Seoul, Washington agree to 'speed up' implementation of bilateral agreements SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) - Some progress appeared to have been made in follow-up talks on the comprehensive joint fact sheet signed between Seoul and Washington last month, which outlines agreements on bilateral trade and security. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lak, who met with key U.S. officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Energy Secretary Chris Wright earlier this week, reportedly said the two countries agreed to speed up the implementation of the bilateral agreement, although he did not elaborate. Along with reciprocal tariff-related deals, Seoul and Washington reached a broader agreement in late October that included a U.S. commitment to support the construction of nuclear submarines using U.S.-supplied fuel, the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and uranium enrichment. Wi is set to travel from Washington, D.C., to New York before returning home. While in New York, he is scheduled to meet with senior United Nations officials to discuss security-related issues on the Korean Peninsula. 2025-12-19 09:02:01

Hyundai Motor Group sees China sales rebound SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor’s operations in China are showing signs of recovery, supported by rebounding domestic sales and a strategy to turn its Chinese plants into export hubs. The pickup in vehicle production is also lifting parts maker Hyundai Mobis, which is on track to surpass 4 trillion won in China revenue for the first time in five years. Beijing Hyundai Motor, Hyundai’s China joint venture, sold 12,016 vehicles in November, up 71.7 percent from about 7,000 units a year earlier, according to industry officials, Friday. Monthly sales have increased steadily in the second half of the year, exceeding 10,000 units for four consecutive months since August. The Elantra, marketed in South Korea as the Avante, led sales with cumulative deliveries of 55,094 units through November. The Tucson sport utility vehicle also rebounded, recording monthly sales of more than 2,000 units since the start of the second half. A Hyundai Motor official said the company is focusing on models that can improve profitability, including a refreshed Tucson and an updated model-year Custo. Exports have emerged as another key growth driver. Cumulative exports through November totaled 60,573 units, up 55.4 percent from a year earlier, supporting higher plant utilization. Beijing Hyundai's total sales this year have climbed 13.8 percent to 176,130 units, already surpassing its full-year total for last year. Kia’s China operations have also improved. Cumulative sales through October rose 5.2 percent from a year earlier to 210,175 units, with the automaker posting steady growth since 2023. The recovery at Hyundai and Kia has translated into stronger results for Hyundai Mobis. The auto parts supplier posted cumulative China revenue of 2.8 trillion won through the third quarter, up 16.7 percent from a year earlier. That marked its highest third-quarter cumulative figure since 2020, when it reached 2.81 trillion won, putting an annual return to the 4 trillion won level within reach. In 2020, Hyundai Mobis recorded annual China revenue of 4.11 trillion won. Beyond affiliate-related demand, Hyundai Mobis is seeking to expand orders from Chinese automakers. To strengthen its China business, the company has selected eight strategic products for eight key customers and aims to quadruple local original equipment parts orders by 2028. Hyundai Mobis CEO Lee Gyu-seok said at the company’s CEO Investor Day in August that he would intensify efforts in emerging markets, including China and India, by developing locally tailored specifications and reinforcing its parts supply chain. 2025-12-19 08:33:10

As South Korea shrinks, Seoul keeps growing - at the nation's expense SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) -South Korea’s growth potential has slipped below a critical threshold. According to the OECD, the country’s potential growth rate has fallen to 1.9% this year and is projected to drop further to 1.7% next year—less than half the pace recorded in the early 2000s. Among 41 OECD economies, South Korea is expected to rank only 24th next year, trailing not only the United States but also smaller, slower-growing peers such as Australia and Spain. Such a decline would be unremarkable for a fully mature economy, were it not for the speed at which it is occurring. Korea’s potential growth rate has fallen faster than that of most advanced economies, despite its relatively smaller economic size and higher historical catch-up capacity. The Bank of Korea has warned that without structural reform, the figure could fall towards zero by the 2040s. Demographics explain part of the slide. A shrinking workforce and rapid ageing are eroding the labor input that once powered expansion. But the data suggest another, less discussed culprit: the extreme concentration of people, capital and decision-making in the Seoul metropolitan area. More than half of South Korea’s population is now clustered in the capital region. The share continues to rise even as the national population contracts. Since 2017, Seoul and its surrounding areas have recorded net population inflows every year, drawing in young adults and prime-age workers while provincial regions steadily empty out. This spatial imbalance is no longer merely an issue of regional inequality. It is increasingly a macroeconomic constraint. Agglomeration once boosted productivity during South Korea’s industrial ascent, but at today’s scale it is generating congestion costs, housing inflation and labour misallocation—dragging on national efficiency rather than enhancing it. The flip side is accelerating regional extinction. More than 60% of South Korea’s municipalities are now classified as being at risk of demographic collapse. Schools are closing, hospitals are disappearing, and local labor markets are thinning to the point where private investment becomes self-defeating. Once a region loses its young population, recovery becomes statistically improbable. The economic consequences are visible in output data. Over the past decade, gross regional product in the capital area has grown nearly twice as fast as in non-capital regions. The Seoul area now accounts for over 52% of national GDP, even as it occupies just 12% of the country’s landmass. What appears as dynamism in the capital masks stagnation elsewhere. This is not a benign concentration of excellence. It is a zero-sum geography in a shrinking nation. Talent flowing into Seoul does not raise overall fertility or productivity enough to offset what is lost in the regions. Instead, it amplifies housing stress in the capital while hollowing out the economic base beyond it. In that sense, South Korea’s overconcentration problem has crossed a threshold. What once functioned as an engine of growth is now constraining the country’s long-term potential—turning large parts of the nation into economic periphery, and some into zones edging towards extinction. *The feature article was published in Aju Business Daily, translated by AI, and edited by AJP. 2025-12-19 07:40:04

