Four firms win preliminary approval for KOSDAQ listings SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) — Four South Korean companies have cleared preliminary reviews for listings on the KOSDAQ, moving closer to initial public offerings (IPOs) on the country's junior stock market. The Korea Exchange (KRX) approved listing applications on Thursday from four companies across financial technology, pharmaceuticals, battery materials and manufacturing artificial intelligence (AI). They include E9pay, an international money transfer company, and Innovo T October 16, 2026

Prosecutors press 30-year prison term for ex-president in appeals trial SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) - Prosecutors on Friday again sought a 30-year prison term for disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol in a separate appeals trial related to his botched martial law debacle in 2024. During a hearing at the Seoul High Court, prosecutors led by Cho Eun-suk asked the court to sentence Yoon to 30 years in jail, the same sentence they sought in the first trial, over allegations that Yoon ordered the dispatch of drones to Pyongyang in October 2024 several times, October 16, 2026

Foreigners end eight-day sell-off as KOSPI, Nikkei rebound SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) - Foreign investors turned net buyers of South Korean stocks on Friday for the first time in nine sessions, but the rebound after the previous day's crash recovered less than a quarter of the losses before losing steam sharply. The benchmark KOSPI rose 113.83 points or 2.05 percent to close at 5,668.05 after climbing as high as 5,809.94 during the session. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ also jumped 33.96 points or 4.46 percent, triggering a buy-sidecar, a five-m October 16, 2026

Samsung tops Asia brand ranking for third straight year SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) - Samsung ranked as Asia's most valuable corporate brand for a third straight year, holding off Apple and Nike in Nikkei Research's latest regional survey. Samsung placed first among 200 brands assessed across eight Asian markets, while Apple rose to second from fourth and Nike held third place. Adidas slipped to fourth, while Toyota climbed three spots to fifth. The Asia ranking covers China, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Malay October 16, 2026

BTS become first group to top 10 billion Spotify streams in a year SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) - K-pop juggernaut BTS became the first group in the world to surpass 10 billion Spotify streams in a single year, their agency BigHit Music said on Friday. The septet's combined streams for their songs and other music videos this year have more than doubled from 4.5 billion in 2025. Their fifth studio album "ARIRANG," released in March, has generated more than 5 billion streams alone, making it Spotify's most-streamed album of the year. October 16, 2026

OpenAI pitches AI cyber defense to breach-hit Korea SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) - OpenAI on Friday urged South Korean corporate security chiefs to bring artificial intelligence into their cyber defenses. About 60 executives, including chief information security officers, gathered for the company's Cyber CXO Roundtable in Seoul's Gangnam District, where OpenAI set out strategies for countering AI-powered threats. Dominic Grillo, OpenAI's head of technical success, and security engineer Wana Tun said AI is rapidly honing its October 16, 2026

Foreign investors pull $20 bln from Korean markets Sept SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) — Foreign investors pulled nearly $20 billion from South Korean stocks and bonds in September, more than quadrupling the previous month's outflow as withdrawals broadened across both markets. Net foreign portfolio outflows reached $19.97 billion, compared with $4.50 billion in August, according to data released Friday by the Bank of Korea (BOK). Equity funds swung back to a net outflow of $14.16 billion after a marginal $40 million inflow in Augu October 16, 2026

Lee's approval rating ticks up after weeks of decline: Gallup SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating rose 2 percentage points from a week earlier to 39 percent, a modest rebound from a record low after weeks of decline, pollster Gallup Korea said on Friday. In its survey of over 1,000 people nationwide conducted earlier this week, some 52 percent said Lee was not doing a good job, up 1 percentage point from the previous week. About nine percent were undecided or declined to answer. Lee's approval rati October 16, 2026

Fire at Bucheon factory injures several, one firefighter in cardiac arrest SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) - A fire at a factory in Bucheon, just west of Seoul, left seven people injured on Friday including a firefighter who suffered cardiac arrest, according to fire authorities. The blaze broke out at around 8:40 a.m. at a four-story metal-parts painting factory, prompting authorities to deploy about 80 firefighters. Two firefighters were seriously injured including one who was rushed to a hospital in a state of cardiac arrest. Three other firefighters and two October 16, 2026

Korea targets ADHD drug misuse ahead of college entrance exam SEOUL, October 16 (AJP) -South Korea will tighten checks on prescriptions and illegal sales of the ADHD drug methylphenidate ahead of next month's college entrance exam, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Friday. Methylphenidate prescriptions reached 58.05 million pills in the first half of this year, up 12.1 percent from a year earlier. People aged 19 or younger accounted for 28.81 million, or nearly half of the total. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will insp October 16, 2026