Korea Exchange to extend stock trading hours to 12 starting in June SEOUL, January 13 (AJP) - The Korea Exchange plans to introduce premarket and after-hours trading starting in June, extending daily stock trading to 12 hours to keep pace with global moves toward near–round-the-clock markets. The exchange currently operates from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Beginning in June, it aims to double that window. Exchange officials said the move is intended to broaden investor access in line with international standards, referring to long-term ambitions for the benchmark index. Major overseas exchanges are moving in a similar direction. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq are pursuing 24-hour trading in the second half of this year, while regulators in the U.K. and Hong Kong are reviewing extended hours. Competitive pressure has also intensified at home following the rapid growth of NextTrade, an alternative trading system launched in March last year. NextTrade operates a premarket session from 8 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. and an after-hours market from 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Trading on alternative platforms accounted for about 12 percent of total market volume in the previous session, the exchange said. To differentiate itself, the Korea Exchange is considering opening a premarket as early as 7 a.m. A trading day running from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. would mirror NextTrade’s schedule but could put the exchange at a disadvantage on transaction fees. If the earlier opening is adopted, South Korea’s equity market could operate from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m The exchange said it plans to solicit feedback from member firms as early as this week before finalizing the schedule. Beyond equities, the exchange plans to extend derivatives trading hours to 24 hours a day by the end of 2027, from the current 19 hours, which would make it the first market in Asia to offer round-the-clock derivatives trading. It also plans to shorten the stock settlement cycle to T+1 from T+2, following trends in advanced markets. The United States and Canada completed the shift to T+1 in May 2024, and the U.K. and Europe are expected to follow around October 2027. 2026-01-13 09:00:43

South Korea to chair global renewable energy agency SEOUL, January 13 (AJP) - South Korea has been selected to chair the next General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency, a role that will place Seoul at the center of global discussions on the expansion of clean energy. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that South Korea was designated as chair at IRENA’s 16th Assembly, held Jan. 11–12 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. The chairmanship runs for one year. Founded in 2011, IRENA promotes the development and broader adoption of renewable energy worldwide. The organization has 171 members, including the European Union. Its annual Assembly is the agency’s highest decision-making body. South Korea has served on IRENA’s council since the organization’s early years, but this marks the first time the country has been appointed to lead the Assembly. As chair in 2027, South Korea will preside over Assembly meetings, help shape the agenda and work to foster cooperation among member states to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy. The government said it expects the role to bolster international coordination around its policy priorities, including a renewables-led energy transition and broader efforts toward decarbonization and green growth. Lee Won-ju, director general for energy transition policy at the climate ministry, said the appointment reflects international confidence in South Korea’s clean-energy strategy. “By successfully hosting the next Assembly, we will enhance South Korea’s standing in global clean-energy governance and produce tangible outcomes in international cooperation, including securing overseas projects,” he said. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2026-01-13 08:41:50

OPINION: Seoul needs a balance act between China and Japan with a practical approach President Lee Jae Myung is heading to Japan Tuesday for a two-day summit, a week after a state visit to China. His rapid back-and-forth diplomacy reflects intensifying friction between China and Japan, which has escalated since November after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested possible armed intervention “in a Taiwan contingency.” As the dispute grows, both countries are courting Seoul. During Lee’s China trip, Beijing rolled out a high-profile welcome, and state media repeatedly highlighted South Korea-China cooperation. Japan, too, has appeared eager to avoid provoking Seoul. Ahead of Lee’s China visit, the Nikkei published a