Kosdaq-heading chip design house SemiFive prices IPO at top of range SEOUL, December 17 (AJP) - South Korean chip designer SemiFive said on Wednesday it has set its initial public offering price at 24,000 won per share, the top of its indicative range, after its book-building drew 2,159 institutional investors with a subscription rate of 436.9 to 1. The IPO will raise about 129.6 billion won ($87 million) and value the company at about 809 billion won when it lists on the KOSDAQ market on Dec. 29. The book-building ran from Dec. 10 to 16. SemiFive, founded in 2019, designs application-specific integrated circuits for AI applications and provides end-to-end services from chip design to mass production. Its clients include AI chip developers FuriosaAI and Rebellions, as well as Hanwha Vision. New orders rose from 5.7 billion won in 2020 to 125.7 billion won in the first nine months of 2025, surpassing the 123.9 billion won booked in all of 2024. Overseas revenue jumped to 55 billion won in the January-September period from 4.5 billion won a year earlier. The company is the first Samsung Foundry design partner to undertake a turnkey project on Samsung's second-generation 2-nanometer gate-all-around process. Revenue from 2nm to 4nm processes rose to 41.4 percent of sales in the first three quarters from 5 percent in 2022. "We have Big Tech-ready development experience, proprietary chip design platform technology, and end-to-end solution capabilities," CEO Brandon Cho said. "We expect to turn profitable next year." 2025-12-17 14:29:14

Korea's industry minister pledges to cut 'fake work,' boost efficiency SEOUL, December 17 (AJP) - South Korea’s Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said on Wednesday he aims to cut so-called “fake work” by 30 percent as part of broader efforts to strengthen organizational efficiency and innovation across government. Speaking at a government briefing in the administrative city of Sejong, Kim said reducing superficial or low-value tasks was essential to improving institutional capacity and productivity. President Lee Jae Myung voiced support for the initiative, saying that efforts to eliminate “fake work” were important for improving public-sector performance. Kim cited his experience in the private sector, including at Doosan Enerbility, where management sought to eliminate tasks that did not add customer value, such as unnecessary overtime, excessive reporting and redundant procedures. As part of the initiative, Kim said the ministry would gather ideas through town hall meetings and establish a task force to compile a list of non-essential activities by the first quarter of next year. The goal is to free up time and resources for more substantive work, he said. President Lee suggested that other ministries consider adopting similar approaches, noting that lessons from the private sector could help improve government efficiency. 2025-12-17 14:01:16

Shinsegae chair's Hannam-dong home remains South Korea's most expensive for 11th year SEOUL, December 17 (AJP) - Lee Myung-hee, chairwoman of South Korea’s Shinsegae Group, owns the country’s most expensive home for the 11th consecutive year, according to government property data released on Wednesday. Lee’s residence in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, was valued at 31.35 billion won ($21 million), up 5.48 percent from a year earlier, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed. The valuation rose by 1.63 billion won from last year’s 29.72 billion won, marking the first time in four years that the property’s assessed value has exceeded 30 billion won. The 2,862-square-meter home has held the top position since 2016. The second most expensive residence is owned by Lee Hae-wook, chairman of construction and energy conglomerate DL Group. His home in Samsung-dong, Seoul’s Gangnam district, was valued at 20.3 billion won, up 5.67 percent from last year. The rankings of the top 10 most expensive homes were unchanged from last year. Seven are located in Yongsan-gu, two in Gangnam-gu’s Samsung-dong and one in Seocho-gu’s Bangbae-dong. In land valuations, the site occupied by cosmetics retailer Nature Republic in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, retained its position as South Korea’s most expensive plot for the 23rd consecutive year. It was valued at 18.84 million won per square meter, up 4.38 percent. The second most expensive site was the Woori Bank property in Myeong-dong, valued at 18.76 million won per square meter, a 4.58 percent increase. 2025-12-17 13:48:58

