Korean President vows to correct housing "fantasy" in Lunar New Year message SEOUL, February 17 (AJP) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday underscored his core governing goal — to correct what he called the nation’s “housing fantasy” and build a safe and peaceful society grounded in fairness, reason, growth and shared prosperity. In his Lunar New Year message posted on social media platform X, Lee said he never sought political power for personal ambition, but to gain the authority needed to confront structural injustice, February 17, 2026

EDITORIAL: Asia's moment written in tears — Japanese skaters' golden triumph When the scores were announced, time seemed to pause. For a brief moment, the arena held its breath. Then came the roar — and then, more quietly, the tears. On the ice of Milan, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara did not celebrate like conquerors. They collapsed into each other’s arms, trembling, overwhelmed, as if the weight of years had suddenly fallen away. Their sobs were not only of joy. They were the release of doubt, of fear, of nights spent wondering wheth February 17, 2026

A long ride back to Seoul as holiday winds down SEOUL, February 17 (AJP) -Heavy traffic clogged major highways across South Korea on Tuesday as millions of holiday travelers began returning to Seoul as the long Lunar New Year holiday ends on Wednesday. According to the Korea Expressway Corp., travel times to Seoul as of noon had lengthened sharply, with trips from Busan taking up to 10 hours, Ulsan 9 hours and 40 minutes, Daegu 9 hours, Mokpo 9 hours and 20 minutes, Gwangju 8 hours and 50 minutes, and Daejeon 4 hours and 40 minu February 17, 2026

ASIA INSIGHTS: India's AI summit and Asia's quiet inflection point Global leaders and technology executives gathering in New Delhi this week for India’s artificial intelligence summit are not simply attending another diplomatic forum. They are meeting at a moment when the direction of technological change feels unusually consequential. The summit, attended by more than 20 heads of state including Emmanuel Macron and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reflects how deeply artificial intellige February 17, 2026

Hedge funds pile into Asia as memory boom powers Korean rally SEOUL, February 17 (AJP) -Global funds are ramping up bets on Asian equities, led by tech-heavy South Korea and Japan, as a historic shortage in memory chips fuels one of the strongest regional rallies in decades. According to a client note from Goldman Sachs, hedge funds bought a record amount of Asian stocks in the week to Friday, targeting both developed and emerging markets. Inflows were concentrated in Korea, Taiwan and China, while India saw modest selling. Exposure to Asian February 17, 2026

Kbank up for retail subscription Fri ahead of March 5 IPO, 30% discounted vs online peer SEOUL, February 17 (AJP) -Kbank, South Korea’s first online-only lender, will open retail subscriptions from Friday to Monday ahead of its March 5 debut on the main board, seeking to capitalize on a strong rally in the KOSPI with a relatively conservative valuation as the first Korean IPO for 2026. The lender has set its offering price at 8,300 won ($5.75), the bottom of its indicative range of 8,300 to 9,500 won, following institutional bookbuilding earlier this month. Kbank February 17, 2026

Korea adds bronze, advances relay and curling amid gold drought in Milan SEOUL, February 17 (AJP) -South Korea picked up another bronze medal in short track speed skating, advanced to the men’s relay final and extended its winning streak in women’s curling as Olympic action aired Tuesday morning in Korean time at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Kim Gil-li won bronze in the women’s 1,000 meters at Milano Ice Skating Arena, earning South Korea’s sixth medal of the Games and her first career Olympic podium. The 2 February 17, 2026

South Korean financial stocks lead market gains in February SEOUL, February 16 (AJP) - South Korean financial stocks surged this month as the benchmark KOSPI index hit a series of record highs. The securities index jumped 24.5 percent from Jan. 30 to Feb. 13, rising to 7,684.70 from 6,172.47, far outpacing the KOSPI's 5.31 percent gain over the same period, according to data from the Korea Exchange released Monday. The KOSPI 200 Financials index, composed of 22 stocks including financial holding companies, banks and in February 16, 2026

Global solid-state battery market projected to reach $20 billion by 2032 SEOUL, February 16 (AJP) - The global solid-state battery market is projected to grow more than tenfold to nearly $20 billion by 2032, driven by expanding applications in electric vehicles and robotics, according to a market research report released Monday. South Korean battery makers are accelerating development efforts as commercialization of the next-generation technology draws closer. The worldwide solid-state battery market is expected to expand from $1.97 February 16, 2026

Expressways see heavy traffic ahead of Lunar New Year holiday SEOUL, February 16 (AJP) - South Korea's expressways experienced heavy congestion on Monday morning as travelers headed to their hometowns ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. As of 8 a.m., travel time from Seoul to major cities reached 6 hours and 20 minutes to Busan, 6 hours to Ulsan, 5 hours and 20 minutes to Daegu, 4 hours and 40 minutes to Mokpo, 4 hours and 20 minutes to Gwangju, 3 hours and 10 minutes to Gangneung, and 2 hours and 20 minutes to Daejeon, according to the February 16, 2026