Lee praises badminton star An Se-young's historic win SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung praised South Korean players for their achievements at the BWF World Tour Finals, which wrapped up over the weekend. Shortly after badminton ace An Se-young's victory late Sunday night, Lee wrote on Facebook that the national anthem was played three times in Hangzhou, China, saying he was "very proud" of her and other players and calling 2025 "the year of South Korean badminton." The world No. 1 in women's singles became the first female badminton player to achieve 11 wins in a single season, tying the 2019 record set by former Japanese player Kento Momota. With 73 victories out of 77 matches, she earned a total of US$1,003,175 (about 1.49 billion won), surpassing $1 million for the first time. Meanwhile, in men's doubles, Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho also claimed victory, achieving 11 wins in a single season, setting a new record and becoming the first South Korean men's doubles pair to achieve the feat in 37 years. Lee lauded Seo's winning tally, which rises to 12 when including the Thailand Masters earlier this year, calling it the most individual titles won in a single season in world badminton history. In women's doubles, Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na beat Japan to win their second straight title at the tournament. 2025-12-22 11:08:13

Hyosung Heavy wins European power equipment orders worth $170 million SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - South Korea's Hyosung Heavy Industries has secured a series of new orders for extra-high-voltage power equipment across Europe. The company said on Monday it won contracts worth more than 230 billion won ($170 million) this month in key European markets including the United Kingdom, Sweden and Spain, citing rising investment in power grids as countries accelerate energy transitions. In the United Kingdom, Hyosung Heavy Industries recently signed a supply contract worth about 120 billion won with Scottish Power Energy Networks, Scotland’s electricity distribution network operator, to provide extra-high-voltage transformers. The equipment will be used in a major wind power-related project aligned with the country's Net Zero policy, the company said in a press release. The company is also expanding its footprint elsewhere in Europe. It said it secured an order worth about 50 billion won this month from a major Swedish power distribution company for extra-high-voltage transformers, and separately won a contract in Norway. In Spain, Hyosung Heavy Industries also signed supply contracts worth about 60 billion won with leading power and energy companies to deliver transformers and reactors. The Spanish contracts mark the company’s first entry into southern Europe, it said. Hyosung Heavy Industries noted that Europe’s extra-high-voltage transformer market is dominated by established global players, making market entry challenging without advanced technology. The company said it strengthened its technical credentials this year by passing a short-circuit test for extra-high-voltage transformers conducted by France’s electricity transmission system operator. 2025-12-22 10:54:06

South Korea's NCSoft pivots to casual games with two acquisitions SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - South Korean game developer NCSoft said on Monday it is stepping up its push into the global mobile casual game market, announcing two acquisitions to seek new growth beyond its traditional focus on massively multiplayer online role-playing games. NCSoft, led by co-chief executive officers Kim Taek-jin and Park Byung-moo, said it will acquire global mobile casual game developer Lihuhu Games and South Korean studio Springcomes as part of a portfolio diversification strategy. The company said it will purchase a 67 percent stake in Indigo Group, a Singapore-based firm that owns Lihuhu Games, for about 153.4 billion won ($103.9 million), making NCSoft the largest shareholder. Lihuhu Games, headquartered in Vietnam, has released about 100 titles across genres including match-3D, number-based and “hole” puzzle games. More than 80 percent of its revenue comes from North America and Europe, NCSoft said. The developer projects revenue of about 120 billion won and operating profit of around 30 billion won this year. Springcomes focuses on the merge-game genre and is known for its rapid development cycle, typically launching four to five new titles a year. The studio expects its revenue this year to more than double from a year earlier to about 28 billion won, NCSoft said. To integrate its expanded casual-game portfolio, NCSoft has established the Mobile Casual Center. The company said it appointed Arnel Cheman to lead the unit and recruited additional data and user-acquisition specialists, including Anthony Pascal. NCSoft also said it has secured a software license from European analytics firm Codebase to build a data analytics and live-operations platform. Park said the acquisition of Lihuhu Games was significant in that it established a foundation for “visible growth” in the global mobile casual market. He added that NCSoft plans to strengthen its international competitiveness through further acquisitions of European studios and an expanded publishing business. The company said it plans to announce a more comprehensive business strategy related to its mobile casual push early next year. 2025-12-22 10:19:24

