• SK hynix dismisses AI slowdown concerns with capacity expansion plan SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - SK hynix brushed aside growing concerns over a slowdown in artificial intelligence (AI)-related investment on Wednesday.
• BOK chief argues rate-hike bias best to contain inflation SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) -Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song on Wednesday said maintaining a rate-hike bias was the most appropriate way to contain inflation, while stressing that the timing and pace of any further tightening would depend on incoming data and economic conditions.
• Army tests combat squad pairing soldiers with drones, robot dogs SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - South Korea’s Army has launched a trial unit that combines soldiers with drones, quadruped robots, multipurpose unmanned ground vehicles and autonomous vehicles at the squad level, as it seeks to test future combat formations built around manned-unmanned teaming.
• South Korea rules out Lee reelection as constitutional debate flares SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung is only in the second year of his five-year term, but speculation over whether a constitutional amendment could allow him to seek reelection briefly emerged as a political flashpoint before senior ruling-party figures moved quickly to rule out the possibility.
• South Korea completes decade-long development of homegrown KF-21 fighter jet SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - South Korea has completed the development of its first homegrown KF-21 fighter jet, dubbed Boramae, marking the completion of a decade-long project launched in December 2015.
• South Korea's birthrate rises for 23rd straight month SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - South Korea's birthrate continued to show signs of recovery in May, with the number of newborns increasing for the 23rd straight month, according to data released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on Wednesday.

AJP Briefing

• Hanwha Solutions' Q2 profit more than triples on renewable energy strength SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - Hanwha Solutions said Wednesday its second-quarter operating profit more than tripled from the previous quarter, helped by stronger earnings from its renewable energy, chemical and advanced materials businesses. The company posted 4.58 trillion won ($3.2 billion) in consolidated sales and 306.5 billion won in operating profit in the April-June period. Sales rose 18 percent from 3.88 trillion won in the first quarter, while operating profit jumped 231 percent from 92.6 bil
• LG Electronics offers interim dividend and completes buyback SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - LG Electronics said Wednesday its board had approved an interim cash dividend of 500 won per common and preferred share and completed a previously announced 100 billion won share buyback as part of its shareholder return policy. The company set Aug. 13 as the record date for the interim dividend, with payments scheduled for Aug. 28. The total dividend payout amounts to about 89.7 billion won. LG Electronics said it has maintained a minimum annual dividend of 1,000 won pe
• Seoul office vacancy hits 5-year high on new downtown supply SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - Seoul's Grade A office vacancy rate rose to 5.8 percent in the second quarter, up 1.8 percentage points from the previous quarter and the highest level since the third quarter of 2021, according to a report released by Cushman & Wakefield Korea, the local arm of the global commercial real estate services firm. The increase was driven by new supply rather than falling demand. Two large towers, G1 Seoul in the Gongpyeong redevelopment zone and Rene Square near Eulji
• KOSPI regains ground after chip-stock sell-off, but recovery remains fragile SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - Seoul stocks opened higher on Wednesday after the previous day's rout, but gave up most of their early gains within the first hour, leaving the rebound looking less convincing. The KOSPI climbed back above 6,200 in early trade before fading to 6,078.77, up 0.9 percent. Samsung Electronics led the recovery, rising 3.9 percent to 228,500 South Korean won (US$157), while SK hynix barely moved, edging up 0.1 percent to 1,551,000 won. That divergence shaped the session,

ASIA Insight

• Heatwave in South Korea isn't bad luck, but a loaded die SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - South Korea feels more and more like Southeast Asia — tropical humidity, scorching heat, and sudden squalls of rain. The country recorded an average of 7.8 tropical nights between June 1 and July 27, the highest number for the period since nationwide records began in 1973. Its average temperature over the same stretch reached 24.2 degrees Celsius, the second-highest on record. With the Tibetan high-pressure system now settling in above the North Pacific high, the by Lee Jung-woo
• How South Korea became Asia's AI ETF test case SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) — Not long ago, Nvidia was the trade that defined the artificial intelligence boom. Today, investors are searching for the next AI winner—and using increasingly leveraged financial products to amplify those bets. That search is reshaping not only Asia's semiconductor industry but also its capital markets. As investors crowd into a handful of AI champions, exchanges are racing to launch new products while regulators grapple with where to draw the line between by Ryu Yuna

AJP Watch

• After BTS comeback year, what's next for K-pop? SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - K-pop continues to debut new groups, dominate global streaming platforms and fill concert halls from Los Angeles to Bangkok. The industry's talent pipeline remains as prolific as ever, producing acts not only in South Korea but increasingly through overseas partnerships and local adaptations. Yet beneath the steady flow of new debuts lies a quieter reckoning. While visibility has never been broader, far fewer acts are reaching the commercial scale needed to generate t
• Why South Korean women are drinking more while men cut back SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) — Grabbing a beer after work, unwinding with a glass of wine while watching Netflix or sharing a highball with friends has become a familiar scene in South Korean dramas. Increasingly, it is reflecting real life. Every evening, Kim Ji-hyun, a 45-year-old office worker in Ilsan, pours herself a glass of wine or mixes a highball before settling in with Netflix. Her husband sometimes joins her. "It's not that I drink because of stress," she said. "It

AJP Focus

• SK hynix is today's chip profit king, But what next? SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - SK hynix achieved something no major semiconductor company has done before: it became the world's most profitable chipmaker – albeit with little fanfare. Its record-breaking 76.1 percent operating margin in the second quarter surpassed those of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Micron Technology, demonstrating how an early bet on artificial intelligence memory has turned the South Korean company into the industry's earnings powerhouse.
• Why Nvidia needs Korea as much as Korea needs Nvidia SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - When Jensen Huang toured Seoul last month, Nvidia's chief executive said he had found a full five-layer AI cake in South Korea. Over the weekend, he stayed true to that discovery, emerging as both the biggest customer and investor in that cake. Nvidia placed itself at the center of South Korea's all-out AI push as Huang headlined the government-hosted AI summit in San Francisco before joining President Lee Jae Myung and Korea's business leaders for a relaxed w