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  BTS comeback D-11: Extra tickets to open as Seoul prepares for massive crowds SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) — Organizers of BTS’s comeback concert in central Seoul will release an additional 7,000 tickets this week, expanding the official audience capacity as authorities and nearby institutions brace for crowds that could swell to around 260,000 people in the Gwanghwamun area. BigHit Music said Tuesday that an additional round of tickets for “BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE | ARIRANG” will go on sale at 8 p.m. Thursday through the NOL ticket pla March 10, 2026
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  Hormuz halt deepens crisis for Korea's petrochemical makers SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) - South Korea's petroleum refining and petrochemical industries are bracing for a deepening "compound crisis" as the Middle East war sends crude oil, naphtha and liquefied natural gas prices surging while new labor regulations threaten to complicate urgently needed restructuring. The prolonged conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran has sharply disrupted energy supply chains across Asia, with tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz March 10, 2026
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  Samsung Heavy secures new order for three crude oil tankers SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) - Samsung Heavy Industries has won an order for three crude oil tankers from a Bermuda-based shipowner, the shipbuilder said on Tuesday. The order, worth 400.1 billion Korean won (about US$290 million), is scheduled for delivery by February 2029. The deal brings the shipbuilder's cumulative orders for this year to 11 vessels worth $2.1 billion, reaching 15 percent of its annual target of $13.9 billion. By ship type, the orders consist of three lique March 10, 2026
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  PM to head to New York this week to bid for UN AI hub SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) - Prime Minister Kim Min-seok is reportedly arranging to visit New York later this week, according to multiple government sources on Tuesday. Kim is expected to visit U.N. headquarters as early as Thursday to propose that South Korea host a U.N. artificial intelligence (AI) hub, which would be linked to several AI projects currently being pursued by the organization. He is likely to meet with senior U.S. officials including Vice President JD Vance, w March 10, 2026
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  OPINION: Investors remain jittery as mixed signals rattle markets SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) - The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is rattling global financial markets. Yet the main driver of daily volatility has been the mixed signals about it, rather than the conflict itself. Even a single remark from U.S. President Donald Trump has triggered rapid market swings, sending oil prices and stock indexes soaring or tumbling. In just a few days, crude prices have taken a roller-coaster ride. Brent crude surged to as high as $119 a barrel in Asian March 10, 2026
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  Seoul establishes committee to honor resistance against martial law decree SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) - The government finalized plans on Tuesday to establish a presidential committee dedicated to honoring the citizens who defended the constitutional order during the emergency martial law of December 3, 2024. During a cabinet meeting on March 10, 2026, the administration approved the Regulations on the Establishment and Operation of the Light Committee. This new body will oversee the issuance of Light Certificates to individuals recognized for their contribut March 10, 2026
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  A film, a fallen monarch, and a nation looking back SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) -Thirty-one days after its release, The King’s Warden crossed the ten-million admissions mark, becoming the 34th South Korean film to reach that milestone — and still counting as the crowds kept on growing. The numbers came quickly. One million in five days. Two million by day twelve. Three million on Lunar New Year. Four million the next day. By March 10, cumulative admissions reached approximately 11.7 million. But March 10, 2026
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  Seoul mulling supplementary budget, fuel price cap and tax cut amid oil concerns SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday ordered a string of emergency actions — including a cap on gasoline prices, fuel tax cuts and direct consumer support — through a supplementary budget if deemed necessary to relieve household burdens from import inflation triggered by widening Middle East conflicts. “National capabilities must concentrate on minimizing the impact of external shocks on household and corporate economies,&rd March 10, 2026
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  Dancing the morning away in Seoul — alcohol-free SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) — On a quiet Saturday morning in Seoul’s Bukchon hanok village, house music pulses through the narrow alleys long before most cafés open their doors. Instead of the thump of late-night clubbing, the crowd gathers just after sunrise. Some arrive fresh from a weekend run. Others come with coffee in hand. Within minutes, strangers begin dancing together in the crisp morning air. Welcome to Seoul’s newest social ritual: the morning rav March 10, 2026
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  SM executives make Billboard's 2026 Global Power Players list SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) - Three executives from SM Entertainment have been named to "Billboard’s 2026 Global Power Players list," which recognizes influential leaders in the global music industry outside the United States, the company said Tuesday. Included on the list were SM Co-CEOs Jang Cheol-hyuk and Tak Young-jun, along with Choi Jung-min, the company’s chief global officer. Billboard’s Global Power Players list highlights executives who have driven March 10, 2026