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AJP Watch: BOK's strongest-yet hike signal rattles markets SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - Having held its benchmark rate unchanged at 2.50 percent for a full year, the Bank of Korea on Thursday signaled a clear shift to tightening by flagging the probability of as many as three hikes to 3.25 percent depending on the path of inflation. New Governor Shin Hyun-song presiding his first rate meeting and media briefing, could not have been blunter about the direction ahead. &q
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Weak Iranian missiles — not ship armor — explain limited damage to HMM Namu: experts SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - South Korea's conclusion that the cargo ship HMM Namu—damaged near the Strait of Hormuz on May 4—was likely hit by Iranian missiles has raised a simple question: how did a commercial vessel survive two direct strikes with only minor damage? Defense experts say the answer lies not in the ship's structural strength, but in the missiles' limited performance.
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South Korea denies report of alliance rift over wartime control transfer SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - South Korea's Defense Ministry on Thursday dismissed as "groundless" a local media report claiming that President Lee Jae Myung's push for an early transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) could lead to the dismantling of the current South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) structure.
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Stocks, bonds tumble as BOK chief signals potential rate hikes in 2nd half
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Labor unrest over AI wage spike spills over to Korea's public sector
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Korean authorities step in to contain lodging prices ahead of BTS Busan concerts SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) -South Korean authorities moved quickly to respond to BTS' call for restraint in overcharging the group's beloved global fans traveling to the southern port city of Busan for the next stop on their worldwide tour. The government has secured more than 1,300 alternative accommodation options ahead of the concerts next month, after the group publicly criticized sharp price hikes ar -
K-chip and defense boom reshapes career paths for Korea's elite talent pipeline SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - Over the past year, South Korea's manufacturing powerhouses — semiconductors and defense — have staged an epic rise with soaring share prices and record earnings reshaping the ambitions of the country's brightest young people. Semiconductor departments at Yonsei University and Korea University, once considered niche engineering tracks, are now competing directly wit -
Samsung's largest union adopts two-track DS-DX bargaining as membership slides SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics’ largest labor union is rapidly losing members in the aftermath of a contentious wage agreement that exposed deepening rifts between the company’s semiconductor and device businesses, prompting the union to adopt a separate “two-track” bargaining structure for its divisions. -
Kakao CEO apologizes to staff as union secures strike right after talks collapse SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a offered a public apology to employees as the company's union secured the legal right to strike following the collapse of a second mediation session, raising the prospect of the tech giant's first-ever headquarters walkout. Chung issued the apology through an internal notice Thurs
ASIA Insight>
ASIA INSIGHT: What Xi's possible visit to Pyongyang would mean for Korean Peninsula SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - Speculation emerged last week that Chinese President Xi Jinping has been preparing to visit Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, possibly before the end of this month or early next month. It comes after Xi hosted U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing earlier this month, where the two leaders reaffirmed their shared goal of North Korea's denuclearization. Then, barely a week later, Russian President Vladimir Putin also arrived in Beijing. Now Xi is repor by Lee Hugh
ASIA INSIGHT: Hidden danger behind Japan's new defense plan
By mixing business supply lines and robot drones into its military strategy, Japan is turning factories into front lines. SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - When Chinese officials stopped shipping rare minerals to Japan last year, nobody saw a military attack. There were no warplanes in the sky and no warships at sea. Instead, the blow hit Japan right on its factory floors and technology labs. It was a silent punishment. Japan's Prime Minister, Takaichi Sanae, had just warned China about Taiwan, so Ch
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A siren song from the BOK: the leverage party is over SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) -For a full year, the Bank of Korea sat motionless on a 2.50 percent benchmark while the KOSPI staged the most spectacular rally on the planet — up more than 93 percent since year-end, briefly flirting with 8,450 before Wednesday's close. On Thursday, the central bank's new governor finally said out loud what the bond market had been bracing for: the only questions left are when, how fast, and how far rates rise. A plain-spoken siren to the leverage crowd. Ne
AJP Focus: The perils of chip boom
SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) -The world is at the threshold of the artificial-intelligence revolution, and at the heart of that revolution sits the semiconductor — with Korea at the heart of the semiconductor. Only a few years ago memory prices had collapsed, inventories had swollen, and Samsung Electronics and SK hynix were enduring a brutal downturn alongside the rest of the slowing global economy. Then the AI era rewrote the board almost overnight. The generative-AI surge that followed ChatGPT
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- KOSPI slips after record rally while BOK holds rate but signals hikes ahead
- AJP Focus: The day the market crowned memory — and why Korea must not mistake the jackpot for the journey
- Foreign investors collected more in Korean dividends than domestic retail in 2025
- KOSPI flattens as foreign selling and narrow breadth test record run
AJP Vids
Technology>
- S. Korean researchers resolve clogging in water electrolysis to improve green hydrogen production
- South Korean joint university team wins Bosch Future Mobility Challenge 2026
- KAIST researchers develop smart antibody to control cancer treatment with light
- South Korean researchers discover limits of carbon conversion catalyst models
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- AJP DEEP INSIGHT: Hormuz's final tug-of-war — nuclear stakes, civilizational fault lines, and a new world order in the AI age
- ASIA INSIGHT: What Xi's possible visit to Pyongyang would mean for Korean Peninsula
- South Korea links Iranian missile to cargo ship attack
- ASIA INSIGHT: Hidden danger behind Japan's new defense plan
Entertainment
i-dle lands digital cover of U.S. magazine 'PAPER' ahead of July comeback
SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - K-pop girl group i-dle has been featured on the digital cover of U.S. magazine PAPER as the group prepares for a July comeback. PAPER released the cover shoot and interview with the five-member group — Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua — on Tuesday. The feature comes as i-dle continues to expand its presence in North America through media appearances, festival stages and overseas promotions. In the cover images, the members reinterpret
