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  Rome pivots to Seoul as lunar race demands global alliance SEOUL, April 22 (AJP) - Italy and South Korea are formalizing a strategic aerospace corridor as the technical and economic pressures of the second lunar age render national isolation obsolete. During the 2026 Italian Space Day in the South Korean capital on Wednesday, Teodoro Valente, the president of the Italian Space Agency, told a delegation of industry leaders that the era of the solo spacefaring nation has ended. As the global community readies for a permanent human presen April 22, 2026
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  KOSPI, Nikkei hit fresh record highs despite US-Iran talks on hold SEOUL, April 22 (AJP) - Asian markets mostly closed higher on Wednesday, with South Korea's benchmark KOSPI closing above the 6,400 mark for the first time, despite fresh uncertainties over the prolonged conflict in the Middle East after another round of talks between the U.S. and Iran was postponed indefinitely. The KOSPI rose 0.46 percent to close at a record 6,417.93 points, while the junior KOSDAQ gained 0.18 percent to finish at 1,181.12. Among large-cap tech shares, S April 22, 2026
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  How a single remark exposed deeper fault lines in U.S.–South Korea relation SEOUL, April 22 (AJP) - When South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told lawmakers in March that North Korea was operating uranium enrichment facilities in Yongbyon, Kangson and Kusong, he intended to highlight the growing sophistication of its nuclear program. Instead, his remarks triggered an intelligence dispute with Washington and a controversy within the highly divisive Korean society. At the heart of the dispute is Kusong, a location that Washington claims had April 22, 2026
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  Polarization deepens as two chip giants dominate KOSPI SEOUL, April 22 (AJP) -South Korea's main bourse is flying to new heights and exports remain resilient despite Gulf shocks, but the momentum is increasingly powered by a single engine — chips. Memory giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix now account for about 67 percent, or 137.3 trillion won ($XX billion), of total first-quarter operating profits among South Korean companies, according to financial data provider FnGuide. That is more than double last year’s sha April 22, 2026
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  Prosecutors seek 15-year prison sentence for ex-interior minister in appeals case SEOUL, April 22 (AJP) - Prosecutors on Wednesday again sought a 15-year prison term for former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min in his appeals trial over allegations related to disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law debacle in December 2024. Lee was sentenced to seven years in prison in his first trial in February this year. During a hearing at the Seoul High Court, prosecutors said Lee played a key role in carrying out Yoon's botched declaratio April 22, 2026
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  Korea's birth rate crawls near 1 in February on record births in the month SEOUL, April 22 (AJP) -South Korea's fertility rate edged closer to the 1.0 threshold in February as births grew at a record pace, lifting the monthly tally to its highest level in seven years. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics Wednesday, the number of births reached 22,898 in February, up 2,747, or 13.6 percent, from a year earlier — marking the highest February figure in seven years since 2019. The increase was the third-largest on record in absolute April 22, 2026
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  Samsung Biologics posts record Q1 but faces first-ever strike threat SEOUL, April 22 (AJP) - Samsung Biologics, the world's largest biopharmaceutical contract manufacturer, delivered its strongest-ever quarterly results on Tuesday but faces a looming walkout by its union, casting a shadow over an otherwise buoyant earnings report. Regulatory filings released Wednesday reported that operating profit surged 35 percent year-on-year to 580.8 billion won ($392.7 million), while revenue climbed 26 percent to 1.26 trillion won from the year-earlier qua April 22, 2026
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  Korea auto industry calls for tax incentives as Chinese EV share hits 33.9 percent SEOUL, April 22 (AJP) — After dominating the rechargeable bus market, smaller electrified four wheels of Chinese origin are rapidly proliferating on South Korean roads. Chinese brands accounted for 33.9 percent of Korea's electric vehicle market in 2025, up sharply from 4.7 percent in 2022, according to a report presented at the Automobile & Mobility Industry Development Forum hosted by the Korea Automobile & Mobility Industry Association (KAMA) in Seoul. Over April 22, 2026
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  Battery maker CEO gets far reduced sentence in appeals court over deadly factory fire SEOUL, April 22 (AJP) - Lithium battery maker Aricell's CEO was sentenced to four years in prison over a deadly fire in an appeals court in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday. It was a far lower sentence than the 15 years handed down in the first trial over the fire at the company's plant last year, which claimed about two dozen lives. The Suwon High Court delivered the far more lenient sentence to Aricell CEO Park Soon-kwan, who was indicted on several charges including April 22, 2026
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  HD Hyundai Heavy Industries signs deal to supply power equipment for US data center SEOUL, April 22 (AJP) - HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has signed a mega contract to supply power-generation equipment to U.S. energy solutions company Aperion Energy Group, the shipbuilder said on Wednesday. Under the contract, worth 627.1 billion Korean won (US$424 million), which is the largest of its kind the shipbuilder has ever signed, the equipment with a total capacity of 684 megawatts based on its HiMSEN engines will be installed at the Texas-based company's data center, April 22, 2026