Asian stocks fall on oil surge; Korea slides as "wartime" response fails to convince SEOUL, March 26 (AJP) — Asian equities fell across the board Thursday as oil prices hovered near the $100-per-barrel threshold and geopolitical tensions deepened, with Seoul markets brushing off the government’s so-called “wartime” response. Despite tentative talk of an endgame to the Middle East conflict, markets showed little conviction. Risk aversion held firm across the region. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3 percent to 53,603.7, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1.1 percent to 3,889.1, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 2.1 percent to 24,804.8 and Taiwan’s TAIEX edged down 0.3 percent to 33,337.6. But the heaviest selling pressure landed in Seoul — a clear vote of no confidence in the government’s emergency package. The benchmark KOSPI plunged 3.2 percent to close at 5,460.5, after swinging between an intraday high of 5,598.4 and a low of 5,448.1, reflecting a familiar pattern of institutional and foreign selling met by retail dip-buying. Foreign investors dumped 3.09 trillion won ($2.10 billion), with institutions offloading an additional 339 billion won. Retail investors stepped in as the sole net buyers, purchasing 3.05 trillion won. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ fell 2.0 percent to 1,136.64, with foreigners selling 301.6 billion won and institutions shedding 134.1 billion won, while retail investors bought 484.9 billion won. Heavyweight tech names led the decline. Samsung Electronics dropped 4.7 percent to 180,100 won and SK hynix slid 6.2 percent to 933,000 won, as concerns mount over a slowdown in AI-driven investment. Hyundai Motor fell 2.2 percent and LG Energy Solution lost 2.4 percent. The government said it had deployed “all possible policy means and mix,” ranging from deeper fuel tax cuts to supplementary budgeting and bond market stabilization measures. Markets, however, were unconvinced — reading the package less as decisive intervention than as a sign policymakers are running short on options beyond short-term fixes. That skepticism was most visible in the bond market. The buyback offered only a modest lift to short-dated debt while triggering a selloff at the long end, effectively flipping the policy signal on its head. The two-year government bond yield fell 2.2 basis points to 3.489 percent, with the three-year largely unchanged at 3.552 percent. Further out the curve, yields surged: the 20-year rose 3.9 basis points to 3.880 percent and the 30-year climbed 4.6 basis points to 3.762 percent — a steepening move that signals investors are demanding higher long-term risk premiums despite near-term liquidity support. In effect, the market is pricing in persistent inflation and supply-side risks tied to the oil shock, even as authorities attempt to contain immediate volatility. The Korean won weakened to 1,507 per dollar, reinforcing the broader risk-off mood. 2026-03-26 18:14:36

