AJA Newsbites is a curated roundup of major news and developments from across Asia, brought to you by members of Asia Journalist Association (AJA)
Lee Sang-ki, THE AsiaN, Korea
The Seoul High Court ruled on July 24 that SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won must pay 944 billion won (about US$680 million) to his former wife Roh Soh-yeong in a landmark divorce settlement. Although the amount is lower than the previous appellate ruling of 1.38 trillion won, the court recognised Roh’s 33.3% contribution to the couple’s jointly accumulated assets.
Judges said her more than 30 years of childcare, household responsibilities, and support for Chey’s business and public activities helped increase the value of the family’s assets. To protect management control, Chey will retain his SK Inc. shares and pay the settlement entirely in cash.
The ruling is considered exceptional in South Korea’s chaebol divorce cases, where inherited or family-controlled corporate assets have rarely been divided so generously. Legal experts say the decision reflects a growing recognition that long-term caregiving and unpaid domestic work can make a substantial contribution to wealth creation and should be fairly valued in divorce settlements.
Norila Daud, Malaysia World News, Malaysia
A 56-year-old Indonesian man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison and 60 strokes of the rotan after pleading guilty to six counts of raping his biological daughter, which resulted in her giving birth to a baby girl.
Sessions Court Judge Mazuliana Abdul Rashid ordered the man to serve 10 years’ imprisonment and 10 strokes of the rotan for each charge, with jail terms to run consecutively from the date of his arrest on Thursday, July 23.
The court heard that the victim, now 19, was first raped in October 2021 and later gave birth to a daughter, now four years old. A DNA test confirmed the accused was the baby’s biological father. He also raped the victim on five further occasions in February, March, May, and June this year. The offences were committed at a condominium unit in Taman Midah. The charges were framed under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of not less than eight years and up to 30 years, and not less than 10 strokes of the rotan upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor J. Banusha asked the court to impose a heavy sentence, saying the accused had betrayed the trust placed in him as a father and caregiver. “The repeated assaults had left the victim suffering from severe depression and suicidal thoughts, but she persevered for the sake of her daughter,” she said. The man, who was unrepresented, pleaded for a lighter sentence, citing his more than 40 years of residence in Malaysia.
Chhay Sophal, Cambodia News Online, Cambodia
Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen has shared a message from Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie marking the one-year anniversary of the conflict along Cambodia’s border with Thailand.
In the message, quoted by Hun Sen on Friday, July 24, Jolie wrote: “One year ago, conflict broke out along Cambodia’s border, upending the safety and stability of so many. Now, nearly 30,000 people remain internally displaced and unable to return home.”
“When the fighting broke out last year, we had to evacuate our staff and their families — a painful reminder of just how quickly conflict can return. I love this country and its resilient, warm people. While we’re grateful to have resumed our work protecting the land and supporting the community’s health and livelihoods, my heart is with everyone still waiting to come home,” Jolie wrote. She also noted: “I have been honoured to become close friends with my neighbours and the Foundation team as we have cleared landmines and developed the area together.”
Jolie, who adopted Cambodian son Maddox, runs the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation in the border region with Thailand — the area where the conflict erupted.
Bhanu Ranjan Chakraborty, Asia Journalist Association, Bangladesh
Bangladesh President Mohammed Sahabuddin has resigned two years before the end of his five-year term, with his resignation letter submitted to National Assembly Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed on Friday, July 24. The resignation has been accepted, and in accordance with Article 54 of the Constitution, the Speaker will serve as acting President until a new President is elected.
In his resignation letter, Sahabuddin cited serious illness as his reason for stepping down, disclosing that he suffers from heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and kidney complications, and has previously undergone heart bypass surgery.
Elected during the Awami League government, Sahabuddin took office as President in April 2023. He was the only person to have held a top constitutional position continuously through three successive governments — the Awami League administration, the subsequent interim government, and most recently the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government — making him the sole survivor of the July 2024 mass uprising at the highest level of constitutional office.
Kuban Abdymen, Centralasianlight, Kyrgyzstan
Uzbekistan and Pakistan have agreed in principle to expand their bilateral transit trade framework by adding a transport corridor through China, creating a new overland route linking Central Asia with Pakistani seaports. The agreement is expected to be formalised during an upcoming visit by Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister to Islamabad, where both sides plan to sign amendments to the existing Transit Trade Agreement.
Under the proposed arrangement, cargo will move through Pakistan’s Sost dry port, cross western China, and continue to Uzbekistan and other Central Asian markets. The Chinese corridor is intended to provide a reliable alternative for freight transportation as regional security conditions evolve and traditional transit routes face increasing uncertainty.
The new route is expected to strengthen regional connectivity, diversify logistics options, and reduce the risk of supply chain disruptions. For Pakistan, it opens additional opportunities to expand exports to Central Asia, while Uzbekistan gains more resilient access to international maritime trade through Pakistani ports — supporting its broader strategy of diversifying transport corridors and boosting foreign trade.
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THE AsiaN Korean : 아자뉴스바이트 20260725 – 아시아엔 THE AsiaN
