Personal information of 30,000 Korean Air employees leaked SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - Personal information of around 30,000 Korean Air employees has been leaked, the country's flagship carrier said on Monday, raising security concerns after a spate of massive data breaches across various industries recently. The leak occurred when KC&D, the airline's supplier for in-flight meals and onboard sales, was hit by a hacking attack. According to Korean Air, the leaked data includes employees' names and bank account numbers. Korean Air said it is taking the breach seriously and has implemented emergency security measures. The airline added that no additional leaks have been detected beyond those already confirmed. KC&D was sold off from Korean Air in December 2020. 2025-12-29 14:43:54

Korea's national pension fund eyes 20% annual gain, assets seen at 1,473 trillion won SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - South Korea’s national pension is expected to post a record annual return of about 20 percent this year, lifting its assets to an estimated 1,473 trillion won, the government said on Monday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said preliminary December figures show the fund’s annual return is projected at around 20 percent, surpassing last year’s 15 percent gain and marking the highest level since the national pension system was introduced in 1988. The ministry attributed the strong performance to robust domestic and global equity markets, with stock investments driving overall returns. By asset class, preliminary returns were led by domestic equities at about 78 percent, followed by overseas equities at about 25 percent. Alternative investments returned roughly 8 percent, overseas bonds about 7 percent and domestic bonds around 1 percent, the ministry said. On the back of the gains, the fund’s assets rose to an estimated 1,473 trillion won as of December, up 21.4 percent, or about 260 trillion won, from 1,213 trillion won at the end of last year. The increase is equivalent to about 5.9 times last year’s pension benefit payouts of 44 trillion won. The final annual return, which will reflect fair-value pricing of alternative assets such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure, is scheduled to be announced in February. The government said higher premium revenue, depending on future contribution-rate adjustments, could further expand the fund and enable more active investment. The ministry added it plans to raise the fund’s long-term annual return target to 5.5 percent from 4.5 percent by refining its asset-allocation framework and expanding infrastructure, including professional investment staff. Under revisions to the National Pension Act passed in April, the contribution rate will rise to 9.5 percent next year from 9 percent. Based on the average monthly income of all subscribers, 3.09 million won, monthly contributions will increase by about 7,700 won for workplace subscribers and by about 15,400 won for regional subscribers. The income replacement rate will also rise to 43 percent from 41.5 percent. For a subscriber with a lifetime average monthly income of 3.09 million won who pays contributions for 40 years starting next year, the monthly pension benefit would increase by about 92,000 won, to 1,329,000 won from 1,237,000 won. 2025-12-29 14:40:14

Hyundai Motor marks 40 years in US as tariffs, EV rivals test growth strategy SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor will mark its 40th anniversary in the United States next year as it confronts a convergence of challenges, including a remaining 15 percent tariff, intensifying competition from Tesla and Chinese electric-vehicle makers, the expiration of subsidies and a rapidly evolving race in software-defined vehicles such as autonomous driving. Attention is focused on whether Hyundai Motor Group can navigate these pressures under the leadership of Chairman Chung Eui-sun. Hyundai entered the U.S. market in 1986 with exports of the Excel, South Korea’s first front-wheel-drive passenger car, produced at its Ulsan plant. Emphasizing value pricing, the automaker sold about 160,000 vehicles in its first year and more than 260,000 the following year, quickly drawing attention from U.S. consumers. The early momentum later faded amid criticism over quality issues and an underdeveloped service network. Hyundai Motor Group Honorary Chair Chung Mong-koo subsequently launched a sweeping “quality management” drive aimed at improving quality, safety and performance for customers worldwide, including in the United States. In 1999, the group sought to directly address quality concerns by introducing a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty, a move that helped reshape its brand image. Since then, Hyundai has garnered major U.S. awards and positive reviews, alongside steady improvements in both quality and sales. This year, 21 Hyundai Motor Group models earned either Top Safety Pick+ or Top Safety Pick ratings in crash tests released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, giving the group a second consecutive year with the highest number of models recognized among the safest vehicles. In J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Initial Quality Study, Hyundai Motor Group recorded the best overall performance among 17 global automotive groups, according to the company. The study is widely referenced by U.S. consumers and is a key benchmark for evaluating vehicle quality. Hyundai Motor Group also said it has been named World Car of the Year for four consecutive years. Automotive News, which is marking its 100th anniversary this year, selected three generations of Hyundai leadership — founder Chung Ju-yung, Honorary Chair Chung Mong-koo and Executive Chair Chung Eui-sun — as figures that have had a major impact on the development of the global auto industry. Chung Eui-sun said his grandfather’s customer-centered management philosophy and his father’s emphasis on quality, safety and research and development are deeply embedded in the group’s management principles. Hyundai sold about 896,000 vehicles in the United States from January through November, putting it on track for a third consecutive annual sales record, the company said. Despite auto tariffs imposed during the Trump administration, Hyundai said it limited price increases and instead responded by expanding local production and adjusting its sales mix. In March, the group held a completion ceremony for Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, or HMGMA, in Georgia, as it moved to establish a U.S. production system with capacity for up to 1.2 million vehicles. Hyundai Motor Group plans to invest $21 billion in the United States through 2028 across automobiles, parts and logistics, steel and future industries. 2025-12-29 14:27:56

