AJU PRESS ASIA FIRST NEWS AGENCY

Journalist

Joonha Yoo
Joonha Yoo유준하
ReporterCOEX Sejong Center for the Performing Arts & Music, Culture, Entertainment, Automotive
Joonha Yoo is a bilingual journalist at AJU Press (AJP), covering music, culture, entertainment and Korea’s automotive industry.
Raised in Fort Collins, Colorado, he often writes from the scene, bringing firsthand detail to stories ranging
from BTS comeback concerts to unique cultural events that catch the world's eye. "I write from the scene, not from the sidelines."
Latest by Joonha Yoo
  • Hyundai Motors Q2 operating profit falls 21% despite record sales
    Hyundai Motor's Q2 operating profit falls 21% despite record sales SEOUL, July 23 (AJP) — Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest automaker, suffered 20-percent dip in second-quarter operating profit even as quarterly revenue hit a record high, as weaker sales volume, higher costs, and an unfavorable product mix outweighed favorable currency effects. Operating profit for the April-June period came in at 2.851 trillion won, down 20.8 percent from a year earlier and slightly below market consensus, though up 13.4 percent from the first quarter. The operating margin narrowed to 5.8 percent from 7.5 percent a year earlier but improved from 5.5 percent in the first quarter. The year-on-year decline was driven mainly by weaker sales volume, which cut operating profit by 542 billion won, and the combined effect of product mix and incentives, which reduced it by a further 570 billion won. Favorable currency effects partially offset the pressure, adding 238 billion won, while the financial services division contributed an additional 106 billion won. The U.S. dollar rose around 3 percent against a year-ago period to average around 1,500 won in the second quarter. Revenue totaled 49.215 trillion won, a record for a single quarter, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier and 7.1 percent from the previous quarter. Currency effects added 2.571 trillion won to revenue, while lower sales volume and an unfavorable mix subtracted 2.246 trillion won and 1.101 trillion won, respectively. Net income fell 11.1 percent from a year earlier to 2.888 trillion won, though it rose 11.7 percent from the first quarter. Profit before tax declined 16.9 percent on-year to 3.646 trillion won. Global wholesale shipments fell 6.9 percent from a year earlier to 992,000 vehicles, while retail sales dropped 4.2 percent to 999,000 units, as steep declines in China weighed on an otherwise mixed regional performance. In the United States, Hyundai's largest market, wholesale shipments rose 0.9 percent to 265,000 vehicles even as industry-wide demand was nearly flat. Its market share increased 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier, remaining above 6 percent for a fifth consecutive quarter. European wholesale volume fell 10.9 percent to 144,000 vehicles amid intensifying competition, geopolitical risks and major model launches scheduled for the second half, including the Tucson and Ioniq 3. Domestic wholesale sales dropped 16.4 percent to 158,000 vehicles amid a parts-supply disruption. Sales in China tumbled 36.9 percent to 19,000 vehicles, while wholesale volume in India rose 5.4 percent to 139,000 vehicles. Hybrid vehicles accounted for a record 18.9 percent of Hyundai's global wholesale volume during the quarter, with the hybrid share of U.S. sales reaching an all-time high of 26.2 percent. 2026-07-23 14:57:40
  • Crocodile discovery renews scrutiny of Koreas exotic pet trade
    Crocodile discovery renews scrutiny of Korea's exotic pet trade SEOUL, July 23 (AJP) - A crocodile pulled from a stream in Yeoju has been identified as a critically endangered Siamese crocodile, adding to a series of crocodile discoveries in South Korea over the past two years and renewing scrutiny of the country's exotic pet trade. Firefighters captured the 50-centimeter reptile from Soyang Stream on July 18 after a passerby reported what appeared to be a pet crocodile swimming in the water. Rescue crews netted the animal within about 30 minutes without injuries. Yeoju City later asked the National Institute of Biological Resources to identify the species using photographs and video taken after the capture. The institute concluded that the reptile was a Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis), a freshwater species native to Southeast Asia that is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the treaty's highest level of protection. Once found across Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, Siamese crocodiles are now among the world's rarest crocodilian species after decades of habitat loss, hunting and hybridization. International commercial trade in wild-caught animals of the species is prohibited under CITES. The crocodile is being housed at a temporary animal shelter operated on behalf of Yeoju City while officials search for its owner during the legally required 10-day public notice period. If no owner comes forward, the animal is expected to be transferred to the National Institute of Ecology in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province, for long-term care. The discovery follows several unusual crocodile incidents in South Korea in recent years. In February 2024, two dead juvenile crocodiles measuring about 30 centimeters each were found beside a trash pile near a shopping complex in Incheon. The National Institute of Biological Resources said they were believed to be either Siamese crocodiles or saltwater crocodiles, both species protected under CITES. Six months later, a 60-centimeter crocodile carcass, believed to be either a New Guinea crocodile or a saltwater crocodile, was discovered on a roadside in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. Another reported sighting in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, in June 2023 prompted an extensive search after witnesses reported seeing what appeared to be a crocodile in a stream. Authorities found no animal or physical evidence confirming the sighting. Police are investigating how the Yeoju crocodile ended up in the stream, including whether it escaped from private captivity or was deliberately abandoned. Under South Korean law, possession, trade or release of internationally protected wildlife without proper authorization may result in criminal penalties. Experts say South Korea's climate makes it unlikely that crocodiles released into the wild could survive long enough to establish a breeding population. Even so, the repeated discoveries have raised concerns about the illegal trade and abandonment of exotic reptiles, as authorities continue investigating how protected species are entering the country. 2026-07-23 13:45:11
