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Netflix and Stella Artois to launch global campaign SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - Netflix and Belgian beer brand Stella Artois will launch a global campaign tied to the second season of "The Gentlemen: The Series," Netflix said Thursday. The campaign, titled "The Gentlemen's Serve," will run in eight countries: South Korea, the United States, Britain, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and South Africa. Netflix said it is the first brand partnership for "The Gentlemen: The Series." It is also the first campaign that Netflix and AB InBev, Stella Artois' parent company, are running together across multiple markets at the same time. The campaign features series star Theo James and Stella Artois ambassador David Beckham. The two appear in campaign content connecting the Netflix series with the beer brand. The rollout will include official social media content, experience-based events and limited-edition products in key markets. Netflix and AB InBev signed a global brand partnership last September. In South Korea, the companies previously worked together on a campaign tied to the second season of Netflix's cooking competition show "Culinary Class Wars" in December. Magno Herran, Netflix's vice president of global brand and marketing partnerships, said the campaign is aimed at letting fans experience the series beyond the screen. AB InBev global chief marketing officer Marcel Marcondes said the series fits Stella Artois' brand heritage and serving ritual. AJP Takeaways · Netflix and Stella Artois will launch a global campaign tied to "The Gentlemen: The Series." · The campaign, "The Gentlemen's Serve," will run in eight countries, including South Korea. · Netflix said it is the first brand partnership for the series. 2026-08-27 14:31:02 -
Seoul performing arts market to open in October SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - South Korea's main performing arts market will return to Seoul in October with an expanded showcase lineup and new networking programs, its organizers said Thursday. The 2026 Performing Arts Market in Seoul, or PAMS, will run from Oct. 13 to 16 at the National Theater of Korea, Arko Arts Theater, Daehakro Arts Theater and other venues around the capital. The event is co-hosted by the Korea Arts Management Service and the National Theater of Korea, with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Arts Council Korea. PAMS connects Korean performing arts groups with overseas presenters, festival programmers and producers through showcases, pitching sessions, business meetings and networking events. This year's program features nine works in the flagship PAMS Choice showcase, spanning pansori, contemporary dance, creative ballet, sound-based performance and audience-participatory pieces. Running alongside it for the first time is PAMS×SPAF Choice, a new section developed with the Seoul Performing Arts Festival. The section will stage five Korean productions in full length rather than the shorter excerpts typical of a market showcase, giving visiting presenters a fuller look at works that could later travel overseas. Networking programs are also expanding this year. PAMS Salon, a discussion series on performing arts trends and international exchange, will grow with new partner institutions from Canada, Japan and Belgium. A newly added program, PAMS Mingle, will offer smaller, informal sessions for participants to connect over shared interests. Business matchmaking continues through PAMS Pitching, PAMS Link, one-on-one Speed-Dating meetings and exhibition booths, which this year will include equipment and technical suppliers alongside performing arts groups and institutions. Works introduced through PAMS have gone on to overseas invitations, tours and co-productions in cities including Avignon, Paris and Sydney. Sound art group Liquid Sound and pansori singer Lee Jaram, both past PAMS Choice selections, were invited to this year's Avignon Festival. The pansori work "Giin Ginbam," introduced through PAMS in 2024, was later developed into a bilingual Korean-English production with the Sydney Opera House. "PAMS is an important platform where Korean performing arts meet the global stage and open up new opportunities in international distribution, co-production and localization," Kim Jang-ho, president of the Korea Arts Management Service, said in a statement. Early registration for PAMS runs through Sept. 15, with full passes available at a 50 percent discount. AJP Takeaways · The 2026 Performing Arts Market in Seoul will run from Oct. 13 to 16. · The event will feature nine PAMS Choice showcases and five full-length PAMS×SPAF Choice productions. · PAMS helps Korean performing arts groups connect with overseas presenters, festivals and producers. 2026-08-27 14:30:38 -
