Korean food exports to US shrink for first time in 26 months amid tariffs

SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - South Korea’s agricultural and food shipments to the United States declined in July for the first time in more than two years, as new American tariffs began weighing on demand. Exports fell 6.7 percent from a year earlier to $139 million, data from the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute showed on Wednesday. It was the first monthly contraction since May 2023 and followed a stretch of rapid growth that had lifted first-half shipments by 27 perce

August 20, 2025

PHOTOS: A street where time stands still, Dongdaemun Stationery and Toy Market

SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - The Dongdaemun Stationery and Toy Wholesale Market, with around 100 shops, is the largest of its kind in South Korea. Stretching across a 200-meter intersection in every direction, the market is lined with stores offering every imaginable type of stationery and toy, inviting visitors to browse, touch, and choose at leisure. Walking down the street feels like stepping into a time machine. Shop windows burst with color, filled with red fire trucks, yellow-ha

August 20, 2025

S. Korea's presidential office orders probe into Czech nuclear deal with Westinghouse

SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - South Korea’s presidential office on Tuesday ordered an investigation into media reports that state-run energy companies accepted "unfavorable" terms from Westinghouse Electric, the American nuclear technology firm, during negotiations for a multibillion-dollar power plant project in the Czech Republic. Presidential spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung said Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik directed the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to conduct the

August 19, 2025

Annual report on North Korean human rights abuses to be kept under wraps

SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - The Unification Ministry here said on Tuesday that it will continue compiling its annual report on human rights abuses in North Korea, though it will be published for internal use only. The report, mostly based on testimonies from North Korean defectors, documents their suffering and harrowing tortures during their escape from the isolated country. The ministry has published the report annually since 2018, although some previous governments had kept it un

August 19, 2025

Mercedes-Benz faces sanctions in Korea over misleading claims on EV batteries

SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - South Korea’s antitrust regulator has begun sanction proceedings against Mercedes-Benz Korea over allegations that it misled consumers about the batteries used in its electric vehicles, an issue that has gained public attention after a high-profile apartment fire last year. Mercedes-Benz Korea is suspected of violating advertising and fair trade laws, according to sources from the Fair Trade Commission, Tuesday. Regulators allege that the Korean uni

August 19, 2025

Two dead, several injured after train hits railway workers in Cheongdo

SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - Two men were killed and five others were injured after a passenger train struck a group of railway workers on the tracks in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province, police said on Tuesday. The accident occurred around 10:50 a.m. when a train bound for Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, that had departed from Dongdaegu, collided with seven workers inspecting railway damage caused by recent heavy rainfall. There were 89 passengers aboard the train, but no injuri

August 19, 2025

North Korea condemns South Korea's joint exercise with US

SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - North Korea on Tuesday denounced South Korea's ongoing joint military exercise with the U.S. which began the previous day, calling it a "clear expression" of its hostile stance toward Pyongyang, state media reported on Tuesday. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim lambasted the exercise, saying it revealed the South's "intention to remain most hostile and confrontational" toward the North, despite the

August 19, 2025

South Korea taps new envoys to Washington and Tokyo ahead of key summits this week

SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - President Lee Jae-myung is expected to soon appoint new envoys to the U.S. and Japan, ahead of his summits with the leaders of both countries that begin later this week. According to government sources, former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has been named ambassador to Washington, and former envoy to Viet Nam Lee Hyuk has been tapped as ambassador to Tokyo, with their agrément procedures currently underway. Lee is scheduled to sit for talks with J

August 19, 2025

Bank of Korea warns stablecoin proposal could shake bond market

Image of cryptocurrencies/ Reuters-Yonhap SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday rejected a proposal to issue short-term treasury bonds to back a won-based stablecoin, cautioning that such a move could disrupt financial markets and distort government financing. In a written response to the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee, the Bank of Korea said treasury bonds should be issued strictly for their intended purpose — financing

August 19, 2025

[K-Film] Bong Joon-ho's early short available for screening next week

SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - Filmmaker Bong Joon-ho's early short film is set for release at local theaters in Seoul next week, multi-screen chain Megabox said on Tuesday. "Incoherence" was chosen to launch the chain's monthly project showcasing renowned filmmakers' early works and short films by up-and-coming directors. The 30-minute short, made by Bong in 1994 as his graduation project for a film institute, is an omnibus with humorous satire of hypocritical el

August 19, 2025