Tax watchdog launches audit of trendy bakery café SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - The National Tax Service on Thursday launched a special tax audit of trendy bakery café London Bagel Museum, which has come under scrutiny following the death of a young employee in his 20s allegedly due to overwork. According to industry sources, tax authorities raided the café's operator LBM in central Seoul and seized tax-related documents. Specific reasons for the audit were not immediately disclosed, with the tax watchdog saying it could not confirm details regarding audits of individual taxpayers. The audit comes as the café works to improve overall working conditions following the employee's death, which exposed excessive overtime, rampant workplace abuses, and other labor violations. 2025-12-18 17:29:44

SK hynix wins Intel certification for 256GB DDR5 server DRAM module SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - SK hynix said on Thursday it has obtained Intel Data Center certification for its 256GB DDR5 registered dual in-line memory module (RDIMM), becoming the first supplier to validate a 32Gb-based high-capacity DDR5 module on Intel’s latest Xeon 6 server platform. The module is built on the company’s fifth-generation 10-nanometer-class (1b) 32Gb DRAM and is designed for data center servers that require higher memory density as artificial intelligence workloads expand. Certification testing was conducted at Intel’s Advanced Data Center Development Laboratory in the United States, the company said. SK hynix said the 256GB DDR5 module delivers about 16 percent higher AI inference performance compared with server configurations using 128GB memory based on 32Gb chips, while reducing power consumption by up to 18 percent versus its previous 256GB products built on 16Gb DRAM. The certification comes as demand grows for higher-capacity server memory to support increasingly complex AI models and data-intensive workloads, prompting memory suppliers to accelerate the transition toward higher-density DRAM architectures. 2025-12-18 17:20:49

Imported cars win over more South Korean motorists, survey reveals SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - More motorists are showing increased interest in imported cars, according to a survey by the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) released on Thursday. The association surveyed about 1,500 motorists and found that the majority of respondents or 66.3 percent held a favorable view of imported cars, while only 4.9 percent gave a negative response. The rest were neutral. The main reasons cited were the growing presence of imported cars (37.1 percent), comparable prices to South Korean brands (17.7 percent), better quality and performance (12.9 percent), and respect for personal choice (9.1 percent). When asked why they bought imported cars, most respondents cited quality, durability, and driving performance, with those who already owned imports expressing more favorable views. More than three in 10 consumers planning to buy a new car within the next two years said they are considering an imported brand. "Imported cars are becoming common options for many," a KAIDA official said, adding that they may spur competition and help raise overall quality in the auto market. 2025-12-18 17:02:28

