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  INTERVIEW: Smart Brick to keep Lego legacy alive and competition at bay LAS VEGAS, January 09 (AJP) - As Lego brings sensors and connectivity into its iconic bricks, the Lego Group says its new Smart Brick platform is designed not only to modernize play, but to safeguard its decades-old legacy — and keep competitors firmly at bay. The Smart Bricks will be difficult for rivals to copy, according to a senior Lego executive, who cited years of proprietary development and built-in security features as major barriers to imitation. "I think the January 9, 2026
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  INTERVIEW: AI worsens labor mismatch as degree holders chase jobs machines replace SEOUL, January 07 (AJP) - The growing insecurity faced by college-educated workers in advanced economies stems from a structural mismatch: many young job seekers are targeting white-collar roles that artificial intelligence is rapidly automating, while labor shortages are emerging in sectors machines cannot replace, according to Canadian labor sociologist Barry Eidlin. Rather than signaling a collapse of work itself, the trend reflects a breakdown in how education systems, labor mar January 7, 2026
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  INTERVIEW: Korea confident in AI sovereignty - National AI committee vice chair SEOUL, January 01 (AJP) -“The debate over whether sovereign artificial intelligence is even possible has completely shifted. Now the mood is: we can do it. That change in mindset is the most important development so far,” Lim Moon-young, the vice chairman of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Committee, told Aju Business Daily on Dec. 29, 2025. More than 100 days after its launch under President Lee Jae Myung, the National AI Strategy Committee's bi January 1, 2026
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  INTERVIEW: Prevention starts with language: forensic scientist warns of growing drug risks in Korea SEOUL, December 25 (AJP) - When a high school senior in Daejeon fatally stabbed his mother and aunt while under the influence of LSD, the crime in 2016 stunned the nation. For Chung Heesun, a veteran forensic scientist and former head of the National Forensic Service (NFS), it was another signal that South Korea’s long-held belief in being a drug-free society is rapidly eroding. “He didn’t even know he had stabbed his mother,” Chung said, recalling the fo December 25, 2025
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  INTERVIEW: China's Roborock challenges Samsung, LG with high-end robot vacuums SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - Roborock is upending South Korea’s home appliance market — long dominated by Samsung and LG — by rapidly expanding its foothold with high-end robot vacuums. Priced at around 2 million won ($1,370), the company’s premium models have won over consumers and helped propel the robot vacuum segment to a 1 trillion won market. Roborock’s strategy of moving beyond cleaning into full home automation is setting a new benchmark for December 4, 2025
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  INTERVIEW: South Korea's Tesolo targets global humanoid market with robotic hand SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - South Korean robotic gripper maker Tesolo is positioning itself at the forefront of the emerging “physical AI” era, betting that its multi-joint robotic hand can become a core component of next-generation humanoids. The company plans to accelerate commercialization through partnerships with major Korean manufacturers and global humanoid robotics startups. In an interview, CEO Kim Young-jin said Tesolo’s competitive edge lies in its December 4, 2025
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  INTERVIEW: KEAD chief aims to expand job opportunities for disabled in emerging industries SEOUL, December 2 (AJP) - Dec. 3 marks the UN's International Day of Persons with Disabilities, highlighting the importance of employment opportunities for the disabled amid rapid changes in the labor market. The Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities (KEAD) is at the forefront of this effort. Lee Jong-seong, KEAD's head, is focused on creating jobs for the disabled. "The expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital industries is reshaping th December 2, 2025
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  INTERVIEW: Sookmyung Women's University builds global footprint in pharmaceutical science SEOUL, November 18 (AJP) - Sookmyung Women’s University’s College of Pharmacy has emerged as one of South Korea’s most active incubators of medical and pharmaceutical R&D, expanding its global footprint and highlighting the strength of female scientific leadership in the country. In an interview with AJP, Dean Jeon Ra-ok said the college’s competitiveness "comes from its history, and the networks and research foundation that history has built.&quo November 18, 2025
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  INTERVIEW: Korean economist sees AI as key to breaking out of low growth SEOUL, November 13 (AJP) - South Korea has a rare chance to escape years of sluggish growth if it can harness artificial intelligence as a new engine of productivity, according to Jeon Kwang-woo, chairman of the Institute for Global Economics and a former head of the Financial Services Commission. In an interview with Aju Business Daily, Jeon said the country’s economy — long constrained by an aging population, weak investment, and slowing exports — could find November 13, 2025
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  INTERVIEW: Korean biz at home and abroad must unite to leverage and lengthen K-power:OKTA chair SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) -An economic bloc representing 50 million South Koreans and 7.5 million ethnic Koreans overseas — built on a self-sustaining trade and supply-chain network that links the manufacturing base at home with capital and distribution capabilities abroad — is the vision of the World Federation of Overseas Korean Economic and Trade Association (World-OKTA), its chair said. Korean entrepreneurs at home and abroad have risen to global prominence and mu November 5, 2025