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Korea weighs standardized vet fees to address runaway inflation in pet care SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - Three out of ten Korean households now own a pet, and the government is considering a standardized payment system for veterinary care to address soaring medical costs and widening price disparities. The move follows mounting public frustration over bills that vary dramatically by clinic and location. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), the cost of a first-time checkup for a 5-kilogram pet ranges from as low as 1,000 won ($0.69) to as high as 65,000 won. With no standardized fee schedule and all services priced independently, the same treatment can cost several times more at clinics in affluent districts. "I took my cat to a vet in Gangnam after it swallowed a thread. An MRI scan to locate it and the removal procedure cost 1.5 million won, which was almost half my monthly salary. It's insane," said Park Jae-wook, a 29-year-old Seoul resident. Rising medical bills have become a growing financial burden and a leading factor behind pet abandonment. A 2024 report by the KB Financial Group Research Institute found that pet-owning households spent an average of 194,000 won per month on pet care, or about 2.1 million won annually — nearly equivalent to one month of minimum-wage earnings. Spending patterns are becoming increasingly polarized, with the share of households spending less than 50,000 won a month rising from 9.2 percent in 2021 to 18.8 percent in 2024, while those spending more than 250,000 won grew from 14.2 percent to 20.6 percent. Private pet insurance has failed to ease the burden. Although 89 percent of pet owners are aware of insurance products, only 11.9 percent carry coverage due to high premiums and limited benefits. Owners surveyed in 2023 cited cost as the biggest barrier, followed by restrictive reimbursement terms. MAFRA plans to develop a feasible payment model by the second half of next year after consultations with veterinary groups and industry officials. But with no public insurance system for animals and wide differences in clinic size, equipment, and staffing, officials acknowledge that introducing mandatory standardized fees would be difficult to enforce. The Korean Veterinary Medical Association has opposed the plan, calling it "excessive" and impractical given the cost differences across clinics. The association warned that fixed prices could undermine service quality and limit investment in medical equipment. A senior official at MAFRA's Companion Animal Industry and Animal Health Care System division said the government is considering applying standardized fees only at designated public veterinary hospitals that treat vulnerable households or abandoned animals. The official added that introducing a nationwide public insurance system for pets would require broad public support, which remains uncertain since only about a quarter of Koreans own pets. As of the end of 2024, the number of pet owners stood at 15.46 million, or 29.9 percent of the population. Pet-owning households numbered 5.91 million, accounting for 28.6 percent of all households, a ratio that has remained near the 30-percent level for the past five years despite a declining population. By age group, pet ownership was highest among people in their 50s at 23.17 percent, followed by those in their 30s at 22.01 percent and 40s at 21.88 percent. Only 9.91 percent of pet owners were in their 20s, contradicting the belief that younger generations are replacing children with pets amid falling birthrates. 2025-11-17 16:46:11 -
Buldak dominates global hot-sauce shelves and fuels top line for Korean ramen maker SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - The Chinese have numbing-hot “mala,” the Mexicans have smoky “salsa,” and the Thai have sweet-spicy “sriracha.” But the enduring winner in the global chili-sauce canon is South Korea’s “buldak” — a magical blend of concentrated sweetness and addictive burn that has pushed its maker, Samyang Foods, to the top of the KOSPI’s food sector and made the stock almost unreachable for ordinary investors. The global phenomenon of Buldak Bokkeum Myun — Samyang’s iconic “Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen” — remains unstoppable, and so does its stock. Samyang Foods jumped 5 percent to 1,385,000 won ($1,010) on Monday after reporting stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings. Its ramen rival Nongshim, which gained 9 percent, still trades at one-third of Samyang’s valuation at 462,000 won. “I first tried Buldak back in 2015, and I still remember that shock of heat,” said Lee Yurim (31), an office worker in Seoul. “There was nothing like it back then. The flavor was so intense it hurt, but it was delicious. Ten years later, no other spicy noodle has come close. It’s that specific, fiery yet savory taste that keeps me coming back.” That same fire has now fueled Samyang Foods’ highest-ever quarterly earnings. The company posted 632 billion won ($460 million) in consolidated third-quarter sales, up 44 percent from a year earlier, and 131 billion won ($96 million) in operating profit — a 50 percent jump. Cumulative operating profit for the first nine months reached 385 billion won ($281 million), already surpassing last year’s total of 345 billion won. Overseas demand remains