New USFK chief takes office

SEOUL, December 20 (AJP) - South Korea welcomed a new commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) amid political turmoil following President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law debacle earlier this week. General Xavier Brunson, who is replacing General Paul LaCamera, who has held the position since July 2021, took an oath during the change of command ceremony at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, at 2 p.m. "I look forward to working alongside each of you as we b

December 20, 2024

Samsung subsidy deal in focus as U.S. finalizes chip grant for SK Hynix

SEOUL, December 20 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics' $6.4 billion preliminary subsidy agreement with the U.S. government remains the last major chip deal to be finalized, as the Commerce Department announced a $458 million grant for SK Hynix's $3.87 billion AI memory chip facility in Indiana. Samsung, which plans to invest $45 billion in Texas by 2030, has already completed 98.7 percent of its first fab construction in Taylor, though production start has been delayed to 2026 fr

December 20, 2024

South Korea's self-employed ratio hits historic low of 20%

SEOUL, December 20 (AJP) - South Korea's self-employed workforce has contracted to its lowest level in six decades, a stark reflection of the nation's economic challenges. According to data released by Statistics Korea on Thursday, the number of self-employed workers averaged 5.67 million between January and November 2024, a 24,000 decline from the previous year. This marks a reversal of the two-year growth trend that followed the COVID-19 pandemic. The decline is attribu

December 20, 2024

North Korean hackers account for over half of global crypto theft

SEOUL, December 20 (AJP) - North Korea-linked hackers reportedly have stolen approximately $1.34 billion in cryptocurrency across 47 separate scams this year. The amount is the largest ever recorded, according to a report released on Thursday by American blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. The stolen amount surpasses the previous record of $1.1 billion in 2022 and more than doubles last year's total of $660.5 million. The firm said that North Korean hackers accounted for 60

December 20, 2024

Yoon refuses to accept impeachment trial documents for third time

SEOUL, December 20 (AJP) - The presidential office has refused to accept delivery of documents related to President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial for the third time this week, the Constitutional Court of Korea said on Thursday. These documents are part of the ongoing trial proceedings following his abrupt declaration of martial law earlier in the week. During a briefing, the court's spokesperson Lee Jin explained that the documents were first delivered via Korea Post on

December 20, 2024

Lotte Chemical adjusts bond terms to ease liquidity trouble

SEOUL, December 20 (AJP) - The troubled South Korean petrochemical firm Lotte Chemical has successfully negotiated the adjustment of financial covenants on corporate bonds worth 2.04 trillion won (US$1.4 billion) to avoid potential early redemption demands. The adjustment, announced on Thursday, came after the company failed to maintain its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization)-to-interest coverage ratio above the required threshold of 5.0 times, r

December 20, 2024

Top university leaders to discuss upcoming challenges at forum in Seoul

SEOUL, December 20 (AJP) - South Korea's top university leaders will gather in Seoul next week for a forum to discuss the challenges and tasks the country faces ahead of the new year. Co-organized by English-language news agency AJP and its Korean-language affiliate Aju Business Daily, the University Presidents' Future Forum 2025 will bring together leaders from prestigious universities and other academic institutions including the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Tec

December 20, 2024

Hungarian envoy says relations with South Korea poised for further growth

SEOUL, December 20 (AJP) - "A growing number of universities in Hungary now offer programs dedicated to South Korea thanks to the Korean Wave," said Hungarian Ambassador to South Korea István Szerdahelyi during his recent interview with AJP. "Riding the wave of these changes, we hope to see more South Korean students coming to Hungary," Szerdahelyi added, sharing his vision for the future of bilateral relations between the two countries. Hungary, is, in

December 20, 2024

Toxic substances found in Christmas toys sold on Chinese e-commerce sites

SEOUL, December 20 (AJP) - Seoul City has discovered alarming levels of toxic substances in Christmas toys sold on major Chinese e-commerce platforms, with some items containing hazardous materials far exceeding South Korean safety standards. On Friday, the city government announced that six out of 15 inspected products, including paper toys, beads, and toy blocks, failed to meet domestic safety regulations. Two Santa Claus figurines from AliExpress were found to contain phthalat

December 20, 2024

Far-right media may have shaped Yoon's martial law decision

SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) - President Yoon Suk Yeol’s December 3 martial law decree, criticized as both extreme and impractical, has ignited scrutiny over his decision-making process and alleged reliance on far-right media sources. Analysts suggest that conspiracy theories promoted by far-right YouTube channels, which have propagated unfounded claims of election fraud, may have influenced the president’s controversial actions. The channels in question have repeatedly

December 19, 2024