President returns to Blue House SEOUL, December 23 (AJP) - The era of the Yongsan presidential office has come to an end after just 3 years and 7 months, with the president returning to the Blue House. President Lee Jae Myung is expected to begin official work at the presidential office around December 28. However, the presidential residence will not be ready until early next year due to ongoing construction work. 2025-12-23 17:20:01

Romanian envoy named chief negotiator for nuclear talks with Washington SEOUL, December 23 (AJP) - South Korea's ambassador to Romania Rim Kap-soo has been named as the country's chief negotiator for nuclear energy-related talks with the U.S. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that Rim, appointed the previous day, will lead a task force to revise a decades-old agreement with Washington that bans South Korea from reprocessing spent nuclear fuel and enriching uranium. Rim, who worked at the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2016, is considered an expert in the fields of nuclear energy and nonproliferation. After completing his commitments in Romania, he will return to Seoul in early January to assume his new role. 2025-12-23 16:53:16

Infielder Song Sung-mun signs deal with San Diego Padres SEOUL, December 23 (AJP) - Infielder Song Sung-mun will play in Major League Baseball after signing a deal with the San Diego Padres. In a post on X, formerly Twitter on Monday, the Padres said Monday they signed the 29-year-old to a "four-year contract through the 2029 season." Details of the deal have not been disclosed, but it is reportedly worth $15 million, including a $1 million signing bonus in two installments along with a gradual increase in salaries. Raising doubts about Song's immediate position at the club, MLB.com said, "likeliest role will be as a utility player coming off the bench -- leaving the Padres still in search of a starting first baseman." After spending many years in obscurity since his professional debut with the Kiwoom Heroes in 2015, the late bloomer has only emerged in the spotlight in recent years. 2025-12-23 16:20:03

Hyundai Motor Group extends European recovery on hybrid demand SEOUL, December 23 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor Group continued its recovery in Europe in November, supported by solid demand for electrified vehicles, particularly hybrids. Hyundai Motor and Kia sold a combined 79,901 vehicles in Europe during the month, up 0.2 percent from a year earlier, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) showed on Tuesday. Hyundai’s sales rose 3.7 percent to 41,026 units, while Kia’s deliveries fell 3.2 percent to 38,875. Their combined market share slipped 0.2 percentage points to 7.4 percent. Overall European vehicle sales increased 2.4 percent to 1,079,563 units in November. From January through November 2025, Hyundai and Kia’s cumulative European sales fell 2.6 percent from a year earlier to 959,317 vehicles. Their market share for the period stood at 7.9 percent, down 0.4 percentage points. 2025-12-23 16:08:50

Korea tightens treasury stock disclosures, lowering threshold to 1% SEOUL, December 23 (AJP) -South Korean listed companies will be required to disclose their treasury stock holdings once they exceed 1 percent of shares outstanding — down from the current 5 percent — under sweeping revisions to capital markets rules, as regulators move to strengthen shareholder protection and curb opaque share buybacks. The amendments to the enforcement decree of the Capital Markets Act were approved at a Cabinet meeting, the Financial Services Commission said Tuesday. The new rules will take effect on Dec. 30 and must be reflected in companies’ 2025 annual reports. Under the revised rules, listed firms holding treasury shares equal to at least 1 percent of total shares outstanding must disclose the size of their holdings, the purpose of holding them and future disposal plans. The disclosure frequency will double from once a year to twice a year, with companies required to attach a treasury stock report to both annual and semiannual filings. Companies will also be required to disclose a comparison between their most recently announced treasury stock plans and actual execution over the past six months. If the gap between the plan and implementation exceeds 30 percent, firms must explain the reasons in detail. Reporting requirements will also be tightened when companies decide to buy or sell treasury shares. Listed firms must file a major event report outlining the purpose, planned amount, number of shares, method and period of the transaction, and regularly disclose the status of treasury share holdings, purchases and sales in periodic filings. Companies holding treasury shares above a certain threshold must additionally disclose disposal plans in their annual reports. The FSC said it will actively apply sanctions for disclosure violations, including recommendations to dismiss executives, limits on securities issuance, administrative fines and criminal penalties. Repeated violations will face heavier punishment, it added. Beyond treasury stock, the amendments expand mandatory disclosures related to major industrial accidents. Companies will be required to include details such as the occurrence of incidents, damage, response measures and outlook in both annual and semiannual reports. Disclosure requirements for mergers and similar transactions will also be strengthened, with firms required to provide more detailed board opinion statements, including explanations given by management and specific issues discussed by directors at each board resolution. Financial authorities said the reforms are intended to foster a shareholder-value-focused corporate culture and reduce information asymmetry between controlling and minority shareholders by ensuring that material corporate actions are disclosed in a timely and transparent manner. Regulators also expect the changes to accelerate the use of treasury shares as a shareholder-return tool benefiting all investors rather than select shareholders. Treasury share buybacks and cancellations have already been on a sharp uptrend, with the value of canceled shares reaching 20.7 trillion won ($14 billion) through November 2025 — surpassing the full-year total of 13.9 trillion won recorded in 2024. 2025-12-23 16:00:32