OPINION: Prevention is the best cure. But has the BOK overprescribed? South Korea's central bank on Thursday sent an unequivocal message to markets and borrowers through back-to-back rate hikes rarely seen outside extraordinary conditions. The diagnosis is that the artificial intelligence boom has given new traction to a Korean economy that had underperformed its potential growth rate of around 2 percent for nearly a decade - except during the post-pandemic rebound - and that deleveraging must begin as inflation and interest rates are unlikely to come down anytime soon. The Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its benchmark rate by another 25 basis points to 3.00 percent, following July's increase from 2.50 percent. The rate is now at its highest since January 2025. Six of the seven Monetary Policy Board members backed the move. Governor Shin Hyun-song made clear that the unusual sequence was intentional. The consecutive increases were a departure from convention and were designed to send a "strong signal" to the market, Shin said after the meeting. Invoking the Korean proverb about stopping a problem with a small hoe before needing a much larger spade, he argued that early action could ultimately reduce the severity and duration of tightening. The AI boom has changed the arithmetic of the Korean economy with extraordinary speed. The BOK raised its 2026 growth forecast to 3.3 percent from 2.6 percent in May and its 2027 estimate to 2.9 percent from 2.1 percent. The turnaround is especially striking after the economy managed growth of just 1.1 percent last year and amid a broader national debate over a potential growth rate that has fallen below 2 percent. Korea happens to possess one of the most valuable assets of the AI age — dominance in memory chips, the brain behind every big and small AI machine. Exports reached a record $496.7 billion in the first half, up 48.4 percent from a year earlier. Semiconductors alone accounted for $192.4 billion, or nearly 39 percent, after surging 162.6 percent. Even non-semiconductor exports rose a healthy 16 percent. The earnings scale is harder still to comprehend. Brokerage consensus compiled by FnGuide puts Samsung Electronics' 2026 operating profit at 391.8 trillion won ($284 billion) and SK hynix's at 266.6 trillion won. Their combined 658.4 trillion won would equal more than four-fifths of the 800-trillion-won-plus national budget the government is preparing for 2027. And the boom may have further to run. Gartner forecasts global memory revenue at $837.3 billion this year, nearly four times 2025's $220.1 billion, before topping $1 trillion at $1.08 trillion in 2027. Memory's share of worldwide semiconductor revenue is expected to double to 54 percent this year from 27 percent last year. The windfall is spreading beyond the two chip giants. Operating profit among KOSPI-listed companies excluding Samsung Electronics and SK hynix still jumped more than 70 percent in the first half. The BOK clearly is not imagining the spillover. Corporate income is rising, tax revenue is swelling and the government is preparing its biggest budget ever. Companies are boosting wages, bonuses and shareholder returns. The KOSPI, despite its violent correction from the June peak, remained 64 percent above its end-2025 level as of Aug. 21 after soaring 75.6 percent last year. Such a boom inevitably feeds demand. Headline consumer inflation eased to 2.8 percent in July, but core inflation accelerated to 2.6 percent. The BOK expects consumer inflation of 2.7 percent this year and 2.3 percent next year, while predicting core inflation of 2.5 percent in both years. The central bank expects price gains to remain above its 2 percent target for a "considerable period." Supply-side cost pressures are being joined by stronger demand as incomes rise and wage increases spread. Shin's instinct to act before inflation expectations become entrenched is therefore defensible. Everyday Koreans remain uninvited to the AI party The problem is that an aggregate economy can look much healthier than many of the people living inside it. Korea increasingly resembles a two-speed economy - spectacular profits, exports and asset wealth at the top and borrowers and young workers who are receiving much less of the AI dividend are left well behind. Paychecks tell the same story. Wages adjusted for inflation have stagnated, with real wages falling for three consecutive months through June. Real wages fell 0.1 percent from a year earlier in June, marking a third consecutive monthly decline and the longest losing streak since 2023, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday. In the second quarter, real wages dropped 0.8 percent even as nominal wages rose 2.1 percent, because consumer prices increased at a faster 3.0 percent pace. For ordinary workers, the celebrated AI boom has yet to translate into greater purchasing power. Household credit meanwhile reached a record 2,019.8 trillion won at the end of June after jumping 25.9 trillion won in just three months. That acceleration is one reason for the BOK to tighten. It is also precisely why Korea is unusually sensitive to higher rates. The medicine falls even bitter on the self-employed. Outstanding loans to self-employed borrowers reached a record 1,095.5 trillion won at the end of March. Delinquent debt climbed to 22.3 trillion won and the delinquency rate to 2.04 percent, the highest in nearly 11 years. The weakest