As South Korea shrinks, Seoul keeps growing - at the nation's expense SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) -South Korea’s growth potential has slipped below a critical threshold. According to the OECD, the country’s potential growth rate has fallen to 1.9% this year and is projected to drop further to 1.7% next year—less than half the pace recorded in the early 2000s. Among 41 OECD economies, South Korea is expected to rank only 24th next year, trailing not only the United States but also smaller, slower-growing peers such as Australia and December 19, 2025

Tax watchdog launches audit of trendy bakery café SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - The National Tax Service on Thursday launched a special tax audit of trendy bakery café London Bagel Museum, which has come under scrutiny following the death of a young employee in his 20s allegedly due to overwork. According to industry sources, tax authorities raided the café's operator LBM in central Seoul and seized tax-related documents. Specific reasons for the audit were not immediately disclosed, with the tax watchdog saying i December 18, 2025

SK hynix wins Intel certification for 256GB DDR5 server DRAM module SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - SK hynix said on Thursday it has obtained Intel Data Center certification for its 256GB DDR5 registered dual in-line memory module (RDIMM), becoming the first supplier to validate a 32Gb-based high-capacity DDR5 module on Intel’s latest Xeon 6 server platform. The module is built on the company’s fifth-generation 10-nanometer-class (1b) 32Gb DRAM and is designed for data center servers that require higher memory density as artificial intellig December 18, 2025

Imported cars win over more South Korean motorists, survey reveals SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - More motorists are showing increased interest in imported cars, according to a survey by the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) released on Thursday. The association surveyed about 1,500 motorists and found that the majority of respondents or 66.3 percent held a favorable view of imported cars, while only 4.9 percent gave a negative response. The rest were neutral. The main reasons cited were the growing presence of impo December 18, 2025

Hyundai Motor still at the starting line as Tesla races toward autonomous finish SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - Tesla’s shares surged to a record high last Tuesday on CEO Elon Musk’s renewed push toward fully autonomous robotaxis — a breakthrough that drew cool look at Hyundai Motor’s lag in self-driving technology. Tesla has been testing its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas since early this year. What began as supervised trials has moved further, with Musk signaling over the weekend that vehicles are now operating without a driver in the December 18, 2025

Tech slump drags Asian markets lower as investors eye BOJ SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - Asian equity markets ended broadly lower on Thursday as fallout from an “Oracle shock” weighed on technology shares and investors stayed cautious ahead of the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) interest rate decision. Most major benchmarks declined, though mainland China’s Shanghai Composite showed relative resilience, appearing largely insulated from weakness in U.S. technology stocks. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI fell 1.53 percent December 18, 2025

Panmunjeom: The Cold War relic awaiting inter-Korean thaw SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - Located within the Joint Security Area (JSA), Panmunjeom is the historic site where the Korean War armistice agreement was signed in 1953. Today, it remains a unique zone jointly managed by North and South Korea, partitioned by the Military Demarcation Line. While the area currently sits in silence due to strained inter-Korean relations and a total freeze in diplomacy, it remains the primary stage for global attention whenever dialogue resumes on the pen December 18, 2025

Construction site collapse leaves one in cardiac arrest, several injured SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - A steel bar collapsed at a subway construction site near Yeouido in Seoul, trapping several workers, police authorities said on Thursday. According to rescue officials, the collapse occurred at around 1:20 p.m., and all seven workers were rescued shortly afterward. Among them, one man in his 50s was found in cardiac arrest and was taken to a nearby hospital, while another man in his 50s suffered a minor ankle injury. A foreign worker in his 30s escaped December 18, 2025

Samsung tests LPDDR-based server memory as AI data centers seek lower power alternatives SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics is testing a new LPDDR-based server memory module as artificial intelligence data centers increasingly prioritize power efficiency over raw performance, signaling a potential shift in how memory is deployed in next-generation AI infrastructure. The company said it has begun sampling its second-generation SOCAMM (Small Outline Compression Attached Memory Module), a server memory module built on low-power LPDDR technology, to global cus December 18, 2025

Weapons testing deal to sharpen KF-21 fighter jet's strike capability SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) said on Thursday it has signed a contract with South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to conduct additional weapons testing for the KF-21 fighter jet. The contract is valued at 685.9 billion won ($500 million) and is intended to support continued development of the aircraft by enabling flight-test verification of air-to-ground capabilities, KAI said. The additional weapons testing progr December 18, 2025