VISUALS: Lanterns, festivities herald Buddha's Birthday

SEOUL, April 24 (AJP) - Jogyesa Temple, a prominent Buddhist center in the heart of Seoul, is abuzz with preparations for Buddha’s Birthday on May 5, 2025. The temple grounds are currently festooned with a multitude of colorful lanterns, each inscribed with the names of devotees, creating a vibrant canopy overhead. This spectacle has drawn an increased number of visitors and tourists, who come to offer prayers or simply find respite in the dappled shade cast by the illuminated decora

April 24, 2025

Ex-President Moon Jae-in indicted over bribery charges

SEOUL, April 24 (AJP) - Former President Moon Jae-in has been indicted on charges of taking bribes over allegations that he influenced the hiring of his former son-in-law at a low-cost carrier, prosecutors said Thursday. They have been investigating a case involving his daughter's ex-husband surnamed Seo, who, despite having no work experience in the aviation industry, was hired as an executive at budget carrier Eastar Jet's Thai branch in 2018, allegedly owned by former law

April 24, 2025

World-OKTA to hold Andong expo as planned, hoping to spark recovery after wildfires

SEOUL, April 24 (AJP) - Despite recent wildfire damage in North Gyeongsang Province, the World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Associations (World-OKTA) has decided to move forward with its annual global convention and business expo in Andong later this month. The 26th World-OKTA Leaders Convention and 2025 Korea Business Expo Andong (2025 KBEA) will run from Apr. 28 to May 1, drawing over 2,000 participants from Korea and abroad. The decision to proceed was made after careful

April 24, 2025

South Korea's economy shrinks in first quarter

SEOUL, April 24 (AJP) - South Korea’s economy contracted in the first quarter of 2025, weighed down by a prolonged political uncertainty and concerns about U.S. tariffs, according to preliminary data released by the Bank of Korea on Thursday. Gross domestic product fell 0.2 percent from the previous quarter, marking the country’s second economic contraction in just three quarters. The latest reading sharply contrasts with the central bank’s earlier forecast of 0.2

April 24, 2025

US urges allies to increase defense commitments ahead of tariff talks with Seoul

SEOUL, April 24 (AJP) - The U.S. called on its allies for "stronger commitments to shared defense" on Wednesday, just a day ahead of its working-level talks with South Korea in Washington. "If the United States continues offering security guarantees and open markets, then our allies must step up with stronger commitments to shared defense," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a forum hosted by the Institute of International Finance later in the day.

April 24, 2025

Start-Up Chile CEO promotes collaboration with S. Korean startups at Seoul event

SEOUL, April 24 (AJP) - Start-Up Chile CEO Javiera Araneda called for deeper cooperation between Chile and South Korea in building a global startup ecosystem on Wednesday during a pitching and networking event held in the southern Seoul district of Gangnam. The event, hosted by the Embassy of Chile in the Republic of Korea at the Global Startup Center, brought together about 60 participants, including startup founders and entrepreneurs from South Korea and other countries. The ses

April 24, 2025

SK hynix posts soaring profits on surging AI chip demand

SEOUL, April 24 (AJP) - SK hynix reported a sharp rise in first-quarter profits on Thursday, fueled by surging demand for advanced memory chips used in artificial intelligence applications. The company’s operating profit jumped 157.8 percent from a year earlier to 7.44 trillion won, or about $5.21 billion, according to a regulatory filing. Revenue rose 41.9 percent to 17.64 trillion won, while net profit soared 323 percent to 8.11 trillion won. “The memory market impr

April 24, 2025

Alibaba's 26-year rise as Asia's technology titan

Editor's Note: This article is the 15th installment in our series on Asia's top 100 companies, exploring the strategies, challenges, and innovations driving the region's most influential corporations. SEOUL, April 24 (AJP) - In 1999, in a small apartment in Hangzhou, eastern China, a former English teacher named Jack Ma gathered 17 friends and associates to launch a new kind of business. Their goal was audacious: to create an online marketplace that would connect Ch

April 24, 2025

South Korea sees first monthly rise in births in 11 years

SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) - South Korea recorded its first year-on-year monthly increase in births in more than a decade in February, offering a rare glimmer of hope in the country’s ongoing demographic crisis. According to data released Wednesday by Statistics Korea, 20,035 babies were born in February, a 3.2 percent increase from the same month last year, or 622 additional births. This marked the first time since 2014 that February births had risen and the largest such incr

April 23, 2025

Cardinal You Heung-sik named among contenders for next pope

SEOUL, April 23 (AJP) - Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, the prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Clergy, has been named one of the top candidates to become the next pope after the death of Pope Francis earlier this week. Italy's largest daily Corriere della Sera on Tuesday listed him 11th among its "12 likely successors to Pope Francis." He was one of two Asians, along with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, among a dozen contenders that included

April 23, 2025