South Korea, US complete all joint drills postponed from last summer SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - The military has carried out all 22 joint field training with the U.S. that were rescheduled after being postponed in August, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Monday. Those drills were among about 40 exercises that are part of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, aimed at maintaining a combined defense posture, including combined tactical airborne training, rescue operations, equipment maintenance, and live-fire drills. According to the JCS, two of the drills were conducted solely by South Korea. The military postponed the drills earlier in the summer, citing extreme heat and other factors. 2025-12-29 14:17:47

Coupang's $1.2 bn compensation plan suspected as marketing, not atonement SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) -Already in the hot seat for what many see as a dismissive attitude toward consumers and regulators, Coupang has drawn fresh public backlash in South Korea with its $1.2 billion compensation plan widely seen as marketing tactic to retain customers rather than offering genuine redress. The e-commerce giant said Monday it would distribute 1.685 trillion won worth of purchase vouchers to 33.7 million current, former and withdrawn users whose personal information was exposed in a data breach disclosed last month. The package — the largest ever announced in South Korea in response to a data-leak incident — applies to Wow paid members, regular users and even former account holders who received official notification. Under the plan, customers will receive four one-time vouchers totaling 50,000 won: 5,000 won each for Coupang and Coupang Eats, and 20,000 won each for Coupang Travel and the luxury platform Alux. The vouchers, which can be used only within Coupang’s ecosystem, will be issued starting Jan. 15. Coupang said the program reflects its determination to “take responsibility and restore customer trust.” Harold Rogers, the company’s interim Korea chief executive, said the firm “deeply reflects on the concern and inconvenience caused” and would make customer trust its top priority. Despite the scale of the package, public reaction has been largely negative, reflecting lingering distrust toward the company. "What it says sounds more like a customer-retention campaign,” one commenter wrote on a major online community. “Even the compensation makes you shop at Coupang in the end,” another widely shared comment read. One accused the company of “trying to lure back users who already left, using compensation as bait.” A closer look finds that only 10,000 won of the total compensation applies to Coupang’s most frequently used services, while the remaining 40,000 won is tied to platforms with far lower usage rates. Because the compensation takes the form of in-platform vouchers rather than cash, it also can forces users to continue spending within Coupang’s ecosystem, blurring the line between restitution and marketing. In absolute terms, the size of the compensation is striking. At 1.685 trillion won, it is more than three times larger than SK Telecom’s 500 billion won compensation package announced earlier this year following its own data breach. The amount also exceeds Coupang Inc.’s combined net profit for the first three quarters of 2025 by more than four times and is roughly 17 times its full-year profit in 2024. At the heart of the backlash is Coupang's aloofness toward public accountability. The U.S.-listed company, whose revenues are generated almost entirely in Korea, has faced repeated criticism over labor practices and governance issues, as well as founder and chairman Bom Kim’s refusal to attend National Assembly hearings. A recent survey by polling firm Realmeter underscores the depth of public dissatisfaction. According to the poll, 69.1 percent of respondents said Kim was avoiding accountability by hiding behind his U.S. citizenship. When asked about appropriate punitive measures, 32 percent supported criminal punishment for those responsible, while 29.4 percent favored business suspension. The controversy appears to be influencing consumer behavior. Some 60 percent of respondents said the scandal had already affected their use of Coupang services. Of those, 26.1 percent said they were considering deleting their accounts, 18.5 percent said they had reduced usage, and 16.1 percent said they had already stopped using the platform. Support was also strong for institutional sanctions, with 63.2 percent backing legislation that would restrict or bar entry into Korea for foreign executives who fail to appear before the National Assembly without legitimate justification. The survey was conducted on Dec. 26 among 512 adults nationwide using an automated response system, with a response rate of 4.4 percent. 2025-12-29 13:40:15

