When it snows, it downpours in Seoul: first snow causes chaos SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) -Heavy snowfall across Seoul and southern Gyeonggi triggered a wave of accidents and commuter chaos from rush hour in Wednesday evening to late night as icy roads and inadequate snow removal efforts left drivers stranded and public transportation overwhelmed. In Seoul, the first snow has now become something of a pattern: when it snows, it downpours—the second year in a row in which the season’s first flakes arrived as a full-blown snowstorm. Southern Gyeonggi Police Agency said it received 1,902 snow-related calls between 5 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday, including 1,087 reports of traffic disruptions, 732 requests for snow removal, and 83 traffic accidents. At 4 a.m., a truck crash near Pangyo Junction on the Gyeongbu Expressway blocked several lanes. Earlier, at 10:43 p.m., six vehicles collided on an icy slope near the Gwacheon Tunnel exit on the Bongdam–Gwacheon Expressway. No major injuries were reported. While no highways in southern Gyeonggi were fully closed, congestion persisted as temperatures dropped and road surfaces refroze. In Seoul, what began as light flurries quickly intensified—with bursts of thunder—during the evening rush hour. Snow removal operations temporarily closed some streets, forcing passengers to abandon buses and walk. Subway ridership surged as commuters sought alternatives to gridlocked roads. A snow advisory issued at 6 p.m. was lifted two hours later, but disruptions stretched well into the night as snow continued to accumulate. Residents said the turmoil felt all too familiar, recalling last November’s first snowfall that dumped more than 20 centimeters on the capital. “Even though it’s the first snow, similar issues occurred last year,” said a commuter surnamed Cho, speaking to Yonhap News. With forecasters warning of icy morning roads, Seoul officials moved to bolster public transit, adding 20 extra subway trains during Thursday’s morning rush hour and extending concentrated bus deployment by 30 minutes. Additional snow removal was planned for icy stretches, sidewalks, and neighborhood roads. All previously restricted sections, including parts of the Inner Ring Road, were reopened overnight. Many commuters endured long, exhausting journeys home. A 25-year-old office worker, Ahn, said her usual one-hour trip from Sangam-dong to Gangnam stretched to two and a half hours. “I wore Ugg boots because it was slippery, but I still ended up falling,” she said. After two years of punishing first snowfalls, public frustration is rising. “Are the authorities just waiting for the snow to melt?” one resident said. Another commuter, Cho, 28, was more direct: “If the same thing keeps happening, whether it’s the government or the city, it means they weren’t prepared.” * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-05 08:42:43

Revised Commercial Act adds legal uncertainty to Korea's M&A landscape SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - South Korea’s C-suite and boards must now weigh shareholder rights as heavily as employee considerations under the revised Commercial Act, a shift posing as a setback to bold, owner-driven decision-making long associated with chaebols. The implications of the overhaul were a central focus at a capital markets and M&A seminar hosted in Seoul by law firm Shin & Kim on Thursday, where corporate lawyers and market participants examined how the revised law could reshape boardroom choices in major transactions. “There are still no clear legal precedents on how directors should navigate conflicts between different shareholder interests under the revised Act,” said Oh Jong-han, managing partner at Shin & Kim, in opening remarks. “This creates a situation where companies and directors are having to make decisions without established benchmarks on what will ultimately be judged as acceptable.” Merger ratios under closer scrutiny One of the most immediate pressure points is merger ratios. Under the revised Commercial Act, directors involved in mergers deemed to have been executed at unfair ratios now face heightened risks of shareholder damages claims, as well as potential criminal liability for breach of fiduciary duty. “In affiliated-company mergers, directors must examine far more carefully whether the deal — including its timing and exchange ratio — genuinely benefits the company’s shareholders,” said Lee Dong-geon, head of Shin & Kim’s Corporate Governance Strategy Center. “The risk profile has clearly changed. Decisions once viewed as business judgment are increasingly being scrutinized through the lens of shareholder fairness.” Shareholder losses may trigger injunctions Another area of uncertainty is whether shareholder losses could be interpreted as losses to the company itself. If