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  South Korea convenes emergency meeting after Trump threatens tariff hike SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) - An emergency meeting was convened to discuss how to respond after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly threatened to raise tariffs again, Cheong Wa Dae said on Tuesday. The meeting, chaired by presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom along with key officials from relevant ministries, comes after Trump posted on his own social media platform Truth Social that he would raise reciprocal tariffs from 15 percent to 25 percent, citing delays in their implement January 27, 2026
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  BTS world tour triggers global travel surge, boosting Korea tourism SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) - Global excitement is building ahead of BTS’s first full-group world tour in more than four years. Fans are moving quickly to secure flights and accommodation to Korea, helping turn “tour tourism” into a major growth driver for the local travel industry. According to global travel platform Hotels.com on January 21, searches for inbound travel to Korea surged in the 48 hours following the announcement of BTS’s new world tour, BTS W January 27, 2026
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  Korean large firms turn confident about business prospects for the first time in nearly 4 yrs SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) -South Korea’s large manufacturers — most of them export-oriented — turned optimistic about business conditions on strong orders in semiconductors and shipbuilding, even as overall business sentiment softened at the start of 2026, a Bank of Korea survey showed Tuesday. The business sentiment index for large manufacturing firms rose to 101.8 in January, up from 97.7 a month earlier, marking the first time the reading topped the neutral 100 th January 27, 2026
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  Trump threatens to raise tariffs back to 25%, blaming Seoul for delaying tariff deal SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) -U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he is raising tariffs on a wide range of South Korean goods from 15 percent to 25 percent, citing delays in South Korea’s National Assembly approving a bilateral trade agreement reached last year. “Because the Korean Legislature hasn’t enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative, I am hereby increasing South Korean TARIFFS on Autos, Lumber, Pharma, and all other Reciprocal TARIFFS January 27, 2026
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  Regulator blocks merger plan for Korea's leading car rental firms, citing monopoly risks SEOUL, January 26 (AJP) - South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has blocked a proposed merger between Lotte Rental and SK Rent-a-Car, the country’s largest and second-largest rental-car operators, citing concerns that the deal would weaken competition and lead to higher prices. The commission said on Monday it had issued such an order on a filing by private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners to acquire a 63.5 percent stake in Lotte Rental. Affinity acquired January 26, 2026
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  A star rising quietly from the K-pop margins with soothing voice -Hanroro SEOUL, January 26 (AJP) – While the global spotlight is fixed on BTS’s long-awaited comeback and K-pop’s high-profile Grammy ambitions, a very different ascent is unfolding on Korea’s domestic charts — quieter, slower, but no less decisive. Hanroro, an indie singer-songwriter once known mainly through word of mouth, has emerged as one of the most talked-about new voices of the year. Often described as a “Gen Z rock star,” she has climbed s January 26, 2026
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  Lunar New Year's preparation slightly eases from last year SEOUL, January 26 (AJP) - The cost of preparing an ancestral table at traditional markets ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday has been surveyed at 296,500 won(about 205 dollars), slightly lower than last year. According to a survey conducted by Korea Price Information (KPI), a specialized price research agency, on Jan. 25, the cost for a four-person family declined 1.98% year-on-year at traditional markets. Large discount stores also saw a 0.64% drop to 406,880 won(about 282 dolla January 26, 2026
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  KOSDAQ steals the day in subdued Asian markets SEOUL, January 26 (AJP) - Korea’s secondary KOSDAQ stole the spotlight Monday, surging more than 7 percent as most Asian equities retreated, in a striking display of risk appetite concentrated in higher-beta names. The tech-heavy index jumped 7.09 percent — its biggest daily gain in more than two years — to close at 1,064.4 and return to 1,000-mark in four years. The sharp advance triggered a temporary trading halt under the sidecar mechanism at 9:59 a.m., a January 26, 2026
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  Kazakhstan president proposes vice presidency and unicameral parliament in major reform push SEOUL, January 26 (AJP) - President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced a major overhaul of the national government on January 20, proposing the creation of a vice presidency and a transition to a single-chamber legislature. Speaking at the National Kurultai in Kyzylorda, the president outlined a series of constitutional amendments intended to modernize the state system. The proposal includes the establishment of a Vice President who would represent South Korea's neighbor on the i January 26, 2026
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  Team Korea in Canada under watch as Korea's defense manufacturing moves to global center SEOUL, January 26 (AJP) -As countries accelerate rearmament amid a more inward-looking U.S. security posture, South Korea’s defense manufacturing capacity has moved to the center of global procurement — a shift underscored by Seoul’s decision to dispatch a high-level delegation to Canada to back a $44 billion submarine bid. Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik departed for Canada on Monday, leading a delegation that includes Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and January 26, 2026