Hyundai Motor still at the starting line as Tesla races toward autonomous finish SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - Tesla’s shares surged to a record high last Tuesday on CEO Elon Musk’s renewed push toward fully autonomous robotaxis — a breakthrough that drew cool look at Hyundai Motor’s lag in self-driving technology. Tesla has been testing its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas since early this year. What began as supervised trials has moved further, with Musk signaling over the weekend that vehicles are now operating without a driver in the seat, reinforcing investor confidence that Tesla is nearing true autonomy. The reaction in South Korea was notably different. Hyundai Motor shares slid 6 percent over the week to close Thursday at 282,500 won ($193.3), even as the benchmark KOSPI gained 1.4 percent on the day. Hyundai AutoEver, the group’s software and autonomous-driving arm, fell 3.37 percent to 272,500 won, extending losses after a sharp sell-off earlier in the week. Autonomous driving — or the perceived lack of progress in it — is increasingly cited by investors as a structural drag on Hyundai’s valuation. While Hyundai Motor shares have risen 33.6 percent this year, the gain is still less than half of the broader market’s advance. Hyundai’s autonomous-driving subsidiary 42dot has been testing self-driving buses in downtown Seoul, but the technology embedded in Hyundai and Kia production vehicles remains largely limited to basic driver-assistance functions such as acceleration, braking and lane-keeping. By global benchmarks, Hyundai has yet to reach the midpoint of the autonomy race. Tesla, by contrast, demonstrated a fully autonomous 296-mile drive from Seoul to Busan in November without human intervention, though the journey was supervised. General Motors has also showcased its “Super Cruise” system on new Cadillac electric vehicles, a technology often compared to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving. Both systems are generally classified as Level 2+ autonomy — legally requiring driver supervision but capable of lane changes, speed control and destination-based navigation. Hyundai has said it aims to deploy Level 3 autonomous driving technology, which handles all driving tasks until the system requests human intervention, by 2027. Leadership reshuffle adds uncertainty Confidence in that timeline has been dented by recent leadership changes. On December 3, Song Chang-hyun, founder and CEO of 42dot and head of Hyundai’s Advanced Vehicle Platform division, resigned. He was followed by Yang Hee-won, president overseeing research and development at both Hyundai and Kia. Yang’s role was filled by Manfred Harrer, a former Apple executive involved in the now-defunct Apple Car project. Following the reshuffle, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun said the group would “prioritize stability over speed” in autonomous-driving development — a remark widely interpreted as an acknowledgment of setbacks in Hyundai’s transition toward software-defined vehicles. Strategic bet on LiDAR under pressure Beyond leadership churn, Hyundai faces a strategic dilemma rooted in its reliance on LiDAR technology, just as industry momentum pivots away from it. On December 16, U.S.-based LiDAR supplier Luminar Technologies filed for bankruptcy protection following contract cancellations and weakening demand, shortly after Tesla confirmed successful robotaxi tests using only cameras and satellite data. Industry consensus is increasingly shifting toward end-to-end deep learning models that emulate human decision-making rather than rule-based systems, paired with satellite-based data instead of costly LiDAR sensors. Chinese automakers are moving quickly in the same direction. Xpeng recently launched the P7+, the world’s second electric vehicle after Tesla to achieve autonomous driving using cameras alone. Geely affiliate Geespace plans to deploy 72 low-earth orbit satellites by year-end to support high-precision driving data collection. 42dot presses on, but questions linger Despite the shifting landscape, 42dot continues to project confidence. This week, it unveiled Ateria AI, a camera-based end-to-end autonomous-driving system. The announcement follows Hyundai Motor Group’s plan to build an AI factory equipped with 50,000 next-generation Nvidia Blackwell chips to accelerate so-called “Physical AI” initiatives across the group. Still, uncertainty surrounds 42dot’s standing within Hyundai. In Thursday's sweeping year-end reshuffle that replaced more than 200 executives, no successor was named for Song — a signal some analysts interpret as a possible downgrade in strategic priority. “The core reason Hyundai trades at a chronic discount is the fragmentation of its software capabilities across affiliates such as 42dot, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai AutoEver and Boston Dynamics,” said Choi Tae-young, an analyst at DS Investment & Securities. Analysts argue Hyundai must replicate the model it used to centralize its hydrogen business under the HTWO brand and establish a single command structure for AI and autonomous driving. “Buying 50,000 GPUs or adopting Nvidia’s Drive platform is the easy part,” said Lee Hyun-wook, a researcher at IBK Securities. “The real challenge is empowering one lead entity to standardize data and fundamentally change how the organization works.” The pressure is also mounting on Motional, Hyundai’s joint venture with U.S.-based Aptiv, which has yet to deliver a commercial robotaxi despite aggressive talent recruitment from rivals such as Amazon-backed Zoox. 2025-12-18 17:00:17