courts adopt such an interpretation, shareholders may gain stronger grounds to seek injunctions halting transactions before completion, invoking their rights to preserve corporate interests. “This opens the door to preventive legal action at much earlier stages of M&A,” Lee said, noting that such remedies were previously difficult to access unless direct damage to the company could be demonstrated. Practitioners warned that this shift could significantly raise the bar for board approvals in restructurings and group transactions. Boards face higher decision-making burden While the revisions are not expected to derail routine deals, experts emphasized that complex transactions — particularly those involving related parties or capital restructuring — will now require greater procedural rigor. Boards will be expected to document their decision-making more extensively, rely on independent valuations and demonstrate clearly that a proposed transaction serves the collective interests of shareholders. “With limited case law to guide interpretation, directors are operating in a legal gray zone,” Oh said. “Until clearer standards emerge, conservative decision-making is likely to prevail.” Experts noted that the revised Commercial Act signals a structural shift in Korea’s capital markets — one that strengthens shareholder protections but also injects new uncertainty into how boards navigate high-stakes transactions. 2025-12-04 17:48:39

Korean replaces Chinese as foreign favorite language amid K-pop rise SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - In another sign of Korean pop culture's global reach, Korean has become the sixth most-studied language on Duolingo, one of the world's largest language-learning platforms, increasingly replacing Chinese as a preferred foreign language. According to the 2025 Language Report released Thursday, Korean trailed only English, Spanish, French, Japanese and German in global popularity. It also ranked as the second-fastest-growing language in Western countries including Argentina, Colombia, France, Germany, Mexico, Spain and Poland. Duolingo now counts 5.5 million Korean learners worldwide, a trend the company attributes to the international success of "Squid Game," K-dramas and K-pop. Official dictionary traffic tells a similar story. The National Institute of the Korean Language, the government body overseeing Korean language policy, said Tuesday that its two major online dictionaries — the Basic Korean Dictionary and the Korean–Foreign Language Learners' Dictionary — surpassed 20 million cumulative visits this year. From January through October, the Basic Korean Dictionary recorded 3.5 million visits, while the learners' dictionary logged 16.64 million, led by its Korean–English edition. High usage was also reported in the Korean–Arabic and Korean–Indonesian versions, particularly in regions where Korean pop culture enjoys strong followings and alternative reference tools are scarce. Users searched not only nouns but also verbs, adverbs and suffixes, suggesting that learners across proficiency levels depend on the dictionaries. The Basic Korean Dictionary, launched in 2012 with about 52,000 headwords, will add roughly 1,300 new entries in March 2026. Motivation data shows why Korean stands apart from other foreign languages. A survey last year by Preply found that most Korean learners cited "hobby or personal interest" as their main reason for studying the language. By contrast, 28 percent of general language learners worldwide study for job-related or career or self-development purposes — highlighting how Korean's appeal is tied directly to entertainment consumption and cultural affinity. Demand is also rising in higher education. A 2024 report by the Modern Language Association found that U.S. university enrollment in Korean courses grew more than 60 percent between 2013 and 2024, while enrollment in Chinese courses fell about 30 percent. Similar patterns have emerged in the United Kingdom, according to data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency. The South China Morning Post noted that China's slowing economy and deteriorating global image have dampened interest in Chinese language study, while Korean continues to gain momentum on the back of K-pop and Korean media. The King Sejong Institute, South Korea's government-run global Korean-language network, has also expanded rapidly. It now operates 256 branches in 88 countries — up from just 13 in 2007 — with roughly 700,000 cumulative learners. The government aims to increase the network to 350 branches by 2027 and is rolling out AI-based learning tools, including the "i-Sejong Institute," alongside localized curricula and dispatched teaching staff. "The Basic Korean Dictionary and the Korean–Foreign Language Learners' Dictionary have become essential tools for both learners and instructors," an official at the National Institute of the Korean Language said. "As global interest in Korean continues to rise, we will work to provide reliable and accessible online dictionary services." 2025-12-04 17:32:19