column urging Takaichi not to stir tensions with South Korea over Dokdo. Both sides have also leaned on history and symbolism. China emphasized the shared anti-Japanese struggle in the colonial era. Japan chose Nara Prefecture — Takaichi’s home region and a historic hub of exchanges between Baekje and Japan — as the venue for a summit, appealing to sentiment as well as strategy. The key for South Korea, however, is strict pragmatism. China and Japan can shift quickly, and both hold leverage that could hit South Korean industry. China has already used rare earths — a card that helped it withstand U.S. tariff pressure — and Japan, a leader in materials and components, has its own tools, including photoresist, a key semiconductor material. South Korea has previously faced difficulties when such pressure was applied. China’s export controls on dual-use items are aimed at Japan, but South Korea could be caught in the fallout because of tightly linked supply chains: Chinese raw materials → Japanese processed materials → South Korean finished products. During Lee’s visit, China announced dual-use export controls targeting Japan and signaled possible sanctions even on third countries involved. Japan also poses risks. The Takaichi government’s rightward shift and security buildup could raise tensions in Northeast Asia and increase the likelihood that Tokyo will press South Korea for “security participation.” If Seoul loses its footing amid the courtship, it risks becoming not a mediator in China-Japan tensions but a proxy battleground bearing the costs of their rivalry — on top of already being squeezed by U.S.-China competition. The international order under the second Trump administration is driven less by ideology than by national interest and practical gain. On Tuesday as Lee heads to Japan, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit China for the first time in eight years. The two countries, which clashed in recent years over issues including human rights and Huawei, are now exploring cooperation in response to the Trump administration’s “America First” approach. South Korea’s interests in managing China and Japan are clear. With China, it should restore an economic partnership while continuing “de-risking” to reduce supply-chain dependence. With Japan, it should strengthen security and supply-chain coordination while holding firm principles on historical and territorial issues. That requires focusing on practical cooperation in future industries such as semiconductors, AI and energy — taking neighbors’ outstretched hands while coolly watching where their hidden blades may point. *The author is the deputy head of international economy team at Aju Business Daily 2026-01-13 07:56:10

South Korea's Lee to hold summit with Japan's Takaichi in Nara SEOUL, January 13 (AJP) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will make a one-night, two-day visit to Japan starting Tuesday for summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, as Seoul seeks to advance pragmatic, national interest-focused diplomacy amid escalating U.S.-China tensions. The presidential office said Lee will depart from Seoul Air Base for Japan’s Nara Prefecture, Takaichi’s hometown, at her invitation. The visit comes days after Lee’s state visit to China and underscores Seoul’s effort to balance ties with both Tokyo and Beijing. During the trip, Lee and Takaichi will hold a one-on-one meeting, followed by expanded talks, a joint press statement, a private discussion and a working dinner. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said the two leaders are scheduled to communicate “a total of five times” during the short visit, holding frank and substantive discussions. This will mark the second South Korea–Japan summit since Lee took office, following their first meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ meeting in Gyeongju last October. The reciprocal visits come just over three months after Takaichi took office, raising expectations that “shuttle diplomacy” between the two countries could become more regularized. On Wednesday morning, the two leaders will visit Horyuji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, where they are expected to discuss ways to revitalize regional economies and strengthen the role of local governments. Lee will also meet ethnic Koreans living in the Kansai region, including Osaka, before returning home. The presidential office said the visit aims to deepen trust through shuttle diplomacy, expand practical cooperation, pursue humanitarian cooperation on historical issues and enhance coordination on the Korean Peninsula, as well as regional and global affairs. Wi said the leaders will broadly discuss cooperation in areas closely tied to daily life, including protection of intellectual property, future industries such as artificial intelligence, countering