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  Period drama dominates box office over Lunar New Year holiday SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - Director Jang Hang-jun's "The King's Warden" has attracted over 4 million viewers since its release earlier this month. According to the Korean Film Council, the period drama has topped the box office for seven consecutive days since last Friday, when South Korea's biggest Lunar New Year holiday began, drawing a cumulative 4.17 million viewers since its release on Feb. 4. Last Tuesday alone, it drew about 661,449 viewers, the h February 19, 2026
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  Tens of thousands of liters of jet fuel spill at US bases in Gunsan, Osan SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - More than 40,000 liters of fighter jet fuel spilled at a U.S. Air Force base in the southwestern city of Gunsan last month, while a similar spill occurred at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province earlier this month, U.S. Forces Korea said on Thursday. According to U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), the U.S. Air Force's 8th Fighter Wing detected a leak of about 41,600 liters of jet fuel from a fuel tank in an accident on Jan. 26 at Gunsan. There w February 19, 2026
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  South Korea mulls restoring no-fly zone along border SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - South Korea is considering redesignating a no-fly zone along border areas while ensuring it does not affect military readiness, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday. In a regular media briefing, ministry spokesperson Jeong Bit-na said the ministry is consulting with relevant government agencies and the U.S. side to partially restore the inter-Korean military pact, which was signed in September 2018 to ease military tensions between the two Koreas but was February 19, 2026
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  EU open to mediate if North Korean POWs in Ukraine seek defection SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) -The European Union expressed readiness to help facilitate the return of North Korean prisoners of war captured in Ukraine and called for closer cooperation with South Korea on security and sanctions, according to a senior EU diplomat Thursday. Olof Skoog, Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs at the European External Action Service, said the EU was willing to assist if requested on the issue of North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces whi February 19, 2026
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  North Korea hails deployment of multiple rocket launchers ahead of party congress SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - North Korea deployed some 50 multiple rocket launchers, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Thursday. According to KCNA, a ceremony for the deployment of a 600-mm large-caliber multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) "took place with splendor" in Pyongyang the previous day, with Kim Jong-un in attendance, accompanied by Workers' Party officials, munitions industry workers and other military personnel. In a speech, Ki February 19, 2026
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  Hiring plans reflect chip boom vs weak consumption in Korea SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) -Electronics and semiconductor manufacturers enjoying an exceptional, record-setting second year from the artificial intelligence boom are set to lead hiring among South Korean employers in 2026, according to a new survey by HR technology company Incruit released Thursday. Incruit’s survey of 873 companies — including 102 large corporations, 122 mid-sized firms and 649 small and medium-sized enterprises — found that 84.4 percent of electron February 19, 2026
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  Pulmuone's U.S. tofu sales hit record high on protein demand, market expansion SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - South Korean food company Pulmuone posted record tofu sales in the United States last year, driven by surging demand for plant-based protein and a broadening retail footprint. Pulmuone's U.S. tofu revenue rose 12.2 percent year-on-year to about 224.2 billion won ($154.4 million) in 2025, the company said Thursday. Tofu accounts for roughly half of the U.S. unit's total revenue, and the company has held the top market share position in the American February 19, 2026
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  Korea's auto exports jump 21.7% to $6.07b, second-highest on record for Jan SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) -South Korea’s auto exports opened the year on a strong footing, extending momentum from a record 2025, as a weak won and resilient demand from Europe and other markets for hybrid and secondhand vehicles helped offset lingering tariff pressures in the United States. Outbound shipments in January rose 21.7 percent from a year earlier to $6.07 billion, the second-highest export total ever recorded for the month, according to data released by the Minist February 19, 2026
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  SK Innovation selected to develop $2.3 bln LNG power project in Vietnam SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - SK Innovation has been selected as the developer of a $2.3 billion liquefied natural gas power project in northern Vietnam, marking a significant step in the South Korean energy company's push to expand its global LNG footprint. The project, located in the Quynh Lap area of Nghe An province, about 220 kilometers south of Hanoi, calls for the construction of a 1,500-megawatt combined-cycle gas power plant, a 250,000-cubic-meter LNG terminal, and a dedic February 19, 2026
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  South Korean citizens proposed for Nobel Peace Prize for defending democracy SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - South Korean citizens have been proposed for the Nobel Peace Prize for defending democracy by stopping former disgraced President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law debacle in 2024. A group of professors led by Kim Eui-young at Seoul National University submitted a recommendation to the Norwegian Nobel Committee last month, proposing the citizens collectively as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. The group includes Pablo Oñate, a professor at February 19, 2026