Washington's new trade agenda poses fresh challenges for Seoul SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - Seoul should closely monitor Washington's evolving trade strategy and swiftly implement South Korea's trade deal with the U.S. agreed last fall, said an ex-trade chief on Wednesday. Speaking at a forum at the National Assembly in Seoul, former Trade Minister Jeong In-kyo also warned that the U.S.' annual trade report is increasingly being used as a platform for future enforcement actions beyond tariffs. "The National Trade Estimate (NTE) re June 17, 2026

FSS warns against leveraged bets as Samsung, SK hynix ETFs amplify market swings SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) — Leveraged ETFs tied to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix now account for nearly a third of trading in the two stocks, amplifying swings in South Korea's benchmark index and prompting an emergency warning from financial regulators. The Financial Supervisory Service on Wednesday convened investment banks, securities firms, asset managers and market researchers to warn against concentrated bets on a handful of stocks and excessive use of leverage, sayi June 17, 2026

KOSPI extends rally as SK hynix tops 2.5 Million won for first time SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI extended its gains Wednesday as investors rotated into semiconductors, power-cable shares and biotechnology, even as foreign investors turned heavy sellers on the main bourse. The benchmark KOSPI closed up 1.6 percent at 8,864.24, after moving between an intraday high of 8,872.18 and a low of 8,605.66. Foreign investors sold 1 trillion won worth of shares on the main bourse, while institutions bought 581.9 billion won ($384. June 17, 2026

KAIST develops memory-efficient image processing technique for AI SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - Researchers in South Korea have developed a technique with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Microsoft that allows artificial intelligence to process high-resolution visual details while using up to 16 times less computer memory, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said Wednesday. The method, called Upsample Anything, restores fine visual details from compressed, low-resolution data without requiring additional machine le June 17, 2026

Some 150,000 applicants to sit for entry-level civil service exam this weekend SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - About 150,000 people are getting ready for a written test for this year's civil service exam for entry-level government positions this weekend. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Wednesday that some 141,546 people have signed up to take the nationwide exam scheduled for Saturday to fill about 23,390 openings, with a competition ratio of 6.1 to 1, down from 8.8 to 1 last year. About 14,530 of the 23,390 positions will be for administrative and June 17, 2026

Baekdu Mountain: many names, many maps SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - This year I climbed the West Slope on June 11 and the North Slope on June 12. On the 11th, the West Slope was buried in snow. Both the mountain and Cheonji, the Heaven Lake, were submerged in white, with only a dark blue gleam of water showing through. The next day, on the North Slope, the snow had thinned considerably, and the same lake looked like an entirely different place. The sky over Cheonji wouldn't hold June 17, 2026

Visitors wash hair in calamus water ahead of Dano festival SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - Foreign tourists and children participated in a centuries-old Korean tradition of washing their hair in water infused with calamus root at the National Folk Museum of Korea in Seoul on Wednesday, two days ahead of this year's Dano festival. The museum held the demonstration in the courtyard of Ochon-daek, a traditional house on its grounds, as part of its seasonal Dano program. Dano falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and has long been marked June 17, 2026

Housing prices near chip clusters in Seoul outskirts surge amid soaring demand SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - An ongoing artificial intelligence (AI)-driven semiconductor boom is spilling over into the housing market, pushing up apartment prices near facilities operated by chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in satellite cities across Gyeonggi Province. According to transaction prices disclosed through a database system operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, an 84-square-meter unit at an apartment complex in Dongtan was traded for 2 June 17, 2026

Ruling party members shooed away as Jamsil rally takes a far-right turn SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - The political tide appeared to shift Wednesday at Gate 2-1 of Seoul Olympic Park's Handball Gymnasium, where a protest initially fueled by younger voters' concerns over ballot shortages increasingly showed signs of becoming dominated by older, far-right activists. Members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea visited the site of an ongoing rally over the June 3 local election ballot shortage, urging demonstrators not to disrupt public access and sp June 17, 2026

Foreign tourist spending in S. Korea hits record $1.3bln on local lifestyle boom SEOUL, June 17 (AJP) - Credit card spending by foreign tourists in South Korea reached an all-time monthly high in May, fueled by a surge in visitors adopting everyday local lifestyle trends, the Korea Tourism Organization said Wednesday. Over the last few years, global interest in South Korean culture has shifted from entertainment like music and television to everyday fashion, beauty, and wellness. This growing fascination has changed how tourists shop, drawing them away from tr June 17, 2026