus stops in Seoul’s Jung-gu district, including stops near Samsung Main Building and the Sogong-dong community service center. Smart shelters are public waiting areas designed to help people wait for public transportation during heat waves, cold snaps and fine-dust conditions. They offer smart services such as heating and cooling, air purification and Wi-Fi. KD Navien said its unit uses a “dual dehumidification solution” to maintain a relative humidity of 40% to 60% and, unlike air conditioners or dehumidifiers, manages humidity efficiently without changing temperature. The company said it is also seen as helping reduce heating and cooling energy use. A company official said a humid summer heat is expected this year, and the device’s impact in green smart shelters is likely to be greater. 2026-04-24 18:10:43
  • Korea SMEs and Startups Agency Earns Top Rating in 2025 Public-Sector Customer Survey
    Korea SMEs and Startups Agency Earns Top Rating in 2025 Public-Sector Customer Survey The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency said on the 23rd it received an “excellent” rating in the 2025 public-sector customer satisfaction survey. The survey, conducted under the Ministry of Finance and Economy, found the agency exceeded its targets across all 11 business areas evaluated. The agency said it created a dedicated customer-communication team to hear feedback directly from the field and has continued outreach aimed at addressing difficulties faced by small and midsize companies and small merchants. It also cited customer-service training for employees and benchmarking innovation cases from other institutions as part of efforts to embed a “customer first” culture. Lee Tae-sik, the agency’s president and CEO, said, “Earning an excellent customer satisfaction rating reflects the unified efforts of all employees to become a trusted partner for our core customers—small and midsize companies and small merchants.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 18:36:16
  • Korea SMEs Agency to Hire 102 in First Half, Using Blind Recruitment
    Korea SMEs Agency to Hire 102 in First Half, Using Blind Recruitment Korea SMEs Agency to hire 102 in first half, using blind recruitment The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency said April 23 it will hire 102 people in the first half of 2026, including full-time employees and youth interns. The full-time intake totals 60 positions: 42 in administration and 18 in technical roles. For equity hiring, 12 positions will be filled through a limited competition for veterans. Five candidates with professional licenses, including lawyers and certified public accountants, will be selected through a separate process. The selection process includes document screening, a written test — the National Competency Standards-based basic skills exam and a major-knowledge test — followed by first- and second-round interviews. Final hires are scheduled to start work in July. The agency said the recruitment will be conducted as NCS-based “blind hiring,” with no restrictions on education, hometown or age. It said it plans to expand equity hiring for veterans and people with disabilities and continue recruiting regional talent in line with the government’s balanced regional growth policy. Chairman Kang Seok-jin said he hopes “many talented people with strong capabilities and a spirit of challenge” will apply and grow alongside small and venture businesses, which he called the backbone of the economy. TIPA named an “excellent” public data provider for seventh straight year The Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs said April 23 it was named an “excellent institution” for the seventh consecutive year in the Interior and Safety Ministry’s “2025 Public Data Provision Operations Assessment.” The assessment covers 685 organizations nationwide — including central government agencies, local governments and public institutions — and evaluates three areas: data opening and use, quality, and management systems. TIPA said it received high marks for establishing a data quality management system that supports artificial intelligence use and for providing user-centered public data services. TIPA President Kim Young-shin said the agency is working to proactively open high-demand, high-value public data in step with policy changes in the AI era and to make it easier for the public to use data. Kyungdong Navien launches “Navien Air Crew” supporters with chef Edward Lee Kyungdong Navien said April 23 it held a launch ceremony for its “Navien Air Crew” at Atelier 8 Studio. The company described Navien Air Crew as its official brand supporters group, tasked through December with content-creation missions and participation in offline events to promote the value of clean indoor air. The launch event brought together 24 members selected from applicants in a process with a 22-to-1 competition ratio. The program included brand and product introductions, an explanation of Kyungdong Navien’s integrated air quality management solution, activity guidelines and recreation. All participants received welcome gifts — including a boiler backpack, T-shirt, apron and key ring — and took part in a lucky draw for additional prizes. Chef Edward Lee, the company’s advertising model, attended and