Former Samsung researchers indicted over chip technology leak to China SEOUL, December 23 (AJP) - South Korean prosecutors said on Tuesday they have indicted five former employees of Samsung Electronics for leaking core semiconductor technology to a Chinese memory chipmaker. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said five people were detained and charged with violating South Korea’s Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act and Industrial Technology Protection Act. Five others, including engineers at China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), were indicted without detention. Prosecutors said the suspects systematically transferred Samsung’s 10-nanometer-class DRAM process technology by recruiting key engineers and copying critical manufacturing data. At the time, the technology was held exclusively by Samsung, they said. CXMT later succeeded in mass-producing 10-nanometer-class DRAM in 2023 — the first in China — an achievement prosecutors said is difficult to explain through normal research and development timelines. According to prosecutors, CXMT was founded in 2016 through investment by a Chinese local government and a semiconductor design company. The company recruited a former Samsung department head as head of development shortly after its launch. Prosecutors said the researcher was tasked with securing Samsung’s proprietary 10-nanometer-class DRAM process technology and allegedly orchestrated the systematic poaching of key personnel responsible for each stage of the manufacturing process. The researcher prepared the alleged scheme in detail, including setting up a front company, frequently relocating offices and using coded communications to avoid detection, travel bans or arrest, according to the prosecutors. Another Samsung researcher allegedly copied by hand process recipe plan (PRP) information — described as critical documentation for DRAM manufacturing — before joining CXMT. Prosecutors said this enabled CXMT to obtain the full 10-nanometer-class DRAM process technology, which at the time was held exclusively by Samsung worldwide. CXMT later recruited additional Samsung personnel and began full-scale DRAM development, the prosecutors said. Prosecutors said the leaks caused significant economic damage, estimating Samsung’s 2024 revenue loss at about 5 trillion won, with broader damage potentially reaching tens of trillions of won. 2025-12-23 15:42:49

Retrial of SK chief's divorce case set for early next month SEOUL, December 23 (AJP) - The first hearing for a retrial of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's divorce lawsuit will be held next month, after the Supreme Court of Korea sent back the high-profile case to a lower court in October. The hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9 at the Seoul High Court, where it will recalculate the marital assets of Chey and his estranged wife Roh Soh-yeong, to assess the amount of property to be divided. The top court earlier found flaws in the lower courts' assessment of Roh's contribution to the conglomerate's growth, ruling that some 30 billion Korean won (US$21 million) in slush funds from Roh's father, the late former President Roh Tae-woo, which were funneled into SK Group, cannot be considered assets jointly accumulated by the couple. It also clarified that such illegally raised funds constitute bribes and therefore cannot be subject to property division. Only the division of their assets remains to be determined at the appeals court, since the top court has finalized its order for Chey to pay 2 billion won in alimony. The couple married in September 1988 and have three children between them. In December 2015, Chey revealed that he had a child out of wedlock and later filed for divorce in July 2017 as the two failed to agree on the terms of separation. 2025-12-23 15:41:40