borrowers are in a different league altogether. The delinquency rate among vulnerable self-employed borrowers — low-income or low-credit people indebted to multiple financial institutions — reached 12.6 percent in the first quarter and has remained in double digits for 10 consecutive quarters. Some 342,500 such borrowers owed 117.2 trillion won. The BOK has estimated that a 25-basis-point increase in lending rates would add about 1.8 trillion won to the self-employed sector's annual interest bill. These are not borrowers benefiting directly from soaring HBM prices or trillion-dollar AI data centers. The generational divide is equally uncomfortable. The employment rate for Koreans aged 15 to 29 fell 1.6 percentage points from a year earlier to 44.2 percent in July, marking its 27th consecutive month of decline. The number of employed young people fell by 191,000, extending a losing streak to 45 months, while youth unemployment climbed to 6.8 percent. Manufacturing employment fell by another 68,000 and has now declined for 25 consecutive months. The irony is that the same AI revolution giving the BOK confidence to raise rates may be aggravating the labor-market weakness. The central bank's own researchers found that youth employment declined by 285,000 jobs over the past four years. Some 268,000 of those losses — 94 percent — occurred in industries with high exposure to AI, including information services, publishing, computer programming and professional services. Older workers in many of the same sectors fared better. AI is creating unprecedented corporate wealth while simultaneously removing some of the first rungs from the career ladder. None of this means the BOK should ignore inflation, household leverage or Seoul property prices. Allowing another debt-and-property bubble to form while corporate profits and government spending surge would carry its own enormous cost. But interest rates are a blunt instrument. One policy rate is now being asked to contain inflation, cool metropolitan housing, restrain household borrowing, anchor the currency and temper speculative financial markets. The same rate simultaneously sets the financing cost for restaurants, small manufacturers, young homebuyers and companies far removed from the semiconductor supercycle. That is too much work for one instrument. After two consecutive hikes, the better course is to give the medicine time to circulate. Shin himself indicated that future increases should be gradual, with policymakers' six-month projections pointing to another move toward 3.25 percent rather than an urgent tightening cycle. Housing leverage should increasingly be dealt with through targeted macroprudential measures. Lending rules can be tightened where property speculation is concentrated without raising financing costs for every borrower nationwide. Fiscal and financial policy can do what the base rate cannot: restructure distressed self-employed debt, support viable small businesses while helping unviable ones exit, and invest the chip tax windfall in retraining and employment pathways for young people displaced by AI. The government's planned Future Response Fund, financed by exceptional chip-driven tax revenue, is explicitly intended to direct resources toward youth, education, regional development and future industries. That is the sort of targeted counterpart a tighter monetary policy requires. The BOK has already achieved one important goal. Nobody in the market can now mistake its resolve. Shin's hoe-and-spade proverb is apt, but it cuts both ways. Acting early can prevent a much more painful cure later. An excessive dose, however, can weaken the patients least responsible for the fever. The BOK has delivered its strong signal. It should now give the medicine time to work before reaching for another dose. *The author is the managing editor of AJP. 2026-08-27 14:27:32 -
South Korean footballers to face Qatar, Saudi Arabia at Asian Games SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - South Korea will face Saudi Arabia and Qatar in men's football as it seeks a fourth consecutive triumph at the upcoming Asian Games in Japan next month. With the quadrennial sporting event set to kick off with an opening ceremony in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, on Sept. 19, South Korea will have its first match against Qatar on Sept. 15 before facing Saudi Arabia on Sept. 22. Among the 15 participating countries divided into four groups for the football tournament, one group has three teams while the other three have four teams each. South Korea is in the three-team group, and the top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals. South Korea will play only two group-stage matches, making its opening match against Qatar especially important. Head coach Lee Min-sung has formed a strong squad with nine players playing in Europe, including Stoke City's Bae Jun-ho, Brentford's Kim Ji-soo, Newcastle United's Park Seung-soo and Tottenham Hotspur's Yang Min-hyeok. The 23-man roster also includes three wild-card players such as Gangwon FC's Lee Gi-hyuk, Celtic FC's Yang Hyun-jun and Swansea City's Eom Ji-sung. The four