Nikkei soars, KOSDAQ active with robotics helped by Trump's mention SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - Japanese stocks defied concerns over a potential unwinding of the yen carry trade to push back above the 50,000-point threshold, while activity was subdued across most of Asia. South Korea’s KOSPI closed 0.19 percent lower at 4,028.51 on Thursday. After sliding more than 1 percent in early trading, the index pared losses in the afternoon as foreigners took profits and nearly all U.S. megacap tech stocks—excluding AMD—declined overnight. Foreign investors drove the weakness, net selling 696.5 billion won ($472.5 million). Retail investors net bought 560.8 billion won, and institutions purchased 131.7 billion won, positioning for the next upswing. The KOSDAQ slipped 0.23 percent to 929.83, though its market cap is nearing the 500-trillion-won milestone amid expectations of government support measures for the secondary market. The won continued to weaken, losing 3 won to 1,470 per dollar as of 5:10 p.m., pressured by foreign outflows following heavy stock sales during the session. Bond yields were mixed. The three-year government bond yield fell 1.6 basis points to 3.025 percent but remained above 3 percent. The 10-year yield edged up 0.8 basis points to 3.376 percent. Samsung Electronics rose 0.57 percent to 105,100 won after securing a contract to supply HBM4 memory for Google’s next-generation TPU production starting in 2026. SK hynix fell 1.81 percent to 542,000 won, weighed down by weak earnings at Kioxia, the Japanese NAND maker it has invested in, and softer AI-related demand from its key customer Microsoft. Losses on the main bourse were softened by a sudden rally in robotics stocks, which surged on rumors that U.S. President Donald Trump may sign an executive order promoting the robotics industry. Hyundai AutoEver jumped 27.19 percent to 283,000 won. Hyundai Motor—the parent of AutoEver and Boston Dynamics—climbed 6.38 percent to 283,500 won. Doosan Robotics rose 7.82 percent to 82,700 won. LG Electronics also gained, closing 5.92 percent higher at 94,800 won, supported by optimism around its automotive electronics and software-defined vehicle businesses. The KOSDAQ likewise avoided a steeper decline thanks to robotics-linked names. Rainbow Robotics, in which Samsung Electronics is the largest shareholder, rose 6.3 percent to 472,500 won on the Washington headlines. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 2.33 percent higher at 51,028.42, logging the largest gain among major Asian indices. Export-heavy automakers advanced on expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut. Toyota added 3.26 percent to 3,103 yen ($20), while Honda rose 2.93 percent to 1,548 yen. Robot makers also rallied sharply, with Fanuc soaring 12.98 percent to 5,953 yen and Yaskawa Electric jumping 11.37 percent to 4,769 yen. Taiwan’s TAIEX closed at 27,795.71, unchanged from the previous session. Chinese markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite finished flat at 3,875.79 amid lingering recession concerns, while the Shenzhen Component rose 0.4 percent to 13,006.72. Battery giant CATL climbed 1.93 percent to 383.35 yuan ($54.27), leading gains. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended 0.68 percent higher at 25,935.90, with Xiaomi up 4.33 percent at 41.96 Hong Kong dollars ($5.39). 2025-12-04 17:25:27

With too many skeletons out of the closet, Coupang founder Kim may have to come out SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - Coupang earns roughly 90 percent of its estimated $34 billion in revenue from Korea, yet operates and trades as a U.S.-based company often dubbed "Korea's Amazon." Increasingly, however, it resembles something closer to a Chinese tech firm—with opaque recruiting practices and oversight failures that culminated in the mass-scale data leak exposing virtually all of its online shoppers. For negligence and liability related to the loss of data on 33.7 million users, Coupang could face penalties of up to 3 percent of revenue, or as much as $1 billion, in addition to a raft of civil and criminal lawsuits. Bom Kim, the Korean-born American who owns 76 percent of the New York Stock Exchange-listed Coupang Inc., remains out of sight as domestic CEO Park Dae-jun is hounded by police investigators, lawmakers and furious consumers. The breach has shed light on Coupang's extensive reliance on foreign developers, including a sizable cohort of Chinese engineers. The alleged perpetrator is a former Chinese employee. Coupang has refused to disclose the nationalities of its engineering workforce, saying only that it