• Samsung, SK hynix unveil combined 825 tln won investment plans for southwest Korea SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Samsung Group and SK hynix on Tuesday announced plans to invest a combined 825 trillion won ($595 billion) in southwest Korea, outlining new semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence data center and energy projects.
• Netflix viewers are becoming Korea's newest tourists, data shows SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - South Korea's tourism boom in 2026 is increasingly being linked to something outside the traditional travel industry, what foreign viewers are watching at home.
• Seoul to roll out Korea's first Level 4 robotaxi service this fall SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Seoul metropolitan government announced Tuesday that it will become the first city in South Korea to put a Level 4 autonomous taxi on the road, with the self-driving service set to launch in November.
• Margin-driven stock selloffs quadruple amid volatile KOSPI swings SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Involuntary stock selloffs more than quadrupled last week after a sharp market decline left many retail investors unable to pay for shares they had purchased.
• Korea lowers oil crisis alert as supplies stabilize after ceasefire SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - South Korea's government downgraded its resource security crisis alert for crude oil from "caution" to "watch," the second-lowest of four tiers, citing the U.S.-Iran ceasefire and a steady recovery in energy supplies.
• Samsung, SK, and Micron face class action amid consumer IT price surge SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) -A U.S. antitrust class action accusing Samsung Electronics and SK hynix of South Korea and U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology who dominate the global random memory market of conspiring to restrict conventional memory supplie.

AJP Briefing

• South Korea's foreign direct investment rises for 3rd consecutive quarter SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - South Korea's foreign direct investment (FDI) rose in the first three months of this year, extending its growth streak to a third consecutive quarter. According to data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the country’s FDI reached $21.74 billion in the first quarter, up 36.2 percent from a year earlier, led by investment in financial and insurance services and a sharp increase in flows to the U.S. The growth followed a 5.7 percent on-year d
• AI investment push, chip rally lift KOSPI; KOSDAQ slips SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - South Korean stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as semiconductor heavyweights led a sharp recovery in the benchmark KOSPI after morning losses, helped by stronger U.S. chip stocks overnight and the South Korean government's fresh support for artificial intelligence semiconductors, while the junior KOSDAQ slipped as investors took profits in battery and biotechnology shares. The benchmark KOSPI closed up 0.97 percent at 8,476.48. The index had fallen as low as the 8,220 lev
• World Cup 26: Brazil stop Japan, Germany crash out, Morocco advance SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Brazil ended Japan's upset bid with a dominant second-half comeback, Germany suffered another World Cup collapse and Morocco extended its recent run of strong international results as the 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 32 continued on Monday. Brazil came from behind to beat Japan 2-1 at Houston Stadium in Houston, Texas, in a match that kicked off at noon local time. Japan took the lead in the 29th minute through Kaishu Sano, whose long-range strike rewarded a discipli
• Korea sees sharpest rise in zombie firms among major economies SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) -Despite the benchmark KOSPI's spectacular run, South Korea saw the largest increase in the share of zombie companies among major economies between 2017 and 2025, with more than one in four listed firms unable to cover interest expenses with their earnings for three consecutive years, the country's largest business lobby said Tuesday. The Federation of Korean Industries said marginal companies accounted for 27.6 percent of Korea's listed firms in 2025, up 15.8

ASIA Insight

• Two weak currencies, two different stories: Indonesia and Korea SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Crisis-era exchange rates and relentless foreign stock selling have become familiar headaches for policymakers in both Indonesia and South Korea. At first glance, the two economies appear to face the same challenge. A closer look tells a different story. The Indonesian rupiah's slide to record-low territory has revived memories of past currency crises, putting renewed pressure on Jakarta as investors question whether the country's external buffers are strong enoug by Kim Yeon-jae
• Europe's sweltering heatwave signals climate extremes in Asia and elsewhere SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Europe is in the grip of another sweltering heatwave. Across the continent, from Denmark and Germany to Switzerland and France, temperatures have surged to record or near-record levels. At least 94 million people across Europe have been exposed to extreme heat of 35 degrees Celsius or higher, while more than 350 million people, roughly two-thirds of the continent's population, are living in areas where temperatures have exceeded 30 degrees Celsius, according to recent by Lee Hugh

AJP Watch

• The trillion-dollar chip project revives Korea's old Jeolla-Yeongnam rivalry SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) - Pork-barrel projects are always political. The debate becomes even hotter when the prize is the world's most coveted commodity — AI memory chips — and nearly $1 trillion in investment. A government-backed plan to steer hundreds of trillions of won in new semiconductor investment toward South Korea's southwestern Honam region has erupted into one of the first major political battles of President Lee Jae Myung's administration. The conservative oppo
• Hyperscalers run the infrastructure the AI world stands on a SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) - The history of civilization has always been, in part, a history of whoever controlled the core infrastructure. The 19th century was completed by the railway and the steam engine; the 20th was driven by oil and electricity. If the internet and the smartphone reshaped daily life in the early 21st century, then today — with generative AI in full swing — the world stands once again in the middle of a vast civilizational shift. At its center sits a new kind of

AJP Focus

• Samsung Elec Q2 to raise the bar on blockbuster earnings SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics is widely expected to deliver another blockbuster quarter when it issues preliminary second-quarter earnings guidance next week, reflecting a 60 to 70 percent surge in mass-market memory prices and explosive demand for lucrative high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in artificial intelligence. According to market consensus compiled by FnGuide, Samsung is projected to post second-quarter revenue of 166.76 trillion won ($120.3 billion) and operating pro
• KOSPI's volatility deepens on fragile foundation SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) - South Korea's stock market still looks spectacular despite its recent correction. Underneath, however, the rally is becoming increasingly narrow, speculative and volatile—three characteristics that help explain why the Korean won remains stuck near crisis-era levels despite the soaring benchmark. The latest evidence came Monday as the market's advance-decline ratio (ADR), a widely watched measure of market breadth, remained in oversold territory, highlightin