SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 25, 2025--
The soul of Seoul is heading to Paris—and it’s not coming quietly. From September 4 to 8, 2025, the Seoul Design Foundation (SDF) will make a bold entrance at Maison&Objet Paris, one of the world’s top three design fairs, accompanied by 20 of the city’s most innovative design brands. Under the evocative slogan “Seoul My Soul,” this exhibition will not only highlight Seoul’s rich heritage and cutting-edge design but also stake its claim as a global creative powerhouse. This isn’t just an exhibition—it’s Seoul’s declaration of design identity to the world.
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The Seoul pavilion will be located in Hall 7, Gift & Play section, occupying approximately 180 square meters. Visitors will encounter a wide spectrum of creative works, ranging from trend-forward lifestyle products to reimagined traditional crafts and eco-conscious design pieces that address both current needs and future directions.
Participating brands are grouped under three thematic categories.
The Living Trend section features 8 brands offering lighting, compact storage furniture, eco-friendly kitchenware, and stylish bathroom accessories—products that embody Seoul’s current lifestyle sensibilities and are already gaining popularity both online and offline.
The Contemporary Interpretation of Tradition section includes 5 brands that transform traditional Korean materials—such as hanji (paper leather), mosi (ramie), najeon (mother-of-pearl), and embroidery—into modern interior objects and fashion items, bridging cultural heritage with contemporary aesthetics.
The Sustainable Design section introduces 7 brands showcasing recycled textile bags, paper leather pouches, eco-activewear, and mindful kitchen items. These products represent the embodiment of Seoul’s urban sustainability philosophy, where environmental responsibility meets design excellence.
Beyond simply organizing an exhibition, the Seoul Design Foundation provides comprehensive support for participating brands to expand globally.
This includes everything from pre-show preparation, booth construction, on-site interpreting, logistics, buyer engagement, and marketing to post-show consultations and export support—helping these companies build sustainable momentum in the international marketplace.
Through this participation, the Foundation aims to enhance Seoul’s global design presence and communicate the city’s creative potential, cultural depth, and technical innovation to a broader audience.
The booth will also feature Seoul-themed goods developed by the Foundation, offering visitors a friendly and memorable introduction to the Seoul brand.
Since its establishment in 2009, the Seoul Design Foundation has served as a key institution supporting the city's design ecosystem through the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP).
It continues to foster creative talent, promote local businesses, and expand global networks—solidifying Seoul’s reputation as a leading city of design and innovation.
Seoul Design Foundation will showcase 20 leading Seoul-based design brands at Maison&Objet Paris 2025, highlighting the city's creative identity through tradition, modern trends, and sustainability under the theme “Seoul My Soul.” (Image: SEOUL Design Foundation)
A federal appeals panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that released former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist.
The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t decide the key issue in Khalil’s case: whether the Trump administration’s effort to throw Khalil out of the U.S. over his campus activism and criticism of Israel is unconstitutional.
But in its 2-1 decision, the panel ruled a federal judge in New Jersey didn’t have jurisdiction to decide the matter at this time. Federal law requires the case to fully move through the immigration courts first, before Khalil can challenge the decision, they wrote.
“That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple — not zero or two,” the panel wrote. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”
Thursday’s decision marked a major win for the Trump administration’s sweeping campaign to detain and deport noncitizens who joined protests against Israel.
Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security Department spokesperson, called the ruling “a vindication of the rule of law.”
In a statement, she said the department will “work to enforce his lawful removal order” and encouraged Khalil to “self-deport now before he is arrested, deported, and never given a chance to return.”
It was not clear whether the government would seek to detain Khalil, a legal permanent resident, again while his legal challenges continue.
In a statement distributed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Khalil called the appeals ruling “deeply disappointing."
“The door may have been opened for potential re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine and to justice and accountability," he said. "I will continue to fight, through every legal avenue and with every ounce of determination, until my rights, and the rights of others like me, are fully protected.”
Baher Azmy, one of Khalil's lawyers, said the ruling was “contrary to rulings of other federal courts."
“Our legal options are by no means concluded, and we will fight with every available avenue,” he said.
The ACLU said the Trump administration cannot lawfully re-detain Khalil until the order takes formal effect, which won't happen while he can still immediately appeal.
Khalil’s lawyers can request that the panel's decision be set aside and the matter reconsidered by a larger group of judges on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, or they can go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
An outspoken leader of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia, Khalil was arrested last March. He then spent three months detained in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his first child.
Federal officials have accused Khalil of leading activities “aligned to Hamas,” though they have not presented evidence to support the claim and have not accused him of criminal conduct. They also accused Khalil, 31, of failing to disclose information on his green card application.
The government justified the arrest under a seldom-used statute that allows for the expulsion of noncitizens whose beliefs are deemed to pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests.
In June, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that justification would likely be declared unconstitutional and ordered Khalil released.
President Donald Trump's administration appealed that ruling, arguing the deportation decision should fall to an immigration judge, rather than a federal court.
Khalil has dismissed the allegations as “baseless and ridiculous,” framing his arrest and detention as a “direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”
New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said on social media Thursday that Khalil should remain free.
“Last year’s arrest of Mahmoud Khalil was more than just a chilling act of political repression, it was an attack on all of our constitutional rights,” Mamdani wrote on X. “Now, as the crackdown on pro-Palestinian free speech continues, Mahmoud is being threatened with rearrest. Mahmoud is free — and must remain free.”
Judge Arianna Freeman dissented Thursday, writing that her colleagues were holding Khalil to the wrong legal standard. Khalil, she wrote, is raising “now-or-never claims” that can be handled at the district court level, even though his immigration case isn't complete.
Both judges who ruled against Khalil, Thomas Hardiman and Stephanos Bibas, were Republican appointees. President George W. Bush appointed Hardiman to the 3rd Circuit, while Trump appointed Bibas. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, appointed Freeman.
The two-judge majority rejected Freeman's worry that their decision would leave Khalil with no remedy for unconstitutional immigration detention, even if he later can appeal.
“But our legal system routinely forces petitioners — even those with meritorious claims — to wait to raise their arguments," the judges wrote.
The decision comes as an appeals board in the immigration court system weighs a previous order that found Khalil could be deported to Algeria, where he maintains citizenship through a distant relative, or Syria, where he was born in a refugee camp to a Palestinian family.
His attorneys have said he faces mortal danger if forced to return to either country.
Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister and Anthony Izaguirre contributed to this story.
FILE - Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil holds a news conference outside Federal Court on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Philadelphia (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
