18-year-old wins S. Korea's first female snowboard Olympic bronze SEOUL, February 10 (AJP) - High school student Yu Seung-eun has made history on Monday (local time) as the first South Korean woman to stand on an Olympic snowboarding podium, capturing a bronze medal in the big air event during her debut at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The 18-year-old recorded a combined score of 171.00 points at Livigno Snow Park, finishing behind gold medalist Japan's Murase Kokomo and silver medalist Zoi Sadowski-Synnott from New Zealand. Her p February 10, 2026

SK and Nvidia chiefs hold AI talks over chicken and beer in Santa Clara SEOUL, February 10 (AJP) - Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group missing from the famous chicken-beer meeting in Seoul among key Korean tycoons during Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's visit to South Korea last October, had a separate chimaek moment with Huang in Silicon Valley as SK hynix vies with Samsung Electronics for next-generation memory packages to Nvidia's AI accelerators. According to industry officials on Monday, Chey met Huang on Feb. 5 (local time) at a Korean-style frie February 10, 2026

Ukraine War in 5th Year: Trump's long-delayed '24-Hour' promise *Editor’s Note: As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears its fifth year, AJP reviews how the war began, how it has evolved, and where it is heading — and asks the most urgent question of all: will it end? This second installment examines the delayed peace negotiations. SEOUL, Feb. — (AJP)-“I will end that war within 24 hours.” Since his campaign days, US President Donald Trump repeatedly portrayed himself as a “peacemaker,” confiden February 10, 2026

On a bread ride in Daejeon SEOUL, February 03 (AJP) - At exactly 1 p.m., a gray sedan rolled up in front of Exit 4 of Tanbang Station, Daejeon city of South Korea. Out stepped driver An Seong-woo — with two bread-shaped plushies tucked under his arms and a smile warm enough to melt butter. That’s how our “Bread Vatican pilgrimage,” officially known as the Daejeon Bread Taxi Tour, began. He had arrived early that morning to scout parking spots for customers who drove in. A small de February 9, 2026

Bithumb scandal sparks deep skepticism over Korea's crypto exchange systems SEOUL, Feb 09 (AJP) - A “fat finger” blunder at Bithumb, South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, has become a windfall for a few and a nightmare for many, involving more than $40 billion in erroneous transactions and raising fresh concerns over the safety of crypto trading in Korea. At around 7 p.m. KST last Friday, a staff member attempted to distribute 620,000 won in prize money but mistakenly transferred 620,000 won worth of Bitcoin instead&mdash February 9, 2026

Seoul weighs heavier fines for antitrust offenses SEOUL, February 09 (AJP) - South Korea is reviewing a major overhaul of its antitrust penalty system, moving toward fines linked to overall corporate revenue as part of a broader effort to curb repeated violations by large conglomerates. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Monday it has commissioned an external study to redesign its sanctions framework for unfair trade practices, laying the groundwork for tougher legislation later this year. At the center of the reform is February 9, 2026

Assured leadership in Japan and AI bet refuel Asian markets SEOUL, February 09 (AJP) - Reinforced political leadership in Japan and renewed optimism over artificial intelligence helped refuel Asian equities on Monday, reversing much of last week’s sharp selloff. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party secured a landslide election victory, strengthening support for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her “strong Japan” agenda. The Nikkei closed up 2.9 percent at 56,363.9, after briefly br February 9, 2026

South Korea inks fighter jet maintenance deal with Philippines SEOUL, February 9 (AJP) - South Korea has signed a deal with the Philippines to provide support and maintenance services for fighter jets, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) said on Monday. Under the performance-based logistics (PBL) deal, worth about 101.4 billion Korean won (about US$70 million), which runs through 2028, KAI will provide maintenance and logistics support for its FA-50 fighter jets supplied to the Philippines. The three-year deal comes as an initial one-year pil February 9, 2026

CJ CheilJedang Q4 profit drops 15 pct on weak domestic sales SEOUL, February 09 (AJP) - CJ CheilJedang said fourth-quarter operating profit fell about 15 percent from a year earlier as weak domestic consumption offset gains from its overseas food business. Operating profit for the three months ended December reached 181.3 billion won ($124 million), down from 219.9 billion won a year earlier, according to regulatory filings on Monday. Revenue rose about 1 percent to 4.54 trillion won. For the full year, CJ CheilJedang posted revenue of 17. February 9, 2026

Korea targets $109B Middle East arms market amid aggressive budgeting SEOUL, February 09 (AJP) - With hundreds of billions of dollars pouring into Middle Eastern rearmament, South Korea’s defense industry is moving aggressively to claim its share—using a major arms fair in Riyadh as the gateway to a $109 billion market. The coordinated push is centered on the World Defense Show (WDS), running from Feb. 8 to 12 in the Saudi capital. The event is the region’s largest integrated defense exhibition and a key platform for securing long-te February 9, 2026