BTS comeback detonates across screens, streets and systems within a week SEOUL, March 26 (AJP) — It has been barely a week since BTS dropped its first full-member studio album in six years and staged a comeback performance in downtown Seoul livestreamed to nearly 20 million viewers on Netflix — and the aftershock is already everywhere. The group has not paused for breath. Fans across the world are flooding platforms with dance challenges to the title track “SWIM,” its hypnotic hook now echoing from smartphones to city streets. What would normally take weeks to build has unfolded in days. Within that span, BTS cycled through a tightly orchestrated global rollout — a fan event in New York, real-time engagement on YouTube and a late-night television appearance — compressing what used to be a promotional arc into a continuous surge. Following their appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, clips spread at viral velocity. The interview alone drew a combined 750,000 views within two hours, while performance videos surpassed 320,000 views and 90,000 likes in the same narrow window. The March 21 performance at Gwanghwamun Square entered Netflix’s weekly Top 10 in 80 countries, ranking No. 1 in 24, while generating 2.62 billion impressions across social media — a scale that underscores not just reach, but saturation. The numbers reveal something more structural beneath the frenzy. On music platforms, the album Arirang surpassed 4.06 million in sales within days. Streaming patterns show the lead track “SWIM” topping 68 million plays, while multiple B-sides followed closely, each pulling between roughly 29 million and 38 million streams — a distribution that suggests engagement is spreading across the album rather than concentrating on a single hit. Video platforms show a parallel dynamic. The official “SWIM” music video crossed 68 million views within six days, while a performance clip uploaded midweek added another 7 million in rapid succession. Together, the data points to a dual-track ecosystem — one driven by passive viewing, the other by active participation. That shift is already visible on the ground. “The choreography is everywhere right now. As soon as the performance video dropped, people started copying it,” said Kang Na-eun, a 29-year-old elementary school teacher in Seoul’s Mapo district. “I’ve never seen it spread this fast.” “Usually it takes time for something like this to circulate, but this time it feels instant. It’s not just something you watch — it’s something you feel pulled into,” she added. Even machines have joined the wave. AI-generated dance clips — from animated dogs to stylized avatars — are circulating alongside fan covers, some drawing over 1.5 million views within days. What began as imitation has quickly morphed into reinterpretation, with algorithms now reproducing and remixing choreography at a speed comparable to human fandom. The boundary between audience and creator is dissolving in real time. Geographically, the comeback has expanded just as rapidly. Less than 24 hours after the Gwanghwamun performance, BTS was airborne to the United States — moving from a public square in Seoul to a Spotify-hosted event in New York, and then to American late-night television. The sequence reads less like a tour and more like a synchronized relay across platforms and continents. Taken together, the rollout illustrates how K-pop releases are no longer singular events but engineered continuums — designed to sustain momentum across formats, time zones and modes of engagement. But the scale has also invited scrutiny. “From the moment the album took the name ‘Arirang,’ it carried expectations beyond music,” said critic Jang Jun-hwan. “Attention was focused as much on what it represents as on what it sounds like.” He added that while the production is expansive, cohesion is less certain. “The album is highly refined, but many tracks feel individually polished rather than fully integrated.” Music critic Kim Do-heon framed the shift more bluntly. “What this comeback shows is that the phenomenon surrounding the music — performance, scale, context — is becoming as important as the music itself,” he said. That phenomenon has spilled into the physical city. In central Seoul, the Gwanghwamun performance triggered traffic controls, safety installations and large-scale crowd management — temporarily reshaping how the capital functions. “When a cultural event begins to alter the operation of a city, it raises questions about public space itself,” Kim noted. In the span of a single week, BTS’s comeback has moved across screens, systems and streets — unfolding not as a moment, but as a rolling event that continues to expand even after the stage lights dim. 2026-03-26 18:14:28

SK Chemicals, J2H Biotech sign MOU on drug development; Dongkook launches skincare brand SK Chemicals, J2H Biotech sign MOU to expand joint new-drug development SK Chemicals said March 26 it signed a memorandum of understanding with J2H Biotech to strengthen cooperation on joint development of new drugs. The agreement is aimed at exploring collaboration on J2H pipelines for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF. J2H will share results from ongoing research with SK Chemicals, and the two companies plan to discuss development strategy and specific cooperation options. Founded in 2014, J2H is a biotech company developing drug candidates focused on metabolic diseases and cancer. Its MASH candidate, J2H-1702, has completed a Phase 2a trial and confirmed treatment effects, and the company is preparing to enter a global Phase 2b trial to further verify efficacy in a broader patient group. Its IPF candidate is in preclinical research. SK Chemicals said it will review the candidates’ development potential and commercial viability based on available data and then define whether to proceed with joint development and the scope of cooperation. Dongkook Pharmaceutical launches “LUONCELL” derma-science cosmetics brand Dongkook Pharmaceutical said March 26 it launched LUONCELL, a functional cosmetics brand whose name combines “LUX,” “ON” and “CELL.” The company said the products apply two proprietary complexes: “Happy Cell Complex” and “TECA Bioheal Complex.” Happy Cell Complex combines alpine skullcap, GABA and Spanish licorice root extract, which the company said helps protect irritated skin and support recovery of skin condition. TECA Bioheal Complex combines six bio ingredients, including TECA extracted from centella asiatica and PDRN, the company said. Among five LUONCELL products, the “High Lift Gel Mask,” a silicone gel mask, is billed as the first in South Korea to feature 1,300 vacuum suction plates. The company said the patented plates create vacuum tunnels to help active ingredients absorb more effectively and can also help reduce swelling. Osstem Implant says Ukrainian health delegation visited Seoul headquarters Osstem Implant said March 26 that Ukrainian government health officials, representatives of local medical equipment companies and international development and relief organizations visited its Twin Tower headquarters in Seoul’s Gangseo district on March 20. The delegation, led by Yevhen Honchar, deputy minister of health of Ukraine, toured key facilities including Osstem Implant’s central research institute and product showroom, the company said. Ukraine is pursuing its “Health Strategy 2030,” aimed at building a system that guarantees all citizens access to needed medical services, according to the company. The delegation also held cooperation talks earlier that day at a Korea-Ukraine business roundtable hosted by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. Osstem Implant said it sees potential cooperation in areas including dental prosthetics and facial trauma reconstruction to help restore quality of life for war veterans, as well as in establishing dental implant policy. GC Biopharma’s varicella vaccine wins marketing approval in Guatemala GC Biopharma said March 26 that its varicella vaccine, Varicella Joo, received marketing approval from Guatemala’s Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance. The company said it is the first time the vaccine has been approved in a Latin American country. It plans to accelerate expansion into individual countries in the region while continuing supply through the Pan American Health Organization, or PAHO. Varicella Joo is a live vaccine using GC Biopharma’s in-house MAV/06 strain. The company said it is the world’s first varicella vaccine made without any antibiotics in the manufacturing process, eliminating the risk of adverse reactions from residual antibiotics such as kanamycin, neomycin and erythromycin and maximizing product safety. In long-term follow-up clinical results, the neutralizing antibody rate after vaccination was 99% to 100%, and antibody persistence was shown to be comparable to leading global products, the company said. The company also said that after being listed in a World Health Organization position paper, the vaccine has received international evaluation comparable to global vaccines based on the Oka strain, and cross-prescribing has become possible. It said it plans to broaden the vaccine’s use in global markets. Kwangdong Pharmaceutical holds annual shareholders meeting Kwangdong Pharmaceutical said March 26 it held its 53rd annual shareholders meeting at Kwangdong Gwacheon Tower in Gwacheon, south of Seoul. Results disclosed at the meeting showed the company posted consolidated revenue of 1.6595 trillion won last year, maintaining a growth trend. On a separate basis, revenue totaled 1.0110 trillion won, marking the first time the company entered the “1 trillion won club” on a standalone basis. Separate operating profit was about 30.6 billion won, a slight improvement in profitability. Shareholders approved all agenda items as proposed, including approval of the 53rd financial statements and consolidated financial statements, partial amendments to the articles of incorporation, appointment of inside director Park Sang-young, appointment of outside director Lee Jae-won as an audit committee member, and approval of the cap on directors’ compensation. The company said the articles amendments codified an independent director system and advanced plans to establish new committees as part of ESG management to strengthen transparent governance.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-26 18:06:00