recruits "talent from diverse backgrounds." Activity on Maimai, China's equivalent to LinkedIn, suggests the company has maintained steady recruitment pipelines there. Verified accounts claiming Coupang affiliation have remained active through the second half of this year, alongside postings from headhunters and industry insiders seeking candidates for the company. One user identifying himself as a senior vice president of a Chinese holding company ranked Coupang eighth among the most attractive foreign IT employers in Shanghai, behind Google, Amazon and Apple. In a June post, he wrote that Coupang's Shanghai office in Changtai Plaza pays competitively with Alibaba and employs numerous former Alibaba engineers across functions, adding that the attraction is "no overtime work." Operationally, Coupang resembles Alibaba and JD.com more than Amazon. Instead of a marketplace model connecting external sellers to buyers, the company directly purchases inventory, stores it in proprietary warehouses and fulfills orders through its own vertical logistics network. Despite investing 89 billion won annually in cybersecurity and employing more than 200 security engineers, the leak did not result from a sophisticated attack but a basic managerial lapse. A former employee kept access through an unrevoked JWT (JSON Web Token) signing key after leaving the company, enabling unrestricted entry for five months without triggering security alerts. Coupang Corp., the Korean operating subsidiary, is wholly owned by Coupang Inc., a Delaware-registered holding company. Kim controls 76 percent of the voting rights, effectively placing the company under his personal authority. While the Korean unit is the legal entity liable for the breach, Coupang Inc. argues that it neither stores nor manages user data directly. "A corporation and its CEO or shareholders are legally separate entities since a joint-stock corporation is based on limited liability. It is generally difficult to hold an individual—such as Chairman Bom Kim—personally accountable unless there are exceptional circumstances," said Um Kyong-chon, attorney at Lawfirm Family. Kim stepped down from Coupang's Korean board shortly after the Serious Accident Punishment Act took effect in 2021, removing himself from the scope of internal criminal liability. Coupang has repeatedly underscored that its "headquarters is in the U.S., and Kim is an American citizen." The company's dominance in online retail has shielded it from labor and regulatory controversies for years. J.P. Morgan projected minimal customer defection after the breach, citing limited competition and historically low public sensitivity to data privacy. Korean consumers accustomed to overnight delivery, the report noted, are unlikely to abandon the platform. Adding to public anger are signs of potential insider trading. Several U.S.-based executives sold substantial shareholdings in the weeks surrounding the breach. According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday, CFO Gaurav Anand sold 75,350 shares for about $2.2 million on Nov. 10. Former Vice President Pranam Kolari, who oversaw search and recommendations, sold 27,388 shares for $772,000 on Nov. 17, just days after resigning. Given the sensitivity of the scandal, Bom Kim may eventually have to respond to public and political pressure. Korean law recognizes the concept of a "de facto" decision-maker—someone who exercises authority regardless of whether he holds a formal board seat. 2025-12-04 17:13:45

NTS to crack down on tax evaders in real estate inheritances SEOUL, December 4 (AJP) - The National Tax Service plans to intensify its probe of real estate transferred from wealthy parents to children to evade inheritance and other taxes, the watchdog said in a meeting at the government complex in Seoul on Thursday. The probe is expected to target some 2,077 apartment owners in Seoul's affluent districts of Gangnam, Gangdong, Seocho and Songpa as well as Mapo and Seongdong districts north of the Han River, where prices have soared in recent years. The NTS will investigate them for any illegal activities or suspicious transactions. "We are committed to eradicating illegal inheritance and gifts to protect those who want to buy their own affordable home," said Kim Yong-su, an NTS official. * This article, published by Economic Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-04 16:55:52