Korea's first private rocket crashes after liftoff, Innospace shares nosedive SEOUL, December 23 (AJP) -South Korean space startup Innospace said Tuesday that its Hanbit-Nano rocket lifted off normally from Brazil but crashed about 30 seconds later after an in-flight anomaly, ending the country’s first attempt by a private firm to place customer satellites into orbit. The two-stage Hanbit-Nano vehicle launched at 10:13 p.m. Monday local time (10:13 a.m. Tuesday in Korea) from Alcantara Space Center, the company said. The first-stage engine ignited as planned and the rocket initially gained altitude, but telemetry detected an abnormal signal roughly half a minute after liftoff, prompting mission termination. The vehicle fell within a designated ground safety zone, Innospace said, adding that there were no casualties or secondary damage. A fireball was visible after impact on a YouTube livestream, which was cut shortly afterward. The mission was ended under internationally compliant safety procedures coordinated with the Brazilian Air Force, the company said. The launch had been billed as South Korea’s first contracted satellite launch by a private operator. Hanbit-Nano was carrying eight payloads weighing about 18 kilograms in total—five small satellites for customers in Brazil and India, and three experimental devices—bound for a 300-kilometer low-Earth orbit. Hanbit-Nano uses a hybrid engine delivering about 25 tons of thrust on the first stage, while the second stage is powered by a liquid methane-oxygen engine, a technology Innospace is developing with an eye toward reusability. The launch had been postponed three times from its original Nov. 22 date. Innospace said it is reviewing flight data to determine the precise cause of the failure and will disclose findings after analysis. The company said it plans to attempt another launch after identifying the issue and implementing technical improvements. Shares of KOSDAQ-listed Innospace also crashed to close at 10,710 won ($7.2) after losing 28 percent. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-23 15:30:32

TRAVEL: Mt. Maisan's twin horse-ear peaks offer geological wonders JINAN, December 23 (AJP) - Famous for its unique geological and rocky formations, Mt. Maisan in southwestern South Korea has two distinctive twin peaks that resemble a horse's ears, from which the mountain got its name. The higher peak, called Ammaibong, reaches 687 meters, while the slightly lower Sutmaibong stands at 679.9 meters. Located in Jinan, North Jeolla Province, only Ammaibong is open to hikers. What makes the mountain especially striking is its cluster of stone formations and rocky pillars, created from Cretaceous-period conglomerate rock. Pebbles fused within the rock give it a concrete-like texture, while centuries of erosion have carved countless small cavities called tafone, rare formations that added to the mountain's geological value. A five-hour route to the peak begins at Geumdangsa, the area's largest temple, which houses nationally designated treasures, including a 9-meter-long Buddhist painting. Despite its manageable height, the mountain challenges hikers with its steep, demanding trail. But hikers are rewarded with breathtaking views from the summit, where rice paddies spread across the valleys below, flowing like rivers. Hiking in the rain may seem inconvenient at first, but unless it is a heavy downpour, it rarely becomes an obstacle. Once the rain stops, the scenery often appears fresher and clearer than on sunny days. At the foot of the mountain lies Tapsa temple, known for its numerous mysterious stone pagodas. Built over more than 30 years in the late 19th century by a single man, the pagodas have withstood wind and rain without mortar and still stand today. Hikers may not be able to see the full shape of the mountain while climbing, so they should stop by a nearby maze-themed garden, where visitors can check if the mountain's shape truly resembles a horse's ear. A hearty meal made with local black pork would be one of the perfect ways to end a tough day of hiking. 2025-12-23 15:13:12

South Korea's Shinhan Card reports leak of data on 190,000 merchants Shinhan Card headquarters in Seoul/ Courtesy of Shinhan Card SEOUL, December 23 (AJP) - Shinhan Card said on Tuesday information on about 190,000 merchants, including store owners’ mobile phone numbers, was leaked in an incident caused by an employee rather than a cyberattack. According to financial industry sources, Shinhan Card confirmed the data leak through an internal investigation and reported the case to the country's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC). The company said the incident was not the result of hacking or an external system breach, but involved an employee. Most of the leaked information consisted of mobile phone numbers belonging to merchants, Shinhan Card said. Cases in which a phone number, name and date of birth were exposed together were limited. The company said it has so far found no evidence that the employee sold the data or committed additional crimes, adding that the information appears to have been used to boost sales performance. Shinhan Card said it launched an internal probe after the privacy watchdog contacted the company last month. Following about three weeks of data analysis, the company concluded that between March 2022 and May this year, an employee leaked information on roughly 190,000 merchants, including business registration numbers, store names and merchant-owner mobile phone numbers. Shinhan Card has posted an apology and notice on its website and will allow merchants to check whether their information was affected. The company also plans to notify affected merchants individually. A Shinhan Card official said further investigation is under way to determine whether the incident involved improper use of personal information beyond its intended purpose. The official said the company will move swiftly to provide compensation and other remedial measures if customer harm is confirmed. 2025-12-23 14:53:53