Korea's bank loan delinquency rate hits nearly 10-year high SEOUL, October 23 (AJP)— South Korean banks' loan delinquency rate edged up to a fresh high in nearly a decade in August, as corporate delinquencies and persistently high interest rates added to repayment pressures, regulatory data showed Friday. The delinquency rate on won-denominated loans stood at 0.69 percent at the end of August, up from 0.63 percent a month earlier and 0.61 percent a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The reading was October 23, 2026

IVE tops YouTube music video trend chart SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) - K-pop girl group IVE's latest single "Looks Can Kill" topped YouTube's worldwide music video trending chart ahead of the release of the group's new EP, Kakao Entertainment said Friday. The music video, released Oct. 19, also ranked No. 1 in six countries including Britain and Japan and entered the top 10 in 18 countries and regions, according to the company. "Looks Can Kill" is the title track of IVE's upcoming six-t October 23, 2026

Lee's approval rating recovers to 40% after weeks of decline SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung's job approval rating edged up to 40 percent, recovering after several weeks of decline, pollster Gallup Korea said on Friday. In a survey of more than 1,000 people nationwide conducted earlier this week, some 40 percent said Lee was doing a good job, up 1 percentage point from the previous week and returning to that level for the first time in seven weeks, while 50 percent disapproved of his performance. About 10 percen October 23, 2026

Korea's first homegrown obesity drug to launch SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) - South Korea's first domestically developed GLP-1 obesity drug will become available at some clinics from Oct. 29, just three weeks after winning regulatory approval. Hanmi Pharmaceutical's Eppe, or efpeglenatide, reduced body weight by an adjusted average of 9.02 percent after 40 weeks in a Phase 3 trial, compared with 0.89 percent for a placebo, according to prescribing information approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. About 75 per October 23, 2026

BYD cars banned from US base in Okinawa, with USFK possibly next SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) - Chinese-made BYD electric vehicles will be banned from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, starting next week, U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) said on Friday, citing concerns that the vehicles could collect sensitive information about military facilities. Effective Oct. 26, all BYD-manufactured vehicles will be prohibited from entering the base including private cars, taxis, delivery trucks and other commercial vehicles, with no exceptions. Kadena, one of the la October 23, 2026

KOSPI sinks below 5,400 as Meta's AI spending fuels tech selloff SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) — South Korean stocks fell sharply at Friday's open, sending the benchmark KOSPI below 5,400 as concerns over the mounting costs of artificial intelligence (AI) investments triggered another selloff in semiconductor shares. The KOSPI stood at 5,353.48 as of 9:40 a.m., down 3.26 percent from previous close of 5,533.77. The index opened 2.36 percent lower at 5,403.17 before extending its decline. The junior KOSDAQ dropped 3.45 percent to 737.76, e October 23, 2026

South Korea urged to 'modernize' aging IT systems SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) - South Korea needs to step up efforts to "modernize aging IT infrastructure" to address growing cybersecurity threats and maintain its digital competitiveness, according to a forum hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) and Cisco this week. The AMCHAM said Friday that it held a closed-door roundtable with the U.S. technology company at its Seoul office the previous day, bringing together business executives and cybersecurity e October 23, 2026

HD Hyundai in talks with US engineering firm to establish joint venture SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) - HD Hyundai is in talks with an American engineering company to build a shipyard in the U.S. According to industry sources, the shipbuilder has been discussing plans with Kiewit, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, to establish a joint venture to secure a site and build a ship production facility. Details including the location of site and its construction schedule have yet to be determined, with plans initially focused on manufacturing ship blocks and October 23, 2026

SK drops Solidigm IPO amid regulatory and shareholder pressure SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) - SK hynix has dropped plans to list its U.S. NAND flash subsidiary Solidigm amid pressure from South Korean regulators and minority shareholders over the potential erosion of shareholder value. “Solidigm, our overseas subsidiary, has reviewed various financing options to expand production capacity and strengthen its competitiveness. However, after comprehensively considering capital market conditions and other factors, it has decided to discontinue i October 23, 2026

North Korea suspected of planting nearly 100 mines along DMZ SEOUL, October 23 (AJP) -North Korea has planted nearly one million land mines in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) over the last two years, the South Korea military reported during the parliamentary hearing period. The military estimated that North Korean troops had laid about 960,000 mines during the period, according to multiple lawmakers’ offices on the National Assembly’s intelligence and defense committees. Pyongyang has been reinforcing the frontier after redefin October 23, 2026