just as hot. Exports soared 50 percent to 510 billion won, accounting for 81 percent of total revenue, the highest share on record. Sales in the United States rose 59 percent to $112 million, while China logged a 56 percent increase to 951 million yuan ($131 million). Heartfelt response from the company to its sudden rise and fame also helped to sustain the brand's overseas popularity. “We’ve never started with marketing first,” the official said. “However, when something goes viral overseas, our marketing team reacts quickly and engages sincerely. For example, when a U.S. girl named Adalynn went viral on TikTok after crying with joy over receiving Buldak for her birthday, our team visited her home in a Buldak truck loaded with a year’s worth of Carbonara Buldak and threw her a surprise party.” The company also addressed the Denmark recall incident earlier this year, where regulators temporarily banned extra-spicy varieties over capsaicin concerns. “That wasn’t a marketing event — it became one naturally,” the official said. “After discussions with Danish authorities and Korea’s food regulator, the products were cleared and sales resumed. We view these moments as opportunities to communicate transparently and show that we take safety seriously.” Emotions aside, brokerages were eager to upgrade the stock. Yuanta Securities raised its target price for Samyang to 2 million won from 1.78 million won, maintaining a “buy” rating. “Even with expanded production at the Miryang plant, inventory declined — meaning demand is outpacing supply,” said Son Hyun-jung, analyst at Yuanta. “From the fourth quarter, we will start to see the impact of U.S. price hikes and higher Miryang utilization. We forecast 2025 revenue at 2.36 trillion won ($1.72 billion) and operating profit at 533 billion won ($389 million), up 37 and 55 percent year-on-year.” Korea Investment & Securities named Samyang its “top pick” in the food sector. “Samyang beat sales consensus by 6.6 percent despite tariff burdens,” said Kang Eun-ji, analyst at Korea Investment. “Tariff impacts will gradually ease through U.S. price adjustments, and American demand remains solid even after recent price increases.” She added that China sales climbed 60 percent to 189 billion won ($136 million), offsetting tariff pressure. At the core of the phenomenon is Buldak’s flavor formula — a calibrated mix of capsaicin heat, sweetness, and umami refined through years of in-house R&D. Although Samyang declined to disclose details, citing trade secrets, the company’s success lies in how the product balances pain and pleasure. The glossy, stir-fried texture and layered flavor made it ideal for the social-media era, fueling viral “spice-challenge” videos across TikTok and YouTube — with celebrity fans from British YouTuber Korean Englishman to rapper Cardi B. On whether the company had faced any supply bottlenecks amid the surging demand, the Samyang official said there were “brief moments earlier this year when orders piled up faster than production could keep pace.” “At the start of this year, we did experience some supply delays as demand spiked,” the official said. “We currently operate three factories in Korea — in Miryang, Iksan, and Wonju — with Miryang having two plants dedicated entirely to exports. We built the second Miryang plant anticipating continuous growth, but it quickly became clear that it might not be enough. So, about two to three months ago, we began constructing a new plant in Jiaxing, China, which will serve the domestic Chinese market by late 2026 or early 2027. This will free up Korean capacity for other global markets.” The brand’s explosive performance also coincides with a generational shift in leadership. Jeon Byung-woo, the 36-year-old third-generation heir, was promoted to Executive Director this month for driving Buldak’s international expansion and overseeing construction of the new Jiaxing, China factory. Jeon also led global marketing collaborations and product diversification, cementing Buldak’s place as a global megabrand. Analysts say Samyang has moved beyond simple volume growth toward structural transformation. “Strong sales despite expanded capacity show that global demand is still exceeding production,” said Son. “The company is now improving both sales efficiency and profitability.” With the Miryang No. 2 plant ramping up and the China factory set to begin operations in 2027, Samyang is poised to dominate ramen aisles — and hot-sauce shelves — worldwide for years to come. 2025-11-17 16:44:27 -
Hyundai Motor to provide Staria vehicles for G20 delegates in South Africa SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor said Monday it will supply 30 Staria multi-purpose vehicles for the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. The vehicles will be used to transport delegates during the Nov. 22-23 summit, which is expected to draw leaders from the G20 member nations as well as representatives from the European Union, African Union, United Nations, International Monetary Fund and World Bank. This year’s agenda centers on themes of solidarity, equality and sustainability. Hyundai Motor said it aims to use the event to highlight the Staria’s design, cabin space and safety technology. The company signed an agreement in early September with South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation to provide the fleet. “We are honored to support the first G20 summit on African soil,” Kim Il-beom, Hyundai’s vice president for global public operations, said in a statement. “We look forward to contributing to a successful event.” * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-11-17 16:09:15 -