players, Bae, Eom, Lee and Yang, were also included in South Korea's national team squad for this summer's World Cup in June. Despite its seemingly formidable roster, South Korea cannot afford to be complacent after finishing fourth at the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia in January. It reached the semifinals but lost 1-0 to Japan, then drew 2-2 with Viet Nam after extra time in the third-place match before losing 7-6 on penalties. At the time, host Saudi Arabia failed to advance from the group stage after finishing third in its group, while Qatar fared even worse, losing all three matches without scoring a goal. These results make South Korea a potential favorite in the upcoming tournament, but the shorter group-stage format leaves little room for mistakes. South Korea took gold at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, the 2018 Games in Jakarta-Palembang and the 2022 Games in Hangzhou, and will now look to secure a fourth consecutive title in men's football. AJP Takeaways • South Korea will face Qatar on Sept. 15 and Saudi Arabia on Sept. 22 in the three-team Group D at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, with only the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinals. • Head coach Lee Min-sung has named a 23-man squad featuring nine Europe-based players and three wild-card selections, giving South Korea one of the strongest squads in the tournament. • South Korea is seeking a fourth consecutive Asian Games men's football title after winning gold at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Games, but its fourth-place finish at the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in January shows it cannot afford to be complacent. 2026-08-27 14:19:18 -
S. Korea finds no formaldehyde in Chinese cabbage kimchi SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - South Korea's food safety regulator found no formaldehyde in any of 82 cabbage kimchi and cabbage samples pulled from the market, easing concerns that Chinese farms had used the carcinogen on their crops. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Thursday it tested 50 samples of cabbage kimchi, 29 of napa cabbage and three of salted cabbage after reports that formaldehyde, a Group 1 carcinogen, had been applied to cabbage cultivation in China. The ministry said it screened products from every Chinese cabbage manufacturer and packaging firm distributing in South Korea. Through the Korea Agency of HACCP Accreditation and Services stationed in China, it also traced the sourcing regions of 55 Chinese kimchi makers exporting to the country, finding none had bought cabbage from Kangbao county in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, where the tainted produce originated. All 55 manufacturers hold Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification, the ministry said, noting that since October 2024 only kimchi produced by HACCP-certified facilities may be imported. "Since strengthening inspections of Chinese cabbage on the 24th, we have been rigorously managing import safety, including testing for formaldehyde at the customs clearance stage," a ministry official said. Formaldehyde, classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, is used in disinfection and tissue preservation. The alarm followed revelations that farmers in some rural parts of China had used the chemical to keep cabbage fresh, prompting Beijing's central government to order a special probe. AJP Takeaways • South Korea sourced the overwhelming majority of its commercial kimchi cabbage from China, giving any contamination scare outsized weight for the domestic food-service and restaurant supply chain. • All 82 tested samples — 50 cabbage kimchi, 29 napa cabbage and three salted cabbage — returned negative for formaldehyde, and none of 55 exporting makers sourced from the affected Kangbao county. • Beijing has ordered its own special investigation, with any findings potentially prompting tighter customs screening or a temporary import review in Korea. 2026-08-27 14:02:24 -
Korea's card debt surges on increased borrowing before higher rates SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - South Korean card and insurance companies earned more in the first half as personal borrowings sought to secondary lenders due to stricter bank regulations, boding badly for household finances with lending rates set to go higher after the central bank's faster-than-expected rate hikes, government data showed Thursday. Credit and debit card purchases totaled 635.3 trillion won in the first half, up from 595.7 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The figures cover eight standalone card companies and 11 banks that also issue cards. Borrowing rose much faster. Total card lending increased 9 percent to 56.1 trillion won. Long-term card loans, commonly known in Korea as card loans, surged to 28 trillion won from 23.2 trillion won a year earlier. Short-term card loans, or cash advances, moved in the opposite direction, falling 0.8 percent to 28.1 trillion won. That means almost all of the increase in card borrowing came from longer-term card loans