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South Korea
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South Korea

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South Korea
South Korea
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on South Korea, covering politics, economy, society, K-pop and Seoul’s relationships with North Korea, Japan, China and the United States.
Capital
Seoul
Head of State
Lee Jae-myung
Lee Jae Myung
Head of Government
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok
A Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by Oman Air sits on the tarmac at Muscat International Airport on March 13. Photo: Reuters
Singapore

Oman Air targets Singapore with nonstop flight as Gulf carriers ramp up services

Flights to Gulf hub airports, which were closed at the start of the Iran war, returned to around 90 per cent of normal levels by mid-June.

Social media

South Korea ‘fake news’ law triggers free speech, censorship fears

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Artificial intelligence

Opinion | Why the AI future won’t be decided by algorithms and chatbots

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Fifa World Cup 2026

Video | South Korean fans target head coach for early World Cup exit

South Koreans call for an overhaul of the country’s football establishment and a probe into the head coach’s appointment.

South Koreans call for an overhaul of the country’s football establishment and a probe into the head coach’s appointment
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Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese EV makers gain traction in South Korea’s import car market

While not a high-volume market, success in South Korea helps ‘prove the quality and competitiveness’ of Chinese EVs, analyst says.

SCMP Highlights

Singapore’s founder praised in Europe; Pakistan’s submarine: 7 Asia highlights

From Pakistan rattling India with a new submarine to Bangkok’s ‘Hulk’ governor, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.

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China’s private sector

Hong Kong draws royalties giant as mainland China biotech licensing heats up

Royalty financing offers new cash source as global investors pursue Chinese drug breakthroughs despite US pressure, Royalty Pharma says.

Royalty Pharma is scouting the Asia-Pacific region for innovative biotechnology start-ups with late-stage pharmaceutical pipelines. Photo: Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence

‘A decisive moment’: South Korea unveils US$518b AI chip plan to counter China

The goal faces potential hurdles, however, including workers’ reluctance to relocate away from Seoul and dispersed supply chains.

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Fifa World Cup 2026

South Korea’s World Cup early exit sparks fury, death threats, restaurant bans

From the president to K-pop stars, South Koreans demand an overhaul of the country’s football establishment and punishment for the failure.

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Malaysia

Malaysia narrows hunt for replacement missiles after Norway axes contract

Turkey, South Korea and two unspecified European nations are in the frame to replace a cancelled Norwegian anti-ship missile.

A Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace Naval Strike Missile is test launched from a ship. Photo: Kongsberg
Asia housing and property

The View | Concern over AI’s impact on Asia’s real estate sector is misplaced

Even if the current AI boom falters, demand for digital infrastructure in Asia – especially in developing countries – will remain strong.

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A staff member talks about China’s “east data, west computing” initiative at a data centre in Qingyang in northwest China’s Gansu Province on January 6, 2025. Photo: Xinhua
Artificial intelligence

South Korea unveils US$576 billion megaprojects to dominate AI, chip market

This move is ⁠Lee’s boldest yet to align the nation’s tech ambitions with ‌his pledge to narrow regional disparities and revive economies.

China's military weapons

How is China shaping up in the global competition to sell air defence weapons?

After Paris arms fair, analysts expect Chinese systems to do well in the Global South but question their entry into Europe.

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China’s military drills

Japan and South Korea scramble fighters after Chinese-Russian bomber patrol

Tokyo says it had tracked two separate flights involving H-6 and Tu-95 bombers, some of which passed over the western Pacific.

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Chinese H-6 bombers formed part of the patrol. Photo: Handout
China-South Korea relations

Why are Chinese audiences going for Korean musicals rather than Western shows?

Despite an unofficial ban, South Korean musicals are winning over Chinese audiences, aided by strong cultural affinity.

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Fan Letter’s Chinese version is set in Shanghai, rather than wartime Seoul. Nevertheless, the protagonists in both versions navigate similar challenges during the Japanese colonial era. Photo: Weibo
China consumption

Will K-pop give South Korean retailers an edge in China market?

Even though China’s convenience store market is crowded with Chinese rivals and foreign peers like 7-Eleven, it remains far from saturated.

Seoul

Video | South Korean ex-first lady gets 7 years for bribery

Kim was already serving a four-year sentence for corruption charges.

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Corruption in Asia

South Korean ex-first lady Kim Keon-hee gets 7 years in jail for bribery

Kim was found guilty of accepting ‘high-value precious metals’ in exchange for favours in personnel appointments.

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South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon-hee arrives at the special prosecutor’s office in Seoul last year. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong stock market

Hang Seng Index caps worst week in over a year amid tech sell-off

Signs of an unwinding of record-high leveraged bets on AI stocks in South Korea and Taiwan sours sentiment in Asian trading.

China trade

At Chinese supply chain expo, executives look to tech as geopolitical insulation

As wars and tariffs disrupt trade, experts at China International Supply Chain Expo focus on potential of frontier technologies.

North Korea

North Korea’s border build-up opens a Seoul-UN Command rift

South Korea views its the North’s border fortifications as an armistice violation. The UN body disagrees.

North Korean soldiers move along a fence line near Yujeong-dong village in North Korea, as seen from the Ganghwa Peace Observatory in Incheon in 2024. Photo: The Korea Times
Hong Kong stock market

HKEX pushes deeper into index business as AI reshapes Hong Kong market

The bourse wants proprietary indices to better capture China’s technology boom as traditional Hong Kong benchmarks trail regional peers.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing at Exchange Square in Central. The bourse is expanding its index business with proprietary benchmarks and new investment products. Photo: Jelly Tse
United States

Asia treads cautiously on Iranian oil exports despite US sanctions waiver

Some regional economies are assessing the possibility of the US and Iran resuming hostilities before committing to buy Iranian oil.

Indonesia

Indonesia’s immigration chief urges rethink on wider visa-free access

Immigration Director General Hendarsam Marantoko says Indonesia ‘does not want visitors who do not contribute positively’ to the economy.

India

Macroscope | Is investors’ love affair with India ending?

Investors have flocked to tech-heavy markets, but looming US interest rate rises and volatility fears could see India’s star shine again.

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People shop at a city market in Bangalore on June 23. India’s equity market is no longer in the world’s top five by market capitalisation, having fallen behind Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea in recent years. Photo: EPA
Japan

As US wavers, ex-minister says Japan and South Korea ‘only have each other’

Former Japanese defence minister Taro Kono said Tokyo and Seoul ‘need to step up our own effort for stability in the region’.

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US soldiers cross a floating bridge on the Imjin River during a joint exercise with their South Korean counterparts in Yeoncheon last year. Photo: AP
Hong Kong stock market

Hang Seng Index briefly slips below 23,000 as Alibaba leads tech sell-off

Alibaba led Hong Kong tech stocks lower, pushing the Hang Seng briefly below 23,000 as AI and consumer worries hit sentiment.

Electric & new energy vehicles

Top CATL boss cools expectations over next major leap in EV batteries

Robin Zeng Yuqun addresses expectations at ‘Summer Davos’ on whether the battery technology would be available in the near future.

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