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  KOSPI posts world's fastest gains in 2025, but capital outflows cloud celebration SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - South Korea emerged as the world’s best-performing equity market in 2025, with its benchmark KOSPI surging nearly 76 percent over the year. Yet the historic rally came with a paradox: while stock prices soared to record highs, outbound investment overwhelmed domestic buying, leaving the won among the weakest currencies in the region. The KOSPI closed at 4,214.17 on Dec. 30, the final trading day of the year, nearly doubling from 2,399.49 at the end December 30, 2025
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  Lee to visit China for summit with Xi Jinping next week SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung will embark on a four-day trip to China early next week for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. At a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said Lee is scheduled to depart for Beijing on Sunday for the summit, then travel to Shanghai before returning home on Wednesday. The meeting will be the two leaders' second since their first meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific December 30, 2025
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  2025 K-pop: between global success and internal strain SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - The K-pop industry in 2025 stood at a crossroads, marked by record-setting global achievements alongside growing structural challenges at home. From the global success of Netflix's animated series "KPop Demon Hunters" to Rosé's "APT." topping the Billboard charts — and from the NewJeans dispute to a shrinking album market — K-pop experienced a year of both expansion and strain. 'KPop Demon Hunte December 30, 2025
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  New senior post in charge of AI created at Defense Ministry SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - A deputy minister-level post in charge of artificial intelligence (AI)-related affairs has been created within the Ministry of Defense to accelerate the military's technological modernization. Approved at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and set to take effect later this week, the new post will spearhead the military's adoption of cutting-edge technologies while overseeing key areas where AI is needed, including logistics, information, and the procur December 30, 2025
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  Seoul completes elevator rollout across 338 stations; Protesters flag remaining barriers SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) — The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Tuesday that all 338 subway stations in the capital are now equipped with elevator access from ground level to the platforms, marking a milestone in the city's efforts to improve public transit accessibility. To commemorate the achievement, city officials held a ceremony at Kkachisan Station on Line 5. The completion of the "one-route" system means that passengers with reduced mobility, December 30, 2025
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  Korea faces unavoidable shift toward renewables, nuclear power: energy minister SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - South Korea faces an unavoidable shift in its energy mix as it confronts the climate crisis, requiring a combination of carbon-free renewable energy and nuclear power while gradually phasing out coal and gas, Climate, Energy and Environment Minister Kim Sung-hwan said on Tuesday. Kim made the remarks at the First Energy Mix Policy Forum held at the National Assembly, calling for a pragmatic and science-based approach to energy policy. Kim said t December 30, 2025
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  Boy band RIIZE to conclude first world tour with three-day concert in Seoul SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - K-pop Boy band RIIZE will wrap up their first world tour with a finale concert in Seoul in March next year. According to their management agency SM Entertainment, the six-member boy band will perform in Jakarta, Manila, and Singapore in January, Macao in February, before concluding their tour with a three-day concert from March 6 to 8 at KSPO Dome, an indoor arena in southern Seoul with a capacity of 15,000. During their tour, which began in Septe December 30, 2025
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  Seoul lifts ban on access to North Korea's party newspaper SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - South Korea has lifted long-standing restrictions on access to Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, allowing the public to read it uncensored at designated institutions, the Unification Ministry said Tuesday. Under the revised rules, South Koreans can access the newspaper at facilities that handle special materials — including the Unification Ministry’s North Korea Information Center and the Nationa December 30, 2025
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  Avatar 3 maintains box office lead for 13th consecutive day SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - "Avatar: Fire and Ash" continued its box office dominance for the 13th straight day, showing strong momentum in its third week of release. According to the Korean Film Council's integrated computer network on December 30, the film attracted 139,110 viewers on December 29 alone, bringing its total audience to 4.175 million. Directed by James Cameron and released in South Korea on December 17 ahead of its global premiere, the film topped the December 30, 2025
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  New nuclear reactor in Ulsan gets green light for operation SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - The government committee for nuclear energy on Tuesday gave a green light to the operation of a nuclear reactor in Ulsan, ahead of its commercial launch scheduled for sometime next year. The committee said it approved the operation of the Saeul-3 reactor, formally known as Kori, in Ulju, Ulsan, after a meeting in which five of six members voted in favor, following safety reviews by the state-funded Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety as well as prior assessm December 30, 2025