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APEC 2025

APEC 2025

Global leaders, diplomats to attend post-APEC summit in Seoul

The Korea-Asia Pacific Economic Association (KAPEA) said Monday that it will host the Post-APEC Global Vision Summit, bringing together around 700 domestic and foreign firms in Seoul and Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, for two days starting Thursday. KAPEA, sponsored by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, is a nonprofit organization under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that aims to promote economic cooperation between Korea and countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The organization said the two-day event seeks to create investment opportunities between companies from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member states. “With global attention focused on the successful hosting of the Gyeongju APEC summit, Korea’s national standing has significantly risen. Now is the optimal time to expand international cooperation and economic engagement,” KAPEA Chairman Ji Young-mo said. “This event goes beyond intergovernmental discussions following the APEC Economic Leaders’ Summit. It will serve as a platform for practical international cooperation involving both governments and pr

Nov 24, 2025By Jhoo Dong-chan
Global leaders, diplomats to attend post-APEC summit in Seoul
APEC 2025

Police advocacy group condemns treatment of officers at Gyeongju APEC summit

After last month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) events in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, which saw up to 19,000 police officers deployed daily from across the country, Kim Keon-pyo, director of the Korean National Police Workers Council, said the reports he received from officers on the ground were far from commendable. “They said they were treated like homeless people,” Kim told The Korea Times. Angered by their accounts, Kim began collecting photos of the poor working conditions officers faced during the APEC events. The council is now holding a photo exhibition in Seoul this week displaying those conditions, sparking criticism of the treatment of deployed officers and renewed calls for better working conditions. On Tuesday, photos displayed outside the National Police Agency in Seoul’s Seodaemun District showed the meager meals provided to officers and police standing by in a movie theater. The council plans to hold additional exhibitions in front of the National Assembly on Wednesday and Friday. Among the photos were images of meals served to some officers

Nov 12, 2025By Park Ung
Police advocacy group condemns treatment of officers at Gyeongju APEC summit
APEC 2025

Hwangnam bread sees surge in demand and imitation after APEC summit

Demand for Gyeongju’s famed Hwangnam bread has surged following last week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the historic city, prompting the brand on Tuesday to warn against resellers inflating prices and vendors passing off imitations as the original. First made in 1939, the thin, hand-pressed pastry filled with sweet red bean paste — named for a local neighborhood — is a signature specialty of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Last week, President Lee Jae Myung presented freshly baked Hwangnam bread to Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the message that he hoped Xi would “enjoy the taste of Gyeongju.” At the APEC summit, Xi told Lee that he had enjoyed the bread, according to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung. Lee later sent an additional 200 boxes to the Chinese delegation and instructed Foreign Minister Cho Hyun to present Hwangnam bread to the other APEC member delegations as well. The bread has quickly seen a surge in demand, leading to shortages and a rise in reselling and imitation products. “Recently, we have seen Hwangnam bread being resol

Nov 5, 2025By Park Ung
Hwangnam bread sees surge in demand and imitation after APEC summit
APEC 2025

Hyundai Motor signs MOU with Singapore to boost future mobility cooperation

Hyundai Motor, Korea's leading carmaker, said Sunday it has signed an agreement with Singapore's science and technology agency to cooperate on advanced technologies on mobility solutions. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the automaker and Singapore's Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) was signed on Friday during the K-Tech Showcase event held in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Established in 2019 under Singapore's internal affairs ministry, HTX is a research agency that develops advanced technologies in public safety, border security, chemical and biological defense and security systems. Under the agreement, the two sides agreed to explore joint research on robotics, hydrogen and other future mobility technologies. Hyundai will carry out a pilot project of technology demonstrations to improve the operational efficiency of Singapore's government fleet using its multipurpose modular electric platform through 2028, which will mark the first mobility technology demon

Nov 2, 2025By Yonhap
Hyundai Motor signs MOU with Singapore to boost future mobility cooperation
APEC 2025

SK chairman says Korea can serve as ‘test bed’ for global AI development

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said Korea can play a crucial role “as a test bed” for the global artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, citing the country’s strength in adopting new technologies quickly and applying them to the real world. In an interview with Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Chey said Korea may not have as many resources as the United States or China, but it offers an ideal environment for testing new AI technologies. “Our side is good for the test. There is physical AI, bio side and even the regulations, and we’ve got a really good test bed,” he said, adding that Korea’s fast adoption of new technologies makes the country an ideal location for AI experiments. He noted that while the AI industry contains “some bubbles,” the overall technology and market remain on a growth trajectory. “Right now, the cost of AI is too much, and that’s why people [are] just saying that there’s a lot of bubbles,” Chey said. “But this is just an early stage. Even though ther

