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  South Korea dispatches top trade envoys to U.S. to navigate tariff uncertainties SEOUL, March 07 (AJP) - South Korea has dispatched its top trade officials to the United States to ease growing uncertainties over U.S. tariff policies following a recent court ruling against the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the industry ministry said Saturday. Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-gwan and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo held talks with key U.S. counterparts on Friday to address pending bilateral trade issues and the implementati March 7, 2026
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  S.Korean fuel prices surge on Hormuz blockade, bypassing standard physical lag SEOUL, March 07 (AJP) - South Korean retail fuel prices have surged immediately following the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, bypassing the standard two-to-three-week lag typically required for global crude fluctuations to reach domestic pumps. As of Saturday, the national average gasoline price reached 1,871.83 won ($1.39) per liter, up 178.94 won ($0.13) from Feb. 28, according to the Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC). Diesel prices outpaced gasoline, hitting 1,887.38 won per March 7, 2026
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  EV slump hits hard: SK On slashes 37 percent of Georgia plant staff SEOUL, March 07 (AJP) - SK Battery America, the U.S. unit of South Korean battery maker SK On, has laid off 37 percent of the workforce at its Georgia plant, citing slowing electric vehicle (EV) sales and a shifting market landscape. The company announced on Saturday that it cut 968 jobs out of its 2,566 employees at the manufacturing facility in Commerce, Georgia. The restructuring comes as the global EV transition loses momentum. The plant, which supplies batteries to aut March 7, 2026
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  HD Hyundai Electric breaks ground on $200 mln transformer plant in US amid AI boom SEOUL, March 07 (AJP) - South Korea's HD Hyundai Electric has broken ground on a $200 million second transformer manufacturing plant in Alabama to meet surging power grid demand driven by artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and a resurgence in U.S. manufacturing. The power equipment maker held a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday at its North American subsidiary in Montgomery. The new facility, spanning 48,215 square meters, is scheduled for completion in April nex March 7, 2026
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  World AI Film Festival Seoul highlights how AI can expand filmmaking SEOUL, March 07 (AJP) - From scripts written with algorithms to films rendered entirely with digital tools, the World AI Film Festival in Seoul offered a glimpse of cinema’s next frontier — one where artificial intelligence works alongside human storytellers rather than replacing them. The festival, founded in Nice, France last year, brought its third edition to Seoul, a city widely seen as a global hub of high technology and th March 7, 2026
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  Hanwha Systems to sell 1.7 trillion won stake in Hanwha Ocean for defense, IT investments SEOUL, March 07 (AJP) - South Korea's Hanwha Systems said it will sell a 1.7 trillion won ($1.2 billion) stake in its shipbuilding affiliate Hanwha Ocean to secure funds for strategic investments in the defense and information technology sectors. The company's board on Friday approved the sale of 13.92 million shares, representing a 4.54 percent stake, at 122,100 won per share, based on Thursday's closing price. The transaction will reduce Hanwha Systems' ho March 7, 2026
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  The King's Warden breaks Korean film drought with 10-mln crossing SEOUL, March 07 (AJP) - In the arithmetic of the Korean film industry, there are hits — and then there are “ten-million films.” Crossing the 10-million-admissions threshold in a country of roughly 52 million people bears significance beyond a commercial milestone. It means a film has escaped the gravity of niche audiences and become something closer to a shared national experience. With more than 10 million moviegoers now through theater doors, The King’ March 7, 2026
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  Middle East crisis deepens divide between South Korean industries SEOUL, March 6 (AJP) - A triple whammy of high oil prices, a weakening Korean won and rising raw-material costs is casting darkening clouds across South Korean industries following U.S.‑led airstrikes on Iran, as markets and companies grapple with the fallout from the escalating Middle East conflict. Energy-intensive sectors are seeing production costs soar due to rising oil and petroleum prices, with traditional manufacturing sectors including petrochemicals and steel facing the March 6, 2026
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  Asian markets end first war week edgy, KOSPI most volatile SEOUL, March 6 (AJP) — Asian stock markets wrapped up one of their most volatile weeks in recent years as escalating tensions in the Middle East rattled global financial markets and pushed oil prices higher. The wildest swings were seen in Seoul, where panicky selling and frantic bargain-hunting traded places throughout the four-session, war-dominated week. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 5,584.87, down more than 10 percent from a week earlier before the strikes on Iran and March 6, 2026
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  Day 7 Middle East War: Trump's Iran war exposes fractured alliances and global ripples SEOUL, March 06 (AJP) - The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran under Operation Epic Fury have done more than cripple Tehran’s leadership and military infrastructure. They have also exposed deep fractures in the Western alliance system and revived questions about the future of the post–World War II international order. The campaign began with the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28 — a dramatic opening move that President Donald Trump March 6, 2026