Hyundai Motor Group reports record US sales in Q3, driven by EVs, hybrids SEOUL, October 02 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor Group reported its best-ever third-quarter sales in the U.S. market, Thursday, signaling resilience despite trade tensions and the looming expiration of key electric vehicle tax credits. The surge was largely attributed to burgeoning demand for its environmentally friendly vehicles. The combined U.S. sales for Hyundai and its affiliate Kia reached 480,175 units in the third quarter, a substantial 12 percent increase compared to the same October 2, 2025

INTERVIEW: At Woori's Gangnam center, Kim Jae-sang builds home for super-rich SEOUL, October 02 (AJP) - With global stock markets buoyant and demand for tangible assets rising, wealthy investors in South Korea are reassessing where to put their money. For Kim Jae-sang, head of Gangnam Financial Center of Woori Securities, the answers lie in gold — and in Asia’s two largest economies. “Gold has transitioned from a safe haven and inflation hedge to an investment asset,” Kim said in an interview. “And when it comes to equities, October 2, 2025

SK Biopharm's US arm posts record sales of epilepsy drug SEOUL, October 02 (AJP) - SK Life Science, the U.S. subsidiary of South Korea’s SK Biopharm, reported record sales of its epilepsy treatment cenobamate in the first half of this year, reaching 170,000 cumulative prescriptions. The company highlighted the achievement during its annual “Plan of Action” meeting in Chicago, as it looks to build momentum in one of the world’s most competitive pharmaceutical markets. More than 130 employees from SK Life Scie October 2, 2025

OpenAI on board, Korea's AI drive and chip stock rally hit the accelerator SEOUL, October 02 (AJP) - South Korea has hit the accelerator in the global race for AI supremacy, drawing global capital and top-tier software players while leveraging its world-class chip and hardware infrastructure to establish itself as Asia’s hub for data centers. On Wednesday, the country’s two leading conglomerates—Samsung and SK Group, both home to the world’s biggest memory chipmakers—announced landmark partnerships with OpenAI, the creator o October 2, 2025

Jeju Samdasoo, Korea's top bottled water brand, eyes global expansion SEOUL, October 02 (AJP) - For nearly three decades, Jeju Samdasoo has dominated South Korea’s bottled water market. Now, the company is turning to international markets in search of growth, as competition at home intensifies and consumer habits shift. Baek Kyung-hoon, chief executive of Jeju Development Corporation, which produces Samdasoo, said the company is targeting 600 billion won, or about $435 million, in revenue by 2035. “Domestically, our real competitors October 2, 2025

Posco International opens EV material plant in Poland SEOUL, October 02 (AJP) - Posco International has opened a new factory in Poland to produce drive motor cores, a critical component for electric vehicles. The plant, located on a 100,000-square-meter site, will begin trial production this month, with full-scale operations scheduled for December. Drive motor cores, often described as the “heart” of an electric vehicle, form the core of the motor that powers the car. Posco International’s version incorporate October 2, 2025

South Korea logs record C/A surplus for Aug, extends 28-mo gain SEOUL, October 02 (AJP) -South Korea posted a current account surplus of $9.15 billion in August, extending its black streak to 28 consecutive months, as a sharp fall in energy imports offset weaker exports to key markets including the United States and China. According to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea on Thursday, the August surplus was down from $10.78 billion in July but marked the largest for the month on record. The cumulative surplus for January–August October 2, 2025

Kakao Games sells golf subsidiary to refocus on global gaming push SEOUL, October 02 (AJP) - Kakao Games has sold its golf subsidiary, Kakao VX, in a deal that will provide the company with more than $156 million in fresh capital as it shifts its focus toward big-budget video game development for international markets. The company said Thursday that its board approved the sale of 100 percent of Kakao VX shares to IVG, a subsidiary of Kakao Investment, in a transaction valued between $210 million and $250 million. Before transferring full own October 2, 2025

INTERVIEW: South Korean start-up bets on AI to transform learning Long before the recent surge in artificial intelligence triggered by OpenAI in 2023, Ellis Group had been quietly embedding AI tools into education. Founded a decade ago by a team of researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, the company now counts more than 9,500 institutions and 2.75 million users on its AI education platform, EllisLXP. The Seoul-based firm has become a leader in South Korea’s AI education sector, providing software for u October 2, 2025

South Korea's inflation rises back above 2 percent in September SEOUL, October 02 (AJP) - Consumer prices in South Korea rose 2.1 percent in September from a year earlier, returning to the 2 percent range after two months of slower growth, according to government data released on Thursday. The uptick was driven largely by higher costs for processed foods and livestock products, the National Data Office said. The consumer price index climbed to 117.06, rebounding from a 1.7 percent increase in August, when a temporary reduction in telecom fee October 2, 2025