Trump's sweeping economic bill may boost Korea's semiconductor, shipbuilding sectors

SEOUL, July 06 (AJP) - U.S. President Donald Trump has signed into law a wide-ranging economic bill — dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill for America,” or OBBBA — cementing key elements of his domestic agenda and delivering a potential windfall to South Korea’s semiconductor and shipbuilding industries. The legislation, signed on July 4, includes a suite of measures aimed at reducing taxes, reforming welfare, strengthening national defense, and looseni

July 6, 2025

GS Retail launches AI-assisted feature to help customers shop for alcoholic beverages

SEOUL, July 4 (AJP) - GS Retail, the operator of convenience store chain GS25, has launched a new feature that allows customers to identify wines and other alcoholic beverages simply by photographing them without the need to scan QR codes or barcodes. Since last week, the artificial intelligence-assisted feature is available on its mobile app Wooridongne's Wine25Plus. It can recognize and provide information on approximately 10,000 types of alcoholic beverages such as wines and

July 4, 2025

Chinese tech giant Tencent unveils massive investment plans to boost cloud business in South Korea

SEOUL, July 4 (AJP) - Chinese tech giant Tencent aims to boost investment and hiring to expand its presence here, as it considers South Korea a key strategic market. During an interview in central Seoul earlier this week, general manager Nicky Fang of Tencent Cloud, a cloud computing service arm, unveiled the company's ambitious plans to further accelerate its business here, with a focus on gaming, e-commerce, and entertainment. In particular, it seeks to leverage its expertise

July 4, 2025

Empyrion Digital opens first new Gangnam data center in over a decade

SEOUL, July 04 (AJP) - Singapore-based Empyrion Digital officially opened its KR1 Gangnam Data Centre on Wednesday, marking the first new data center development in Seoul's Gangnam district in more than 10 years. The 29.4 megawatt IT load facility, located in Seocho District, spans 30,714 square meters and represents the company's second operational asset in Asia following its 2021 acquisition of SG1 Dodid in Singapore. Singapore Ambassador to South Korea H.E. Eric Teo, Se

July 4, 2025

Hyundai Steel and AWS forge strategic alliance to accelerate digital transformation

SEOUL, July 04 (AJP) - Hyundai Steel has signed a Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to drive digital transformation and expand its presence as a global digital steelmaker. The agreement was formalized on July 1 (local time) at AWS headquarters in Seattle, inside The Spheres. The two companies plan to cooperate in two main areas: introducing AWS’s cloud infrastructure to Hyundai Steel’s domestic production sites to accelerate digital tra

July 4, 2025

HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk grilled by regulators over alleged IPO fraud

SEOUL, July 3 (AJP) - South Korean financial regulators have summoned Bang Si-hyuk, the founder and chairman of HYBE, for questioning over allegations of fraudulent trading practices linked to the firm's initial public offering. Bang, the influential music executive who oversaw HYBE’s transformation into a global entertainment powerhouse, appeared before the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) late last month to address accusations that he misled investors in the run-up to

July 3, 2025

French AI firm Dataiku courts Korean enterprises

SEOUL, July 03 (AJP) - Dataiku, a French artificial intelligence platform company, unveiled its strategy to support South Korean businesses in adopting AI and accelerating digital transformation, during a press briefing in Seoul on Thursday. The company emphasized its growing partnerships with major Korean firms such as LG Chem and Nepes, highlighting its integrated platform’s flexibility and enterprise-grade security. The firm's co-founder and Chief Technology Office

July 3, 2025

Korean power equipment makers expand in Europe

SEOUL, July 03 (AJP) - South Korean manufacturers of power infrastructure equipment are accelerating their push into European markets, seizing on surging demand for data center power systems and aging grid replacement across the continent. The expansion comes amid growing European concerns over energy security and infrastructure resilience. A series of recent power disruptions — including major blackouts in Spain and Portugal in April — coupled with intensifying summer

July 3, 2025

LG Electronics sharpens focus on AI, robotics under CEO William Cho

SEOUL, July 03 (AJP) - LG Electronics is undergoing one of the most ambitious transformations in its corporate history, shifting its focus away from traditional consumer hardware toward emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and business-to-business solutions. Now in his fourth year at the helm, CEO William Cho — also known by his Korean name, Cho Joo-wan — is steering LG with a long-term vision centered on “structural competitiveness,&rdqu

July 3, 2025

Republicans press Trump administration to challenge Korea's online platform regulation

SEOUL, July 3 (AJP) - A group of 43 House Republicans is urging the Trump administration to confront South Korea over a proposed law regulating online platforms, warning that the measure could become a flashpoint in ongoing trade talks between the two countries. In a letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the lawmakers called the proposed regulation a discriminatory barrier that unfairly target

July 3, 2025