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South Koreans attempt catchup in AI race between U.S.–China with early-adoption strategy SEOUL, December 02 (AJP) - South Koreans are the world’s second largest paid users of ChatGPT after Americans and six out of ten young employees daily incorporate AI assistance for their tasks, which explains why AI frontier players Nvidia and OpenAI value Korea as a crucial market despite its humble standing between superpowers U.S. and China. Despite its IT advances and heavy R&D spending ratio against GDP, South Korea has not a single domestically developed model to boast, apart from the memory mounting on U.S.-designed chips. As with earlier innovations, Korea makes an early adopter of AI, but not a breakout innovator. The adoption gap A Bank of Korea survey from May and June found that 63.5 percent of Korean workers had experimented with generative AI, while 51.8 percent deployed it in their professional tasks. In contrast, a Federal Reserve survey reported only about 28 percent of American workers using AI at work in 2024, with the figure climbing to about 55 percent by August 2025. The penetration rate in China is around 36.5 percent. The country counted 515 million generative AI users as of June 2025, with the user base doubling within six months, according to a report from the China Internet Network Information Center. Usage patterns reveal similar intensity in Korea. Workers integrating AI into their jobs dedicate five to seven hours weekly — roughly 12 to 17 percent of a typical work week. Daily engagement shows an even wider gap: 78.5 percent of Korean AI users log at least one hour per day, a rate 2.5 times higher than the 31.8 percent recorded in the United States. Korean use of ChatGPT reached 60 percent three years after the generative AI commercial debut, which is exceptionally fast when considering internet usage in Korea stopped at 7.8 percent three years after introduction in the 1990s. "China and U.S. are well ahead in R&D but in usage and awareness, South Korea is at the top," said Kwon Jae-jin, professor of Industrial Management Engineering at Induk University and CEO of private institution Korea AI Edu Center. The model race: U.S. dominance, Chinese challengers ChatGPT dominates 67.8 percent of the generative AI app market in Korea and Google's Gemini 19.5 percent, although the latter's share may change given the hyped reception of the 3.0 update. OpenAI reports Korea holds second place worldwide for paid ChatGPT subscriptions after the U.S. The U.S. currently dominates the AI narrative — OpenAI with the ChatGPT series, Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini, and Meta's Llama. China is fast rising. DeepSeek, a startup backed by quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer, stunned the industry in January 2025 when its R1 reasoning model matched the performance of OpenAI's offerings at a fraction of the cost — reportedly $5.6 million for training. Moonshot AI's Kimi represents another Chinese success story. The Beijing-based startup's chatbot surpassed 15 million users in China by late 2024, and its Kimi K2 model, released in July 2025 with one trillion parameters, achieved state-of-the-art performance in coding benchmarks while being open-sourced under a modified MIT license. By late 2024, Kimi ranked among the top three most-used AI assistants in China. Established tech players also are eagerly fielding their candidates — Alibaba's Qwen, Baidu's Ernie, and ByteDance's Doubao each command significant domestic user bases. Korea's sovereign AI gap Seoul has been making strides in the catch-up game under the ambitious goal to join the top three powerhouses in AI, although lacking a star player. Last August, South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT designated five consortia to spearhead sovereign AI development. The ministry selected Naver Cloud, SK Telecom, LG AI Research, NC AI, and startup Upstage from a pool of 15 candidates, committing roughly $390 million in public funding through 2027. The government's total pledge reaches 530 billion won — about $383 million — with 450 billion won targeting GPU infrastructure. Yet none of these domestic initiatives have achieved the global reach or performance benchmarks set by ChatGPT and similar platforms. The sheer difference in spending matters as the economics of scale define the AI race. For Kwon Min-gu, a 27-year-old Korean freelancer juggling nine AI services supporting his workflow — from Gemini and ChatGPT for research to Midjourney for image generation — only two originated domestically. "The performance and accessibility differences remain vast," he said. Hardware strengths, software gaps Korea has some leverage over hardware. Samsung and SK hynix jointly represent roughly 70 percent of global DRAM manufacturing and nearly 80 