CJ CheilJedang's Q2 operating profit slides on costs, weak home market SEOUL, August 11 (AJP) - CJ CheilJedang, South Korea's largest food and bioscience group, announced that its second-quarter operating profit fell sharply as sluggish domestic demand and oil-driven increases in packaging and raw material costs squeezed margins. According to regulatory filings released Tuesday, consolidated revenue edged up 1.7 percent from a year earlier to 7.36 trillion won (about $5.19 billion) in the April-June quarter, while operating profit dropped 27.1 percent to 257.6 August 11, 2026

NHN Q2 operating profit surges 164% on payment, tech growth SEOUL, August 11 (AJP) - South Korean internet firm NHN announced that its second-quarter operating profit jumped 164 percent from a year earlier, powered by robust demand across its payment, cloud and gaming businesses. According to regulatory filings released Tuesday, operating profit reached 57.9 billion won ($40.9 million) on a consolidated basis, while revenue climbed 25.3 percent to 757.9 billion won. Net profit rose 159 percent to 29.1 billion won. Payments, NHN's largest segment t August 11, 2026

Webtoon Entertainment takes majority stake in RI Games SEOUL, August 11 (AJP) - Webtoon Entertainment is buying its way into the business of turning its own comics into games and films, ending years in which the company handed its biggest hits to outside studios and collected a fee while somebody else kept the franchise. The Nasdaq-listed operator of Naver Webtoon disclosed two deals on Monday alongside second quarter results. It agreed to buy a 60 percent stake in RI Games Holdings for about $100 million in cash, paid across two closings, and sign August 11, 2026

KOSDAQ surges as leveraged ETF frenzy cools SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) -South Korea's junior market staged a strong comeback Monday, leaping nearly 7 percent to push its gain so far this month toward 20 percent. The KOSDAQ closed at 854.47, up 55.66 points, or 7.0 percent. Its bigger sibling KOSPI added 40.89 points to close at 6,299.66, up 0.7 percent, with the advance built on utilities, defense, shipbuilding and battery names rather than semiconductors. The broader spread of gains came as a speculative frenzy in single-stock leverage August 10, 2026

Culture ministry, YouTube pledge closer ties on Korean creator content SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) - Korea's culture ministry and YouTube agreed Monday to strengthen cooperation around Korean creators, signaling that short-form and creator-led video are being treated less as a side channel and more as a growing part of the country's content industry. Kim Young-soo, first vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, met with YouTube Vice President of Product Woojin Kim at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul to discuss ways to support You August 10, 2026

Naver, education institute team up on AI textbooks for seniors SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) - Naver announced Monday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE) to jointly develop AI and digital literacy content tailored to senior citizens, as part of a broader push to narrow South Korea's digital divide. The agreement revealed Monday was signed on Aug. 7 at Naver's headquarters in Bundang, the company said. It aims to strengthen everyday AI and digital competency among seniors and other digitall August 10, 2026

South Korea warns of new voice-phishing scam laundering stolen funds SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) — South Korean scammers are using loan offers to gain access to low-credit borrowers’ bank accounts and launder money stolen through voice phishing, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) warned Monday. The warning came after the regulator found that criminal groups were increasingly using gift certificates to move stolen funds instead of transferring the money or withdrawing it from ATMs, making the proceeds harder to trace. The scheme begins with people wh August 10, 2026

Seoul rebounds on Samsung Electronics payout hopes SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) - Seoul stocks opened sharply higher on Monday as a brokerage note arguing Samsung Electronics is preparing a shareholder return package more than ten times its current size pulled buyers back into chip shares after a week that stripped 5.1 percent off the market. The KOSPI rose 61.76 points to 6,320.53 in early trading, a gain of 1.0 percent. The bounce was stronger on the junior market, where the KOSDAQ climbed 3.1 percent to 823.38, and it extended across the regi August 10, 2026

KOSPI extends losses as SK hynix tumbles on Nvidia memory concerns SEOUL, August 07 (AJP) - South Korean stocks fell for a second straight session Friday, dragged down by SK hynix as renewed Strait of Hormuz concerns and weakness in United States tech shares fueled foreign selling. The benchmark KOSPI closed 0.60 percent lower at 6,258.77, extending Thursday's 4.58 percent drop. The index opened 1.09 percent higher at 6,365.07 and climbed as high as 6,415.60 before reversing course. It briefly fell to 6,158.73 before paring losses toward the close. Foreig August 7, 2026

CJ ENM Q2 operating profit rises as TVING, commerce offset SEOUL, August 07 (AJP) - CJ ENM's second-quarter operating profit rose even as revenue declined, as a turnaround in its media platform business and stronger commerce earnings offset a sharp slump in film and drama Operating profit rose 16.9 percent from a year earlier to 33.4 billion won, topping the FnGuide consensus of 31.1 billion won by roughly 7.6 percent and rebounding sharply from just 1.5 billion won in the first quarter. The operating margin widened to 2.8 percent from 2.2 percent August 7, 2026