AI takes front seat in Korean bio "foundries", betting on reduced cost and risks SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - South Korea's bio industry is going all in on artificial intelligence, betting that the technology will slash time, cost and risk in drug discovery, with eight out of 10 companies are now diverting at least 10 percent of their revenue to AI deployment. "AI is set to play a pivotal role in our sector, and its impact on the industry will be profound," said Lee Seung-kyu, vice chairman of Korea Bio. "Compared to the vague expectations we had last year, we are now better prepared for what AI can bring to the bio industry." The forum comes as global life-science executives pile into AI despite geopolitical turbulence. A Samjong KPMG survey of 1,350 CEOs across 12 industries in 11 countries found that 71 percent ranked AI as their top investment priority, while 68 percent remained optimistic about economic growth. "Some 83 percent of companies plan to allocate more than 10 percent of their budgets to AI, and 67 percent of CEOs expect to generate returns within one to three years," said Park Sang-hoon, a partner who leads KPMG's pharmaceutical and bio practice. "This marks a seven-percentage-point increase from last year." The urgency stems from structural pressures in traditional drug development. Patent cliffs are arriving faster, clinical trial success rates are falling, and R&D costs continue to rise, often outstripping topline growth. "AI is essential for accelerating drug development, reducing costs and identifying failures faster," said Yoon Hee-jung, head of the bio-innovation strategy team at the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning. She pointed to breakthroughs such as AlphaFold's protein-structure predictions and Insilico Medicine advancing AI-discovered candidates into clinical trials. She also noted that global tech giants like Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon now offer bio-focused AI platforms, while Korean firms are quickly joining the race—Naver through targeted healthcare acquisitions and medical LLM development, and LG via a research partnership with Seoul National University. Sung Bong-hyun, senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology, highlighted the rise of so-called "bio foundries"—a term borrowed from the semiconductor industry—where AI and robotics combine to automate synthetic biology workflows. He said AI-powered automation could dramatically reduce development time and capital requirements while delivering levels of reproducibility that are difficult for human researchers. "Without AI, the astronomical number of genetic combinations makes optimization nearly impossible," Sung said. "Bio foundries running on AI can standardize processes and accelerate development that would otherwise take decades." But regulatory systems are struggling to keep pace. Sung called for clearer rules on AI-generated intellectual property, broader data-sharing frameworks and stronger government support. Park warned that rapid technological shifts risk widening gaps between companies and deepening generational divides in workforce skills. Even with geopolitical uncertainty clouding global markets, Korea's bio sector continues to expand. According to Korea Bio data presented at the forum, the industry's workforce grew 1.5 percent year-on-year, with a five-year average of 5.9 percent. Investment jumped 46.1 percent to 5.48 trillion won ($3.72 billion), with facility investment soaring 145 percent. Exports rose 17.1 percent to 13.7 trillion won. Oh Ki-hwan, head of Korea Bio's research center, said executives cited biosecurity tariffs and the escalating U.S.–China rivalry as top concerns for 2025. He noted rising momentum to phase out animal testing in favor of AI-powered digital twins and in-silico trials. "The digital bio sector is strongly calling on the government to establish dedicated AI drug development funds and develop sovereign AI capabilities," Oh said. A government policy framework on AI in bio is expected later this month, with officials signaling a supportive stance, Yoon said. Beyond pharmaceuticals, industry experts see AI reshaping food security through "green bio" applications. Koo Ok-jae, an executive at Hanwha Solutions, argued that AI-enhanced alternative proteins and precision agriculture will be critical to addressing food shortages tied to population growth and climate change. Lee Dong-yup, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University, said digital twin technology—combining AI modeling with virtual cell simulations—is still in its early stages in bio-manufacturing but could pave the way for personalized medicine and real-time production oversight. "The future will be about turning data into value," Lee said. "AI in bio-manufacturing is still in its infancy, but the potential is enormous." 2025-12-04 16:46:27