percent of global revenue in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) that powers AI accelerators. During the first quarter of 2025, SK hynix held 70 percent of worldwide HBM market share, with its HBM3E chips generating over half of all HBM revenue. Korea currently ranks third globally in GPU infrastructure holdings, positioned behind only the United States and China, according to Ha Jung-woo, presidential chief of staff for AI Future Planning. Under an agreement with Nvidia, 260,000 GPUs will reach South Korea by 2030, with 50,000 units allocated to government facilities and the remaining 210,000 divided among Samsung, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, and Naver. But hardware prowess alone cannot secure leadership. U.S.-based Nvidia commands nearly 80 percent of GPU markets. Korea relies on key imports to produce chips and batteries to run data centers. The vast electricity capacity required in power-short Korea is another matter. U.S. big techs can afford to solve the energy issue. Microsoft signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy to restart Three Mile Island's Unit 1 reactor, which will supply 835 megawatts exclusively to its data centers by 2028. Amazon committed about 1.9 gigawatts, Google partnered with Kairos Power to deploy 500 megawatts, and Meta followed with a 20-year agreement for 1.1 gigawatts. China’s approach is entirely government-led. The East Data, West Compute initiative funnels data center construction into eight western provinces where renewable energy is abundant and land is cheap. The project aims to power new data centers with 80 percent green energy by 2025 — a dramatic shift from the current 70 percent coal reliance in eastern coastal regions. Government response The momentum behind Korea's AI push reflects an administration betting heavily on technological transformation. President Lee Jae Myung, who assumed office in June, has positioned AI as central to his economic agenda. In his budget pitch at the National Assembly in November, Lee called the spending plan "Korea's first budget for the AI era," allocating 10.1 trillion won for AI — more than triple this year’s level. The administration has also secured international backing. In September, Lee met with Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, in New York. The two signed a memorandum of understanding to develop hyperscale AI data centers powered by renewable energy. Fink pledged to help make Korea the "AI capital of Asia" by drawing global investment into the country's AI infrastructure. At the APEC summit in Gyeongju last month, Lee outlined Korea's AI governance framework to world leaders. "We are building an AI highway and are about to implement the Basic Act on AI, which will balance industrial development with responsible use of artificial intelligence," he said. The talent question Korea’s long-term viability in AI competitiveness hinges on its ability to secure and retain talent. The 2024 Global AI Index from Tortoise Media placed South Korea sixth among 83 nations in overall AI competitiveness — yet the country dropped to 13th place in talent metrics. To address the gap, the Education Ministry unveiled its inaugural national AI talent blueprint this November, committing 1.4 trillion won to develop expertise from elementary school through postgraduate research. One initiative creates a fast-track program enabling exceptional students to earn bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in 5.5 years, rather than the typical eight-plus. "But to say our people are using the full potential of AI, that would be a different story," said Kwon Jae-jin. "Around six or seven out of ten users use AI as search engines, so many are unfamiliar with basic prompting concepts." A lack of shared understanding of why AI is needed — or broader consensus around AI applications — may prove an obstacle. "Ever since the first AI models' launch, humans have focused on learning about AI," Kwon said. "Now, we believe AI will try to understand humans. Learning what AI does and how it functions will be crucial in the next era soon to come." 2025-12-01 20:15:19
PHOTOS: South Korea enters winter season SEOUL, December 1 (AJP) – South Korea is entering the full winter season, with cold northern air sweeping across the country. Seoul’s morning low stood at 3.7 degrees Celsius on Sunday, a drop of 6 degrees from the previous day. Signs of winter have begun to appear across the capital as well. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said a stronger surge of cold air from the north will bring a pronounced cold wave from the middle of the week, with brisk winds further lowering the wind chill. On Wednesday (Dec. 3), rain or snow is forecast for the Chungcheong and Jeolla regions, while Jeju Island is expected to see rain from Wednesday through Thursday morning. Temperatures will bottom out around midweek before gradually returning to near-seasonal levels. 2025-12-01 18:23:48
