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  South Korea to reaffirm commitment for trade deal after Trump threatens tariff hike SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) - South Korea would reaffirm its commitment to implementing its trade agreement with Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly threatened on Monday to raise tariffs again, according to Cheong Wa Dae. In a written statement on Tuesday, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said that presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom, national security adviser Wi Sung-lac, and other key officials from relevant ministries met earlier in the day at Cheong W January 27, 2026
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  Korean ruling party to hasten passage of bill on Korean invest to US SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) -South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party on Tuesday vowed to speed up the legislation to support the country’s $350 billion investment commitment to the United States after President Donald Trump blamed the Korean legislative for his plan to reinstate the tariffs on selective Korean exports to 25 percent. The party stressed that Trump was referring to legislation that has yet to be enacted in South Korea, not to parliamentary ratification of a b January 27, 2026
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  Customs watchdog seizes over 100,000 knockoffs of South Korean brands, mostly Chinese SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) - About 117,000 counterfeit items copying South Korean brands were seized last year, the Korea Customs Service said on Tuesday. The seizure came after the customs watchdog launched an intensive crackdown on knockoffs that capitalize on the global popularity of South Korean goods and products. These counterfeit goods were found in cargo and express parcels shipped through foreign online shopping platforms. By country of origin, China accounted for 97.7 p January 27, 2026
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  Late ex-PM Lee Hae-chan's casket arrives from Viet Nam SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) - The body of former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, who died last Sunday during a visit to Viet Nam, was returned home on Tuesday. The senior vice chairperson of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (PUAC), a presidential consultative body, died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Lee's casket arrived at Incheon International Airport earlier in the day, where government officials and political figures including senior presidential a January 27, 2026
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  South Korea pushes bid for Canada's submarine project as economic ties deepen SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) - South Korea is stepping up efforts to win Canada’s next-generation submarine contract, leveraging a flurry of industrial cooperation deals and high-level diplomacy aimed at deepening the two countries’ strategic and economic ties. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said it hosted the South Korea–Canada Industrial Cooperation Forum on Monday at the Park Hyatt hotel in Toronto, bringing together business and government leaders fro January 27, 2026
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  South Korea convenes emergency meeting after Trump threatens tariff hike SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) - An emergency meeting was convened to discuss how to respond after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly threatened to raise tariffs again, Cheong Wa Dae said on Tuesday. The meeting, chaired by presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom along with key officials from relevant ministries, comes after Trump posted on his own social media platform Truth Social that he would raise reciprocal tariffs from 15 percent to 25 percent, citing delays in their implement January 27, 2026
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  Team Korea in Canada under watch as Korea's defense manufacturing moves to global center SEOUL, January 26 (AJP) -As countries accelerate rearmament amid a more inward-looking U.S. security posture, South Korea’s defense manufacturing capacity has moved to the center of global procurement — a shift underscored by Seoul’s decision to dispatch a high-level delegation to Canada to back a $44 billion submarine bid. Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik departed for Canada on Monday, leading a delegation that includes Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and January 26, 2026
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  Korea's ex-PM Lee Hae-chan to be honored with five-day public funeral SEOUL, January 26 (AJP) - The funeral of former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, who died during a business trip to Vietnam, will be held over five days this week in the format of a public funeral in recognition of his contributions to South Korean society, officials said Monday. Lee, the vice chair of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (PUAC) that directly reports to the president, died Sunday at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City after suffering cardiac arrest. He was 73. The f January 26, 2026
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  Trams to return to Seoul after 58 years, powered by batteries not overhead wires SEOUL, January 26 (AJP)-Trams are set to return to Seoul for the first time in nearly six decades, but in a distinctly modern form: battery-powered, sensor-equipped and free of overhead wires. The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) said Monday it has completed installation of key infrastructure for the Wirye Line tram, including tracks and a depot, and will begin large-scale test operations next month. The city plans to move the first trainset into the depot early Tuesda January 26, 2026
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  Team Korea heads for Canada for final push in $41 bn submarine bid SEOUL, January 26 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung’s chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik departed for Canada on Monday as a special envoy for strategic economic cooperation, seeking to support South Korea’s bid to secure Canada’s major submarine procurement project estimated at up to 60 trillion won ($40.9 billion). Kang left Incheon International Airport for Toronto as South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean competes for Canada’s Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (C January 26, 2026