Tech slump drags Asian markets lower as investors eye BOJ SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - Asian equity markets ended broadly lower on Thursday as fallout from an “Oracle shock” weighed on technology shares and investors stayed cautious ahead of the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) interest rate decision. Most major benchmarks declined, though mainland China’s Shanghai Composite showed relative resilience, appearing largely insulated from weakness in U.S. technology stocks. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI fell 1.53 percent to 3,994.51, slipping back below the psychologically important 4,000 level and posting one of the steepest losses among major Asian markets, alongside the Shenzhen Component. Foreign investors were heavy sellers, offloading 356.3 billion won ($241 million), while institutional investors sold 101.2 billion won. Retail investors bucked the trend, buying a net 424.2 billion won. The Korean won extended its weakness, trading at 1,478.7 per dollar at 4:10 p.m. local time, down 0.2 won from the previous session. The currency remains under pressure from sustained foreign outflows and expectations of a BOJ rate hike. Heavyweight stocks outperformed the broader market. Samsung Electronics slipped 0.28 percent to 107,600 won. Losses linked to Oracle-related sentiment were partly offset by strong earnings from Micron Technology, which lifted the outlook for the memory chip sector. SK hynix edged up to 552,000 won but pared earlier gains after hitting a session high of 563,000 won. The secondary battery sector suffered sharp losses after Ford, a key customer for South Korean manufacturers, scrapped contract plans and dissolved a joint venture, citing the electric vehicle market “chasm.” LG Energy Solution plunged 8.9 percent to 378,500 won, Samsung SDI fell 6.1 percent to 277,000 won, and SK Innovation, the parent of SK On, dropped 5.16 percent to 104,800 won. Materials supplier EcoPro Materials slid 6.35 percent. Korea Zinc sank 5.7 percent to 1,306,000 won amid controversy surrounding its joint venture with the U.S. Department of Defense. Investor sentiment deteriorated following reports that warrants issued during the process carried an exercise price of just 1 cent, while the U.S. side is set to receive more than $100 million a year in fees. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.03 percent to 49,001.5, pressured by technology weakness and caution ahead of the BOJ policy meeting. Semiconductor-related stocks led declines, with Advantest falling 3.32 percent to 18,805 yen ($120.6), Tokyo Electron down 3.22 percent, and Ibiden sliding 4.33 percent. Automakers showed mixed performance. Honda fell 2.53 percent to 1,543 yen following news of a brake-related recall in the U.S., while Toyota rose 0.42 percent to 3,363 yen, benefiting from apparent rotation within the sector. Financial stocks posted more moderate losses, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group down about 1 percent. Taiwan’s TAIEX was relatively steady, slipping 0.21 percent to 27,468.53. TSMC ended flat at 1,430 Taiwan dollars ($45.3), while MediaTek and Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) recorded modest declines. Mainland Chinese markets were mixed. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.16 percent to 3,876.37, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged down 0.25 percent. Technology shares underperformed, with the Shenzhen Component falling 1.29 percent. Battery maker CATL dropped 2.98 percent and automaker BYD slid 1.76 percent. 2025-12-18 16:47:20

Panmunjeom: The Cold War relic awaiting inter-Korean thaw SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - Located within the Joint Security Area (JSA), Panmunjeom is the historic site where the Korean War armistice agreement was signed in 1953. Today, it remains a unique zone jointly managed by North and South Korea, partitioned by the Military Demarcation Line. While the area currently sits in silence due to strained inter-Korean relations and a total freeze in diplomacy, it remains the primary stage for global attention whenever dialogue resumes on the peninsula. Once an anonymous hamlet consisting of only a few thatched-roof houses, Panmunjeom rose to international prominence when it became the venue for armistice negotiations on Oct. 25, 1951. After nearly two years of talks, the armistice agreement was finally signed here on July 27, 1953. The site also facilitated the exchange of prisoners of war between August and September of that year. The JSA features seven functional buildings situated directly atop the MDL, including those used by the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC). Facilities on the southern side include Freedom House and Peace House, while the northern side is home to Panmungak and Panmungwan (formerly known as Tongilgak). Public access to the site has been restricted for over two years. Following the unauthorized crossing of a U.S. soldier into North Korea on July 18, 2023, general tours of Panmunjeom remain indefinitely suspended as of December 2025. 2025-12-18 16:38:42

Construction site collapse leaves one in cardiac arrest, several injured SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - A steel bar collapsed at a subway construction site near Yeouido in Seoul, trapping several workers, police authorities said on Thursday. According to rescue officials, the collapse occurred at around 1:20 p.m., and all seven workers were rescued shortly afterward. Among them, one man in his 50s was found in cardiac arrest and was taken to a nearby hospital, while another man in his 50s suffered a minor ankle injury. A foreign worker in his 30s escaped on his own and was later treated at the scene for an injury to his wrist. The accident is believed to have occurred about 70 meters underground when the steel bar fell during concrete pouring work. Police said they plan to investigate whether there were any safety lapses during the work. 2025-12-18 16:22:44