HYBE shares dip after court orders freeze in chair Bang's stock holdings SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) - Shares of South Korea's entertainment giant HYBE slid more than 1 percent early Friday after a Seoul court approved the prosecution request for a freeze on the stock holdings of its founder and largest shareholder Bang Si-hyuk worth 156.8 billion won ($106 million) while the investigation on malpractice related to pre-listing share transactions proceeded. The KOSPI-trading shares are down 1.4 percent at 291,250 won as of 9:40 a.m. in Seoul. Bang owns 13.151,394 shares or 30.5 percent of HYBE. The Seoul Southern District Court approved the pre-indictment asset freeze, according to legal officials briefed on the case. The move prevents Bang from disposing of the frozen HYBE shares while prosecutors determine whether they represent illicit gains. If wrongdoing is confirmed, the government may seize assets equal in value to those profits. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office filed the request following a recommendation from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s financial crimes unit, which has been probing the case for several months. The allegations stretch back to 2019, when HYBE — then still known as Big Hit Entertainment — was preparing for what would become one of Korea’s most closely watched IPOs. Investigators say Bang told existing HYBE investors and private equity partners that he had no plans to pursue a public listing, shaping the terms of share transactions at the time. Authorities now allege that, contrary to those assurances, Bang had already entered into a confidential agreement that would allow him to sell part of his stake once the company went public. When HYBE’s valuation soared after its 2020 IPO, police believe Bang realized approximately 190 billion won in gains tied to that undisclosed arrangement. Prosecutors argue that this alleged concealment may constitute investor fraud, prompting the freeze to prevent any movement of shares that could later be subject to seizure. HYBE, in a statement, downplayed the significance of the ruling. “The asset freeze is a standard procedure and does not imply guilt,” a spokesperson said. “We are cooperating fully with the investigation and await the authorities’ decision.” Bang has not been indicted, and the court’s action does not determine the merits of the case. But the size of the freeze — among the largest imposed in recent entertainment-industry investigations — underscores both Bang’s outsized role in Korea’s cultural economy and the scale of the alleged financial misconduct. The investigation remains ongoing, with prosecutors expected to decide in the coming months whether to formally charge the HYBE chairman. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-05 09:49:35

South Korea expected to top $700 billion in exports for first time: KITA SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) - South Korea’s exports are on track to surpass $700 billion for the first time this year, with momentum expected to continue into 2026, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said on Friday. KITA forecasts exports will climb 3 percent from last year to $704 billion, while imports are projected to edge down 0.3 percent to $630 billion, producing a $74 billion trade surplus. The report cites strong performances in semiconductors and shipbuilding as the main drivers of the record export tally. Demand for AI-related chips, including high-bandwidth memory, has surged amid tight production capacity, pushing up prices. Ship exports are expected to jump more than 22 percent as deliveries accelerate for high-value vessels such as LNG carriers ordered in 2022 and 2023. Automobile exports have been dented by higher U.S. tariffs, but diversification into other markets — including the European Union — has helped stabilize shipments. Exports to the United States rebounded 13.7 percent in November following expectations of tariff easing in recent U.S.–Korea discussions. By contrast, steel and petroleum product exports continue to lag, weighed down by elevated tariffs and falling oil prices. For 2026, KITA projects exports will rise a further 1 percent to $711 billion, with imports increasing 0.5 percent to $633 billion, maintaining a trade surplus of around $78 billion. Growth is expected to be led by IT products, notably semiconductors and solid-state drives (SSDs). Semiconductor exports are forecast to expand 5.9 percent, supported by AI-driven demand, while SSD shipments could grow 10.4 percent amid rising global storage needs. “AI-related demand will remain a key engine for semiconductor and IT exports next year,” said Jang Sang-sik, head of KITA’s research institute. “But with global trade growth still limited and uncertainties such as the U.S. midterm elections ahead, Korea must diversify export markets to the Middle East and ASEAN and expand exports of K-content and consumer goods.” * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-05 09:49:32