as individuals moved to secure loans before the rates went higher. Borrowing has already has become more expensive. The average card-loan rate at the eight standalone issuers rose to 14.15 percent in July from 13.87 percent in June, crossing 14 percent for the first time in nine months, according to the Credit Finance Association (CREFIA). Thursday's interest-rate hike could add to borrowing-cost pressures over time. The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate to 3 percent, with card loans already up 20.9 percent from a year earlier and the average card-loan rate at 14.15 percent in July. Higher funding costs have contributed to the increase. Unlike banks, card companies do not take deposits and rely heavily on bonds to raise money for lending. Higher market rates can therefore increase their funding costs and eventually put upward pressure on card-loan rates. Rising delinquencies have also increased the need for issuers to manage credit risk. Signs of repayment difficulty also increased slightly. The share of card loans overdue by at least one month rose to 3.35 percent at the end of June from 3.21 percent at the end of last year. The delinquency rate for card purchases and card loans combined rose to 1.61 percent from 1.54 percent. That does not mean card issuers themselves are becoming financially unstable. The share of their receivables classified as being at higher risk of loss fell to 1.13 percent from 1.15 percent at the end of 2025. The FSS said overall asset quality remained stable and card companies had generally adequate capacity to absorb losses. Card companies also remained profitable. The eight standalone issuers posted a combined net profit of 1.2934 trillion won in the first half, up 5.6 percent from 1.2251 trillion won a year earlier. The higher profit was not driven by card lending. Card-loan revenue fell by 50.5 billion won, while fees from card purchases at merchants increased by 196.3 billion won and installment-payment fee revenue rose by 100.2 billion won. The FSS said increased credit-card purchases were among the factors lifting profits. Insurance companies also posted higher profits, although life and non-life insurers showed different trends in their insurance businesses. The country's 52 insurers, including 22 life insurers and 30 non-life insurers, earned a combined 9.0138 trillion won in the first half, up 13 percent from a year earlier. Life insurers' net profit rose 17.7 percent to 3.9254 trillion won, while non-life insurers' profit increased 9.6 percent to 5.0884 trillion won. Life insurers, however, earned less from insurance operations. Insurance profit fell 26.2 percent to 1.9297 trillion won from 2.6147 trillion won a year earlier. The regulator said the decline reflected higher costs from loss-making contracts and larger losses when actual insurance results differed from previous estimates. Investment earnings more than offset the decline. Life insurers' investment profit jumped 51.6 percent to 2.6803 trillion won, helped by higher interest and dividend income and gains on financial assets. Insurers make up the bulk of institutional players in the equity and bond market. Life insurers collected 65.2045 trillion won in premiums in the first half, up 8.4 percent from a year earlier. Premium income from protection products rose 10.8 percent, while variable insurance premiums increased 3.9 percent and retirement pension-related premiums climbed 18.4 percent, reflecting high wage-earners seeking safe non-bank haven to park their income. Savings-type insurance was the only major category to decline, falling 1.3 percent to 14.1928 trillion won. Non-life insurers performed better in their core insurance business. Insurance profit rose 14 percent to 4.3261 trillion won, while investment profit increased 10.2 percent to 2.7601 trillion won. Premiums also increased across all major business lines, including long-term and automobile insurance. Key Takeaways • South Korean card borrowing grew far faster than spending in the first half of 2026. Long-term card loans jumped 20.9 percent on year to 28 trillion won, while credit and debit card purchases rose 6.7 percent to 635.3 trillion won, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. • The average card-loan rate at South Korea's eight standalone card issuers reached 14.15 percent in July 2026, while the card-loan delinquency rate rose to 3.35 percent at the end of June from 3.21 percent at the end of 2025. • South Korean financial companies remained profitable despite signs of pressure among some card borrowers. Eight standalone card issuers posted a 5.6 percent increase in first-half net profit, while 52 life and non-life insurers earned a combined 9.0138 trillion won, up 13 percent on year. Life insurers' insurance profit fell 26.2 percent, but stronger investment earnings lifted their overall profit. 2026-08-27 13:12:27 -
