Park Chan-wook's latest film draws over 300,000 on opening day SEOUL, September 25 (AJP) - Director Park Chan-wook's latest film "No Other Choice" attracted over 331,000 moviegoers on its opening day, instantly climbing to the top spot at the box office. The Korean Film Council on Thursday said the thriller starring Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin topped the box office upon its release the previous day, setting the highest opening record among his previous hits like "Decision to Leave" in 2022 and "The Handmaiden&q September 25, 2025

Hanmi Global expands in Middle East with Kuwait, Saudi contracts SEOUL, September 25 (AJP) - Hanmi Global announced on Thursday that it had secured a series of construction management contracts in the Middle East. The company won three construction supervision contracts from Kuwait’s Public Authority for Housing Welfare, valued at about 31 billion won, or roughly $22 million. In Saudi Arabia, it secured a separate deal worth 16 billion won to provide project management services for part of the kingdom’s vast Green Riyadh initiativ September 25, 2025

Lee meets US top tariff negotiator, pushes for progress in trade talks SEOUL, September 25 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in New York and expressed hopes for progress in tariff negotiations which should be "commercially rational." Their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly came about a month after the two met during Lee's visit to Washington for his first bilateral talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. Lee emphasized that trade talks should be "in line with the inte September 25, 2025

Autonomous navigation advances as Samsung Heavy completes trans-Pacific test SEOUL, September 25 (AJP) - Samsung Heavy Industries said on Thursday that it had successfully tested an artificial intelligence–based autonomous navigation system on a trans-Pacific voyage, a milestone in the shipping industry’s push toward automation and efficiency. The system, known as Samsung Autonomous Ship (SAS), was installed on a 15,000-TEU container vessel operated by Evergreen Marine of Taiwan. The ship departed Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 25 and arrived in September 25, 2025

OPINION: Bogota's first metro train is wake-up call for South Korea In September 2025, Bogota welcomed its first-ever metro train, a sight that many Colombians thought they might never live to see. After seven decades of delays, false starts, and political infighting, the arrival of a sleek Chinese-built train was celebrated across the Colombian capital as a long-awaited triumph. But for South Korea, watching from afar, it should serve as something else: a moment of reckoning. As someone who worked closely on infrastructure cooperation betwee September 25, 2025

OPINION: The age of restless youth Kim Sang-chul, director of Global Business Research Center The world today feels as if it is locked in a cycle of turmoil. Wars drag on, economies falter, and political dysfunction seems the rule rather than the exception. For many, especially young people, frustration has boiled over into anger, and anger into action. In recent months, Southeast Asia has seen its youngest citizens — largely Gen Z — take to the streets in protest. From Jakarta to Manila, Dhaka to Dili, de September 25, 2025

Lee chairs UN debate on AI, calls for global cooperation SEOUL, September 25 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung presided over an open debate at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, becoming the first South Korean leader to do so. The debate, chaired by Lee as the country assumed this month's rotating role as a non-permanent member, focused on how to tackle opportunities and challenges brought about by the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and other cutting-edge technologies. Participants including repres September 25, 2025

Medical schools lose appeal as semiconductor careers promise six-figure salaries SEOUL, September 24 (AJP) - University applicants are increasingly opting for majors that guarantee employment at major companies after graduation, rather than medical schools, which have long been the preferred choice among many top-scoring students. This shift is particularly evident at Hanyang University, Korea University, and Sogang University, which offer semiconductor-related courses and similar programs in partnership with businesses, often leading to guaranteed positions at September 24, 2025

KT CEO acknowledges flaws in network security after data breach SEOUL, September 24 (AJP) - The chief executive of KT Corp. acknowledged to lawmakers on Wednesday that the company had poorly managed its cellular network, which led to unauthorized mobile payment breaches and the theft of private data from hundreds of users. During a parliamentary hearing, KT's CEO, Kim Young-shub, admitted to significant security vulnerabilities related to the company's network of micro base stations, known as femtocells. "After the incident, we September 24, 2025

How Lee's new North Korea initiative differs from previous approaches SEOUL, September 24 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae-myung outlined a new phased approach to North Korea's denuclearization during a keynote speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Dubbed the "END" initiative, it reflects his vision for easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula through exchange, normalization, and denuclearization. "We must end the era of hostility and confrontation on the Korean Peninsula," said Lee, stressin September 24, 2025