Teen's killing tests South Korea's family exemption law SEOUL, July 10 (AJP) - A serving police officer destroyed evidence in his own son's murder case, and under South Korean law he cannot be prosecuted for it. That fact, uncovered during the investigation into the killing of a high school girl in the southern city of Gwangju in May, has pushed South Korea into a national debate over a decades-old provision of its Criminal Act that shields relatives from punishment when they hide offenders or destroy evidence on their behalf. P July 10, 2026

NCT's Jaehyun drops new solo single SEOUL, July 10 (AJP) - K-pop boy group NCT's Jaehyun has released his new solo single "99 Degrees," his management agency SM Entertainment said on Friday. The single, a ballad that Jaehyun helped write and compose around the idea that love can make an incomplete person feel whole, will also be released on major global music-streaming platforms at 6 p.m. here, with its music video available on YouTube. The song opens with a restrained piano line before gradually buil July 10, 2026

TWICE to wrap up largest-ever world tour with sold-out Seoul finale SEOUL, July 10 (AJP) - K-pop girl group TWICE will wrap up their world tour with three sold-out concerts in Seoul this weekend, bringing to an end their yearlong run of some 81 shows across 44 cities across the world. According to JYP Entertainment, the three-day encore concerts, starting Friday at KSPO Dome in southern Seoul, will conclude "THIS IS FOR," their largest-ever tour since their debut, which began in Incheon in July 2025. A 360-degree stage will be used for July 10, 2026

DAY6's Young K to drop 2nd solo album later this month SEOUL, July 10 (AJP) - Young K of K-pop band DAY6 will release his second full-length solo album later this month, his management agency JYP Entertainment said on Friday. "YOUNGEST," due out on July 27, will be Young K's first solo release since his debut full-length album "Letters with notes" in September 2023. To promote the album, Young K will stage a three-day concert series in Incheon from Aug. 14 to 16, marking his first solo concerts in nearly thr July 10, 2026

Lee's approval rating edges down to 53% SEOUL, July 10 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating edged down slightly this week after a brief rebound last week. In a survey of more than 1,000 adults nationwide conducted by pollster Gallup Korea earlier this week, 53 percent of respondents gave a positive rating to Lee's job performance, down 1 percentage point from a week earlier. But his disapproval rating also fell 1 percentage point to 35 percent, with 12 percent undecided. Among those July 10, 2026

Samsung union blasts bonus voucher plan SEOUL, July 10 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics' largest labor union on Friday urged lawmakers to withdraw a proposed revision to South Korea's Labor Standards Act that would allow part of workers' wages, including performance bonuses, to be paid in local gift certificates with employee consent. The Samsung Electronics chapter of the Samsung Group Super Enterprise Labor Union said the bill would undermine the long-standing principle that wages should be paid in legal tender July 10, 2026

POSCO ties up with Mongolia in about $100 mln energy push SEOUL, July 10 (AJP) - POSCO International signed a memorandum of understanding with Newcom LLC, a leading Mongolian energy and infrastructure firm, to jointly develop energy projects worth about $100 million. The South Korean trading arm of POSCO Group said the deal, sealed in Ulaanbaatar on Thursday during President Lee Jae Myung's state visit, marks the group's bid to plant a foothold in Central Asia's energy market as it broadens beyond steel and batteries. Under July 10, 2026

Seoul says U.S. may consider building military ships in Korean yards SEOUL, July 10 (AJP) - South Korea’s presidential office said Washington does not appear to rule out the possibility of having U.S. military vessels built in Korean shipyards, even as existing U.S. law poses major barriers to foreign construction of Navy ships. A senior presidential official made the remark Thursday during a briefing in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, after President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed military shipbuilding on the sidelines of the N July 10, 2026

South Korea pushes back on US' proposed forced-labor tariff SEOUL, July 10 (AJP) - South Korea opposed a U.S. proposal to impose a 12.5 percent tariff on imports linked to forced labor, saying the measure is "unjustified" and "unnecessary" as Washington moves to expand its tariff policy under new legal grounds. Lee Seung-heon, counselor for trade, industry and resources at the South Korean Embassy in Washington, presented Seoul's position Thursday at a public hearing hosted by the Office of the United States Trade Rep July 10, 2026

Immigration politics linked to rising factory pollution, KAIST study finds SEOUL, July 10 (AJP) - When immigration dominates political debate, factories quietly release more toxic chemicals. That is the finding of a new study by researchers in South Korea and Singapore, who traced the connection to a simple constraint: governments have only so much money and attention to go around. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said Friday that a research team led by Lee Na-rae, a professor in its School of Business and Technology Managem July 10, 2026