cross-border crimes such as online scams, social challenges and people-to-people exchanges. Humanitarian cooperation on historical issues is also expected to be on the agenda, including efforts related to the Chosei undersea coal mine, where 136 Korean forced laborers died in a 1942 flooding incident. The Lee administration has pursued a “two-track” approach of expanding future-oriented cooperation while continuing to address unresolved wartime history issues stemming from Japan’s 1910–45 colonial rule of Korea. Regional and global security issues, including North Korea, are also likely to be discussed. Lee has welcomed Takaichi’s stated interest in engaging Pyongyang over the long-standing abduction issue and has indicated Seoul’s willingness to help facilitate dialogue between Tokyo and North Korea. Economic issues may also surface, including South Korea’s restrictions on seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures imposed after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. In a recent interview with Japan’s NHK, Lee said easing the restrictions would take time until public concerns are addressed but noted that the issue remains an important diplomatic agenda item as Seoul seeks Tokyo’s support for its bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. In the interview, Lee stressed that South Korea’s relations with Japan are “as important as relations with China,” adding that tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over Taiwan are not matters Seoul intends to “engage in or intervene in.” 2026-01-13 07:35:26

Icy rush-hour disruption inevitable as Seoul city bus strike begins SEOUL, January 13 (AJP) -Seoul commuters faced inevitable rush-hour disruption amid icy temperatures Tuesday as city bus drivers launched an indefinite strike after last-minute wage talks collapsed overnight. Members of the Seoul City Bus Workers Union began the walkout with the first buses of the day at 4 a.m., after negotiations with the Seoul City Bus Transport Business Association broke down around 1:30 a.m., according to both sides. The talks, mediated by the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission in Yeongdeungpo, stretched more than 10 hours from Monday afternoon but failed to bridge differences over wage structure and the definition of ordinary wages. At the heart of the dispute is how bonuses should be treated under a Supreme Court ruling that broadens the scope of ordinary wages, which directly affects overtime pay and retirement benefits. Management proposed restructuring the pay system by folding bonuses into base pay to contain additional labor costs, offering a total wage increase of 10.3 percent. The union rejected the proposal, arguing that payments tied to recognizing ordinary wages should be excluded from this round of bargaining. Instead, the union is demanding a 3 percent wage increase without altering the current pay system, raising the retirement age to 65 and eliminating what it calls wage discrimination. Employers countered that accepting a 3 percent raise now, followed by a future recalculation of bonuses as ordinary wages, would amount to an effective pay hike of about 20 percent, calling the demand excessive. No further bargaining schedule has been set, though both sides indicated that informal contacts may continue. With all 64 city bus companies participating in the strike, operations across Seoul’s 394 routes — involving 7,382 buses — were halted, raising fears of widespread commuting chaos during one of the coldest weeks of the winter. The Seoul Metropolitan Government activated emergency transportation measures from 4 a.m., deploying alternative transit options to ease congestion. Subway services were expanded during peak commuting hours, with morning and evening rush periods extended from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., while late-night subway operations were pushed back to 2 a.m. the following day. In total, subway services will run an additional 172 times per day. To improve access to subway stations, all 25 district offices in Seoul are operating free shuttle buses. “We will mobilize all available transportation resources to minimize inconvenience to citizens,” said Yeo Jang-kwon, head of Seoul’s transportation bureau. He also urged the bus union to consider public hardship and return to work as soon as possible. 2026-01-13 07:16:58