KAIST professor Choi Won-ho receives top plasma engineering prize SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) - The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said on December 5 that Professor Choi Won-ho of the Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering has received the K-T Rie Award at the Asian-European Conference on Plasma Surface Engineering, known as AEPSE 2025, one of the leading global gatherings in applied plasma science and engineering. The K-T Rie Award is presented every two years to an international researcher who has made notable contributions to applied plasma science. The prize was established in 2015 in honor of Kyong Tschong Rie, a Korean-born plasma surface engineering scholar who worked in Germany. The Asian-European Conference on Plasma Surface Engineering (AEPSE) brings together researchers from the Asian Joint Committee for Applied Plasma Surface Engineering (AJC-APSE) and the European Joint Committee for Plasma Ion Surface Engineering (EJC/PISE). Held biennially, it serves as a major forum for sharing advances in plasma surface engineering across Asia and Europe. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said Professor Choi has earned international recognition for research that clarifies the physical and chemical processes occurring at plasma–liquid interfaces. His team developed a plasma imaging diagnostics technique that observes the generation of reactive species and energy transfer in real time, helping to identify the core mechanisms behind interfacial reactions. Choi has also translated basic research into commercial applications. He helped establish Plasmapp, a low-temperature plasma technology company now listed on KOSDAQ. The company develops plasma sterilizers and bio-plasma products. In the space sector, he and his students created Cosmo Bee, a startup focused on plasma-based electric propulsion. Its work contributed to a cube satellite equipped with a plasma Hall thruster that flew on the fourth launch of the Nuri rocket. Choi has additionally spent a decade on the science and technology advisory committee of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project in Cadarache, France. He has also served on editorial boards and organizing committees of several international journals and conferences in the field. "It is an honor to receive the K-T Rie Award, which signifies renewed recognition of Korea's competitiveness in plasma research," Choi said. He added that KAIST's environment for interdisciplinary work has supported his progress and that he plans to continue expanding plasma science and its applications. 2025-12-05 09:36:20

K-wave, riding past China's "Big Ban" China’s internet, fortified by its “Great Firewall,” blocks the platforms through which much of the world consumes culture — YouTube, Netflix, Facebook, Instagram. Yet Korean dramas, music, and entertainment continue to find audiences there, slipping through the cracks via VPNs, unofficial downloads, and fan-run networks. This quiet persistence offers a window into China’s cultural ecosystem, and into the limits of state control. Korean pop culture first surged in China in the early 2000s with dramas like "What Is Love" and "Jewel in the Palace." The last Korean drama to be officially imported was "My Love From the Star" in 2013–14. Since then, political tensions, ideological anxieties, and industrial considerations have sharply narrowed the pipeline. Chinese authorities have long viewed Korean content as a challenge to the nation’s values, wary that its themes — individualism, personal freedom, the primacy of romance — might stir impulses at odds with collectivist and family-centered ideals. Cultural security also looms large: foreign entertainment is seen as a possible catalyst for political awakening among young people. And at its peak, the Korean Wave grew so dominant that it threatened the ambitions of China’s own cultural industry, which seeks to knit its immense domestic market into a unified cultural sphere. These concerns hardened into practice around the time of the THAAD dispute, when an unofficial but far-reaching set of restrictions took hold. He Tianxiang, a professor at City University of Hong Kong, calls this era the “Big Ban.” Beijing never declared a formal prohibition, but Korean dramas and TV formats were suddenly delayed, sidelined, or quietly scrubbed from programming slates. Casting decisions shifted. Public events evaporated. And yet the audience never went away. Instead, it rerouted. British researcher Polly White describes this phenomenon as “shadow circulation” — a parallel distribution system created not by corporations but by fans. What China blocked, its young people reconstructed: subtitling communities, file-sharing rings, encrypted chat groups, and stealth fan clubs. Offline, the appetite was just as visible. Pop-up stores selling Korean idol merchandise drew long lines in major cities. Fan meetings sold out instantly. The more official access contracted, the more sophisticated these informal networks became. In effect, China’s youth built a transnational cultural infrastructure of their own. Of course, unauthorized downloads and piracy can’t be defended. But they cannot be separated from the structural conditions that produced them. When entire channels are sealed off, audiences find unregulated ones. For the Korean industry, the costs have been substantial: losing what was once its largest overseas market reshaped revenue streams and creative strategies. Still, the endurance of this cultural flow matters. Even when diplomacy froze and formal exchanges collapsed, fans maintained contact, translating, sharing, and circulating content that policymakers sought to contain. Culture, stubborn as water, found a way around the barriers. The task now is to bring this circulation out of the shadows. Reopening official distribution routes would reduce economic losses, tamp down illicit markets, and allow both countries to rebuild cultural ties on more stable ground. The informal bridges that young people have maintained — fragile, improvised, often invisible — may yet become the basis for a renewed relationship. Culture has always moved more freely than politics. In China, despite the firewalls and silences, it still does. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-05 09:24:22

