Korean industry minister forges ties with Trump administration officials

SEOUL, March 1 (AJP) - South Korea's Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ahn Duk-geun, has conducted a series of high-level meetings with senior Trump administration officials in Washington D.C., marking the first major trade discussions between the two nations since President Trump's second inauguration. The meetings, which took place from Feb. 26 to 28, included talks with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, and U.S. Trade Repre

March 1, 2025

Korea to open anti-dumping probe into Chinese, Japanese steel

SEOUL, February 28 (AJP) - South Korea’s trade commission will launch an investigation into alleged dumping of hot-rolled steel products from China and Japan, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Friday. The Korea Trade Commission is set to formally begin its probe after publishing a notice in the government gazette on March 4. The investigation will unfold in two phases: an initial inquiry lasting up to five months, with preliminary findings expected as early

February 28, 2025

300 tons of molten iron spills at Hyundai Steel plant in Dangjin

SEOUL, February 28 (AJP) - A fire broke out early Friday at Hyundai Steel’s furnace in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, after approximately 300 tons of molten iron spilled from a cracked transport container, fire authorities said. The incident occurred at 2:26 a.m. as the molten iron was being transported via the plant’s internal railway system. A fissure in the container caused the material to leak onto the tracks, igniting a blaze. Emergency workers responded sw

February 28, 2025

Orion's Choco Pie hits record sales of 4 billion units in 2024

SEOUL, February 28 (AJP) - Orion Corp.'s signature confection, the Choco Pie, achieved record-breaking global sales in 2024, surpassing 4 billion units and generating revenue of 580 billion won ($435 million), the company said Friday. The chocolate-covered marshmallow treat, which marked its 50th anniversary last year, has sold more than 50 billion units since its 1974 debut. Over the past five decades, total sales have exceeded 8 trillion won, with international markets ac

February 28, 2025

Video streaming firm Wavve faces damage suit for copyright infringement

SEOUL, February 27 (AJP) - The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) has filed a lawsuit against the online video streaming service Wavve, seeking approximately 40 billion won ($27.7 million) in damages for alleged copyright infringement, the association said on Thursday. The lawsuit, submitted to the Seoul Central District Court on Feb. 11, follows years of what KOMCA describes as Wavve’s refusal to pay legally required royalties for the use of copyrighted music in its st

February 27, 2025

Major Korean card firms likely to adopt Apple Pay next month

SEOUL, February 27 (AJP) - Shinhan Card and KB Kookmin Card are set to introduce Apple Pay as early as next month, following Hyundai Card’s initial rollout. The expansion is expected to significantly widen the mobile payment service’s reach from its current 12.65 million users to potentially all iPhone users in South Korea. The broader adoption of Apple Pay, however, may place financial pressure on small business owners. Only 10 percent of South Korea’s 3.2

February 27, 2025

Lotte Construction may sell headquarters building in Seoul to address liquidity problem

SEOUL, February 27 (AJP) - Lotte Construction, a subsidiary of Lotte Group, is taking steps to liquidate assets worth approximately 1 trillion won (US$696 million), including the sale of its building in Seoul’s Seocho-gu, amid ongoing concerns about a liquidity crisis at the group. The construction firm said Thursday that it has commissioned property consulting firms to analyze the profitability of various options for its building, including an outright sale, self-development,

February 27, 2025

Toxic levels of lead found in pens sold on Chinese e-commerce platforms

SEOUL, February 27 (AJP) - Ballpoint pens sold on Chinese e-commerce platforms contained lead at levels 231 times higher than South Korea’s legal safety limits, according to tests conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The city government examined 16 stationery products available on platforms including Temu, Shein, and AliExpress ahead of the new school season. The results, released Thursday, revealed that seven of the items contained hazardous substances exceedi

February 27, 2025

US defense secretary plans South Korea trip for shipbuilding talks

SEOUL, February 27 (AJP) - U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is expected to visit South Korea next month, with discussions likely to focus on shipbuilding collaboration and defense cost-sharing, according to officials and industry sources, Thursday. The trip is set to follow U.S.-Japan defense ministerial talks in late March, positioning Hegseth as the first cabinet-level official from the second Trump administration to visit South Korea. “Secretary Hegseth's team

February 27, 2025

How TSMC of Taiwan became beating heart of AI chip industry

Editor's Note: This article is the eighth installment in our series on Asia's top 100 companies, exploring the strategies, challenges, and innovations driving the region's most influential corporations. SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) - At a distinguished industry event in late 2023, Jensen Huang, the founder and chief executive of Nvidia, took the stage to acknowledge a partnership he deemed indispensable to his company’s success. “Nvidia would not be possible w

February 27, 2025