Nearly 800 cadets commissioned in Iksan Iksan, March 26 (AJP) - About 788 cadets were commissioned as non-commissioned officers (NCOs) at a ceremony at a military academy in Iksan, North Jeolla Province on Thursday, after completing about 12 weeks of training. According to the army, it was the largest class in the past five years. Of the 788 newly commissioned NCOs, 579 were selected through a civilian recruitment program including 232 women, while 209 were former enlisted soldiers. The Army attributed the increase to improved service conditions along with stronger efforts to recruit more cadets. They will undergo training tailored to their duties and responsibilities before being assigned to military units across the country including front-line positions. 2026-03-26 17:59:16

Hot Stock: KAI defies market rout as KF-21 rollout fuels defense rally SEOUL, March 26 (AJP) -Shares of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) bucked a broad market selloff Thursday, riding a surge of investor optimism tied to the rollout of South Korea’s first mass-produced KF-21 fighter jet and rising expectations for arms demand amid expanding Middle East conflicts. While the wider market reeled, KAI climbed. The stock extended its recent rally, gaining for a second straight session and closing at 188,000 won, up 1.6 percent on the day — a stark contrast to the KOSPI’s 3 percent slide. The divergence underscores how defense names are increasingly trading as geopolitical proxies rather than cyclical industrial plays. At the center of the momentum is the KF-21 Boramae — South Korea’s first indigenous fighter jet and a flagship outcome of the KF-X (Korea Fighter eXperimental) program led by KAI in collaboration with the Air Force and the Agency for Defense Development. The program, backed by 7.48 trillion won ($5 billion) in investment and involving some 64,500 researchers and engineers, is now transitioning from development to mass production, with 120 aircraft scheduled for deployment by 2032 — a shift that marks the beginning of a long-cycle revenue stream. But the real upside lies beyond Korea. The KF-21 is gaining traction across a widening arc of potential buyers. Indonesia has already joined as a development partner, while the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Poland have all expressed interest, according to government and industry sources. The UAE, in particular, has emerged as a pivotal node. A $15 billion comprehensive defense cooperation framework agreed last November includes discussions on procurement, joint production and technology transfer — pointing to a deeper strategic alignment rather than a one-off sale. Saudi Arabia is also weighing the KF-21 as part of its broader air force modernization push. South Korea’s entry into the club of advanced fighter jet producers — now the eighth globally to field a 4.5-generation or higher supersonic fighter, alongside the United States, China, Russia, Japan, France, Sweden and a European consortium — is beginning to translate into market value. Analysts see the inflection point approaching. “The KF-21 will become a core pillar of KAI’s earnings as mass production ramps up,” said Chae Un-saem of Hana Securities. “From here, the duration of the upcycle will increasingly depend on export execution.” Brokerages are also turning more constructive on the broader defense sector, viewing the current geopolitical environment as a structural tailwind rather than a temporary spike. Yuanta Securities maintained its “overweight” call, noting that “the KF-21 is not just a development milestone — it anchors a long-duration growth story spanning production, exports and next-generation capabilities such as manned-unmanned teaming.” 2026-03-26 17:58:47