Zhou Mi of Super Junior M to lead China venture STE SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - SM Entertainment has named Zhou Mi of Super Junior-M to lead its new Beijing joint venture with Tencent Music Entertainment Group, the company said Thursday. The joint venture, called STE, was established after SM and TME signed a memorandum of understanding in May to expand cooperation in the Chinese-speaking market. STE will work on a new Chinese idol group project that SM is preparing to debut within the next two to three years. The company will oversee auditions for new artists and handle local management in China after the group debuts. STE will also manage China-region activities for SM artists including NCT DREAM's Renjun and WayV members Yangyang and Xiaojun. SM said the venture will provide more localized promotion and entertainment activity support for the artists. Zhou has performed with Super Junior-M and as a solo artist for nearly two decades. He has also worked as a director at SM's China unit, giving him experience in both artist activity and local management, according to the company. Zhou said he hopes STE will combine SM's strengths in intellectual property and content production with the Chinese-speaking market. AJP Takeaways · SM Entertainment has established a Beijing joint venture with Tencent Music Entertainment Group. · The company, STE, will be led by Zhou Mi of Super Junior-M. · STE will work on a Chinese rookie idol group project targeted for debut within two to three years. 2026-08-27 13:03:47 -
Sookmyung team tunes coating strength by adjusting CO2 pressure SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - A coating material built from discarded plastic bottles and carbon dioxide can be made soft and rubbery or firm and glassy by changing one setting in the reactor, researchers at Sookmyung Women's University found. The team traced how the molecular structure of the starting material shapes the behavior of the finished film, turning a single laboratory result into something closer to a recipe with dials. The range they measured is wide. Glass transition temperature, the point at which a plastic shifts from stiff and glassy to soft and rubbery, moved from minus 36.4 degrees Celsius to 17.5 degrees Celsius depending on how the material was made. Tensile strength, a measure of how hard a film can be pulled before it tears, reached 13.6 megapascals, roughly the range of the flexible plastic films used in packaging. Because that temperature span crosses ordinary room temperature, the same feedstock can yield a film that behaves like rubber on a desk or one that behaves like a hard shell. The material belongs to a family called UV-curable coatings, which harden in seconds under an ultraviolet lamp rather than being baked or left to dry with solvents. They appear on phone screens, wood flooring, furniture, printing inks and optical film. Most of them start from polyols, a class of liquid building blocks that the chemical industry draws almost entirely from petroleum. The Sookmyung work replaces part of that petroleum input with two things normally treated as waste. Polyethylene terephthalate, the plastic used in beverage bottles and better known as PET, supplies one half. Carbon dioxide supplies the other. The team broke down waste PET chemically to recover an intermediate compound called BHET, reacted that compound with carbon dioxide to build a polyol, then converted the polyol into a polyurethane acrylate, the UV-curable material tested in the study. Control came from two variables. By changing the pressure at which carbon dioxide was fed into the reaction and by changing the proportions of the starting materials, the researchers adjusted how much carbonate structure derived from CO2 and how much aromatic structure derived from PET ended up in the polyol. Those two features then shaped the crosslinked network that forms when the material cures, and the network determined the thermal and mechanical properties of the film. The aromatic rings inherited from the bottle plastic did most of the stiffening. They restricted the movement of the polymer chains, raising the rigidity and the mechanical performance of the material. The university said the significance lies in connecting the molecular structure of the raw material to the network formed during curing and then to the properties of the finished product, a relationship it calls structure, network and property. The team expects the material to find use in coatings, films and adhesives. The paper extends work the same group published earlier, in which PET-derived feedstock and carbon dioxide were combined into polyols and used to make flexible polyurethane foam. The new study carries that chemistry into UV-cured materials, which cure differently and go into different products. The findings appeared in Chemical Engineering Journal, volume 547. Chae Ji-young was the first author, Kim Ye-in, Lee Da-young, and Kim Ha-rin were co-authors, and Sookmyung's Baik Joon-hyun was the corresponding author. "We plan to expand the research toward developing high-value materials that use waste plastic and carbon dioxide," Baik said. Journal/Source: Chemical Engineering Journal (IF: 12.5, JCR top 4.5%) Title: Integrated upcycling of waste PET and CO2 into UV-curable polyurethane acrylates via CO2-based polyols Link/DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.180657 2026-08-27 12:56:52 -