LG Electronics named best TV brand in Europe SEOUL, December 01 (AJP) - LG Electronics said on Monday it was selected as best TV brand at the Euroconsumers Awards 2025, an honor determined by expert testing and consumer satisfaction surveys across Europe. The awards are jointly hosted by consumer media outlets from Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Brazil, all members of ICRT, an alliance of 37 consumer organizations including U.S.-based Consumer Reports and UK-based Which?. This marks the first year the seven-year-old awards selected winners by product category. LG scored highly in expert product tests conducted in labs and in consumer satisfaction and reliability surveys conducted across Europe, including the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Denmark, Austria, Slovenia and Hungary beyond the five host countries. The recognition is attributed to LG's OLED TV, which the company first commercialized in 2013. Cumulative OLED TV sales in Europe surpassed 10 million units this year, doubling at twice the previous pace after reaching five million units in 2021. European consumers favor high-quality content and value OLED TV's infinite contrast ratio and color reproduction. The thin design without backlighting appeals as an interior element in Europe's living room-centered culture. The TV's fast response time and high refresh rate provide optimal viewing for sports broadcasts popular in Europe. In North America, LG OLED TV swept Consumer Reports' rankings across all screen size categories where OLED TVs are available, including over 70 inches, 65 inches, 55-60 inches, 46-52 inches and 39-43 inches. "This is recognition of strong leadership in Europe, a representative premium TV market," said Lee Chun-kook, executive vice president and head of LG Electronics Europe. "We will deliver the best viewing experience to customers worldwide with self-emissive high-quality picture and thin, simple design of LG OLED TV." 2025-12-01 18:05:36
Fast-track immigration at Inchon Airport now available for travelers from 18 countries SEOUL, December 1 (AJP) - Eighteen countries are now eligible for automated immigration clearance, up from four, the Ministry of Justice said on Monday. The move aims to shorten waiting times for foreign visitors entering the country. The newly eligible countries include Australia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the U.K., and others. The ministry said, "We selected countries based on reciprocal immigration agreements, the scale of bilateral human exchanges, diplomatic ties, and other criteria." The number of booths for automated immigration clearance at Inchon International Airport will also be increased to improve accessibility for foreign visitors. About 40 percent of foreign arrivals are expected to use automated immigration, with the ministry planning to expand the service to other airports across the country. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-01 17:31:00
Asian markets mixed as BOJ rate-hike fears hit Tokyo shares SEOUL, December 01 (AJP) - Asian stock markets closed mixed on Monday, with Japanese shares tumbling on renewed speculation that the Bank of Japan may soon raise interest rates. In Seoul, the benchmark KOSPI slipped 0.2 percent to 3,920.37, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ rose 1.1 percent to 922.38. Institutional investors offloaded a net 233 billion won ($158 million) worth of shares, outweighing net purchases of 53 billion won by retail investors and 216 billion won by foreigners. The KOSPI opened 1.1 percent higher at 3,967.92 and climbed to 3,977.31 early in the session, but momentum faded after BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda signaled the possibility of a rate increase. The index fluctuated between gains and losses before ending slightly lower. Large-cap chipmakers were mixed. Samsung Electronics edged up 0.3 percent to 100,800 won ($69), and SK hynix gained 1.5 percent to 538,000 won. Battery maker LG Energy Solution advanced 1.2 percent, while Samsung Biologics rose 2.6 percent. Automakers underperformed: Hyundai Motor fell 2.7 percent to 254,500 won, and Kia dropped 1.6 percent to 112,300 won. Shares of e-commerce giant Coupang, hit by the largest-ever consumer data leak, tumbled in New York pre-market trading, falling about 9 percent to $25.60 as of 3:30 a.m. EST. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.9 percent to 49,303.28, pressured by broad declines in major blue chips. Toyota fell 1.6 percent, Sony lost 3.5 percent, SoftBank slipped 1.7 percent, Nintendo dropped 1.6 percent, and Honda slid 2.4 percent. Market expectations for a BOJ policy shift intensified after Ueda said he would “make an appropriate judgment” on a rate hike. The central bank meets on Dec. 18–19. Local media reported that a move from the current 0.5 percent benchmark to 0.75 percent is under consideration. Ueda’s remarks pushed bond yields higher, strengthened the yen and weighed on equity markets. China’s Shanghai Composite Index bucked the regional trend, rising 0.7 percent to 3,914.01. 2025-12-01 17:28:24
