Homegrown space rocket set for first nighttime launch late this month

SEOUL, November 12 (AJP) - South Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri is scheduled for liftoff later this month. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said Wednesday that the rocket, dubbed KSLV‑II, will be launched at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province on Nov. 27 unless unexpected problems occur, in which case there will be further launch windows between Nov. 29 and Dec. 4. The liftoff has been tentatively set for between 12:54 a.m. and 1:14 a.m.,

November 12, 2025

Korean firms scale back UAM plans amid delays in commercialization

SEOUL, November 12 (AJP) - Major South Korean companies are retreating from the once-hyped Urban Air Mobility, or UAM, market as delays in commercialization and regulatory hurdles cloud the industry’s near-term prospects. The technology, envisioned as a new mode of eco-friendly urban transport that could ease traffic congestion, has been touted globally as a growth industry worth more than $60 billion by 2035. But with commercialization timelines slipping and profitability

November 12, 2025

KAIST develops flexible ultrasound sensor that can diagnose and treat without surgery

SEOUL, November 12 (AJP) - KAIST researchers have developed a new flexible ultrasound sensor that can both capture medical images and deliver noninvasive therapy without the need for surgery or external beamforming. The breakthrough could open new possibilities for wearable medical devices and home-based treatment systems. The team led by Professor Hyunjoo Lee of the KAIST School of Electrical Engineering announced on November 12 that it has created a flex-to-rigid (FTR) capacitiv

November 12, 2025

Hanwha Aerospace earns top global certification for R&D excellence

SEOUL, November 12 (AJP) - South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace said on Wednesday that it has received the highest possible rating in a global assessment of research and development capabilities. The company earned a Level 5 certification under Version 3.0 of the Capability Maturity Model Integration, or CMMI, a global standard developed by Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense. The designation represents

November 12, 2025

Sookmyung Women's University Technology Holdings invests in livestock distribution startup Pink Packer

SEOUL, November 11 (AJP) - Sookmyung Women's University Technology Holdings has completed a seed investment in Pink Packer Co., a global livestock distribution tech startup. The investment was made through the "Seoul Campus Town University Startup Private Investment Association," jointly established by Sookmyung Women's University, Kookmin University, and Sogang University. Sookmyung Women's University Technology Holdings is the entity that manages the univer

November 11, 2025

KAIST–Johns Hopkins team uncovers how cancer cells choose their own moving path

SEOUL, November 10 (AJP) - KAIST researchers, working with Johns Hopkins University, have discovered how cells determine their direction of movement without any external signals, a finding that reveals the internal logic of cancer metastasis, immune responses, and tissue development. The study, led by Professor Won Do Heo from the KAIST Department of Biological Sciences and Professor Kwang-Hyun Cho from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, together with Professor Gabsang

November 10, 2025

Korean robotics sector battles Chinese and Japanese competition as it bets on AI-driven revival

SEOUL, November 07 (AJP) - South Korea's industrial robotics sector is struggling to find a breakthrough as it rapidly loses home ground to Chinese and Japanese rivals and faces the risk of new tariff barriers in the United States. Responding to appeals from domestic manufacturers, the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday announced provisional anti-dumping tariffs of 21.17 percent to 43.6 percent on multi-jointed industrial robots with four or more axes from China and Jap

November 7, 2025

Korean battery makers seat ESS at the forefront of AI-age global drive

SEOUL, November 05 (AJP) - South Korean battery manufacturers are pressing ahead with aggressive global expansion and investment plans despite multiple headwinds - overcapacity worries, rising trade barriers, stalled growth in electric vehicles and China's overwhelming dominance - as they bet on rechargeable batteries becoming the dominant clean-energy infrastructure of the AI age. Top three battery makers are doubling their U.S. production capacity to 600 gigawatt-hours (GWh) a

November 5, 2025

SK brings global tech giants as well as Korean startups in AI agent ecosystem

SEOUL, November 03 (AJP) - SK Group, chip-strong and central to South Korea's AI ambitions through alliances with global leaders such as Nvidia, OpenAI and Amazon Web Services, is positioning itself as a front-runner in the emerging field of AI agent services by leveraging its strengths in high-performance memory chips, wireless networks and hyperscale data-center technologies. "AI is no longer a competition of scale, but a competition of efficiency. This paradigm shift is

November 3, 2025

Sign unveils vision for 'digital sovereignty' through national blockchain infrastructure

SEOUL, November 02 (AJP) - Blockchain technology is moving beyond individual and corporate applications to become the foundation of digital sovereignty at the national level. Amid this shift, global blockchain company Sign is drawing attention for presenting a new framework for state-led blockchain governance. During Korea Blockchain Week held in Seoul last month, Sign released a new white paper titled "Sovereign Infrastructure for Global Nations (S.I.G.N.)." The paper o

November 2, 2025