G-Dragon included among American fashion magazine's list of influential icons SEOUL, December 17 (AJP) - K-pop singer G-Dragon has been included in American fashion and lifestyle magazine Hypebeast's year-end list of influential figures in a diverse mix of contemporary culture, fashion, music and sports for this year. The annual list of "Hypebeast100" recognizes "leaders in fashion - designers, artists, creative directors and entrepreneurs from all cultural and vocational backgrounds - who have taken up the mantle to challenge and define the future of the art form and its echoes into innovation, artistry and sustainability." Calling him the "king of K-pop" as well as a "cultural trailblazer," the magazine said, "His vast archives of rare fashion collectibles, contemporary art, design objects and memorabilia included his own works and custom apparel and footwear pieces." First included in the list in 2013, the flamboyant star has made it onto the list almost every year. This year's list also features several other South Koreans including Lim Dong-joon, a designer for Post Archive Faction (PAF), one of the most sought-after streetwear labels; K-pop girl band BLACKPINK's Jennie; and multi-talented designer, DJ, and producer Peggy Gou. 2025-12-17 13:46:41

Coupang interim head repeats apology at hearing, founder and key C-suite stay away SEOUL, December 17 (AJP) -Coupang Corp.’s interim chief executive officer Harold Rogers apologized Wednesday for a massive data breach affecting more than 33 million South Korean customers, while telling lawmakers that the incident did not trigger mandatory disclosure requirements under U.S. privacy and securities regulations. "I am deeply sorry for the concern that we have created for the Korean people,” Rogers said at a National Assembly hearing, pledging full cooperation with regulators and lawmakers. “We take this matter very seriously, and are working diligently to respond to your questions, the concerns of our regulators and those of our customers.” Rogers said the breach did not require reporting under U.S. law, explaining that under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules the incident was not deemed material enough to mandate disclosure. He added, however, that Coupang chose to disclose the incident due to public interest considerations. The hearing followed Coupang’s late-November disclosure that personal data of more than 33 million customers had been compromised in a breach believed to have begun on June 24 through overseas servers. The company said it became aware of the incident on Nov. 18. Rogers also addressed concerns over insider threats, noting that cybersecurity risks linked to internal access are challenges faced by many global companies, and said Coupang is working to strengthen safeguards. Rogers, formerly Coupang’s chief administrative officer, was appointed interim head of Coupang’s South Korea unit after former CEO Park Dae-jun resigned earlier this month, taking responsibility for the incident. On Dec. 10, Park said he was stepping down from all positions, citing “a strong sense of responsibility” for both the breach and the company’s handling of the matter. Rogers is regarded as a close confidant of Coupang founder and chairman Bom Kim. A Harvard Law School graduate specializing in compliance and risk management, Rogers played a key role in ensuring Coupang met SEC disclosure requirements during its 2021 New York Stock Exchange listing. This marks the first time since Coupang’s founding that an executive from its U.S. headquarters has been appointed CEO of the Korean subsidiary. Chairman Kim did not attend the hearing, citing overseas business commitments as CEO of the global company. His absence prompted sharp criticism from lawmakers. Rep. Choi Hyung-du of the ruling People Power Party said Kim’s failure to appear “mocks the public and delivers despair to global investors,” adding that even the heads of larger global firms such as Meta and Amazon have appeared before congressional hearings. Lawmakers said they are preparing to file a complaint against Kim for allegedly violating a law that compels witnesses to attend parliamentary hearings, which carries penalties including fines or imprisonment for refusal to testify. Opposition and minor-party lawmakers also took issue with Rogers’ responses. Reform Party lawmaker Lee Jun-seok criticized what he described as formulaic answers, noting that when asked why Kim did not attend, Rogers replied, “Happy to be here,” before reiterating his apology and willingness to answer questions as Coupang Korea’s representative. Rep. Choi Hyung-du criticized what he called an attempt to “avoid responsibility” by presenting a foreign executive despite the chairman’s ability to explain matters in Korean. As questioning continued, delays caused by cross-interpretation and repeated formal responses led some lawmakers to complain that interrogating foreign witnesses was inefficient. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-17 13:34:05