DP to push controversial bill for special tribunal on martial law case SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - The ruling Democratic Party (DP) is expected to push through a bill for a special tribunal to handle insurrection cases related to disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law debacle last year. The DP is set to submit the controversial bill to the plenary session of the National Assembly this week, despite concerns that it may be unconstitutional and could undermine judicial independence and fairness. Amid criticism, the DP earlier made revisions to the bill including removing direct references to Yoon in an attempt to deflect allegations of solely targeting his botched Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, but the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) remains determined to block it with a filibuster. But the DP, which holds a majority in the National Assembly, can vote to end a filibuster after 24 hours. 2025-12-22 09:58:37

KAIST researchers develop AI to automate plastic manufacturing and train new workers SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - Professor Yoo Seung-hwa and his research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed an artificial intelligence system that can automatically manage factory machines and guide workers. The technology was created to help factories maintain production quality as experienced experts retire and more foreign workers enter the workforce, potentially creating language barriers on the factory floor. Most plastic items used today are made through a process called injection molding. This involves melting plastic and pouring it into a mold to create many identical parts at once. However, the process is very sensitive. Small changes in room temperature or humidity can cause the plastic parts to come out with defects. For a long time, factories have relied on the "gut feeling" of highly experienced workers to manually adjust the machine settings when the weather or conditions change. The research team at the KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Inno-Core PRISM-AI Center created two main tools to solve this problem. The first is a generative AI engine that acts like an expert's brain. It looks at the factory’s current environment, such as the humidity level, and automatically calculates the perfect pressure and speed for the machine. The second tool is a digital assistant called "IM-Chat." This chatbot uses a large language model to answer questions from workers in plain language. When a worker asks the chatbot a question, such as "What is the best pressure when the humidity is 43.5 percent?", the system does not just give a random answer. It automatically triggers the AI engine to do the math and then provides the worker with the exact settings along with an explanation from the factory's technical manuals. Because the system supports multiple languages, it allows newer or foreign workers to make the same high-level decisions as a human expert who has worked in the factory for decades. During testing, the AI proved to be much more reliable than older technology. Previous AI models used for this work often had error rates between 23 and 44 percent. The new system developed by the KAIST team reduced that error rate to just 1.63 percent. In real-world factory tests, the machine settings suggested by the AI successfully produced high-quality parts without any human help. "This is a case where we solved the core problems of manufacturing by using data-based AI," said Professor Yoo Seung-hwa. "By combining an AI that can optimize the factory process on its own with a system that can explain that knowledge to anyone, we hope to make many different types of industries more independent and automated." The researchers believe this technology can be used for more than just plastic. It could eventually be applied to making batteries, 3D printing, and even medicine. The project was a collaboration between several researchers, including doctoral students Kim Jun-young, Kim Hee-gyu, and Lee Jun-hyeong, who served as co-first authors. The work was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Journal: Journal of Manufacturing Systems (JCR 1/69, IF 14.2) Title: Development of an Injection Molding Production Condition Inference System Based on Diffusion Model DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2025.01.008 Journal: Journal of Manufacturing Systems (JCR 1/69, IF 14.2) Title: IM-Chat: A multi-agent LLM framework integrating tool-calling and diffusion modeling for knowledge transfer in injection molding industry DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2025.11.007 2025-12-22 09:47:37