  • Foreign arrivals to Korea near 2 million in June
    Foreign arrivals to Korea near 2 million in June SEOUL, July 23 (AJP) - Nearly nine in 10 foreign visitors to South Korea in June traveled for tourism, driving monthly arrivals to nearly 2 million while business, official and study-related travel remained comparatively subdued, the Korea Tourism Organization said Thursday. Korea received 1,993,128 foreign visitors during the month, up 23.1 percent from 1,619,220 a year earlier. The total reached 135 percent of its June 2019 level, before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted international travel. Tourism accounted for 1,731,508 arrivals, or 86.9 percent of the total, after rising 26.3 percent from a year earlier. By comparison, business arrivals increased 3 percent to 12,797, official visits slipped 0.2 percent to 6,257, and arrivals for study and training fell 12 percent to 25,582. China remained South Korea's largest source market with nearly 650,000 visitors, followed by Japan with 348,000, Taiwan with 223,000, the United States with 178,000 and Hong Kong with 66,000. Together, the five markets accounted for nearly three-quarters of all foreign arrivals in June. Arrivals from China and Japan recovered to 136.8 percent and 123.3 percent, respectively, of their June 2019 levels. Women accounted for about 60 percent of all foreign arrivals. Female visitor numbers rose 27.5 percent from a year earlier to 1,202,181, outpacing a 17 percent increase among men to 654,363. A further 136,584 arrivals were recorded as airline or ship crew members. Korea welcomed 10.71 million foreign visitors in the first half of the year, up 21.3 percent from a year earlier. Chinese visitors totaled 3.21 million, accounting for about 30 percent of all arrivals during the period. Meanwhile, Koreans made 2,004,723 overseas trips in June, down 10 percent from a year earlier and equivalent to 80.3 percent of the June 2019 level. First-half outbound travel reached 14.96 million, recovering to 99.7 percent of its pre-pandemic level. 2026-07-23 11:24:54
  • Korean firm launches AI-ready museum archive platform
    Korean firm launches AI-ready museum archive platform SEOUL, July 23 (AJP) -Korean technology firm Indik said Thursday it has launched a platform that converts museum exhibition catalogs into curator-verified digital archives. The launch comes as museums prepare AI and digital transformation projects for 2027, with budget planning set to begin in September. Based in Jeonju, Indik has developed museum exhibitions, catalogs and cultural heritage content using public data. The platform, called ARTFACT, extracts artifact records, images and exhibition narratives from museum catalogs, linking every record back to its original source page. Indik calls the resulting database a "Digital Master" reviewed, corrected and approved by museum staff before it becomes part of an institution's verified knowledge base. Museums often produce extensive research and exhibition documentation, but much of it becomes scattered across PDF files and image folders once a show closes, Indik says. Curators then have to locate and reorganize the same material for the next exhibition or education program. Collection management databases, though widely used, do not always preserve the curatorial interpretation and narrative connections that catalogs contain — a gap ARTFACT is designed to fill by linking structured collection records to that broader context. "Adopting new AI tools alone will not complete museums' digital transformation," Indik CEO Kwak Hyun-hae said. "Institutions first need reference materials that allow AI to verify sources and context." The process begins with a single representative exhibition catalog. ARTFACT generates a preliminary Digital Master, and staff compare each record against the original pages and images before revising and approving the data. Indik has begun offering consultations for museums, galleries and cultural institutions considering AI or digital transformation projects for 2027, including those that have yet to determine project scope or budgets. The sessions assess the condition of existing materials, the feasibility of building a Digital Master, integration with current collection databases and review procedures ahead of September budget planning. Indik plans to expand the platform with a "Planning Engine" to help curators draft exhibition proposals, educational materials and production guidelines from approved Digital Masters. Its longer-term goal is a "Discovery Platform" that maps relationships among artifacts, historical figures, regions and past exhibitions to support future research and exhibition planning. 2026-07-23 10:11:29
  • K-pops second act: Why groups no longer really disappear
    K-pop's second act: Why groups no longer really disappear SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - When NewJeans released a surprise anniversary film at midnight on July 22, it did more than celebrate four years since the group's debut. The video reunited Minji, Hanni, Haerin and Hyein in official group content for the first time in one year and four months after a prolonged contract dispute that had brought the group's activities to a halt. A court sided with their agency, ADOR, in both an injunction and the main lawsuit over the validity of their exclusive contracts. Haerin, Hyein and Hanni subsequently returned to the label, while ADOR terminated Danielle's contract in December. Minji also appeared in the film, although her contractual status had not been formally clarified at the time of its release. No comeback has been announced. ADOR has said it will reveal NewJeans' future plans once discussions are complete. Yet the appearance of four members alone was enough to reignite speculation that one of K-pop's most