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  BTS Live D-4: Gwanghwamun transforming into a mega open-air stage SEOUL, March 17 (AJP) -Seoul is turning its historic heart into a carefully controlled arena as nearly 260,000 fans are expected to gather for BTS’s return concert at Gwanghwamun on March 21. At the center of the plan is a transformation of open city streets into a “stadium-style” venue. Thirty-one official entry gates—stretching from the west (W1–W15) to the east (E1–E16)—will funnel crowds into designated zones, preventing dangerous over March 17, 2026
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  Activists rally in Seoul to oppose warship dispatch to Middle East SEOUL, March 17 (AJP) - Civic activists held a rally at Gwanghwamun in central Seoul on Tuesday to oppose the possible dispatch of warships to the Strait of Hormuz as well as the deployment of South Korean troops to the Middle East. They chanted with banners and stickers reading "no war" and "no deployment," urging an end to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, which began with U.S.-led airstrikes on Iran late last month. March 17, 2026
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  SK hynix eyes US ADR listing SEOUL, March 17 (AJP) - SK hynix is considering a U.S. stock-market listing in a bid to woo global investors, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said on Monday. Choi, who is currently attending Nvidia's annual GTC conference in San Jose, told reporters, "We are reviewing a listing via American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) to expand the company's investor base." ADRs allow non-U.S. companies to trade their shares on U.S. stock exchanges through depositary banks rathe March 17, 2026
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  BTS Live D-4 - Latest from Gwanghwamun SEOUL, March 17 (AJP) - With BTS’s comeback performance four days away, large-scale stage installation is underway at Gwanghwamun Square, where equipment and structures are being assembled across multiple sections of the site. Heavy machinery and staging crews were seen operating near the main installation area, while nearby sidewalks and elevated vantage points filled with onlookers photographing and recording the preparations. Some visitors were observed using p March 17, 2026
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  Cabinet approves bill to implement investment pledges under trade deal with US SEOUL, March 17 (AJP) - A special bill outlining South Korea's massive investment pledges to the U.S. was approved at a cabinet meeting chaired by President Lee Jae Myung at the government complex in the administrative city of Sejong on Tuesday. The approval comes about a week after the bill was passed at a plenary session in the National Assembly and roughly two months after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened in January to raise reciprocal tariffs on South Korea from 15 March 17, 2026
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  FM tight-lipped over possible warship dispatch to Middle East SEOUL, March 17 (AJP) - There has been growing speculation about a possible deployment of South Korean troops to the Middle East, after U.S. President Donald Trump urged allies to dispatch warships to the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week. In a parliamentary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday, when asked whether the U.S. formally asked Seoul to deploy warships to the strategically important waterway, he declined to elaborate, ambiguously saying "It may or may March 17, 2026
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  KAIST researchers develop world first personalized AI semiconductor SoulMate SEOUL, March 17 (AJP) - Researchers in South Korea have developed a specialized artificial intelligence chip capable of learning a user’s specific speaking style, preferences, and emotions in real time. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on March 17 that a team led by Professor Yoo Hoi-jun at the Graduate School of AI Semiconductors has created SoulMate, an ultra-personalized Large Language Model (LLM) accelerator. While popular AI servi March 17, 2026
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  Kazakhstan's innovation cluster targets Seoul developers to build Central Eurasian technology corridor ASTANA, March 17 (AJP) - Kazakhstan's international innovation cluster, Astana Hub, is actively inviting South Korean developers and startups to help construct a high-technology corridor across Central Eurasia. Operating out of the capital, the state-backed facility offers an absolute zero-tax regime to foreign entities willing to relocate. Director of the Office of International Relations and Investments Daniyar Zhumagulov extended a direct invitation to Seoul's technology s March 17, 2026
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  Seoul readies "wartime" contingency plans including export curb option and extra budget SEOUL, March 17 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday ordered the government to prepare for worst-case scenarios, including "wartime" extra budget, export curbs, and nationwide energy-saving measures, as the Middle East conflict threatens to disrupt global oil supplies. “The Middle East situation is expanding beyond expectations,” Lee said in a cabinet meeting. “At this rate, gasoline prices — which have stabilized under price co March 17, 2026
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  Asian markets broadly higher, KOSPI led by Nvidia partners SEOUL, March 17 (AJP) — Asian stock markets traded higher Tuesday as easing oil prices and renewed optimism over AI-driven semiconductor demand boosted investor sentiment across the region. All members of the “Magnificent Seven” closed higher overnight. Nvidia rose 1.65 percent, Tesla gained 1.11 percent, Amazon advanced 1.96 percent, Meta Platforms climbed 2.33 percent, Alphabet added 1.09 percent, Microsoft rose 1.11 percent and Apple edged up 1.08 percent. March 17, 2026