Samsung Biologics acquires GSK biopharmaceutical plant in U.S. for $280 million SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - Samsung Biologics said Monday it has signed an agreement with GSK plc to acquire a biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland, marking the South Korean contract drugmaker's first production foothold in the United States. The deal, valued at about $280 million, will see Samsung Biologics America, a U.S. subsidiary, take over the 60,000-liter drug substance plant formerly operated by Human Genome Sciences. The asset transfer is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. The Rockville facility, nestled in the heart of Maryland's biotechnology cluster, comprises two manufacturing buildings capable of supporting antibody drug production from clinical trials through commercial scale. Samsung Biologics will retain all 500 employees at the site and inherit existing production contracts, securing a stable pipeline of large-scale contract manufacturing orders. The acquisition establishes a dual production network linking Samsung Biologics' headquarters in Songdo, South Korea, with the new U.S. base, enabling the company to offer clients greater flexibility and supply chain resilience amid shifting regional regulatory landscapes. The expanded footprint comes as Samsung Biologics recently bolstered its domestic capacity with an additional 1,000-liter bioreactor at its second plant, bringing total production capacity in Songdo to 785,000 liters across five facilities. "This landmark acquisition is a testament to our unwavering commitment to advancing global healthcare and bolstering our manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. The investment will enable us to deepen our collaboration with federal, state, and local stakeholders to best serve our customers and partners while ensuring a reliable and stable supply of life-saving therapeutics," said John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics. Regis Simard, president of global supply chain at GSK, said the transaction ensures continued U.S.-based production of critical medicines for American patients. "This deal enables us to further focus on building the agility, capacity and capability needed in our manufacturing network to deliver the next generation of specialty medicines and vaccines," he said. 2025-12-22 09:47:19

Estonia taps Hanwha Aerospace's Chunmoo rocket system in $320 mil. arms deal SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - Hanwha Aerospace has signed a contract worth about 440 billion won ($320 million) to supply its Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher system to Estonia, the company said on Monday. Under the agreement, Hanwha Aerospace will deliver six Chunmoo launcher systems along with three types of guided missiles with ranges of 80 kilometers, 160 kilometers and 290 kilometers. The company said it plans to pursue localization in Estonia, including partial local production and the provision of maintenance, repair and overhaul services, as European defense procurement becomes increasingly bloc-oriented. The deal was underpinned by technology validated through exports and operational deployment of its K9 self-propelled howitzer, as well as South Korea’s defense diplomacy. It cited a memorandum of understanding signed in October between the defense ministries of South Korea and Estonia on the acquisition of the Chunmoo system as a key step toward the contract. Katri Rausepp, a senior official at Estonia’s defense investment agency, said the agreement would help strengthen the country’s military capabilities amid heightened regional security concerns. “In a rapidly changing security environment, securing strong and rapid response capabilities is Estonia’s top security priority,” she said in a press release, adding that the introduction of the Chunmoo system would significantly enhance Estonia’s defense posture. Son Jae-il, chief executive officer of Hanwha Aerospace, said the contract followed the earlier export of the K9 howitzer and reflected continued trust from the Estonian government and military. “Working closely with the South Korean government, we will continue efforts to expand into new defense export markets,” Son said. Hanwha Aerospace said it aims to use the Estonia deal as a foothold to market the Chunmoo system across the Baltics and northern Europe, including Norway, Latvia and Lithuania. 2025-12-22 09:45:25

Korean Inc. braces for tougher 2026 on FX risk and import-driven inflation: FKI SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) -More than half of South Korea's big companies predict a tough year ahead, citing challenging foreign-exchange conditions and sluggish domestic demand weighed down by inflationary pressure. According to a survey on corporate management conditions for 2026 by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), 52 percent of respondents forecast difficult management conditions next year, including 18 percent who expect the environment to be “very challenging.” Only 3.4 percent anticipate a very favorable year. The business lobby surveyed the country’s 1,000 largest companies by sales, with responses collected from 150 firms. A weak industry outlook was cited as the most significant headwind, followed by a prolonged economic slowdown and persistent global uncertainty. On the domestic front, delayed recovery in demand topped corporate concerns at 32.2 percent, followed by sticky inflation at 21.6 percent and uncertainty over interest-rate policy at 13.1 percent. Externally, firms pointed to heightened foreign-exchange volatility, including exchange-rate fluctuations, as the leading risk at 26.7 percent. Rising trade barriers accounted for 24.9 percent, while concerns over a global economic slowdown (19.8 percent) and uncertainty surrounding energy and raw-material imports (15.3 percent) also featured prominently — underscoring how inflationary pressures linked to a weak won are emerging as a key challenge for Korean companies. Reflecting a more defensive posture, companies signaled restraint in capital spending. Rather than pursuing new growth engines, 34 percent said they would prioritize upgrades to existing operations, while 23.6 percent planned investment aimed at future growth. Another 8.2 percent indicated a focus on cost-cutting and business rationalization. 2025-12-22 09:34:00

