author

 
 

Meta

Youkyung Lee
Copies of a special edition of the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, featuring a front page report on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, on a street in Seoul on Saturday
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 16, 2024
South Korea's won and stocks take spotlight after impeachment vote
South Korea's won will be the main focus for traders, after its heavy losses during the country’s recent political chaos.
Samsung’s stock has plunged 32% from July’s peak as it lags behind rivals in AI memory and chipmaking, shedding $122 billion in market value and investor confidence.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2024
Samsung’s sudden $122 billion wipeout shows the cost of sleeping on AI
South Korea’s biggest company has become a stark example of how quickly fortunes can turn in the AI and chipmaking industries.
A drum sits inside the Korea Exchange in Seoul on June 13. South Korea is extending a ban on stock short selling through March 30 next year and planning harsher penalties for illegal trades.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 30, 2024
High-speed traders and short sellers face growing Asia crackdown
Recent developments show the difficulty of keeping up with increasingly sophisticated trading strategies and their market impact — challenges set to grow further with AI.
Currency dealers work in front of an electronic board showing the Korean Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of a bank in Seoul. Officials in South Korea are taking a cue from Japan, where a push for corporate reforms has been one of the key drivers for a world-beating equity rally.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 2, 2024
South Korea faces long road in unlocking corporate value like Japan
As global investors scrutinize South Korea’s plans, they note a key hurdle — the prevalence of family-controlled businesses, or chaebols.
Light trails left by moving traffic in the Yeouido financial district of Seoul
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 26, 2024
South Korea unveils corporate value-boosting plan to replicate Japan
The plan to push companies to improve management and corporate governance has disappointed due to a lack of enforcement and concrete details.
The Yeouido financial district in Seoul
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 8, 2024
South Korea watchdog intensifies crackdown on China-linked notes
Authorities will investigate 12 institutions over the sale of equity-linked securities that are tied to the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks on as a rocket carrying a spy satellite is launched in November.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 31, 2023
North Korea plans new spy satellites in 2024 after earlier success
South Korea’s spy agency said it sees North Korea launching military and cyber provocations next year as Kim’s regime seeks to raise its profile.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 5, 2023
Fund that beat 99% of peers by betting on China shares is shifting to booming Japan
Midas International Asset Management is betting on Japanese technology firms and companies bolstered by the economy’s reopening.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2023
Seoul theater chain swaps screens for climbing walls to lure young Koreans
South Korea's largest multiplex movie chain operator started installing climbing walls in 2021 in one of its multiplexes, demolishing two movie screens to make way for the walls.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2023
K-Pop battle shines spotlight on new wave of shareholder activism in South Korea
The new protagonists of shareholder activism in Asia are millennials steeped in the local culture who are using that knowledge to take on the old guard.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2022
Hedge fund bets next Korean pop culture hit will be webtoons
GVA Asset Management believes Americans and Europeans will soon catch onto Korea's online comics, following the lead of consumers at home and in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 3, 2021
Retail investors vow war if short sellers end South Korea stock rally
The Korea Stockholders Alliance has vowed to gather day traders into a force to fight short sellers — much the same way their U.S. peers took on Wall Street over GameStop.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 22, 2020
Fierce coronavirus wave tests South Korea’s no-lockdown strategy
The surge in cases has alarmed a country that's drawn pride from being globally lauded for its COVID-19 response.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 1, 2019
After summit collapse, North Korea's Kim vows to meet Trump again
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to meet again with President Donald Trump to continue nuclear negotiations after a two-day summit between the leaders collapsed Thursday amid discord over sanctions and conflicting accounts of Pyongyang's demands.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 25, 2019
How North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un went from global pariah to guest of honor
Kim Jong Un's arrival in Vietnam by train this week for a second meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump may be most remarkable for how normal it's becoming.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 16, 2019
North Korea's Kim ready to accept inspections of nuclear plant, South Korean presidential adviser says
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was ready to accept the dismantlement and inspection of a high-profile nuclear plant, a South Korean presidential adviser said, suggesting a possible point of compromise in upcoming talks with President Donald Trump.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 5, 2019
Feud between major U.S. allies Japan and South Korea deepens as Trump sits it out
Donald Trump's desire to put "America First" has fostered new disputes between the United States and its allies. In Asia, old rivalries are also roaring back.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 31, 2018
U.S.-South Korea alliance strained as Trump keeps suspending 'war games'
The U.S. and South Korea have spent almost seven decades honing their preparedness for war. Now fears are growing among the alliance's proponents that extended peace talks are eroding that advantage.

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?