NewJeans full comeback ruled out after Danielle's exit SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - ADOR confirmed Monday that K-pop girl group NewJeans members Minji and Hanni will resume activities under the agency, while Danielle has been notified of the termination of her exclusive contract, to finalize a four-member return for the K-pop sensation. According to the agency, “Hanni recently visited Korea with her family and had extensive talks with ADOR, during which she had time to review the events leading up to the dispute.” Following what the company described as candid and in-depth discussions, Hanni decided to accept the court’s ruling and continue working with ADOR. ADOR added that “Minji is also in ongoing talks with the company, as both sides seek to reach a mutual understanding of the situation. The agency, however, said it had concluded that continuing its relationship with Danielle would be difficult and notified her of the termination of her exclusive contract. ADOR also stated that “it plans to seek legal accountability from one of Danielle’s family members and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin, whom the company says bear significant responsibility for triggering the dispute and delaying the group’s return.” ADOR said its recent discussions revealed that the members had been exposed over a long period to “distorted and one-sided information,” which led to misunderstandings about the company and ultimately escalated into a legal conflict. The agency added that both ADOR and the artists plan to address the controversies that arose during the conflict at a later date, with details on timing and format still under discussion. “ADOR will do its utmost to resolve the matter amicably and ensure that NewJeans can return to fans as soon as possible,” the company said. NewJeans announced in November 2024 that it would seek to terminate its contracts with ADOR, citing the agency’s alleged failure to fulfill its obligations. After months of legal proceedings, a court in October once again ruled in favor of ADOR in its lawsuit seeking confirmation of the contracts’ validity. Last month, ADOR said members Haerin and Hyein had also expressed their intention to return. 2025-12-29 11:37:48

Asian markets diverge as investors navigate ex-dividend effects SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - Major Asian equity markets moved in different directions in the final week of December, as investors digested ex-dividend adjustments alongside shifting policy and sector-specific signals. South Korea’s stock market extended its rally despite the ex-dividend cutoff, while Japan slipped under selling pressure tied to dividend adjustments and inflation concerns. The benchmark KOSPI rose 1.45 percent to 4,190 as of 10 a.m. Monday, posting a second straight gain and marking the strongest performance among major Asian markets. The index continued its late “Santa rally” even after dividend eligibility ended last week. Retail investors led the advance, net buying 378.1 billion won ($263.4 million), while institutions and foreign investors turned net sellers, offloading 344.0 billion won and 20.0 billion won, respectively, following the ex-dividend date. The won strengthened to 1,435.3 per dollar, up 9.7 won from the previous session, a move widely attributed to tangible measures such as forward exchange selling and currency hedging after recent verbal intervention by authorities. Blue-chip stocks advanced on multiple positive catalysts. Samsung Electronics climbed 2.1 percent to 119,500 won, supported by reports that it passed performance tests for its next-generation HBM4 chips and equipped its latest application processor with an in-house GPU. Investor sentiment was also lifted by the company’s expansion into automotive electronics through its Harman unit’s €1.5 billion ($1.76 billion) acquisition of German auto supplier ZF’s advanced driver-assistance systems business. SK hynix surged 6 percent to 635,000 won after being lifted from “investment warning” status. The rally was fueled by heavy buying and reports that HBM3E prices have risen more than 20 percent, alongside bullish forecasts such as Nomura Securities’ projection that the chipmaker’s operating profit could reach 100 trillion won in 2026. The Korean chipmakers are also set to gain if the mass-scale earthquake in Taiwan causes disruption in chipmaking activities in the country, home to around 70 percent of global chip supplies. Other stocks recently freed from investment warnings also jumped, with Hanwha Aerospace gaining 8 percent to 70,000 won and SK Square rising 3.5 percent to 346,500 won. Naver advanced 3.6 percent to 240,000 won, benefiting from user inflows into its Naver Plus Store following a massive data breach at Coupang that affected about 33.7 million accounts and reportedly led to a decline in the e-commerce giant’s daily active users. Shares linked to autonomous driving also moved higher. Hyundai AutoEver climbed 5.3 percent to 305,500 won, while Hyundai Mobis rose 2.9 percent to 368,500 won. By contrast, LG Energy Solution slipped 2 percent to 375,500 won upon back-to-back EV fallout. After it lost contract with Ford earlier in the month, the company also reported the cancellation of another deal with U.S. battery pack maker Freudenberg Battery Power Systems. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ gained 0.6 percent to 925, supported by retail net buying of 200.0 billion won. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.32 percent to 50,587, weighed down by ex-dividend selling and stronger-than-expected inflation data that reinforced expectations the Bank of Japan could pursue additional rate hikes. Major stocks were mostly weaker, with Toyota Motor down 0.2 percent to 3,373 yen ($21.6). Semiconductor-related shares also declined, as Advantest slipped 1.4 percent and Disco fell 1.9 percent, though Ibiden bucked the trend, rising 1.1 percent to 6,690 yen following its stock split. Taiwan’s TAIEX opened 0.35 percent higher at 28,654. MediaTek gained 1 percent to 1,400 Taiwan dollars ($44.6) after announcing a joint development with Japan’s Denso on an automotive system-on-chip for advanced driver assistance. Foxconn rose 1.8 percent to 230 Taiwan dollars on growing optimism over AI server shipments. In mainland China, Hong Kong stocks outperformed regional peers. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.8 percent to 26,038 after the United States extended tariff exemptions on Chinese-made semiconductors for another 18 months, lifting Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. 3 percent to 73 Hong Kong dollars ($9.4). Meanwhile, China’s mainland benchmarks were little changed, with the Shanghai Composite at 3,964 and the Shenzhen Component at 13,580. 2025-12-29 11:14:03