Korean memory makers set to benefit whoever wins in GPU vs TPU SEOUL, December 01 (AJP) - As Google’s tensor processing unit (TPU) rises as a formidable challenge to Nvidia’s near-monopoly in AI computing, the clearest signals of how the rivalry is unfolding may not be found in the chips themselves, but in the earnings and order books of Korea’s two memory giants: Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Samsung is said to have supplied more than 60 percent of the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in Google’s TPU designs through Broadcom, Google’s chip-design partner, and is expected to expand its share next year with sixth-generation HBM4. Until the first half of this year, SK hynix had been the primary supplier of HBM3E chips for Google’s Ironwood TPU, but that dynamic may shift in the second half and into next year, analysts say. Each TPU, typically equipped with six to eight HBM stacks, is also believed to come at up to 80 percent lower cost than Nvidia’s H100 GPU — a key reason hyperscalers are accelerating adoption. A structural shift beneath the GPU–TPU rivalry Behind the GPU-versus-TPU debate lies a broader transformation in how artificial intelligence infrastructure is being built. According to Kyung Hee-kwon, a senior researcher at the Korea Industrial Research Institute, the global AI transition is increasingly being shaped not by chipmakers, but by big tech platforms designing computing systems around their own data and workloads. “AI today is being led by platform companies — what many refer to as the Magnificent Seven,” Kyung said. “These firms are focused on agentic AI that enables large-scale automation, rather than fully autonomous human-like intelligence.” For years, Nvidia’s GPUs were seen as indispensable for AI computation. But semiconductors, Kyung noted, are tools — not ends in themselves. “If a chip delivers better power efficiency and performance for a specific purpose, there is no inherent reason it must be a GPU,” he said. Google’s TPU, developed over several years and now deployed at scale in its data centers, exemplifies this shift. Unlike Nvidia, Google is not bound by the CUDA software ecosystem and instead operates a vertically integrated stack, allowing TPU accelerators to demonstrate efficiency gains in targeted workloads. Kyung emphasized that TPUs and GPUs serve complementary roles. “This is not about GPUs being replaced altogether. GPUs remain critical for training and general-purpose computing. What we are seeing is the emergence of alternative accelerators — especially where power efficiency and supply constraints matter.” Supply bottlenecks push platforms toward custom silicon With global foundry capacity stretched and delivery lead times extending into years, hyperscalers are increasingly unwilling to wait for GPUs. “AI has become a technology tied to national competitiveness and security,” Kyung said. “If GPU supply cannot meet immediate demand, companies will seek viable alternatives that can be deployed now.” This pressure has accelerated a wave of custom-silicon development far beyond Google, including Amazon’s Trainium, Microsoft’s Maia, and in-house AI accelerators at Tesla and other platforms. Memory remains the constant, regardless of who wins For Korea’s memory makers, the implications are structurally favorable regardless of which accelerator architecture gains ground. “Whether computing shifts from GPUs to custom accelerators, Korea’s role fundamentally remains the same,” Kyung said. “High-bandwidth memory, advanced mobile DRAM and graphics memory are essential across all AI architectures. What changes is the route to market, not the underlying demand.” This explains why Samsung Electronics and SK hynix sit at the center of both GPU- and TPU-driven ecosystems — and why their contrasting exposures offer a clearer lens into the AI race than any single chip announcement. According to Park Yu-ak, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, Samsung’s growing presence in custom accelerators reflects its broader footprint across memory and foundry, while SK hynix continues to anchor the high-end GPU market through its HBM leadership. Analysts say Samsung’s relative composure also reflects expectations of a sharp earnings rebound beyond the current cycle. KB Securities projects Samsung Electronics’ operating profit to reach 64 trillion won in 2026- more than double 2024 levels — driven by tighter memory supply conditions and rising demand for high-bandwidth memory as AI infrastructure expands. 2025-12-01 17:23:15