Korea-U.S. MoU elevates trade partnership to co-development and related stocks in Seoul SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - Korean shares in chipmaking, utilities, defense, energy infrastructure and shipbuilding climbed 1 to 5 percent on Monday, refueling the KOSPI's run while most Asian markets stayed lethargic on expectations of active cross-border ventures following a newly signed memorandum of understanding between Seoul and Washington that caps months of delayed talks on a broader trade and tariff deal. The electronically signed MoU positions South Korea not merely as a trading partner but as a core U.S. collaborator in industrial development. Under the agreement, Korea pledges roughly $350 billion in investments into the U.S. economy, including $150 billion dedicated to shipbuilding. The remaining $200 billion will be directed toward "commercially reasonable" strategic investments in critical U.S. sectors — energy, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals and artificial intelligence. In return, the United States will lower reciprocal tariffs on Korean exports, reducing the baseline rate from 25 percent to 15 percent as of Aug. 7. Shipbuilding at the center of the new partnership The shipbuilding component will channel Korean investment into modernizing America's shipbuilding base — from U.S. shipyard upgrades to workforce development. Both nations will operate a working group to coordinate maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), workforce training, and supply-chain resilience efforts. The MoU states that the partnership will increase the number of both U.S. commercial ships and combat-ready military vessels, including the potential construction of U.S. ships in Korea. In practice, cooperation is already underway. Hanwha Ocean became the first Korean shipbuilder to secure a U.S. Navy maintenance contract and has taken part in multiple repair projects, including for the dry cargo ship Charles Drew, scheduled for completion by January. Its $100 million acquisition of Philly Shipyard last year has become a symbolic flagship of the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" initiative. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries won a maintenance contract in August for the 41,000-ton USNS Alan Shepard and is preparing to merge with HD Hyundai Mipo by Dec. 1 to boost operational flexibility. Mipo was acquired in 2002 but maintained separately until now. Korean shipbuilders form the backbone of the deal due to their global track record. "Korean shipbuilders' combined orders are expected to reach $38.8 billion next year, up 10 percent from this year, driven by LNG carriers, tankers and special-purpose vessels," said Jung Yeon-seung, analyst at NH Investment & Securities. He added that rising global demand for warships could extend earnings momentum beyond 2028 if Korean yards secure major naval programs. Nuclear-powered submarine pathway opens In a significant show of confidence, Washington publicly endorsed Korea's plan to build nuclear-powered attack submarines and committed to working closely with Seoul on fuel sourcing and other requirements. While former President Donald Trump initially claimed the submarine would be delivered from Hanwha's Philadelphia Shipyard, industry officials say construction would likely be led in Korea, though details remain under review. Hanwha Ocean is Korea's most experienced submarine builder, having developed diesel-electric technology through the KSS series — from Changbogo-class vessels to the Changbogo-III Batch-I and Batch-II. Its 3,600-ton Jang Young-sil, launched in October and set for Navy delivery by late 2027, features a design that allows conversion to nuclear propulsion. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has also secured successive orders for six Changbogo-II vessels and one Changbogo-III Batch-I submarine. It recently signed an MoU with Peru for joint development of next-generation submarines. Nuclear-powered submarines can stay submerged for months without refueling — a vast leap from diesel submarines that must surface every two to three days — effectively categorizing them as strategic underwater assets. During visits to both Hanwha and HD Hyundai facilities in Geoje and Ulsan on Nov. 15, U.S. Navy Chief Adm. Daryl Caudle underscored the strategic implications. "As they say in the movie Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility," Caudle said. "There will be a responsibility for Korea to deploy those submarines globally and move away from being just a regional navy." He added that Washington expects South Korea to play a prominent role in strengthening American shipbuilding capacity. The United States also explicitly backed Korea's path toward civil uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing for peaceful purposes, provided Seoul adheres to the bilateral 123 agreement and relevant U.S. legal requirements. 2025-11-17 15:50:14 -