North Korea, Belarus seal closer axis in Pyongyang summit SEOUL, March 26 (AJP) -North Korea has drawn Belarus further into its orbit, formalizing ties along a likeminded axis of sanctioned states aligned with Russia. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko received an enthusiastic welcome from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his first two-day visit to Pyongyang, according to state media from both countries, as the two leaders moved to upgrade relations into what they called a “new stage.” The two strongmen — both long isolated from the West — are bound by their support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and shared pariah status under international sanctions and human rights scrutiny. “The friendly relations between our states, born during the era of the Soviet Union, have never been interrupted,” Lukashenko said, according to Belarusian state news agency Belta. “Today, thanks to comprehensive and steady development, we are entering a fundamentally new phase.” He added that “independent countries must cooperate more closely” to safeguard sovereignty — language widely seen as a rebuke to Western pressure. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Lukashenko arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday aboard a special aircraft and paid tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, laying bouquets for North Korea’s former leaders, including one on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin — underscoring the triangular alignment among Pyongyang, Minsk and Moscow. The visit follows growing engagement between the two countries, with Lukashenko turning more openly toward North Korea after Pyongyang dispatched troops to support Russia Kim and Lukashenko first met in September in Beijing on the sidelines of a military parade, where the North Korean leader extended an invitation for the visit. In a letter earlier this month, Kim said he was “willing to expand and develop” bilateral ties “to a new, higher stage in line with the demands of the new era,” KCNA said. Lukashenko was accompanied by a senior delegation including Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Shuleiko and ministers overseeing foreign affairs, health, education and industry, signaling broad-based cooperation. North Korean Premier Kim Tok-hun and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jong-gyu were among officials who greeted him at the airport. The two sides signed a friendship and cooperation treaty, marking what they described as a “fundamental” shift in relations — a move that cements an emerging axis among U.S.-sanctioned states as geopolitical divisions deepen. 2026-03-26 17:46:16

NH NongHyup Financial to Launch $1 Billion Shared Growth Fund for Strategic Industries NH NongHyup Financial Group said on the 26th it will create the "NH Korea Shared Growth Fund" (tentative name) totaling 1 trillion won. The fund is intended to support the successful rollout of the government’s flagship growth policy, the "National Growth Fund," and to foster advanced strategic industries. It will be formed in two rounds within the year, with all 1 trillion won to be contributed by NongHyup affiliates. Investments will focus on national advanced strategic industries such as artificial intelligence and digital technology. In infrastructure investment and lending, the group plans equity investments in projects building out strategic-industry infrastructure and to provide funding through the project financing (PF) stage. The aim is to help national strategic infrastructure projects grow on a stable footing. PF is a financing method that raises funds based on expected future cash flow and project viability. Direct investments will concentrate on government initiatives to develop advanced strategic industries, including efforts described as fostering a "K-Nvidia." NongHyup Financial also said it will support the selection of sub-fund managers chosen under financial regulators’ plans for policy funds, and it expects to participate as a major investor in individual funds to be created. The group plans to form a first fund of 500 billion won as early as next month and deploy it in infrastructure investment and lending. NH-Amundi Asset Management will serve as the general partner. Chairman Lee Chan-woo said the fund will serve as a "reliable pillar" for nurturing advanced strategic industries and revitalizing regional economies. He said all NongHyup Financial affiliates will unite to take the social responsibility of finance and proactively cooperate with national growth policies through what he called productive finance. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-03-26 17:21:00