Coupang's meteoric rise meets its most serious stress test yet SEOUL, December 01 (AJP) - Coupang’s latest data leak has renewed scrutiny of the South Korean e-commerce giant, underscoring concerns that its operational systems have not kept pace with its rapid expansion. The company said on Monday that 33.7 million user accounts were affected — an extraordinary figure showing the breach could have affected nearly the country's entire population. The disclosure comes as Coupang remains under pressure over workplace safety following a string of deaths among night-shift workers at its logistics facilities. On Nov. 26, a man in his 50s was found dead during an overnight shift at a center in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. Five days earlier, a worker in his 30s suffered cardiac arrest at a facility in Hwaseong and later died in hospital. They were the third and fourth night-shift fatalities at Coupang this year. Since 2020, at least 27 deaths among the company’s warehouse and delivery workers have been reported by South Korean media. Despite the mounting operational controversies, Coupang has grown into one of the most valuable companies in Asia. The company’s market capitalization reached $51.4 billion as of Monday, far outpacing the $35 billion valuation of Hyundai Motor Group. If listed domestically, Coupang would rank as South Korea’s fourth most valuable firm, behind Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and LG Energy Solution. Coupang reported record third-quarter revenue of 13.6 trillion won ($9.2 billion) in 2025, along with operating profit of 238 billion won. Active customers — defined as those making at least one purchase — rose 10 percent from a year earlier to 24.7 million, driven by increased spending in its core Rocket Delivery service. Founded in 2010 by Korean-American entrepreneur Bom Kim, Coupang began as a social commerce startup selling discounted attraction tickets before pivoting to full e-commerce. The launch of Rocket Delivery in 2014 — backed by massive investments in proprietary logistics centers — reshaped Korea’s retail landscape with next-day and overnight fulfillment. The model initially generated widening losses but delivered exponential growth, helping the company build an 80-percent nationwide coverage footprint and a logistics network spanning 55 million square feet. Rocket Delivery and its offshoots — Dawn Delivery and Rocket Fresh, launched in 2018 — have driven sharp increases in customer loyalty and order volume. Coupang posted its first annual profit in 2023 after 13 consecutive years of losses. Revenue reached an all-time high of 41.3 trillion won ($28.1 billion) in 2024 — more than 86 times its 2013 disclosure of 477.8 billion won. Active customers grew from 14.85 million in 2020 to 22.8 million in 2024. Coupang entered the Fortune 200 in 2023 and 2024 and advanced into the Fortune 150 in 2025 — cementing its status among the world’s largest companies even as it confronts intensifying scrutiny over data security and labor practices. 2025-12-01 17:23:00
NewJeans drop social media moniker ahead of comeback after legal dispute SEOUL, December 1 (AJP) - K-pop girl group NewJeans has deleted their short-lived social media account used during their dispute with management agency ADOR, sparking anticipation for their impending comeback. The account under the name of "NJZ," which served as the quintet's main channel to communicate with fans, is no longer accessible as of Monday. The girls created the account earlier this year under their own new name to rebrand themselves amid escalating tensions with ADOR, following their decision to terminate their contract with the agency over alleged breaches of obligation and negligence. But after a court in October upheld ADOR's exclusive contract with the girls as valid, they expressed their intention to return to the agency, effectively ending the legal battle. Meanwhile, Min Hee-jin, the former ADOR CEO who mentored NewJeans, recently launched a new agency, signaling her move toward an independent path. 2025-12-01 16:57:51
Hyundai Motor's global sales fall 2.4 percent in November SEOUL, December 01 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor said on Monday it sold 349,507 vehicles worldwide in November, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier, as both domestic and overseas sales declined. Domestic sales fell 3.4 percent to 61,008 units. Sedan sales totaled 18,099 units, including 6,499 Grandeurs, 5,897 Sonatas, and 5,459 Avantes. Sales of recreational vehicles reached 22,643 units, led by the Palisade with 5,124 units, followed by the Santa Fe (3,947), Tucson (5,384), Kona (2,743) and Casper (2,292). Its luxury brand Genesis posted sales of 11,465 units, including 3,721 G80s, 3,203 GV80s, and 3,770 GV70s. Overseas sales slipped 2.2 percent to 288,499 units. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-01 16:29:23