Asian markets mixed as investors weigh U.S. jobs data, await ECB and BOJ decisions SEOUL, December 17 (AJP) - Asian equity markets traded mixed in early Tuesday session, digesting overnight U.S. employment data while bracing for imminent rate decisions in Europe and Japan. In the United States, nonfarm payrolls rose more than expected, but the unemployment rate also came in higher than forecasts, adding uncertainty over the strength and trajectory of the U.S. economy. Investors are now focused on the European Central Bank’s policy decision on Thursday and the Bank of Japan’s meeting on Friday, where a rate hike is widely anticipated. South Korea’s currency remained fragile, with the won weakening 3 won to 1,477.6 per dollar as of 11 a.m. The KOSPI rebounded 0.65 percent to 4,025 as of 11 a.m., staging a technical recovery after plunging more than 2 percent in the previous session. Retail investors led the rebound with net purchases of 143.5 billion won ($97.2 million), joined by institutions buying 104.2 billion won. Foreign investors, however, continued to sell, unloading 253 billion won worth of shares. Samsung Electronics rose 2.14 percent to 105,000 won, while SK hynix gained 1.5 percent to 538,000 won. The market’s two largest stocks benefited from a technical rebound in AI-related semiconductor shares on Wall Street, including Broadcom. Investor attention is also building ahead of Micron Technology’s earnings release after the Nasdaq close on Tuesday. Micron is the world’s third-largest DRAM producer. Vehicle software-related stocks remained under pressure. Hyundai AutoEver slid 3.9 percent to 270,000 won following reports of Tesla’s progress in Robotaxi development. Hyundai Motor lagged the broader market rebound, rising just 0.2 percent to 286,000 won. Nuclear energy stocks showed mixed performance despite news of a 5.6 trillion won contract to supply a nuclear steam supply system for the Dukovany nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic. Korea Electric Power Corp., the project’s lead contractor, jumped 3.2 percent to 52,000 won. In contrast, equipment supplier Doosan Enerbility fell 2.2 percent to 75,600 won after being designated an “investment warning stock.” The tech-heavy KOSDAQ traded nearly flat, edging up 0.2 percent to 918. Despite a steady stream of new IPOs, their impact on lifting the overall index has remained limited. Nara Space Technology, a satellite manufacturer and data solutions provider, surged 164 percent from its IPO price of 16,500 won to 43,300 won on its debut. The sharp rise reflects growing investor interest in the private space industry. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was little changed at 49,400. Semiconductor-related stocks tracked gains in U.S. peers, with Advantest rising 1.7 percent to 19,500 yen ($126.1) and Ibiden up 1.8 percent to 11,600 yen. Export-oriented stocks were largely subdued ahead of the BOJ’s expected rate hike. Toyota was flat at 3,330 yen, while Honda slipped 0.75 percent to 1,573 yen. Taiwan’s TAIEX climbed 0.56 percent to 27,691.5. TSMC rose 0.35 percent to 1,440 Taiwan dollars ($45.7), while MediaTek advanced 1.75 percent to 1,445. MediaTek has extended its rally this week on rising smartphone sales in China and positive benchmark reviews of its latest chipset. Chinese markets remained cautious. Indices tied to traditional industries hovered near previous closing levels, with the Shanghai Composite at 3,823 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng at 25,245. The tech-heavy Shenzhen Component outperformed, rising 0.4 percent to 12,968. 2025-12-17 11:23:45

Health supplements, wellness foods emerging as growth driver in food industry: report SEOUL, December 17 (AJP) - South Korea’s wellness food market is expanding rapidly, with rising competition as more companies enter segments ranging from health supplements to protein foods and low-calorie products, KPMG Samjong Accounting Corp. said in a report, Wednesday. In the report titled “Wellness Food Trends and Business Opportunities,” KPMG Samjong said the market is broadly divided into health supplements, protein foods and so-called “low-spec” foods, which are formulated to reduce calories, sugar, sodium or alcohol content. Health supplement exports rose about 45 percent between 2020 and 2024, the report said, driven by strong demand from China, Southeast Asia, the United States and Europe. Manufacturers are increasingly focusing on developing “individually recognized ingredients,” which grant up to six years of market exclusivity under South Korean regulations, offering higher margins and stronger growth prospects. Sales channels for health supplements are also diversifying, expanding beyond online platforms and pharmacies to health and beauty stores, discount retailers and convenience stores, improving accessibility for consumers. KPMG Samjong said demand for personalized health supplements is expected to grow further, supported by regulatory changes and the adoption of AI-based subscription services that provide tailored nutrition solutions. The protein food market, once dominated by products aimed at athletes, is broadening to target general consumers. Companies are introducing offerings tailored to lifestyle, age group and specific health goals, capitalizing on trends such as “healthy pleasure” and “slow aging.” Convenient formats, including ready-to-drink protein beverages, are gaining popularity as meal replacements and snacks, the report said. Low-spec foods are also gaining traction among health-conscious consumers. The alternative sweetener market is expanding rapidly, led by allulose, while low-sugar products are becoming the “new normal” across categories, ranging from zero-calorie soft drinks to desserts and sauces. 2025-12-17 10:57:50