Korean AI firm showcases multilingual dubbing technology at global conference SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - Eastsoft, a South Korean AI services company, said Monday that its research on multilingual automatic dubbing has been accepted for presentation at EMNLP 2025, one of the field’s leading conferences. The company’s study introduces an end-to-end dubbing framework that uses large language models to synchronize translated audio with the timing and rhythm of the original video — a longstanding challenge for automated dubbing systems, which often produce speech that finishes too early or too late relative to on-screen mouth movements. The research paper outlines a three-step pipeline combining speech-to-text, machine translation and text-to-speech modules. Eastsoft says it has enhanced the translation process with two LLM-driven techniques: “speech length adjustment” and “speech pause integration.” The first predicts how long translated speech should be in order to match the original speaker’s timing, while the second incorporates natural pauses — including breaths and short breaks — to create more humanlike rhythm in dubbed audio. Together, the additions aim to move beyond literal translation to generate dialogue that feels more natural across languages. According to Eastsoft, the system improved synchronization accuracy by 24 percent and multilingual user satisfaction by 12 percent compared with existing commercial AI dubbing tools, including the company's current products. “We are moving closer to producing naturally dubbed videos in multiple languages that preserve the speaker’s original pace and rhythm,” the company said in a press release. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-11-17 15:42:46 -
KAIST develops CT-style method to look inside light-based quantum computers SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - KAIST said on November 17 that its researchers have developed a way to look inside a light-based quantum computer almost like taking a CT scan. The idea is to make the machine’s hidden operations visible so researchers can understand how the device actually works. Light-based quantum computers use many small light signals that interact and become tangled with one another. This tangling makes the machines powerful, but it also makes them very hard to examine or verify. Until now, scientists struggled to analyze even around five of these signals at once. The KAIST team, led by physics professor Ra Young-sik, created a method that can examine up to sixteen light signals working together. According to the school, this is the first time such a large number has been analyzed experimentally. The basic idea is simple: send different kinds of light into the machine, see how they change on the way out, and then use math to recreate what happened inside. It works much like a medical CT scan, where images are rebuilt from many pieces of data. To make this easier to understand, the researchers separated the changes into two parts. One part shows how the light itself was strengthened or altered. The other part shows how much noise or unwanted disturbance came in from the environment. By splitting these two effects, the method gives a clearer view of both the ideal operation and the real-world imperfections. The new approach also cuts down the amount of data needed to run this kind of analysis. That makes it possible to study much larger quantum operations without overwhelming the system. The research team includes Gwak Geunhee as first author, along with Roh Chan, Yoon Young-do, and Imperial College London professor Kim Myung-sik. The findings were published online on November 11 in Nature Photonics. (Source: KAIST press release) The work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Institute of Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation, and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. 2025-11-17 15:33:19 -
South Korea to expand English-language disclosures for global investors SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - South Korea’s top financial regulator is moving to make corporate information more accessible to global investors, unveiling a new disclosure plan that would significantly expand English-language reporting and tighten transparency around shareholder meetings and executive pay. The Financial Services Commission announced the proposed changes on Monday in an effort to strengthen shareholder rights and bring local practices closer to international standards. Under the proposal, companies listed on the benchmark KOSPI index with assets exceeding 2 trillion won, or roughly $1.5 billion, would be required to file disclosures in English beginning May 1, 2026. The current threshold applies only to companies with assets over 10 trillion won. English-language reports on the results of shareholder meetings would be required starting March 1 of the same year. The scope of required English disclosures would also expand sharply — from 26 categories of management information to 55 — covering nearly all items required by the Korea Exchange. Companies with assets over 10 trillion won would need to publish English disclosures on the same day as Korean filings, while those above the new 2 trillion won threshold would have three business days. By 2028, the FSC said it plans to extend English disclosure rules to all KOSPI-listed firms and is considering similar requirements for major companies on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market. To lessen compliance burdens, the government said it would offer AI-based translation