Coupang may face fines of up to $1 bn if negligence is tied to data theft SEOUL, December 01 (AJP) - South Korea’s largest e-commerce platform Coupang faces a wave of criminal and civil lawsuits, alongside potential fines that could exceed $1 billion, if authorities confirm corporate negligence in the massive data theft allegedly carried out by a former employee of Chinese nationality. Under the Personal Information Protection Act, strengthened in 2023, regulators may impose penalties of up to 3 percent of annual revenue for data-protection violations. Coupang reported $9.27 billion in revenue in the quarter ended September, bringing its trailing 12-month revenue to $33.66 billion — meaning fines could surpass $1 billion. The figure could rise further if authorities opt to combine the revenues of Coupang Play and Coupang Eats. Coupang said customer names, email addresses, mobile numbers, shipping addresses and some order histories were stolen. Payment details, credit-card numbers and login credentials were not compromised, it added. “We sincerely apologize once again for causing inconvenience to our customers,” said Coupang CEO Park Dae-jun, in a statement on the company’s website. While Coupang did not identify a suspect in its police filing, internal probes point to a former Chinese national employee who had already left the company — and the country — according to people familiar with the matter. The individual reportedly departed Coupang in October and has since left South Korea, complicating investigative efforts. The suspect allegedly emailed customers photos of their order histories and phone numbers with the message “I know your personal information”, triggering complaints that set off Coupang’s internal review. Long-neglected authentication keys at the center of the breach Investigators found that the breach may have been enabled by outdated authentication keys that should have been deleted or renewed when the employee exited the company. The suspect may have exploited access token signature keys, bypassing normal login procedures to reach customer data. Security analysts say the compromised tokens were likely administrative tokens with extended validity, not ordinary user tokens that typically expire within 30 minutes to an hour. This would have allowed prolonged, unauthorized access. Rep. Choi Min-hee, chair of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, said Coupang failed to renew key signature files after the employee’s departure, leaving them valid for five to ten years. “Signature key renewal is the most basic internal security procedure, yet Coupang failed to follow it,” Choi said. “This is not simply an employee’s misconduct but the result of deep organizational failings.” In the breach, access tokens functioned like entry passes, while signature keys served as the stamps that validate them. Prolonged neglect of the stamps allowed someone to continue entering undetected — “like repeatedly using stamped entry passes without authorization,” one analyst said. Government: Attacker exploited authentication weaknesses Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said at an emergency meeting on Nov. 30 that attackers exploited authentication flaws to access customer data without standard login processes. “The attacker took advantage of weaknesses in Coupang’s server authentication to access over 30 million customer accounts,” Bae said. The Ministry of Science and ICT has formed a joint public-private investigation team, while the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said it would impose strong sanctions if violations of safety-management obligations are confirmed. Coupang initially reported just 4,500 affected customers when it notified the Korea Internet and Security Agency on Nov. 20. The figure surged to 33.7 million as investigators uncovered far broader exposure stretching from June to November. Coupang, which reported 24.7 million active commercial users in the third quarter, said the breach likely affected data from former and dormant accounts as well. The company employs about 10,000 office staff, with personal-information access restricted to a small number of IT employees with elevated permissions. Experts say the breach highlights critical vulnerabilities in Coupang's internal security management. "Zero-trust principles are essential for data security these days. Even insiders should be monitored carefully," said Kim Ki-hyung, a cybersecurity professor at Ajou University. "Access to highly sensitive data should not be concentrated among a select few senior managers. Each individual managers should only be able to view minimal portions of the data they need." 2025-12-01 16:26:35