Celimax serum tops Amazon Australia beauty bestseller rankings SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - South Korean dermacosmetic brand Celimax's flagship product, the Retinal Shot Tightening Booster, ranked first overall on Amazon Australia’s beauty bestseller list, the company said on Monday. The product initially climbed to the top spot in the facial serums category during Amazon Australia’s International Brand Pavilion promotion before rising to No. 1 across the broader beauty category, which includes products from major global brands, according to the company. Celimax said the serum has continued to post strong results on global e-commerce platforms based on actual purchase data. The product previously ranked No. 1 for the search keyword “retinal” on Amazon in North America and also topped the overall beauty products category on global shopping platform YesStyle. Kim Min-seok, CEO of Celimax, said the performance on Amazon Australia underscores growing overseas acceptance of the company’s “steady-seller strategy,” which emphasizes core products over short-term trends. “We will continue to focus on developing products that deliver clear skin benefits and build long-term consumer trust,” Kim said. 2025-12-22 09:33:21

OPINION: Are museum admission fees worth it? SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - Debate is intensifying over whether the National Museum of Korea should start charging admission fees. Proponents of free entry argue that public museums exist to serve everyone, while opponents point to chronic budget shortfalls that leave few viable alternatives. But this debate often fixates on price, overlooking a more fundamental issue: what, exactly, would visitors be paying for, and is the experience worth charging for? That question becomes clearer when looking abroad. At many major tourist sites, from Egypt's pyramids to Europe's cathedrals and ancient ruins in South America, locals and foreign visitors often pay different prices. Locals may pay only a few bucks, while foreigners can be charged much more. At the ticket window, travelers inevitably do the math and ask themselves: Is it worth paying this to go in? Sometimes the answer is yes. Sites that offer compelling narratives, carefully curated collections, and immersive environments can make even high fees feel reasonable. Visitors understand that conservation, research, and meaningful public engagement require substantial investment. But the opposite is just as common: steep admission fees paired with neglected galleries, faded signage, and little information for visitors. Even when officials say fees fund repairs and restoration, it can be hard to see the results. "What exactly am I paying for?" Even so, most people still visit these places. They buy the ticket despite their doubts, partly because the opportunity may not come again. Having already spent heavily on airfare, lodging, and transportation, the admission often feels like a relatively small additional cost. Skipping signature sites can feel like both an emotional regret and an economic loss, a kind of obligation to see what represents the country. At that point, "value" is not only about how well a site is managed or presented. It is also about symbolism, national identity, and experiences that seldom come around again. Visitors weigh whether it is worth the price, but they also consider what they would miss and when that loss feels significant, they choose to pay. Before debating admission fees, South Korea needs to answer a more fundamental question: does the museum offer experiences compelling enough that visitors would genuinely regret walking away? Foreign tourism to South Korea has surged, driven in part by the global popularity of K-pop and hit dramas. Many visitors now arrive with cultural and historical curiosity, seeking more than sightseeing or shopping. The country has extensive cultural heritage, but whether it is curated and presented to meet global visitor expectations is a separate question. Admission fees are not merely about revenue. They are a public statement that something is "worth the time to see." Charging admission is hard to justify when spaces are poorly managed, artifacts lack context, and explanations are unhelpful. When a site or exhibition presents a strong story and a thoughtfully crafted experience, visitors are more willing to pay without hesitation. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-22 09:17:24