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

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

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

Constitutional Court upholds impeachment of police chief over martial law involvement

SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - The Constitutional Court of Korea on Thursday unanimously upheld the impeachment of police chief Cho Ji-ho over his involvement in disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law martial law debacle last year. With the verdict, the commissioner general of the National Police Agency was immediately stripped of his post. The decision comes nearly a year after the National Assembly voted to impeach him for allegedly blocking lawmakers from enteri

December 18, 2025

Pro-Pyongyang paper slams Washington for omitting North Korea from US security policy

SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - What is most "notable" in the U.S.' National Security Strategy (NSS) released early this month is that it does not mention North Korea at all, said a pro-North Korea newspaper in Japan. In a column published on Thursday, Choson Sinbo, a mouthpiece for Pyongyang run by the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan or Chongryon said failing to mention North Korea would amount to the U.S. admitting the "complete failure" of it

December 18, 2025

Louis Vuitton trademark case goes public at Korea's Supreme Court

SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) -South Korea’s Supreme Court will hold a public hearing later this month to decide whether remodeling luxury handbags into entirely new products constitutes trademark infringement, a case expected to set the court’s first clear benchmark on the legal limits of the so-called “reform” or upcycling business. According to the Supreme Court on Thursday, its Second Division, presided over by Justice Kwon Young-joon, will hear public

December 18, 2025

Seoul ranked 6th among world's most competitive cities

SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - Seoul was ranked as the sixth most competitive city in the world, according to a recent survey by Japanese think tank Mori Memorial Foundation released on Thursday. Seoul maintained its ranking in the foundation's annual Global Power City Index (GPCI) from the previous year, but its overall score rose sharply, narrowing the gap with fifth-ranked Singapore. The index, based on six functions such as "economy, research and development, cultural in

December 18, 2025

US Senate approves defense bill prohibiting unilateral USFK troop cuts

SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed a defense bill that includes a provision prohibiting a unilateral reduction of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. The annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets defense policy, allocates funding priorities, and provides guidance on key security matters, was approved by the Senate in a decisive 77-20 vote, following its passage in the House of Representatives last week. The bill, which allocates a

December 18, 2025

Opposition parties push for independent probe into Unification Church scandal

SEOUL, December 18 (AJP) - The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is working together with the minor centrist Reform Party (RP) to push for a probe by independent prosecutors into bribery allegations involving the Unification Church, also known as the Moonies. After a meeting between the two parties' floor leaders Song Eon-seok and Cheon Ha-ram on Wednesday, they agreed to proceed with it as early as this week, although they need to resolve some differences including the s

December 18, 2025