Mercedes-Benz–LG deal marks latest harvest from Korea's high-stakes LFP bet

SEOUL, December 09 (AJP) - Behind LG Energy Solution's latest $1.4 billion breakthrough with Mercedes-Benz lies a strategic gamble South Korea placed years ago: a belated but deliberate expansion into mid-to-lower-end rechargeable batteries even as China dominated the field. That pivot is now paying dividends as surging demand from AI data centers, along with Western efforts to diversify supply chains away from China, creates fresh openings for Korean players. The long-term

December 9, 2025

Naver's shopping app emerges as Korea's fastest-growing e-commerce platform

SEOUL, December 09 (AJP) - Naver’s shopping app, Naver Plus Store, has emerged as the fastest-growing platform in South Korea’s e-commerce market this year, according to market data. Data from Sensor Tower released on Tuesday showed that Naver Plus Store ranked first in both downloads and growth in South Korea between January and October, underscoring the success of Naver’s strategy to launch a standalone, AI-focused commerce application. While Coupang conti

December 9, 2025

Golfer Kim Si-woo climbs in world rankings, eyes Masters return

SEOUL, December 9 (AJP) - Golfer Kim Si-woo has improved his chances of qualifying for next year's Masters by moving up to 47th in the world golf rankings. In the latest rankings for professional male golfers released by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) earlier this week, Kim moved up from 54th to 47th, marking his return to the top 50 for the first time since August of last year. The rise in the rankings comes after Kim earned a spot in the Open Championship, the old

December 9, 2025

TRAVEL: Six centuries of history anchor Salgoji Bridge in Seoul's urban sprawl

SEOUL, December 09 (AJP) - The intersection of ancient history and modern city planning defines this crossing. As the bicycle path widens from the Cheonggyecheon Ecological School in Maja-dong, Seoul, and continues without a traffic signal toward the Han River, a sense of enduring history crosses the stream near Hanyang University. This is the Seoul Salgoji Bridge, designated a Treasure and nearly 600 years old. Among the bridges constructed over the Cheonggyecheon during the Joseon

December 9, 2025

Leverage rises in Korean stock market amid expectations of year-end rally

SEOUL, December 09 (AJP) - South Korean retail investors have pushed margin loan balances above 27 trillion won for the first time, driven by growing expectations of a year-end “Santa rally." As of Dec. 5, outstanding margin loans stood at a record 27.076 trillion won. Margin loans — funds borrowed from securities firms to purchase stocks — are widely seen as a barometer of leveraged retail trading activity. Stock-backed loans also increased sharply, ris

December 9, 2025

North Korean leader sends condolence message on Russian ambassador's death

SEOUL, December 9 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a condolence message to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the death of Moscow's ambassador to Pyongyang, state media reported on Tuesday. According to North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim said, "The sudden demise of the ambassador at the present time when the development of relations between the and Russia have entered a crucial historic phase is indeed a heartrending eve

December 9, 2025

South Korea finds some 'goose down' jackets sold online contain mostly duck feathers

SEOUL, December 09 (AJP) - Several padded jackets marketed as "goose down" on major South Korean fashion platforms were found to contain little or no goose feathers, with some products made almost entirely of duck down, the country's consumer watchdog said on Tuesday. The Korea Consumer Agency examined 24 goose down jackets sold on four online fashion platforms — W Concept, Musinsa, Ably and Zigzag — and discovered that five products failed to meet the indu

December 9, 2025

South Korea's growth could fall to near zero by 2040s: BOK governor

SEOUL, December 09 (AJP) - South Korea’s potential economic growth rate could fall to near zero by the 2040s without major structural reforms, Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong warned on Tuesday. Speaking at a symposium co-hosted by the BOK and the Korean Finance Association, Rhee said the country’s potential growth rate has slowed sharply from around 5 percent in the early 2000s to below 2 percent in recent years. Rhee attributed the deceleration to a shrink

December 9, 2025

KAIST AI team wins top global paper award for group behavior prediction

SEOUL, December 09 (AJP) - A research team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has achieved a historic first for South Korean universities by winning the prestigious Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Data Mining (IEEE ICDM). This top honor, awarded to just one paper out of 785 global submissions, marks the first time a South Korean university research team has claimed the award in 23 years, underscoring KAIST's technology leadersh

December 9, 2025

Police raid e-commerce giant Coupang's Seoul offices in data breach probe

SEOUL, December 09 (AJP) - Implying full-scale government scrutiny, South Korean police on Tuesday raided Coupang’s Seoul offices over the massive data breach that exposed the personal information of an estimated 33.7 million accounts. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Cyber Investigation Division began the search-and-seizure at around 11 a.m. at Coupang’s offices in Songpa-gu. A 17-member investigative team, led by a superintendent-level chief, was deploye

December 9, 2025