Sweet, stretchy, but Dubai's chewy cookie craze leaves a sticky mark on prices SEOUL, January 12, 2026 (AJP) — South Korea has a new dessert obsession, and it doesn’t crumble quietly. The Dubai Chewy Cookie, locally nicknamed dujjonku, is selling quite literally like hot cake — except hotter, thicker and far more Instagrammable. What began as a café novelty has now spilled across menus nationwide, with sushi joints and sandwich shops alike slipping the chewy chocolate slab into delivery apps, as if dessert were now a compulsory add-on to every meal. Search interest reflects the sugar rush. Google Trends data show queries for “dujjonku” surging over the past 90 days, with some regions hitting a peak index of 100 in early January — a level usually reserved for election nights or celebrity scandals. For the uninitiated: yes, the dessert traces its name to Dubai. But what Korea is eating today is less a faithful import than a full-scale reinterpretation. The craze took off last September after IVE’s Jang Won-young posted about the dessert on social media. As often happens in Korea’s tightly wired influencer ecosystem, one post was enough. Others followed. Cafés rushed to recreate it. Within weeks, the chewy cookie was no longer exotic — it was everywhere. The dessert borrows from Middle Eastern sweets, combining crisp kadaif pastry, pistachio cream and cocoa powder. But the Korean version leans into exaggeration. Wrapped in a marshmallow-like chew, the cookie favors thickness over delicacy, volume over restraint. If the original “Dubai chocolate” was elegant, the chewy cookie is maximalist. Its appeal is as visual as it is edible. The dramatic cross-section, the audible crack, the slow stretch — all play perfectly to short-form video platforms, where desserts are judged less by taste than by how spectacularly they break apart on camera. “Dessert trends in Korea consistently favor abundance,” said food critic Lee Yong-jae. “Visual overwhelmingness often matters more than balance or subtlety of flavor.” Food columnist Jeong Dong-hyun points to Korea’s unusually flexible food culture. “Unlike Europe, Korea does not cling strongly to the ‘original form’ of food,” he said. “That allows dishes to be endlessly reinterpreted to suit local tastes — and entirely new foods to be created.” The sugar rush is translating into real money. At Paris Baguette’s Louvre flagship near Gwanghwamun, staff say the chewy cookie has climbed rapidly into top-seller territory. “We sell around 4,000 to 5,000 units a day,” said Sandy Lim, a café employee in her 50s, noting that foreign customers account for a larger share on weekends. But sweetness has a price. The Dubai Chewy Cookie relies heavily on imported ingredients, particularly pistachios and specialty pastry components, whose costs fluctuate with global supply conditions. As these ingredients spread across café menus, their price tags are quietly filtering into everyday food costs. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, food and dining-out prices have been rising faster than overall inflation in recent months — a reminder that even viral desserts can leave a macroeconomic aftertaste. In that sense, dujjonku offers a bite-sized lesson in demand-driven inflation: when trends go viral, costs don’t stay contained. At 7,000 to 8,000 won per piece, the chewy cookie now costs more than a burger set — or a modest weekday lunch. Sweet, stretchy, and a little expensive, Korea’s favorite new dessert may be indulgent — but it is also, quietly, inflationary. 2026-01-12 17:54:26

Won edges toward 1,470 on overseas stock craze and strong dollar SEOUL, Jan. 12 (AJP) -South Korea’s won has weakened for eight consecutive sessions to flirt with the 1,470 level, erasing year-end gains made from heavy central bank intervention and stoking concerns for entrenched fragility that can build up inflationary pressures across the economy. The won closed at 1,468.4 against the dollar in Seoul on Monday, down 10.8 won from the previous session. After a volatile day that saw the currency start at 1,461.3 and briefly strengthen to 1,457.0, a late-afternoon surge pushed it to an intraday low of 1,470—the lowest level since late December and share reversal from 1,429.8 on December 29. This latest depreciation is particularly painful for policymakers, as it follows a significant sacrifice of the nation’s foreign exchange reserves. Reserves fell by $2.6 billion in late December, marking the only decline among the world’s top 10 reserve holders that month, according to the Bank of Korea. The drop represents the largest monthly contraction since the peak of the Asian Financial Crisis in December 1997 - $4 billion. The central bank has formally acknowledged that its active market interventions played a decisive role in the erosion of the nation’s foreign exchange buffers. Despite this intervention, the won's performance has lagged behind its regional peers who chose to bolster their reserves during the same period. Driving this latest leg of depreciation is a record-breaking exodus of domestic capital. Korea Securities Depository data shows that individual investors net purchased $1.94 billion in U.S. stocks during the first nine days of the year, the largest volume for that period since records began in 2011. Many retail investors, sensing that the won-dollar