North Korean leader visits father's mausoleum SEOUL, December 17 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited his father's mausoleum in Pyongyang on Wednesday, state media reported. According to the state-run by opening up a new glorious history of comprehensive national rejuvenation," it added. Kim has visited the mausoleum every year, except in 2022. 2025-12-17 10:54:51

OPINION: Hyundai Motor and Chung Euisun at the autonomous crossroads The crisis Hyundai Motor faces in autonomous driving is not, at its core, a technological one. Nor is it a matter of insufficient capital or a shortage of talent. The problem is simpler—and more troubling: decisive leadership is being smothered by institutional hesitation. Hyundai’s real competitors today are no longer other carmakers. They are Tesla, Google’s Waymo and Apple—companies that do not merely manufacture vehicles but accumulate data, write software and continuously evolve. They have redefined the automobile not as a machine, but as a moving platform. The moment a company misunderstands that shift, the contest is already over. Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank, once described the most dangerous posture in corporate management as “talking about ten years from now while refusing to move today.” Son always thought in 30-year horizons. And once he could see the future, he did not negotiate with organizational doubt or internal compromise. What mattered more than a perfect plan was recognizing the wave—and knowing that if you didn’t get on it immediately, it would pass you by. Elon Musk’s approach is no different. Tesla’s autonomous driving system is still far from complete. Yet Musk never allowed imperfection to become an excuse for paralysis. He chose to deploy, to gather real-world data, to convert failure into learning—and, in doing so, to widen the gap with rivals. For him, perfection was not a prerequisite for departure; it was the product of accumulation. Steve Jobs, too, was no apostle of consensus. Apple’s defining decisions were made amid fierce internal resistance. Committees did not provide direction, and collective agreement did not produce innovation. Jobs chose imposition over compromise, and that choice transformed Apple from a follower into a rule-maker. These leaders shared one defining trait: they listened to advice, but they did not outsource decisions. Inside Hyundai today, the dominant vocabulary is different: “risk management,” “brand protection,” “safety first.” None of these concepts are wrong. But in the current phase of the autonomous-driving race, they have become rationalizations for delay. Autonomous driving is not a competition over polish or completeness. It is a race measured in data volume, real-world driving hours and who captures the platform first. Fall even a step behind, and the gap cannot be closed by engineering excellence alone. Yet many senior executives at Hyundai continue to treat autonomous driving as a future research-and-development project. This is not prudence. It is closer to a quiet abdication of responsibility. Korean corporate history offers a clear lesson. Samsung’s leap in smartphones did not begin with executive consensus, but with Lee Kun-hee’s uncompromising decision-making and relentless speed. LG Electronics’ failure, by contrast, began with the collective caution of “let’s wait and see.” Today, Hyundai resembles the latter more than the former. What Chairman Chung Euisun needs now is not persuasion but proclamation; not coordination but decision; not consensus but accountable resolve. The autonomous-driving organization must be structurally separated from the logic of existing business units. Partnerships with external technologies should be pursued without hesitation. Failure should be tolerated; delay should not. If “safety” is invoked, then speed must be demanded in equal measure. Most of all, Chung must beware the comfort of agreeable advisers. Those most deeply embedded in organizational inertia are often the first to say, “This is for the chairman’s own good.” The decline of large corporations has often begun quietly, wrapped in precisely such assurances. Tesla will not wait for Hyundai. Google does not calibrate its ambitions to Korean-style decision-making timelines. Apple has never shown respect for the logic of incumbent industries. This is not a battle of technology. It is a contest of speed, resolve and the lonely burden of leadership. In the age of autonomous driving, the survivors will not be the best-prepared companies—but the ones that move first. And the responsibility for making that move, here and now, rests squarely on Chairman Chung’s shoulders. *The author is the President of Global Economic and Financial Research Institute (GEFRI) 2025-12-17 10:47:14

Canola flowers in full bloom in Jeju SEOUL, December 17 (AJP) - While the mainland is a world of snow and ice with freezing temperatures, a park in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, is blanketed in yellow with canola flowers in full bloom. 2025-12-17 10:34:29