• 
  INTERVIEW: K-Park in Kazakhstan's smart city embodies fortitude of ethnic Koreans — past and future SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - The K-Park Project, rising in Kazakhstan’s flagship smart city of Alatau, encapsulates both the endurance of the Koryo-saram—descendants of Korean settlers across the Russian Far East in the 19th and early 20th centuries—and their forward-looking confidence as a thriving minority in Kazakhstan’s digital transformation drive. "K-Park is not merely a memorial project. It is a symbol of gratitude toward the Kazakh people who emb October 17, 2025
• 
  South Korea's Hyosung Heavy opens research center in Netherlands SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - South Korea's Hyosung Heavy Industries has opened its first European research and development center in Arnhem, the Netherlands, as part of efforts to strengthen its position in next-generation power technologies and eco-friendly energy solutions. The new facility marks the company’s first global R&D hub outside Asia and will focus on developing gas-insulated switchgear — a key component in power substations that traditionally relies October 17, 2025
• 
  Samsung Biologics officially sheds biosimilar unit to expand as pure CMO SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Samsung Biologics Co., already the world's largest contract-based drugmaker by capacity, has won full shareholders' blessing to shed its biosimilar business and double down on its global biological outreach as a pure contract manufacturing organization (CMO). The Songdo, Korea-based pharmaceutical giant said on Friday 99.9 percent of voting shares backed the spin-off proposal at an extraordinary general meeting in Incheon, attended by about 93 perce October 17, 2025
• 
  Talks underway with Cambodia for repatriation of dozens of South Koreans SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Talks are underway with Cambodia to bring back about 59 South Koreans detained over alleged online job scams and other various crimes, a government task force, currently in Phnom Penh, said on Friday. The development comes after the Southeast Asian country said the previous day that the detainees including four women would be deported to Seoul in cooperation with the South Korean Embassy there. "Authorities plan to deport 59 South Korean nationals&h October 17, 2025
• 
  Daewoong Pharma in talks with Saudi government to build bio, drug production ecosystem SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - South Korea's Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Friday it has begun discussions with the Saudi Arabian government on introducing innovative drugs and developing a biotechnology ecosystem that includes research, development, and manufacturing investments. The talks reflect Saudi Arabia’s growing ambition to localize pharmaceutical production and expand its bio-manufacturing capacity as part of its broader economic diversification strategy under Visi October 17, 2025
• 
  South Korea's HD Hyundai promotes heir Chung Ki-sun to chairman SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - South Korean conglomerate HD Hyundai on Friday appointed Chung Ki-sun, the third-generation heir of the conglomerate’s founding family, as chairman, formalizing his rise to the top of the nation's largest shipbuilding group. The move marks a generational transition and a shift toward owner-led management as the company prepares for a major corporate merger. Chung, 42, was promoted from senior vice chairman, a role he assumed last year. His October 17, 2025
• 
  Asian shares mixed on profit-taking after chip rally, U.S. bad loan concerns SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Asian markets opened mixed on Friday as investors weighed renewed credit market jitters in the U.S. and the region’s ongoing chip rally. In Seoul, the KOSPI slipped 0.53 percent to 3,728.50 as profit-taking set in after a bullish run to record highs. The secondary Kosdaq also traded lower. Samsung Electronics edged down 0.2 percent while SK hynix was flat, even as Taiwan’s TSMC reported stronger-than-expected quarterly profits. Automakers extend October 17, 2025
• 
  Lee Kang-in named AFC's top Asian player SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Midfielder Lee Kang-in, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), was honored with an award by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Asian governing body for football said on Thursday. At an awards ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Lee was named this year's "AFC Asian International Player of the Year," awarded to the top player from an AFC member country, beating rivals like Japan's Takefusa Kubo of La Liga club Real Sociedad and Ir October 17, 2025
• 
  PHOTOS: Endangered cranes return SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - A flock of the white-naped crane, an internationally recognized endangered species, was observed in a rice paddy in Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province, on October 12. The white-naped crane is one of the world's rarest crane species, with a global population estimated to be only around 7,000 to 8,000 individuals. The cranes observed in Cheorwon are part of the eastern flyway population, which breeds in Russia and Mongolia before migrating south. Sout October 17, 2025
• 
  Abduction scare clouds Korea's top winter travel destinations in Southeast Asia SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) -Growing reports of kidnappings and detentions involving South Koreans in Cambodia are fueling widespread anxiety among travelers, casting a shadow over Southeast Asia’s peak winter tourism season. According to Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the number of South Korean citizens abducted or detained in Cambodia has surged from 36 cases between 2021 and 2023 to 221 in 2024, and 330 cases in just the first eight months of this year — many October 17, 2025