UPDATE: BOK stays hawkish after summer back-to-back hike *Updated with additional information, economic outlook and market response SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) -The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday opted for a back-to-back increase to lift the key rate to 3.00 percent - the highest since January 2025 - in preemptive action to rein in inflationary pressure renewed from an economy expected to grow at its fastest pace in five years on the chip boom. The move was almost unanimous, with one dissent, and narrowed the interest-rate gap with the United States to 50 basis points at the lower end of the Federal Reserve's target range. The BOK worried that the economy's strong run could add demand-side price pressure and feed into wages, on top of higher input costs stemming from Middle East tensions, trade frictions and strong AI-related demand. The BOK said stronger-than-expected growth, supported by robust exports and a recovery in domestic demand, was expected to keep inflation above its 2 percent target for a considerable period. "The most important factor was our assessment of inflation," Gov. Shin Hyun-song told reporters in post-rate meeting briefing. Shin said the higher core inflation outlook reflected stronger underlying price pressures as improving income conditions supported demand and that acting earlier could reduce the eventual cost to the economy and limit the intensity and duration of tightening needed later. Six of the seven Monetary Policy Board members supported the 25-basis-point increase. Hwang Kun-il dissented, arguing that the base rate should remain at 2.75 percent. It was the first dissent in favor of a hold during a rate-hike decision since January 2023, when two board members opposed an increase. The BOK's six-month conditional rate projections shifted markedly higher, signaling that Thursday's move may not be the end of the tightening cycle. Of 21 probability-weighted dots submitted by the seven board members, 10 were placed at 3.25 percent and six at 3.50 percent. Five remained at the current 3.00 percent. In May, only two dots had been above 3.00 percent. Ten were at 3.00 percent, seven at 2.75 percent and two at 2.50 percent. The BOK in post-rate statement said it would determine the timing and pace of further rate increases after assessing inflation, economic growth and financial-stability conditions. The central bank at the same time sharply upgraded its economic outlook alongside the rate decision. It raised growth forecast to 3.3 percent from 2.6 percent in May estimate for this year and to 2.9 percent from 2.1 percent for 2027. The BOK expects strong semiconductor conditions to sustain rapid growth in exports and investment, while improving income conditions gradually broaden the recovery in consumption. Risks include the extent of the semiconductor upcycle, how strongly export gains spill over into domestic demand, developments in the Middle East and changes in the global trade environment. The bullish economic outlook should have supported capital markets, but retail1 investors focused instead on higher borrowing costs, which add to the burden of leveraged bets on stocks and housing. By midday, the KOSPI was up about 0.8 percent at 6,863, paring an earlier gain of more than 2 percent after the rate decision. The Korean won strengthened 5.8 won from the previous session to around 1,379 per dollar. Longer-dated government bond yields rose on the BOK's hawkish tone. The 10-year yield added 1.4 basis points to 4.302 percent, while the 20-year yield climbed 1.5 basis points to 4.557 percent. Headline consumer inflation forecasts were unchanged at 2.7 percent for this year and 2.3 percent for next year. Underlying price pressure, however, was revised higher. The BOK raised its core inflation forecast to 2.5 percent for both years, from 2.4 percent for 2026 and 2.3 percent for 2027. Consumer inflation slowed to 2.8 percent in July as increases in petroleum and agricultural prices moderated, but core inflation excluding food and energy accelerated to 2.6 percent as personal-service and durable-goods prices rose faster. Short-term inflation expectations among consumers remained in the upper 2 percent range. The central bank expects accumulated cost pressures to continue feeding through to prices, while improving income conditions gradually strengthen demand-side pressure. It identified oil prices, exchange-rate movements, the pace of domestic-demand recovery and the extent of wage increases as major uncertainties surrounding the inflation outlook. Financial-stability concerns also strengthened the case for another hike. The BOK said housing prices in Seoul and surrounding areas continued to rise rapidly and household lending increased substantially. Seoul home prices rose 1.1 percent in July from the previous month, while prices across the broader capital region gained 0.7 percent. Bank household lending increased by 5.4 trillion won during the month, including a 3.4 trillion won rise in mortgage lending. Meanwhile, the won strengthened sharply as foreign equity outflows eased, foreign-exchange