Acting President's appointment of Constitutional Court justices stirs controversy

SEOUL, April 08 (AJP) - South Korea’s main opposition party vowed Tuesday to seek legal action to block acting President Han Duck-soo’s appointment of two Constitutional Court justices. Earlier on Tuesday, Han announced that he would nominate Lee Wan-kyu, the current minister of government legislation, and Ham Sang-hun, a judge on the Seoul High Court, to fill the upcoming vacancies, with two sitting justices, Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-son, scheduled to retire on April

April 8, 2025

PHOTOS: Planting season

SEOUL, April 08 (AJP) - The arrival of spring has ushered in a period of intense activity in the countryside as farmers ready the land for planting. This collection of images offers a glimpse into their springtime labors.

April 8, 2025

DeeprRoute.ai CEO touts AI-native driving system as industry game-changer

SEOUL, April 08 (AJP) - Maxwell Zhou, CEO of Chinese autonomous driving company DeeprRoute.ai, has showcased the company’s end-to-end AI-powered technology during his keynote speech at the Seoul Mobility Show held at KINTEX northwest of Seoul on Tuesday, saying the firm’s Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model has ushered in a new era of scalability, transparency, and human-level decision-making in smart driving systems. “This is not just a technological shift,&rdquo

April 8, 2025

TRAVEL: At royal tomb, symbolic reeds-cutting ceremony connects past and present

SEOUL, April 08 (AJP) - On April 5, a tradition linking South Korea’s imperial past to its present unfolded at the serene Donggureung Royal Tombs. Under a steady spring drizzle, the “Cheongwan Yecho” ceremony took place, a ritual centered on the trimming of reeds that blanket the burial mound of Geonwolleung, the final resting place of Yi Seong-gye, who established the Joseon Dynasty. The term “Cheongwan” refers to reeds, while “Yecho&rdqu

April 8, 2025

Samsung's profit exceeds market expectations, signaling modest rebound

SEOUL, April 8 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics reported stronger-than-expected preliminary earnings for the first quarter of this year, signaling a tentative recovery for the world’s largest memory chip and smartphone maker after a prolonged slump. Operating profit for the quarter came in at 6.6 trillion won, or approximately $4.48 billion, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. While essentially flat from a year earlier — down 0.15 percent — the figure be

April 8, 2025

South Koreans to vote June 3 to choose next president

SEOUL, April 08 (AJP) - South Korea will hold a snap presidential election on June 3, the government announced Tuesday, less than a week after the Constitutional Court removed President Yoon Suk Yeol from office over his martial law declaration late last year. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is serving as acting president, confirmed the date during a Cabinet meeting, declaring the election day a temporary public holiday. Candidate registration is scheduled for mid-May,

April 8, 2025

Apparel firms scramble as US tariffs hit Southeast Asian manufacturing hubs

SEOUL, April 8 (AJP) - South Korean apparel and footwear manufacturers are racing to blunt the fallout from a wave of steep tariffs announced last week by U.S. President Donald Trump, a move that threatens the global supply chains of some of Korea’s largest original equipment manufacturers. The new tariffs — imposed on key Southeast Asian economies that have become central to Korean manufacturing — include levies of 46 percent on Vietnam, 37 percent on Bangladesh a

April 8, 2025

S. Korea, Malaysia meet in Seoul for new round of FTA negotiations

SEOUL, April 8 (AJP) - South Korea and Malaysia will convene this week in Seoul for a fresh round of negotiations aimed at finalizing a bilateral free trade agreement. Roughly 70 officials from both nations are expected to participate in the eighth formal round of talks, which will run from Tuesday through Friday. The South Korean delegation will be led by Kwon Hye-jin, the country’s chief trade negotiator, while Sumathi Balakrishnan, senior director at Malaysia’s Min

April 8, 2025

Financial markets plunge as Trump tariff war rattles investors

SEOUL, April 7 (AJP) - South Korean financial markets plunged on Monday, with the benchmark KOSPI index suffering its steepest decline in years, as rising fears of new U.S. tariffs spurred a wave of foreign investor selloffs and heightened concerns over the country’s export-reliant economy. The KOSPI tumbled 5.57 percent to close at 2,328.20 — its lowest level since November 2022 — while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ dropped 5.25 percent to 651.30. Foreign investors led

April 7, 2025

Wildfire erupts again in Southern Korea, weeks after major blaze

SEOUL, April 07 (AJP) - A wildfire broke out Monday in a forested area of Hadong, southern Korea, reigniting concerns in a region that was heavily affected by a major blaze just weeks ago. According to the Korea Forest Service, the fire began around 12:05 p.m. on a mountain, in Hadong some 285 kilometers (177 miles) south of Seoul. The wildfire erupted about 3 kilometers from the site of a large blaze that scorched nearby hillsides late last month. A total of 11 helicopters

April 7, 2025