Industry

  • South Koreas economy shows gradual recovery as consumption improves: KDI
    South Korea's economy shows gradual recovery as consumption improves: KDI SEOUL, December 08 (AJP) - South Korea’s economy is showing signs of gradual improvement, driven by stronger consumer spending, but risks remain from a prolonged construction downturn and persistent global trade uncertainties, the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in a report published on Monday. In its December economic assessment, KDI said the delayed effects of interest rate cuts and continued government support were lifting household consumption, helping to sustain a mo December 8, 2025
  • South Koreas LIG Nex1 seeks to localize chips for AESA, SAR radar systems
    South Korea's LIG Nex1 seeks to localize chips for AESA, SAR radar systems SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) - South Korean defense contractor LIG Nex1 has launched a project to develop key semiconductors for active electronically scanned array (AESA) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems using fully domestic technology. The company said it signed agreements on Nov. 28 with the Defense Technology Promotion Research Institute to co-develop X-band common monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) and front-end module platforms for AESA radar, as well as broadband MMIC a December 5, 2025
  • Koreas C/V surplus halves, outbound stock invest outsized inbound by a factor of 6
    Korea's C/V surplus halves, outbound stock invest outsized inbound by a factor of 6 SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) - South Korea posted its 30th straight monthly current account surplus in October, but the headline figure shrank to a six-month low as reduced factory activity during the Chuseok holiday dampened trade, according the central bank data, which also showed Korean outbound stock purchases overwhelming foreign inflows by a factor of six to explain the stubbornly weak Korean won against the U.S. dollar. The Bank of Korea said Friday that the country recorded a $6.81 billion December 5, 2025
  • Samsung teases new flagship chip for Galaxy S26 series
    Samsung teases new flagship chip for Galaxy S26 series SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics on Thursday unveiled its upcoming mobile application processor, Exynos 2600, with a 30-second teaser video posted on its official YouTube channel. The Exynos 2600 is slated to power the next-generation Galaxy S26 series. The chip is reportedly the company’s first to be built with a cutting-edge 2-nanometer process. The teaser opens with the words, “In silence, we listened,” followed by promises that the new chip is “refined December 4, 2025
  • South Koreans attempt catchup in AI race between U.S.–China with early-adoption strategy
    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 fr December 1, 2025
  • UPDATE: Koreas factory output and investment slump Oct on stalled chip activity
    UPDATE: Korea's factory output and investment slump Oct on stalled chip activity SEOUL, November 28 (AJP) - South Korea’s factory output in October shrank at the steepest rate in five years, while facility investment tumbled by double digits — all tied to stalled chip activity — further underscoring the country’s heavy reliance on the semiconductor sector for economic performance, data showed Friday. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, mining and manufacturing output fell 4 percent on month, the steepest drop since the 7.5 percent decli November 28, 2025
  • Koreas Oct factory output dips steepest in 5 years on chipmaking cutback
    Korea's Oct factory output dips steepest in 5 years on chipmaking cutback SEOUL, November 28 (AJP) - South Korea’s industrial output shrank at the steepest rate in five years in October on a sharp contraction in semiconductor activity that again underscored the economy’s heavy dependence on chipmaking, government data showed Friday. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics Industrial Output data, mining and manufacturing output declined 4 percent on month, the steepest drop since 7.5 percent in May 2020, and 8.1 percent on year, the sharpest since November 28, 2025
  • SKs bet on chips pays off as the Korean group eyes $82b milestone exports
    SK's bet on chips pays off as the Korean group eyes $82b milestone exports SEOUL, November 25 (AJP) -Chipmaking — led by high-bandwidth memory (HBM) — accounted for 65 percent of record-setting outbound shipments by South Korea’s SK Group, which is on track to post historic exports of 120 trillion won ($82 billion) this year. Group-wide exports across SK’s portfolio — spanning semiconductors, batteries, energy, and telecommunications — reached 87.8 trillion won between January and September, up nearly 20 percent from a year earlier. November 25, 2025
  • Korean won nears 1,500, reshaping export gains and deepening cost pains across industries
    Korean won nears 1,500, reshaping export gains and deepening cost pains across industries SEOUL, November 24 (AJP) - The Korean won’s slide toward the 1,500-per-dollar mark — a level touched only during crisis periods — is raising alarms for a trade-dependent economy where a cheaper currency now delivers diminishing benefits to exports while magnifying cost burdens for companies with massive U.S. investment plans. According to Bank for International Settlements data, Korea’s real effective exchange rate (REER) fell to 89.09 at the end of October, the lowest s November 24, 2025
  • Lee seeks to expand cooperation in high-tech industries with UAE
    Lee seeks to expand cooperation in high-tech industries with UAE SEOUL, November 18 (AJP) - South Korea aims to lay the foundation for a new phase in bilateral relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by expanding cooperation in high-tech and future industries including healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI), and other advanced technologies, President Lee Jae Myung said in an interview with the UAE's English-language newspaper Aletihad. Lee, who is currently in Abu Dhabi before attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit in South Africa later this week November 18, 2025