South Korea Supreme Court overturns 2021 ruling dismissing forced labor claims SEOUL, March 26 (AJP) - South Korea’s Supreme Court belatedly confirmed Thursday that it has dismissed and ordered a retrial of a lower court decision that rejected a collective damages suit against Japanese companies filed by victims of wartime forced labor during World War Two. The Supreme Court said that on Feb. 12 that it upheld an appellate court decision overturning the Seoul Central District Court’s dismissal of the case. The proceedings date back to 2015 when 85 alleged victims and their bereaved families took the action against 16 Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nippon Steel, Nissan Chemical and Hokkaido Colliery & Steamship Co., seeking unpaid wages and compensation for damages. While exact figures are unavailable, it is estimated that about 1.5 million Koreans, then subjects of Japan, were mobilized to Japan, Manchuria, and other areas, and about 2 million were forcibly mobilized within the Korean Peninsula. The Seoul Central District Court’s initial dismissal of the case in June 2021 cited the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Agreement when the two countries normalized their relations, saying it effectively ended individual claims. This decision ran counter to a Supreme Court October 2018 ruling which upheld an earlier decision ordering Nippon Steel to compensate Korean victims of forced labor. The Seoul High Court overturned the lower court ruling on appeal in February 2024, saying the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling recognized Japanese companies’ liability. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Hokkaido Colliery & Steamship Co. appealed, but the Supreme Court dismissed both, finding no error in the lower court’s judgment, including on legal principles concerning international jurisdiction, treaties, or the scope and effect of the Claims Agreement. With the latest ruling by the Supreme Court, the case is to be retried at the Seoul Central District Court. Hokkaido Colliery & Steamship Co. argued it had been discharged from liability under Japan’s former Corporate Reorganization Law and that any lawsuit based on discharged claims was inadmissible, but the Supreme Court rejected the argument, noting that under South Korea’s former Corporate Reorganization Act — which follows the principle of territoriality — such discharge does not extend to the plaintiffs’ claims. Many of those conscripted endured brutal working conditions, with numerous deaths resulting from accidents or suicide. In 1942, for instance, 136 Koreans were killed in a mass drowning incident at the Chosei coal mine in Yamaguchi Prefecture. After liberation, the South Korean government showed limited interest in compensating individual victims, but rather focused on national-level compensation. The 1965 Korea-Japan Basic Treaty and its supplementary Agreement on Claims and Economic Cooperation stipulated that Japan would provide $500 million — $300 million in grants and $200 million in loans — and that “the problems concerning property, rights and interests of the two countries and their nationals have been settled completely and finally.” 2026-03-26 17:18:00

Annual sports-themed show awes visitors with cutting-edge technologies SEOUL, March 26 (AJP) - The annual sports-themed trade show is taking place at COEX in southern Seoul this week. The Seoul International Sports & Leisure Industry Show (SPOEX), South Korea's largest and one of Asia's biggest exhibitions where sports, technology, and industry converge, kicked off on Thursday and runs until this weekend. This year's event brought together around 300 domestic and international companies, offering a comprehensive platform that goes beyond a simple exhibition. Visitors can explore cutting-edge technologies and industry trends while building networks for new business opportunities. A wide range of products including health and fitness equipment, sports goods, healthcare technologies, and water sports gear, are on display. Advanced services integrating cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI)-based exercise programs and digital fitness measurement solutions are also showcased. At the main stage of the exhibition hall, visitors can enjoy a variety of fun programs including bodybuilding competitions, fitness demonstrations, yoga and Pilates classes, as well as K-pop and hip-hop dance performances. 2026-03-26 17:12:59

BTS may be offstage, but Seoul still hums SWIM SEOUL, March 26 (AJP) -The concert is over, but Seoul has yet to come down from the high of BTS. At the courtyard of MMCA Seoul, the “Love Quarter” still pulses with the afterglow of the group’s comeback, its energy spreading in gentle waves. Inside the blue “BTS Sound Cube,” BTS’ new song “SWIM” plays as ribbons flutter in the wind like water in motion. Stepping into the installation, visitors are invited to feel the music not just through sound, but through space and movement. The installation is part of the “BTS THE CITY ARIRANG SEOUL” stamp rally, an interactive program that connects BTS-linked sites across the city and encourages fans to complete missions along the way. While the comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square ended on March 21, the “BTS Sound Cube” will stay open through April 19, allowing the city to hold on a little longer. 2026-03-26 17:00:46