President Lee Jae-myung's first commute to Blue House SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - President Lee Jae-myung arrived at the Blue House main building for the first time on Dec. 29, holding a morning tea time with aides and marking the beginning of the Blue House era. President Lee's commute to the Blue House comes about seven months after his inauguration and about three years and seven months after the Yoon Suk-yeol administration moved the presidential office to Yongsan in May 2022. At 12 a.m. on this day, the Phoenix Flag, symbolizing the South Korean head of state, was raised at the Blue House. The official name of the presidential office has been reverted to "Blue House" (Cheong Wa Dae) and the official emblem is also being changed. The presidential office's completion of the return to the Blue House within the year is interpreted as a symbolic expression of the will to break from the Yongsan era, which was stained by the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration and impeachment, and to accelerate a future-oriented approach to state affairs. 2025-12-29 10:40:54

Lee begins work at Cheong Wa Dae as presidential office moves back SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - President Lee Jae-myung worked his first day at Cheong Wa Dae on Monday as the presidential office moved back to the sprawling presidential compound in central Seoul. The relocation comes about 1,330 days after the office moved to Yongsan in May 2022 with the inauguration of his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law last year. Lee arrived there at about 9 a.m., greeted by supporters who gathered outside chanting his name. Lee will continue commuting from his current residence in Hannam-dong for the time being, as repairs to the official residence are not yet finished. Upon relocation, a symbolic flag representing the country's head of state was raised at Cheong Wa Dae again. The flag features the national flower mugunghwa or rose of Sharon at the center, flanked by two mythical phoenixes facing each other. 2025-12-29 10:37:45

KAIST team develops one-second powder to stop battlefield bleeding SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have developed a powder-based hemostatic agent that can stop heavy bleeding within approximately one second of contact. The technology is designed to improve the survival rates of soldiers in combat environments where excessive blood loss is the leading cause of death. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on December 29 that a joint research team led by Professor Steve Park from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor Jeon Sang-yong from the Department of Biological Sciences created the material. The project included the participation of an active-duty South Korean Army major to ensure the technology meets the practical demands of the battlefield. Traditional hemostatic agents often come in the form of patches, which are difficult to apply to deep or irregularly shaped wounds. These patches can also lose effectiveness in high-temperature or humid environments. To overcome these limitations, the KAIST team developed a powder that can be sprinkled directly into any wound shape, instantly forming a strong physical barrier. The new material, named AGCL powder, is made from natural substances including alginate, gellan gum, and chitosan. When the powder touches blood, it reacts with calcium ions naturally present in the body. This reaction causes the powder to turn into a solid hydrogel in about one second, sealing the wound. Chitosan further strengthens this seal by binding with blood components. The AGCL powder can absorb blood weighing more than seven times its own weight. In testing, it demonstrated a sealing pressure of over 40 kilopascals, which is strong enough to withstand heavy, high-pressure bleeding even when external pressure is applied by hand. This performance significantly exceeds that of existing commercial products. Animal testing showed that the powder is safe and promotes healing. It resulted in a hemolysis rate of less than 3 percent and a cell survival rate of over 99 percent, while also providing 99.9 percent antibacterial protection. In liver surgery experiments, the powder reduced blood loss and shortened bleeding time compared to current medical products, with liver functions returning to normal within two weeks. The powder remains stable for two years even when stored at room temperature in high humidity. This durability makes it suitable for use in combat zones, disaster areas, or regions with limited medical infrastructure. While developed for military use, the researchers noted the technology can be applied to civilian emergency medicine and surgical procedures. "The core of modern warfare is minimizing the loss of life," said Park Kyu-soon, a doctoral student at KAIST and a major in the South Korean Army who served as the first author of the study. "I started this research with a sense of mission to save even one more soldier. I hope this technology will be used to save lives in both national defense and civilian medical fields." The research was supported by KAIST and received the Minister of National Defense Award at the 2024 KAIST-KNDU Defense Academic Conference. (Paper information) Journal: Advanced Functional Materials (impact factor 19.0) Title: An Ionic Gelation Powder for Ultrafast Hemostasis and Accelerated Wound Healing DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202523910 2025-12-29 10:35:34