[K-Tech] Krafton's Q2 net profit tumbles 95 percent despite record sales for first half of the year

SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - South Korean gaming giant Krafton, well-known for its flagship game “PUBG: Battlegrounds”, reported on Tuesday its second-quarter net income tumbled 95.4 percent due to increased operational costs. The company reported 15.5 billion won, around US$11.1 million, in net profit for the April to July period, down 95.4 percent compared to year-on-year, in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. Krafton attributed its sharp fall in net income to increased mark

July 30, 2025

[K-Tech] LG key wings' 2Q performance fall short of expectations

SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - LG Electronics, LG Display, and LG Innotek, the core electronics wings of South Korea’s LG Group, posted underwhelming second-quarter results, falling short of market expectations amid headwinds including U.S. tariffs, high logistics costs, and exchange rate fluctuations. However, industry analysts anticipate a rebound in the second half, aided by seasonal demand in the IT sector and a product cycle led by Apple. According to industry data released Tuesd

July 30, 2025

Samsung chief heads to Washington as tariff talks deadline with US looms

SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong left for the U.S. on Tuesday to lend a hand in ongoing tariff negotiations between Seoul and Washington, according to industry sources. Lee's trip comes just a couple of days before the tariff deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump looms later this week. Industry watchers expect Lee may offer Samsung's commitment to expanding investment in the semiconductor sector, as well as deepening cooperation in ar

July 29, 2025

Korean shipbuilders gain market share as US sanctions target China

SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - South Korean shipbuilders saw their global market share recover to over 20 percent in the first half of 2025, benefiting from the United States sanctions on Chinese maritime industries, according to data released Tuesday by the Korea Development Bank's overseas economic research institute. South Korea's order share reached 25.1 percent in the January-June period based on compensated gross tonnage, up 8 percentage points from 17.2 percent a year earli

July 29, 2025

[K- Tech] S. Korea's new geo-spatial AI system to undergo commercialization next month

SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) on Tuesday announced the completion of its spatial intelligence system known as Geo-AI, a next-generation artificial intelligence technology designed to analyze and respond to queries using spatial information such as maps, locations, environments, and moving objects. The ministry will begin full-scale research and development (R&D) in August to prepare the technology for commerciali

July 29, 2025

[K-tech] S. Korea to acquire 13,000 advanced GPUs for AI infrastructure

SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT has announced that it will procure 13,000 advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) using approximately 1.46 trillion won (about $1.05 billion) from a supplementary budget. The move is part of the country's broader strategy to rapidly expand domestic AI computing infrastructure. Tech giants Naver Cloud, NHN Cloud, and Kakao have been selected as the final operating partners. This initiative aims to ensure timel

July 29, 2025

[K-Tech] Older DDR4 chip prices rebound after Samsung, SK hynix raise contract rates

SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - Spot prices for older-generation DDR4 memory chips have staged a modest recovery after a lull earlier this month, driven by price hikes from major South Korean suppliers amid continued supply shortages, according to market research firm TrendForce. In its latest report, TrendForce said DDR4 prices climbed across several key models during the week of July 16–22, reversing a brief cooling trend that began in early July. The gains follow upward revisio

July 28, 2025

S. Korea scrambles to avert tariffs as US seals trade deals with Japan, EU

SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - With the United States locking in trade agreements with Japan and the European Union, South Korea is making a last-ditch effort to avoid steep tariffs that could further strain its slowing economy. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol will travel to Washington this week for a face-to-face meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday, officials said Monday. The talks will take place on the final day of a temporary tarif

July 28, 2025

Alaska LNG project gains momentum. Should Korea be part of it?

SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - As Japan signals its intention to join the U.S.-backed Alaska LNG project, pressure is mounting on South Korea to consider following suit — despite deep concerns about the project’s economic and strategic viability. The massive infrastructure undertaking, long championed by U.S. President Donald Trump, envisions tapping natural gas reserves from Alaska’s North Slope, piping them more than 1,300 kilometers to a planned liquefaction facility

July 28, 2025

[K-Tech] Samsung Electronics secures $16.5 billion Tesla chip contract

SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics announced on Monday that it has secured one of the largest chip supply contracts in its history — a deal worth 22.8 trillion won, or approximately $16.5 billion — with what the company described as a “major global customer.” While Samsung declined to name the buyer, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed shortly after that the contract involves the production of the automaker’s next-generation AI chipset. The agreemen

July 28, 2025