rate had been artificially suppressed by government intervention, moved aggressively to convert cash into dollar-denominated assets. Meanwhile, offshore investors exacerbated the pressure by offloading 351 billion won in local equities on Monday. "The sharp drop in the exchange rate late last year, triggered by government liquidity measures and the National Pension Service’s currency hedging strategy, prompted a wave of dip-buying from real-demand investors," Moon Da-woon, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said, noting that this bottom-fishing trend is effectively capping any potential appreciation of the won. External factors are equally punishing for Seoul. The dollar index (DXY) has risen for six straight sessions, hovering near the 99 level as geopolitical tensions drive a flight to safety. This dollar strength has been compounded by a weakening yen, which hit 158.2 per dollar — a yearly low — amid fears of fiscal instability ahead of a potential snap election in Japan. Experts warn that a weak-won environment could become a permanent fixture, threatening to pass through to consumer prices via higher import costs and squeezing corporate margins on raw materials. "Geopolitical risks centered on the U.S. are escalating early this year," Oh Jae-young, a researcher at KB Securities, said, pointing to looming legal rulings on Trump-era tariffs as a potential source of even greater market volatility. The currency's weakness is also tying the hands of the Bank of Korea. With the won under pressure and housing prices remaining elevated in Seoul, the consensus among analysts is that the Monetary Policy Board will leave interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive time this week. "While the fair value for the won is estimated around 1,300 based on the real effective exchange rate, structural supply-demand factors—including the expansion of overseas investment by 'Seohak Ants'—will likely keep the rate in the mid-1,400s for the time being," Yoon Yeo-sam, a researcher at Meritz Securities, said, predicting that high exchange rates will push consumer inflation to 2.3 percent this year, overshooting the central bank's 2.1 percent target. 2026-01-12 17:50:40

As ramyeon turns into a global comfort food, exports boil to record high SEOUL, January 12 (AJP) -Steam rose higher than ever from Korea’s export kitchens last year. Food shipments hit a record, powered by an unstoppable wave of instant noodles that now travel farther than most K-pop tours. Provisional data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows K-Food Plus exports climbing 5.1 percent to $13.62 billion, with instant noodle sales jumping nearly 22 percent to $1.52 billion — the first time they’ve crossed the $1.5 billion line. From supermarket aisles in the U.S. and China to late-night cravings in the Middle East and Europe, ramyeon is having a global moment. Fans cite the addictive pull of “K-spicy” flavors and the soft power of Korean pop culture. The ultimate sign of arrival? Ramyeon has earned a place in the Oxford English Dictionary — proof that what started as a quick meal has become a worldwide language of comfort, heat and slurp. 2026-01-12 17:33:21

Prosecutors seek 15-year prison term for ex-interior minister over martial law involvement SEOUL, January 12 (AJP) - Prosecutors on Monday sought a 15-year prison sentence for former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min over his alleged involvement in disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law debacle in late 2024. During the final hearing of Lee's trial at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, prosecutors led by Cho Eun-suk said Lee, who had a decade-long career as a judge and lawyer at a law firm, "took part" in Yoon's botched Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, despite being fully aware that it was illegal and unconstitutional. Prosecutors added that Lee, who was also responsible for national security and disaster management, failed to stop Yoon and instead assisted him by instructing police and fire agencies to cut off power and water to media outlets. Lee was also charged with perjury for denying his involvement during Yoon's impeachment trial last year. The court is expected to deliver a verdict in Lee's trial in mid-February. 2026-01-12 17:00:21

