Samsung, Apple lose ground in global smartphone market

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - For the first time since 2016, both Samsung Electronics and Apple saw their global smartphone market shares decline last year, according to research firm IDC data. Apple held 18.7 percent of the market in 2024, while Samsung held 18.0 percent. Samsung's smartphone shipments dipped 1.4 percent to 223.4 million units, despite strong initial sales of its AI-powered Galaxy S24. The company faced challenges with underwhelming sales of its foldable Z series

January 15, 2025

SK Biopharm to form joint venture in US with Brazil's Eurofarma

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - SK Biopharm announced plans to establish a joint venture with Brazilian pharmaceutical giant Eurofarma in the United States, the South Korean firm said at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference on Jan. 14. The venture will focus on commercializing an artificial intelligence-based epilepsy management platform in North America. This platform leverages SK Biopharm's AI technology for brain wave analysis and wearable devices developed since 2018. The remo

January 15, 2025

Weak won, rising oil prices push import costs higher

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - South Korea's import prices climbed for the third consecutive month in December, driven by a weaker Korean currency and higher global oil prices, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday. The import price index, which measures the costs of goods purchased overseas in won terms, rose 2.4 percent to 142.14 in December from 138.80 a month earlier. This marks a 7 percent increase over the past year. The Korean won weakened about 2.9 percent against the dol

January 15, 2025

PHOTOS: Yoon arrested for martial law declaration

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - Investigators arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday and transferred him to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) for questioning regarding his failed martial law declaration on Dec. 3. He is the first sitting president in South Korean history to be arrested.

January 15, 2025

Yoon arrested over martial law debacle

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - Investigators arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol after a six-hour confrontation at his official residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul on Wednesday. This marks the first time in the country's turbulent political history that an incumbent president has been taken into custody. Accompanied by over 1,000 police officers, hundreds of investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) arrived at the residence around 5:00 a.m. and

January 15, 2025

JYP Entertainment's new boy band set for debut next week

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - Seven-member boy band KickFlip will make their debut next week. "KickFlip will kick off their activities on Jan. 20 with the release of their first mini album, 'Flip It, Kick It!'," said their agency JYP Entertainment on Wednesday. Comprising five South Koreans and two Japanese, a couple of them including rapper Kyehoon have gained some recognition through their appearance on terrestrial broadcaster SBS' audition program "LOUD,"

January 15, 2025

Korea's imported car market shrinks for second straight year

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - South Korea's imported car market contracted for the second year in a row in 2024, marking the first such downturn since the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, according to data released Wednesday by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA). New registrations of imported passenger vehicles fell 2.9 percent to 263,288 units in 2024, down from 271,034 units the previous year. This follows a 4.4 percent decline in 2023.

January 15, 2025

Hyundai E&C to introduce Korea's first autonomous delivery robots for apartments

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - Hyundai Engineering & Construction will become the first South Korean construction company to commercialize autonomous door-to-door delivery robots, a system designed to handle packages, food delivery, and even security patrols in residential complexes. The company said Wednesday its integrated indoor-outdoor autonomous delivery service, developed in collaboration with Mobinn, a robot startup affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group, will debut at a high-e

January 15, 2025

PHOTOS: What makes Sangju's staple dried persimmons special  

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - Dried persimmons are among the most delectable winter delicacies for many South Koreans, with roughly 60 percent of their output coming from Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province. Farmers in Sangju usually get busy in mid-October as they start peeling persimmons and drying them for about two to three months, just before the chilly winter wind begins to blow. Persimmons, a versatile fruit eaten either fresh or dried, are harvested in late autumn w

January 15, 2025

PHOTOS: Investigators try again to detain Yoon

SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and police made a second attempt early Wednesday to execute an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, following the failure of their initial effort 12 days earlier on Jan. 3. At around 4 a.m., CIO investigators and police arrived near the presidential residence, where a standoff quickly developed. Initial physical clashes with the Presidential Security Service occurred but have since de-escalat

January 15, 2025