Lee's approval rating falls again, remains below 50% for six weeks SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell for another week, according to a survey by pollster Realmeter released on Monday. In its survey of more than 2,500 adults nationwide last week, 46.3 percent of respondents said Lee was doing well, down 2.1 percentage points from the previous week. Slightly more respondents or 49.5 percent disapproved of his performance, while 4.2 percent remained undecided. Lee's approval rating has now remained in the 40 percent ran July 27, 2026

Kia to hire engineers in large-scale recruitment drive next month SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - Kia will launch a large-scale recruitment drive to hire engineers for the second half of this year, the automaker said on Monday. Those interested can apply for a two-week period starting from Aug. 10. Applicants must be at least high school graduates, but there are no age or gender restrictions. Kia said it revamped its criteria for evaluating engineering candidates for the first time since 2014 to reflect changes in the manufacturing industry including electrification July 27, 2026

AI deal euphoria steadies KOSPI and lifts KOSDAQ SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) -The big-tech-studded AI spectacle President Lee Jae Myung wrapped up in San Francisco last Friday helped South Korean shares recover on Monday, though the rebound fell well short of offsetting the nearly 6 percent plunge in the previous session. The KOSPI rose 0.7 percent, or 44.9 points, to 6,735.5, led by SK hynix and Samsung Electronics after their AI partnerships with Nvidia and Broadcom. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ outperformed, climbing 3.2 percent to 772.0, as investors July 27, 2026

FSS flags settlement-date pitfall for overseas stock tax breaks SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) —South Korean investors may lose part of their tax breaks on overseas stock sales if transactions settle after program deadlines, even when the trades themselves were executed on time, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) warned Monday. The regular reminded that capital gains tax deductions under the Repatriation Individual Account (RIA) program are determined by the settlement date rather than the trade date, meaning investors who sell too close to the deadline July 27, 2026

Lee inspects military transport aircraft in Brazil, kicking off South American tour SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Brazil on Sunday for the first leg of his three-nation South American tour, which will also take him to Chile and Argentina later this week. After landing at Brasília International Airport, Lee headed to an air force base to inspect a C-390 military transport aircraft manufactured by Brazilian aerospace company Embraer, which South Korea is set to acquire. There, he met South Korean Air Force personnel including pilots, loadmaster July 27, 2026

KOSPI leads Asian retreat on oil jitters, capping sidecar-ridden week SEOUL, July 24 (AJP)— South Korean stocks suffered another sharp selloff Friday as surging oil prices driven by escalating Middle East tensions and mounting interest-rate concerns fueled broad risk aversion, sending both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ into sell-side sidecars for a fifth consecutive trading session. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 6,690.62, down 5.72 percent, and the junior KOSDAQ fell 5.32 percent, to 748.22, as foreign and institutional investors accelerated selling despite heavy bu July 24, 2026

Court rejects bid to block wider distribution of box office hit 'The King's Warden' SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - A Seoul court has rejected a bid to block further distribution of The King's Warden, clearing a legal obstacle to the historical drama's release on streaming services, home video and other platforms. The Seoul Western District Court dismissed an injunction sought by the family of a screenwriter who alleged that the film had copied the script of the 2000s television drama Eom Heung-do. The application was filed against co-producers Onda Works and BA Entertainment, July 24, 2026

Lee departs for San Francisco to begin multi-nation overseas trip SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung left for San Francisco in California on Friday to begin a multi-nation overseas trip that will also take him to three South American countries and Germany. During the trip, which will last about 11 days until early next month, he is expected to seek stronger cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI)-related industries, investment and economic partnerships. In San Francisco, the first leg of his trip, Lee will spend two days meeting the heads of July 24, 2026

KAIST, NVIDIA open joint lab to build AI for Korean industry SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - NVIDIA will pour $300 million into a joint research laboratory with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology to develop artificial intelligence built specifically for the Korean language and South Korea's industries, in one of the largest corporate commitments to AI research at a Korean university. The NVIDIA-KAIST Joint AI Research Lab will be housed at the Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI on the Seoul campus of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science July 24, 2026

Finance chief raises growth outlook as South Korea nears $40,000 per-capita income SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said Friday that stronger-than-expected economic growth has put South Korea on track for annual growth of around 3 percent and per-capita income of US$40,000, although many households have yet to feel the effects of the stronger economy. The finance chief said the economy had sustained its growth momentum after a robust first quarter. "The likelihood of achieving 3 percent annual growth and per-capita national July 24, 2026