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  Bonus polarization deepens as Lunar New Year exposes divide in Korean Inc. SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) - As millions of South Korean breadwinners return home for the Lunar New Year, many do so with thinner envelopes and tighter wallets. This year’s Seollal holiday arrives amid an uncomfortable contrast: a red-hot stock market and record-breaking bonus payouts at a handful of corporate champions, even as a growing share of companies scale back seasonal bonuses. According to a survey by the Korea Enterprises Federation, 58.7 percent of companies paid S February 13, 2026
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  BTS Comeback D-36: War with scalping begins, but victory may not be easy SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) - South Korea’s ticket scalping market has expanded more than fortyfold over the past five years, drawing heightened scrutiny ahead of BTS’s highly anticipated comeback concert and domestic tour. “BTS The Comeback Live: ARIRANG,” scheduled for March 21 at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, will offer around 15,000 to 17,000 seats. General reservations open at 8 p.m. on February 23 through NOL Ticket. Of the total, 2,000 stan February 13, 2026
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  Chip-led export price gains more than offset Korea's import inflation in Jan SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) - South Korea's export prices picked up far faster than import prices in January on the back of strong semiconductor demand, more than offsetting import inflation caused by a weak currency, data showed Friday. According to the Bank of Korea, January export prices climbed 4.0 percent from December and 7.8 percent from a year earlier, accelerated from a 0.6 percent monthly gain and a 0.1 percent annual decline in December. Strong demand for chips and February 13, 2026
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  FM meets USFK commander at Camp Humphreys SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) - Foreign Minister Cho Hyun visited Camp Humphreys, a U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on Friday. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cho met with Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) earlier in the day. The visit was arranged after Brunson invited Cho during a luncheon last month that also included Elbridge Colby, the U.S. Defense Department's undersecretary of defense for policy, who was visiting February 13, 2026
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  CJ Olive Young unveils wellness pop-up at Seongsu flagship store SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) - CJ Olive Young has launched a pop-up store dedicated to its new wellness curation platform at its flagship location in Seongsu-dong, a district that has cemented its status as Seoul’s primary retail testbed. The country’s top beauty and health retailer announced on Friday that it opened the "New Wellness Lounge" on the first floor of "Olive Young N Seongsu." The pop-up, which runs until March 9, is designed to introduce th February 13, 2026
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  TrendForce: Nvidia to expand HBM4 supply chain to Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron by Q2 SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) - Nvidia Corp. is expected to diversify its High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) supply chain to include all three major memory chipmakers, as validation for the fourth-generation HBM4 chips enters the final stages ahead of the mass production of its next-generation "Rubin" GPU platform. According to a report by market researcher TrendForce on Friday, Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Micron Technology are all projected to complete HBM4 certification February 13, 2026
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  Seollal in motion: More opt to travel, but tradition lives on  SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) - On a quiet winter morning, the scent of beef broth fills Korean homes. A carefully arranged table is set before elders. Children bow deeply, offering New Year’s greetings — “Saehae bok mani badeuseyo,” or “May you receive many blessings in the new year.” With a bowl of tteokguk, rice cake soup, another year of life officially begins. That is Seollal, Korea’s Lunar New Year. Observed on the first day of t February 13, 2026
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  South Korea vows swift action to prevent drone incursions into North Korea SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) - South Korea on Friday vowed to take "immediate action" to prevent a recurrence of drone incursions into North Korea. "We will immediately implement measures to prevent similar cases from happening again," Unification Ministry spokesperson Yoon Min-ho said in a regular press briefing. The remarks came several hours later in response to a request earlier in the day by Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The February 13, 2026
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  BTS Comeback D-36: From $15 dorms to mid-range stays, Itaewon has all for fans SEOUL, February 12 (AJP) — Five-star hotels offering bird’s-eye views of Gwanghwamun are already fully booked for the March 21–22 weekend, when BTS is set to stage its long-awaited comeback concerts. No-vacancy signs now stretch to mid-tier and budget hotels in Myeongdong and Jongno, while prices continue to climb. On major booking platforms, some three-star properties within walking distance of Gwanghwamun are charging nearly triple their usual rates. February 13, 2026
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  Koreans begin early home-bound rush ahead of Lunar New Year holiday SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) -South Koreans began heading home in large numbers on Friday, getting an early start on travel ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which this year forms a five-day break including the weekend. Train stations, bus terminals and airports across the country grew steadily busier from the morning, as travelers carrying gift boxes, luggage and large suitcases made their way to hometowns for the nation’s most important traditional holiday. At Seoul Station, crowd February 13, 2026