Nov 2, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
SK chairman says Korea can serve as ‘test bed’ for global AI development
APEC 2025

SK spearheads global dialogue on AI, energy at APEC CEO Summit

The 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit finished its four-day program on an upbeat note, drawing participation from the leaders of the 21 APEC member economies and some 1,700 global business executives. Held from Oct. 29 to 31, the event successfully served as a platform for global economic leaders to discuss the future of artificial intelligence (AI), energy and other key industries. Central to those discussions was SK Group, whose chairman, Chey Tae-won, also served as summit host, as the group's affiliates presented innovative ideas and directed participants' efforts to explore opportunities. Addressing AI bottleneck As an official side event of the CEO Summit, SK Group hosted the Future Tech Forum Series: AI on Oct. 28, sharing insights from global leaders in the AI supply chain. At the forum, experts, including Chey, Korea’s senior presidential secretary for AI Ha Jung-woo, Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon, OpenAI Korea General Manager Kim Kyoung-hoon and Meta Vice President Simon Milner shared their views on how AI is driving

Nov 2, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo
SK spearheads global dialogue on AI, energy at APEC CEO Summit
APEC 2025

Lee, Singaporean PM establish strategic partnership

President Lee Jae Myung and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong agreed Sunday to establish a strategic partnership between their countries and expand cooperation across various sectors, including defense and trade. The leaders announced the launch of the strategic partnership during a joint press conference at the presidential office following their summit talks, which took place during Wong's official visit to Korea. "Our two countries have many similarities, in that we have both achieved remarkable growth based on human capital and an open free trade order despite limited land, scarce resources and challenging geopolitical environment," Lee said. The two sides reached their first agreement on exports of beef and pork from Jeju Island to Singapore and further agreed to deepen cooperation in areas of security, defense, artificial intelligence, advanced technology, people-to-people exchanges and transnational crimes, like online scams. Under the strategic partnership, the two countries will step up cooperation to better tackle global challenges, such as climate change and transnation

Nov 2, 2025By Yonhap
Lee, Singaporean PM establish strategic partnership
APEC 2025

Lee gets Xiaomi smartphones as gift from China's Xi, quips about security

President Lee Jae Myung has received a set of Xiaomi smartphones and traditional Chinese calligraphy tools from Chinese President Xi Jinping following their first summit talks, as the two leaders shared a lighthearted exchange about communication security. As the two sides exchanged their gifts on Saturday, Xi presented Lee with two smartphones made by Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, noting that the displays on the phones are Korean-made. "Is the line secure?" Lee quipped. Xi replied through an interpreter, "You can check if there is a backdoor." Xi also gifted the "Four Treasures of the Study," a set of traditional writing and painting tools consisting of an ink brush, paper, ink and ink stone used in Chinese calligraphy. In exchange, Lee presented Xi with a Go board carved out of top-class Torreya nucifera wood, along with a round "najeonchilgi" lacquerware tray. Najeonchilgi is a traditional Korean handicraft that uses colorful shell inlays to decorate objects. "It's exquisite. Very nice. Thank you," Xi told Lee as he examined the Go board. Both leaders are known to be Go enthusiasts. For Xi

Nov 2, 2025By Yonhap
Lee gets Xiaomi smartphones as gift from China's Xi, quips about security
APEC 2025

Gyeongju is worth visiting, with or without APEC

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — Thousands of international visitors arrived in Gyeongju at the end of October for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) events, where world leaders and global business figures shaped the agenda on trade and technology. But that is not the only reason to visit the city often described as a “museum without walls.” The city was the capital of the ancient Silla Dynasty (57 B.C. to 935 A.D.) for nearly a millenium, and is home to four UNESCO World Heritage sites and 36 state-designated national treasures, accounting for about 10 percent of the national total. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, more than 1.15 million foreign visitors traveled to Gyeongju between December 2023 and November 2024 — an unusually high figure for a city that is not a major metropolis. Many tourists told The Korea Times they were unaware of the major diplomatic gatherings being held at the time, but said they were still enjoying the city. Leo, a 60-year-old tourist from the United States, was not only unaware that the APEC meetings were taking place, but had

Nov 2, 2025By Park Ung
Gyeongju is worth visiting, with or without APEC
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