Strong memory prices, weak won fuel electronics inflation in Korea SEOUL, January 12 (AJP) - Soaring memory chip prices, compounded by a weak won, are pushing up the cost of electronics in South Korea, from laptops and smartphones to AI-driven devices such as robots and autonomous systems. All computing devices rely on memory chips, and the rapid expansion of hyperscale data centers and artificial intelligence has tightened global supply. As chipmakers prioritize high-performance memory for AI servers, device manufacturers and retailers are scrambling to secure components, driving up prices across the electronics market. “Simply put, today is the cheapest day to buy a laptop,” said a vendor at Seoul’s Yongsan electronics shopping mall, a longtime barometer of consumer electronics demand. Woo, a manager at Seoul’s Yongsan electronics shopping mall, said the shortage stems from chipmakers diverting conventional DRAM capacity to high-bandwidth memory used in AI workloads, leaving limited supply for consumer devices. “Demand is surging, but inventories are tight, and buyers are willing to pay a premium to secure components,” he said. “That has effectively doubled prices. This has been going on for the past two to three months, and I expect the market to remain tight at least through April or May.” Despite rising prices, sales have yet to slow meaningfully, he added. “Even with higher costs, people who need PCs right away are still buying,” Woo said. “At our store alone, around 100 custom PC orders were registered over the weekend, and in some cases deliveries are being delayed because supply cannot keep up.” Many consumers, however, are hesitating. Kim Beom-jin, an office worker browsing during his lunch break, said he recently postponed a purchase. “I was looking to buy a laptop, but when I came back, I was shocked by the price,” he said. “Now I’m trying to decide whether this is the right time to buy or if I should wait.” Memory prices have risen sharply since the second half of last year. The average selling price of DDR eight-gigabit DRAM jumped from about $1.3 in March to roughly $8 in November, as major producers — Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron — shifted capacity toward high-bandwidth memory for hyperscale servers and AI accelerators. The increase in contract prices has already filtered through to device makers. PC manufacturers including HP and Dell have raised prices, citing higher component costs. Market researcher TrendForce said the impact is becoming increasingly visible. The firm forecasts that PC DRAM contract prices could rise by as much as 60 percent in the first quarter of 2026, a move expected to translate into 5 to 15 percent increases in retail prices for laptops and smartphones this year. Import costs are adding to the pressure. Statistics Korea data show prices for computer equipment and peripherals rose 15.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 from the previous quarter, while semiconductor components, including memory chips, jumped 28.4 percent from a year earlier. The increase has been amplified by a weak won, as the currency hovered around 1,480 versus the U.S. dollar in December, losing more than 8 percent from 1,362 won in late June. Supply constraints remain tight. TrendForce estimates that PC DRAM prices rose 15 to 20 percent between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, while server DRAM prices surged more than 25 percent amid booming demand from AI data centers. With chipmakers allocating more than forty percent of wafer capacity to high-bandwidth memory, supplies of conventional DRAM for PCs and smartphones have tightened. The impact is increasingly visible at retail. Average prices for gaming laptops equipped with Nvidia’s RTX 4060 have risen 25.5 percent since early 2024, while the cost of a standard 32-gigabyte DDR5 memory kit has jumped 62.5 percent over the same period. Mid-range custom PC builds are now about thirty percent more expensive than two years ago. Smartphone prices are also climbing. Samsung’s next flagship Galaxy S model, expected to launch in 2026, is projected to be priced at around 1.93 million won, about 13 percent higher than the 2024 version, according to industry estimates. Apple’s iPhone Pro models are expected to be priced nearly twenty percent higher than two years earlier. Kim Duk-gi, a professor of semiconductor systems engineering at Sejong University, said the current price surge reflects the inherently cyclical nature of the memory industry, now amplified by an unprecedented wave of AI investment. “Memory is produced on a continuous, twenty-four-hour cycle, unlike logic chips that are designed to meet specific demand,” Kim said. “With the rapid expansion of AI data centers, demand has surged much faster than supply can adjust. That is why we are now in a shortage phase, but structurally, the industry will eventually swing back to oversupply.” Kim added that the tight market is unlikely to ease quickly. “The shortage is still relatively recent, so it will be difficult to resolve in the near term,” he said. “For now, elevated prices are likely to persist.” Counterpoint Research estimates that in 2026, memory components could account for up to 35 percent of a device’s retail price, marking what it describes as the peak of “component-driven inflation” in the global electronics sector. 2026-01-12 16:58:33