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South Koreans rush to hoard dollars amid weakening won SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - South Koreans have been hoarding U.S. dollars as the greenback continues its strong run. According to financial data released on Thursday, individual customers of South Korea's five major banks -Hana, KB Kookmin, NH Nonghyup, Shinhan, and Woori - exchanged South Korean currency for U.S. dollars worth about US$480.81 million over the past three weeks. The amount breaks down to $22.90 million per day on average, more than double the daily average of $1 January 15, 2026
Hyundai Motor's Palisade named North America's top utility vehicle of the year SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor said on Thursday that its Palisade sport utility vehicle has been named this year's North American Utility Vehicle of the Year, citing the model’s upgraded hybrid system and strong appeal in the U.S. market. Finalists in the 2026 utility category included the Hyundai Palisade, Lucid Gravity and Nissan Leaf. Hyundai said the Palisade emerged as the winner following close competition. Judges cited the Palisade’s next-gener January 15, 2026
South Korea trade chief tells US officials, lawmakers Coupang probe is not 'trade issue' SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - South Korea’s trade minister Yeo Han-koo has told U.S. officials and lawmakers that a domestic probe into e-commerce firm Coupang should not be interpreted as a diplomatic or trade issue, officials here said on Thursday. Yeo made the remarks during a visit to Washington from Jan. 11 to 14, where he held outreach meetings with U.S. lawmakers, government officials and industry representatives, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energ January 15, 2026
LG CNS invests in Cha Biotech to scale AI-driven healthcare SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - LG CNS said on Thursday it is moving to scale up its digital healthcare business through a strategic partnership with Cha Bio Group. The IT services firm, led by Chief Executive Hyun Shin-gyun, said it signed a partnership agreement with Cha Biotech. The deal includes a 10 billion won ($7.4 million) equity investment and cooperation on artificial intelligence transformation and digital transformation projects. Hyun and Cha Won-tae, vice chairman of Cha January 15, 2026
Samsung working with US labs to develop next-generation clothes dryer SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics said on Thursday that its research into next-generation clothes-drying technology has been selected for official support by the U.S. Department of Energy. The South Korean electronics giant said the project aims to develop a high-performance dryer that sharply reduces energy use while maintaining drying efficiency. Samsung is working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory of the U.S. and the University of South Carolina’s depart January 15, 2026
SK hynix determined to defend lead through talent and HBM investment SEOUL, January 14 (AJP) - Over the past year, South Korea’s memory chipmaker SK hynix has nearly quadrupled its market value and overtaken Intel in sales to become the world’s third-largest semiconductor company after behind Nvidia and Samsung Electronics. The turning point came in 2025, a decisive year for the AI-driven chip upcycle. Global semiconductor sales jumped 21 percent to $793 billion, led by AI processors, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and networking chips, ac January 14, 2026
After EV slowdown, Korea's battery giants pivot to robots via solid-state cells SEOUL, January 14 (AJP) - After years of EV-led expansion, South Korea's battery makers are confronting a harsher reality as global electric-vehicle sales cool and clean-energy strategies fragment across regions. In response, the industry is doubling down on solid-state batteries — betting that humanoid robots, rather than cars, may offer an earlier and more reliable route to commercialization. POSCO Future M, the battery materials arm of POSCO Group, said this week it has January 14, 2026
South Korea's finance chief links pension strategy, digital assets to currency stability SEOUL, January 14 (AJP) - Despite a record current-account surplus, South Korea’s currency market has become more volatile, driven by imbalances in capital flows rather than trade, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol said Wednesday. Koo made the remarks Tuesday in a video address to a symposium hosted at the Korea Federation of Banks building in Seoul, while on a visit to the U.S. The event focused on changes in the foreign-exchange market January 14, 2026
KEPCO eyes US market with Columbia grid project SEOUL, January 14 (AJP) - Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said Wednesday it has signed a technology cooperation agreement with the city of Columbia, S.C., as it looks to expand its business in the U.S., the world’s largest electricity market. KEPCO said it signed a memorandum of understanding on power distribution grid technology cooperation on Jan. 13, local time, at Columbia City Hall. The agreement was signed by Jung Chi-kyo, KEPCO’s executive vice president, January 14, 2026
Korean payroll growth stagnates in 2025 amid weak domestic demand, youth job scarcity SEOUL, Jan. 14 (AJP) — South Korea’s labor market held up on the surface in 2025, with employment and participation rates reaching record highs, but stagnant payroll growth, manufacturing job losses and the highest youth unemployment in three years underscored lingering fragility, government data showed Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the number of employed people aged 15 and older reached 28.769 million in 2025, up 193,000, or 0.7 percen January 14, 2026