South Korea's Kolon Industries joins hands with Canadian firm for fuel cell business SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - Kolon Industries said Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada’s Ballard Power Systems to expand cooperation in hydrogen fuel cell components, strengthening its push into the clean-energy sector. The agreement was signed at the World Hydrogen 2025 event held at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Ballard, founded in 1979, is a major global supplier of high-efficiency, durable hydrogen fuel cell technology used in buses, trucks, trains, marine vessels and stationary power systems. Kolon Industries has supplied moisture control devices for Ballard’s fuel cell stacks since 2018. Under the MOU, the companies will work to secure a stable supply chain for key components and broaden collaboration on new product development and performance upgrades. “This MOU with Ballard, a global leader in the hydrogen fuel cell market, marks an important milestone in strengthening our strategic partnership,” said Heo Sung, president of Kolon Industries. Kolon Industries has been scaling up its fuel cell materials business, building on more than three decades of membrane design and manufacturing expertise, as well as ongoing research into fuel cell separator technology. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-04 16:44:30

SK hynix unveils major reorganization to bolster HBM, AI-era memory leadership SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - SK hynix said Thursday it has created a dedicated high-bandwidth memory (HBM) unit to provide faster technical support and bolster market responsiveness in North America. It also established a new team responsible for HBM packaging, quality and yield management across development and mass production. The move is aimed at reinforcing its position in the global AI era and ensure sustainable growth, the company said. The company also plans to establish “Global AI Research Centers” in the United States, China and Japan. The U.S. center will focus on recruiting top-tier talent and expanding collaboration with major global technology firms to advance next-generation computing system architectures. Construction of an advanced packaging fab in Indiana will proceed this year, while a new “Global Infra” team will work to strengthen production consistency across global sites. The chipmaker will also set up a “Macro Research Center” to analyze global economic and geopolitical developments shaping AI and semiconductor strategies, and operate an “Intelligence Hub” that integrates customer, technology and market data using AI tools to better anticipate client needs. “This restructuring is an essential step toward becoming a full-stack AI memory creator and strengthening our competitiveness as a leading global company,” CEO Kwark No-jung said in a press release. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-04 16:29:32

South Korea launches world's largest hydrogen expo, eyes global leadership SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - World Hydrogen Expo 2025, billed as the world's largest hydrogen industry exhibition, kicked off at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on Thursday, drawing 279 companies and organizations from 26 countries. The four-day event, running through Dec. 7, marks the inaugural edition combining the former H2 MEET exhibition and International Hydrogen Conference into a unified platform. The expo spans 22,000 square meters showcasing the full hydrogen value chain from production to storage, transportation and application. The exhibition comes timely as the Hydrogen Council, a coalition of chief executives from about 140 global hydrogen companies, is holding its annual general meeting in South Korea during the same week. Exhibition halls feature major Korean players including Hyundai Motor Group, HD Hyundai Construction Equipment, and Kolon Industries showcasing their latest offerings, products spanning from electrolysis materials and ammonia cracking technology for clean hydrogen production, alongside hydrogen buses, hydrogen-powered trams and hydrogen combustion engines. Refueling systems and liquefied hydrogen storage tanks are also on display. "The government will systematically support the hydrogen ecosystem as a key driver for industrial innovation and decarbonization," said Minister of Climate, Energy, and Environment Kim Sung-hwan at the opening ceremony. "We hope this event becomes an opportunity to invigorate the global hydrogen ecosystem and showcase Korean companies' innovative technologies to the world market." The international conference also runs three parallel tracks: leadership speeches from government and corporate executives, deep-dive sessions on hydrogen technology and industrial strategy, and country-specific discussions featuring officials from Australia, Germany, Japan and representatives from the International Organization for Standardization and the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy. Side events include technology presentations by Korean hydrogen firms, export consultation sessions and the H2 Innovation Award to recognize breakthrough technologies and promising companies seeking overseas expansion. 2025-12-04 16:17:30