supply-demand conditions improved and the U.S. dollar weakened. The dollar-won rate stood at 1,384.8 on Aug. 26, compared with 1,424.0 at the end of July. The decision came against widespread expectations for a pause in the domestic bond market. A Korea Financial Investment Association survey released ahead of the meeting showed 79 percent of respondents expected the BOK to hold the rate. South Korea's benchmark rate had remained at 2.50 percent from May last year until the BOK raised it by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent in July, its first increase since January 2023. The two consecutive hikes have reversed half of the 100 basis points of easing delivered between October 2024 and May 2025, when the BOK lowered the base rate from 3.50 percent to 2.50 percent. The global backdrop remains complicated. The BOK said the world economy continues to grow moderately despite persistent Middle East tensions, supported in part by robust AI investment, while inflation is likely to remain elevated for some time because of higher energy prices. It also cited uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy and the Middle East, rising concerns over fiscal soundness in major economies and higher long-term bond yields. The U.S. dollar has weakened even as global equities broadly advanced on solid corporate earnings. The BOK said its policy focus will remain on bringing inflation back toward target over the medium term while guarding against financial instability. Further moves will depend on the path of inflation and growth as well as housing prices, household debt and other financial-stability risks. AJP Takeaways The BOK raised the benchmark rate to 3.00 percent in a 6-1 decision, delivering a second straight increase as it moved preemptively against persistent inflation pressure. The six-month rate outlook turned sharply more hawkish, with 16 of 21 probability-weighted dots pointing above the current 3.00 percent rate. Growth forecasts were raised sharply to 3.3 percent for 2026 and 2.9 percent for 2027, reflecting stronger semiconductor exports, investment and recovering consumption. Headline inflation forecasts were unchanged, but core inflation was revised higher, while rising Seoul home prices and household debt reinforced the case for continued tightening. 2026-08-27 11:51:08 -
U.S. reaffirms commitment to North Korea's complete denuclearization SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - The Trump administration has reaffirmed that the United States remains committed to the complete denuclearization of North Korea, clarifying its policy after President Donald Trump recently declined to say whether denuclearization remained his goal in seeking renewed talks with Pyongyang. “The United States remains committed to the complete denuclearization of North Korea,” a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday in response to a question on whether the administration’s goal remained unchanged. Another U.S. official said separately that “there has been no change in U.S. policy.” The statements mark the clearest response from the Trump administration on the issue since the president raised questions over Washington’s longstanding denuclearization policy with a series of conciliatory gestures toward North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump recently ordered a reduction in the annual South Korea-U.S. Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise and has expressed interest in meeting Kim again later this year. Questions over Washington’s position intensified after Trump said on Aug. 19 that North Korea possesses about 57 nuclear weapons, an unusually specific public reference to the size of Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal. Asked later that day whether denuclearization remained his objective in seeking to reengage Kim, Trump declined to answer directly. “Well, I don't want to talk about that,” Trump said, before emphasizing his personal relationship with the North Korean leader and arguing that South Korea and Japan were safer with him as president. His response fueled speculation that Washington could be considering a shift away from demanding complete denuclearization toward negotiations focused on managing or limiting North Korea’s existing nuclear arsenal. South Korea has also sought to dispel concerns over a potential policy shift. Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that South Korea and the United States continue to share the goal of denuclearization, despite the term being omitted from separate readouts of a recent phone call between Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “The two countries have consistently maintained the goals of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and denuclearization,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said. AJP Takeaways · The U.S. says it remains committed to the complete denuclearization of North Korea. · The clarification follows Trump’s recent refusal to say whether denuclearization remains his goal. · South Korea and the U.S. continue to share denuclearization as a policy objective. 2026-08-27 11:06:39