Lee holds talks with Canadian PM in Gyeongju SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung agreed to expand cooperation in the defense and economic sectors with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during their summit on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea's historic city of Gyeongju. Hailing the North American country as a "key ally," Lee highlighted the special relationship between the two nations, recalling Canada's military support during October 30, 2025

Hyundai Motor breaks ground on hydrogen fuel cell plant in Ulsan SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor has begun construction of a large-scale hydrogen fuel cell plant in Ulsan, signaling its ambition to lead the global shift toward clean energy. The groundbreaking ceremony took place at Hyundai’s Ulsan complex, where the new facility will rise on the site of a former internal combustion engine transmission plant. The transformation, company officials said, reflects Hyundai’s commitment to making Ulsan a center for next-generati October 30, 2025

Samsung heiress' recent move to Yongsan reflects South Korean parents' obsession with education SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - Samsung heiress and Hotel Shilla president Lee Boo-jin has reportedly moved back to her home in Seoul's tony district of Yongsan just north of the Han River. Her recent relocation from Daechi-dong in the capital's upscale district of Gangnam clustered with crammers, to the quieter neighborhood appears to be related with her son's graduation from high school. According to industry sources, Lee lived in Daechi-dong throughout her son's mi October 30, 2025

Seoul draws less risky terms than Tokyo in U.S. investment deal SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - South Korea and the United States finalized a long-pending tariff agreement on Wednesday, cementing the structure of Seoul's massive investment framework with Washington. Under the deal, South Korea's $350 billion package will consist of $200 billion in direct cash investment and $150 billion in shipbuilding cooperation aligned with the MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again) initiative. The agreement upholds a 15 percent tariff r October 30, 2025

South Korea's LG Chem partners with Germany's ZEISS on holographic windshield displays SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - LG Chem said Thursday that it has partnered with German optics maker ZEISS to supply advanced photopolymer film for use in next-generation holographic windshield displays in vehicles. The holographic windshield display, or HWD, projects navigation and entertainment content directly onto the windshield, effectively turning it into a transparent screen. Unlike traditional head-up displays, which show limited data in a small area, the holographic versio October 30, 2025

KOSPI positive on U.S. concessions, other Asian markets await Trump–Xi meeting SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI extended gains early Thursday after Seoul and Washington reached a long-awaited tariff agreement, removing a key bilateral sticking point ahead of a high-stakes U.S.–China summit later in the day, while other Asian markets were on hold as investors awaited direction on broader geopolitical tensions. The KOSPI climbed 0.3 percent to 4,090 as of 10:30 a.m., following confirmation that President Lee Jae Myung and U.S October 30, 2025

Data breach drives SK Telecom to first quarterly loss in decades SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - South Korea’s largest mobile carrier, SK Telecom, reported a steep decline in profit and a swing to a net loss in the third quarter on Thursday, as the fallout from one of the country’s largest personal data breaches continued to batter its business and reputation. The net loss ended the company's streak of consecutive quarterly profits that had continued since 2000. The company said its consolidated operating profit plunged 90.9 percen October 30, 2025

UPDATE: Samsung Elec Q3 memory OP stronger than expected at $5 bn, upbeat on Q4 (Updated with conference call comments) SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics’ chip division staged a decisive turnaround in the July–September quarter, with profit from its core memory operation jumping to 7 trillion won ($4.9 billion) — nearly 18 times from the last quarter — on the back of record memory revenue fueled by high-value server demand. Memory sales climbed 26 percent on quarter and 20 percent on year to a fresh quarterly high of 26.7 October 30, 2025

TRAVEL: Exploring wild scenery of Korea's West Sea archipelago GUNSAN, October 30 (AJP) - The Gogunsan Archipelago, a stunning cluster of 63 islands in the Yellow Sea off Gunsan, South Korea, is no longer a world apart. Thanks to the massive Saemangeum Seawall — a 33.9 km engineering marvel connecting Gunsan and Buan — six of the largest islands are now accessible by car. These include Seonyudo, Jangjado, Daejangdo, Munyeodo, Sinsido, and Yamido. Work on the seawall began in 1991 and was finally completed on April 27, 2010, perman October 30, 2025

Türkiye and South Korea reaffirm 'blood brotherhood' at Republic Day reception SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - The Embassy of Türkiye in the Republic of Korea hosted a reception on Wednesday to mark the 102nd anniversary of the founding of the Republic, celebrating the long-standing friendship between Türkiye and South Korea — a relationship born of shared sacrifice during the Korean War. The event, held at the Ambassador Pullman Hotel in Seoul, brought together around 300 guests, including diplomats, government officials, scholars, media represent October 30, 2025