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  PHOTOS: Decision Day SEOUL, June 02 (AJP) - South Korea is poised for the presidential election June 3, with polls opening at 6 a.m. across 14,295 voting stations nationwide. Voting will continue until 8 p.m., after which the process of counting ballots will commence. Political observers anticipate that results will become clear as early as midnight. The next president will immediately take office for a five-year term. June 2, 2025
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  INTERVIEW: Beauty brand Moumou founder turning tutorials into sales SEOUL, June 02 (AJP) - For Yu Hyeon-gyeong, a veteran makeup artist with two decades of experience, the path from the broadcast studio to beauty entrepreneurship was anything but planned. Yet since launching her cosmetics brand, Moumou, in December 2023, she has quietly built a devoted following — driven largely by a steady stream of tutorial-focused Instagram content. “The secret to our success? Merely Instagram,” she said in a recent interview at her Cheongdam June 2, 2025
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  New president to emerge late night on Tuesday SEOUL, June 2 (AJP) - Voting for the June 3 presidential election begins at 6 a.m. on Tuesday at some 14,300 polling stations nationwide. As ballot counting begins at 8 p.m., the country's new president is not expected to emerge until around 11 p.m. or midnight. As the snap election follows the premature ouster of former disgraced President Yoon Suk Yeol over his botched martial law debacle late last year, polling hours have been extended by two hours from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., so & June 2, 2025
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  Police probe overseas IP addresses in SK Telecom cyber attack SEOUL, June 2 (AJP) - South Korean authorities have identified foreign internet addresses linked to the recent cyberattack on SK Telecom and are coordinating with at least three countries as part of an expanding international investigation, police said on Monday. During a press briefing, Park Hyun-soo, acting chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said that cybercrime teams are analyzing server log records tied to malicious code discovered in the breach. “We have fo June 2, 2025
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  Court weighs detention of subway arson suspect as probe continues SEOUL, June 02 (AJP) - A man in his 60s accused of starting a fire on Seoul’s Line 5 subway on May 31 appeared in court Monday for a detention hearing, two days after the blaze disrupted Seoul’s subway train service and sent dozens to the hospital. The suspect, surnamed Won, was brought to the Seoul Southern District Court. The hearing, held to decide whether to formally detain him ahead of trial, lasted about 15 minutes. Won faces charges of setting fire to a train June 2, 2025
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  Canadian orchestra and S. Korean pianist collaborate to display friendship and partnership SEOUL, June 02 (AJP) - The grandeur of the Seoul Arts Center came alive last Saturday night as Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra and acclaimed South Korean pianist Son Yeol-eum delivered an evening of musical collaboration. The performance, part of the NAC Orchestra's first-ever tour to South Korea, marked a highlight in the yearlong celebration of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Under the baton of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra presen June 2, 2025
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  Korea eyes LMR batteries for EVs to bridge gap between range, affordability SEOUL, June 02 (AJP) - South Korea’s battery manufacturers are fast-tracking efforts to commercialize lithium manganese-rich (LMR) batteries, a next-generation chemistry that industry leaders see as a crucial middle ground between cost-efficiency and performance in electric vehicle (EV) technology. The push marks a strategic pivot for an industry long dominated by two competing battery types: nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) batteries, prized for their high energy density but s June 2, 2025
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  UAE in talks with TSMC to build advanced chip plant SEOUL, June 2 (AJP) - The United Arab Emirates is in preliminary discussions with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to build a cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication facility as Gulf nations accelerate efforts to position themselves at the forefront of the global artificial intelligence race. TSMC has reportedly held multiple meetings in recent months with Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, and representatives of MGX Fund Management, a UAE-base June 2, 2025
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  Samsung in talks to integrate Perplexity AI in Galaxy S26: report SEOUL, June 02 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics is in discussions to integrate technology from Perplexity AI into its next generation of smartphones, potentially marking a significant departure from the firm's long-standing reliance on Google’s artificial intelligence services. The proposed deal, first reported by Bloomberg, would see Samsung embedding Perplexity’s AI assistant and search tools in its upcoming Galaxy S26 series, expected to launch in the first half of 2 June 2, 2025
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  Fans flock to Incheon for K-pop's global gathering SEOUL, June 02 (AJP) - Thousands of K-pop fans from across the globe converged on Incheon’s Inspire Entertainment Resort over the weekend for the 2025 Weverse Con Festival, the fourth installment of Hybe’s annual music celebration. Spanning two days, the event drew such a surge of international visitors that local restaurants within the sprawling resort struggled to accommodate the influx. The festival has evolved into a global pilgrimage for fans of Korean pop music, June 2, 2025