held a cooking show. The company said it collected stories in advance from the group about moments when they felt they needed “a breath of fresh air,” selected four, and set aside time for conversation with Lee. He then cooked and presented a fusion Korean dish he developed — a bulgogi cheeseburger with wedge fries — as food to lift the mood. A company official said the group’s activities will help convey the importance of integrated air quality management and promote the value of comfortable air in daily life. JobKorea issues AX hiring report, citing growth in outbound recruiting JobKorea said April 23 it published an “AX Hiring Report” for corporate human resources managers. The report covers how AI is being used in hiring and how it is perceived, along with strategic directions tied to changes in the 2026 hiring environment. JobKorea said it was produced based on the company’s own corporate survey and an analysis of hiring data. JobKorea said it sees this year’s hiring environment shaped by two trends: expanded always-on recruiting and continued budget constraints. It said hiring timelines have grown longer while resources remain limited, pushing companies to seek more efficient ways to secure talent. The company also pointed to the spread of “outbound recruiting,” in which employers approach job seekers first with offers. Based on JobKorea platform data, it said this approach rose 44% over the past three years. It said the shift is changing hiring operations so AI handles repetitive tasks while recruiters focus on judging fit and persuading candidates. A JobKorea official said that as outbound recruiting expands, AI use is “not a choice but a necessity” because companies must search for and manage more candidates with limited resources, adding that support is needed so recruiters can reduce repetitive work and focus on key decisions and communication.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-23 15:06:25
  • Korea Technology Finance and Woori Bank Sign MOU to Boost SME M&A Financing
    Korea Technology Finance and Woori Bank Sign MOU to Boost SME M&A Financing Korea Technology Finance Corp., Woori Bank sign MOU to boost SME M&A financing Korea Technology Finance Corp. said Tuesday it signed a business agreement with Woori Bank on M&A financing support to promote business succession and technology innovation. Under the deal, KOTEC will provide 20 billion won in special contribution-backed guarantees funded by a 1 billion won special contribution from Woori Bank. Benefits include a higher guarantee coverage ratio (85% to 100% for three years) and a reduced guarantee fee (down 0.3 percentage points for three years). KOTEC will also supply 21.4 billion won in guarantee-fee support-backed guarantees based on 300 million won in Woori Bank funding. Woori Bank will cover guarantee fees by 0.7 percentage points for two years. Lee Sang-chang, a director at KOTEC, said the agreement is expected to help spur M&A activity among small and midsize companies and support sustained growth. He said KOTEC will expand cooperation with related institutions to strengthen support for companies pursuing M&A and to build an M&A ecosystem aimed at preventing the disappearance of technology firms and promoting business continuity. Baemin runs Earth Day promotion Woowa Brothers, operator of the Baedal Minjok food delivery app, said Tuesday it will run an Earth Day promotion for customers who opt out of disposable spoons and forks and for those who order using reusable containers. Through April 28, Baemin will select 3,000 customers by lottery from those who choose the “no disposable cutlery” option and place an order, awarding each a 5,000 won discount coupon for food delivery orders. Customers can enter by replying on the in-app event page to a message “sent by the Earth” with their views on skipping disposable cutlery, then completing an order while keeping the opt-out option selected. Kim Jeong-eun, head of Woowa Brothers’ ESG team, said the company designed the promotion to help customers practice environmental protection in daily life. She said the company will continue efforts to spread eco-friendly delivery culture, including expanding areas served by its reusable-container service. Torder launches AI class for small merchants Torder said Tuesday it has launched an education program, the “Torder Small Merchant AI Class,” to support sustainable growth and improve store operations efficiency, and that it successfully completed its first session. The first session, held April 6 at Torder’s headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, was offered to franchisees of “Geunom Pocha.” The curriculum focused on practical topics that can be applied directly to store operations, including use of smart-solution equipment, draft beer quality control, local marketing strategies and AI-based store management. A core session covered training on automating store management using Torder’s small-merchant AI tool, “TorderGPT,” which was recently released in beta. Kwon Seong-taek, Torder’s CEO, said the company will continue supporting an environment in which store owners can reduce repetitive management tasks and run their stores more efficiently, centered on TorderGPT.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-22 18:15:02