tools and industry-specific English templates. The overhaul also seeks to bring more clarity to South Korea’s tightly packed shareholder meeting season, when hundreds of companies hold annual meetings in the final days of March. Beginning in March 2026, companies would be required to release detailed voting results — including approval, opposition and abstention rates — on the day of the meeting. Regular filings would also need to include complete voting records and shareholder counts. The plan includes new rules on executive compensation as well. Companies would be required to include three years of total shareholder return and operating profit data in their pay disclosures, along with clearer explanations of how compensation was determined. All stock-based awards — including unrealized equity — would need to be reported in a single standardized format with cash-equivalent values. * This article, published by Economic Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-11-17 15:11:56 -
Chip sales to the U.S. and Nvidia take up 70% and 27% of SK hynix revenue as of Sept SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) -SK hynix sold 45.18 trillion won ($31 billion) worth of memory chips to the United States as of September this year, up 65 percent from the seven-month period of last year and taking up 70 percent of the South Korean chipmaker's revenue as of the third quarter. According to the full third-quarter disclosure, the chipmaker owed 17.35 trillion won in revenue to a single buyer as of September, more than doubling from 6.1 trillion won in the same period a year ago and accounting for about 27 percent of the company's 64.32 trillion won in accumulated sales for 2025. SK hynix has an exclusive contract with Nvidia for high-bandwidth memory (HBM)3E and will be rolling out HBM4 next year. The DRAM maker dominates global sales of HBM that powers AI chips. SK hynix accounted for 39 percent of the global DRAM market and 22 percent of NAND flash memory market as of June. Shares of SK hynix soared 7 percent to 599,500 won as of 2:20 p.m. ahead of Nvidia's earnings release. 2025-11-17 14:29:01 -
HD Hyundai to supply 230 electric forklifts to Venezuela's Polar Group SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - HD Hyundai Site Solutions has secured its largest electric forklift contract in Latin America, winning an order from Venezuela’s Polar Group. The company said Monday it will supply 230 electric forklifts to Polar, the country’s biggest food producer, with deliveries scheduled through January 2026. The deal, valued at more than 10 billion won, includes 178 units in the 2-ton class and 52 heavier models in the 3-ton and 4.5-ton ranges. HD Hyundai Site Solutions said it captured the order by targeting rising replacement demand for aging diesel fleets and tailoring products to local operating conditions. The forklifts are equipped with high-performance lithium-ion batteries that the company says offer 2.5 times the lifespan and triple the charging speed of conventional lead-acid systems. They also feature the company’s Hi-Mate platform, which provides real-time monitoring of battery health, usage patterns and maintenance needs. The Latin American market has become an increasingly important growth driver for the company. Sales of industrial vehicles in the region are expected to reach about 1,200 units this year, more than double the 570 units recorded in 2020. “We are expanding our sales structure from North America to emerging markets and diversifying our global portfolio,” a company representative said. “We plan to strengthen our sales, service and training systems through local dealer networks to meet rising demand for electrification in key emerging markets.” * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-11-17 14:10:09 -
Hyundai Glovis completes shipment of tanks, howitzers to Poland SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - Hyundai Glovis, the logistics arm of Hyundai Motor Group, said Monday it has completed another shipment of South Korean-made military equipment to Europe, as the company expands its role in the region’s defense supply chain. The company delivered 20 K2 main battle tanks built by Hyundai Rotem and 21 K9 self-propelled howitzers produced by Hanwha Aerospace to the Polish port of Gdansk on Nov. 13. The hardware was transported aboard Hyundai Glovis’s car carriers — vessels traditionally used for moving automobiles but now increasingly repurposed for heavy defense cargo as European demand surges. The shipment follows a delivery of six K9 howitzers to Estonia earlier this year and builds on the company’s logistics work for global defense exhibitions. Since early 2025, Hyundai Glovis has supported the distribution of 124 K2 tanks and 60 K9 howitzers across Europe, with inland transport managed by its Polish subsidiary, Adampol. The company uses a roll-on, roll-off, or RORO, loading system that allows armored vehicles to be driven directly onto ships. The method minimizes the risk of damage, improves loading efficiency and avoids the need for cranes, giving Hyundai Glovis an operational advantage, according to the company. Hyundai Glovis said it aims to expand its car-carrier fleet to 128 vessels by 2030, including new ships capable of carrying up to 10,000 vehicles. * This article, published by Economic Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-11-17 13:56:15