Samsung Heavy signs deals in US to boost role for MASGA SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) - Samsung Heavy Industries is deepening its shipbuilding cooperation with the United States, targeting next-generation naval support ships and liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels as part of an expanded push into the U.S. market. At the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans this week, Samsung signed a three-way business cooperation agreement with U.S. shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO and South Korean engineering firm DSEC. The agreement covers collaboration in ship design, equipment supply, and workforce development, and includes plans to jointly bid for the U.S. Navy’s next-generation support ship program. The new support vessels are intended to boost the Navy’s rapid mobility and enhance its ability to deliver fuel, ammunition and supplies at sea. San Diego–based NASSCO, a major U.S. naval and commercial shipbuilder, operates five shipyards across four states. DSEC has worked with NASSCO for two decades, a longstanding partnership that Samsung says will help strengthen synergy among the three companies. Samsung also signed a memorandum of understanding with Conrad Shipyard to jointly construct LNG bunkering vessels. Conrad, which runs five yards in Louisiana and Texas, builds and repairs a wide range of vessels, including barges and tugboats. The tie-up aims to accelerate Samsung’s entry into the U.S. LNG transport and bunkering market. “Our 50 years of shipbuilding expertise will be amplified through Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation, accelerating technology exchange and workforce development to bolster the competitiveness of U.S. shipbuilding,” Samsung Heavy Industries said in a statement. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-05 09:13:59

Seoul Metro increases subway trains as heavy snow disrupts commuters SEOUL, December 5 (AJP) - More subway trains were put into service during the morning rush hour in Seoul on Friday to prevent delays and disruptions caused by heavy snowfall the previous night. Seoul Metro said, "To minimize inconvenience due to snow, we increased the number of trains between 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m." The capital and other metropolitan areas saw their first snow of the winter the previous day, with more than 5 centimeters falling in just a few hours, paralyzing traffic and causing numerous accidents. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-05 09:01:43

South Korea takes steps to safeguard rare earths, critical energy resources SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) - South Korea has launched a national council to stabilize supplies of rare earth elements and expand strategic reserves, amid heightened global supply chain volatility. The council, chaired by Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jeong-gwan, convened for the first time on Friday with vice-ministers from related ministries to review a comprehensive rare earth supply chain strategy. The body will oversee the government's resource security policies, supported by an expert advisory group tasked with providing technical guidance on key commodities such as critical minerals, natural gas, and oil. According to the energy ministry, the council laid out three core initiatives to strengthen resource security: operating an early warning system for potential disruptions, establishing a public–private crisis response mechanism, and ensuring stable procurement of essential resources. “With intensifying U.S.–China competition over rare earths and rising demand for critical minerals driven by electric vehicles and batteries, we will strengthen national resource security in a systematic manner through the newly launched council,” Minister Kim said. Using an integrated information platform, the government will centralize supply chain data to improve early detection capabilities. Major companies will be designated as key institutions required to report any disruptions or unusual price movements. So far, authorities have named 18 core supply institutions and 20 key demand institutions across sectors including critical minerals, energy, and uranium, the ministry said. To mitigate external shocks, Seoul will expand reserves of critical minerals and crude oil and ease import restrictions on recycled materials while supporting investments in recycling technologies. As part of efforts to safeguard advanced industries such as automotive, semiconductors, and batteries, the government will diversify rare earth import sources and boost domestic production. The existing rare earth task force will be expanded to monitor market conditions and coordinate emergency response, trade negotiations, overseas resource development, and R&D. South Korea will also increase crude oil stockpiles and adjust the composition of reserves to reflect changes in domestic demand. Safety and protective systems at reserve facilities will also be upgraded. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-05 08:56:09

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