influential groups of the past four years could be edging toward a return. NewJeans has neither disbanded nor reunited. That ambiguity is precisely what makes the group's situation significant. Increasingly, a K-pop group can stop functioning without disappearing. A breakup, agency split or years-long hiatus no longer necessarily marks the end. Members may pursue separate careers. The legal rights may remain with a former agency. The original lineup may never perform together again. Yet the group's name, catalog, visual identity and emotional bond with fans often continue to exist—and to retain considerable commercial value. In modern K-pop, a group is becoming less a temporary collection of performers than a long-lived intellectual property. More than one way back The industry has already produced several models of what a "comeback" can mean. Sechs Kies offers the classic reunion story. After formally disbanding in 2000, the first-generation boy band unexpectedly reunited in 2016, signing with YG Entertainment, holding concerts and releasing new music 16 years after its final activities. Kara followed a different path. Rather than reuniting after an official breakup, it resumed activities in 2022 following a seven-year hiatus with the anniversary album Move Again. Its title track, When I Move, made Kara the first girl group to win on Korean music programs across the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. Then came 2NE1. A decade after its previous solo concert, the four members reunited in October 2024 for a 15th-anniversary world tour. YG Entertainment expanded the tour to 27 performances in 12 cities, with expected attendance of about 220,000. More than 400,000 users reportedly attempted to purchase tickets for the opening Seoul concerts alone. All three are commonly described as reunions, but each represents a different business model. Sechs Kies returned after formal disbandment. Kara resumed activities after an extended hiatus. 2NE1 reassembled years after its agency had effectively ended the group's career. Other groups demonstrate that survival sometimes requires abandoning the very identity that made them famous. Unable to continue using the Beast trademark after leaving Cube Entertainment, the remaining members relaunched as Highlight in 2017. Although they later regained the legal rights to the Beast name, they continued promoting under Highlight, having already built a successful second identity. VIVIZ illustrates yet another model. Rather than reviving GFriend, former members Eunha, SinB and Umji created a separate trio after GFriend's activities ended in 2021. What links these examples is not disbandment itself but something more fundamental. K-pop groups have become modular. Their lineup, catalog, trademark, music and fan community can now survive independently and be recombined in different ways. Nostalgia has become an asset For entertainment companies, the value of returning groups is easier to see in ticket demand than in abstract discussions about fandom. Launching a successful rookie group requires years of recruitment, training, production and marketing—with no guarantee of success. Returning groups already possess something almost impossible to manufacture: recognition. They also own an existing catalog and a fan base whose emotional attachment has survived years of inactivity. The phenomenon extends well beyond K-pop. Oasis sold roughly one million tickets after announcing its reunion despite a 15-year split. ABBA went even further. Its London residency ABBA Voyage, featuring digital avatars rather than the members themselves, generated £103.7 million ($139 million) in ticket revenue in 2023 while attracting nearly 1.1 million visitors. Different technology. Different audiences. The same commercial principle. People are not simply paying to hear familiar songs. They are paying to revisit a period of their own lives. In that sense, nostalgia is no longer merely an emotion. It has become a monetizable asset. The fight over identity Turning nostalgia into a comeback, however, is often more difficult than reuniting the members. A group also needs access to its name, catalog, trademarks, recordings and performance rights—assets that frequently remain under the control of current or former agencies. Shinhwa spent 12 years fighting legal battles over the right to use its own name before reaching a court-mediated settlement in 2015. Highlight chose the opposite strategy, building a new identity instead of waiting to recover Beast. NewJeans now finds itself confronting the same divide between performers and intellectual property. According to legal experts cited during the dispute, ADOR owns the NewJeans trademark. The members briefly attempted to promote independently as NJZ before a court prohibited activities outside the agency. Changing the name solved nothing. The legal conflict was never about the letters. It was about ownership of the identity those letters represented. That explains why entertainment companies fight so fiercely over trademarks. A group's name is no longer simply a label. It is a business asset built through years of accumulated recognition, fan loyalty and commercial value. The people who created that value and the company that legally owns it are not always the same. What fans are really waiting for For fans, however, reunions are rarely experienced as legal disputes. Lim Jung-bin, a 40-year-old office worker in Seoul, has followed 2NE1 since its debut in 2009. "When I heard they were getting back together, I almost cried," she said. "The group was part of the brightest years of my twenties." She never stopped listening to 2NE1's music during the hiatus and followed each member's solo career. Attending the reunion concert in Seoul last October, she said, "felt like a dream." "It was a precious moment when everyone sang together and shared the same memories. I want to experience it again." Her comments illustrate why inactive groups continue to generate economic value. Fans rarely experience the inactive years as empty time. They keep listening. They follow individual members. They preserve the emotional context that first connected them to the music. Watching the NewJeans dispute, Lim said the exact lineup mattered less than preserving the group's distinctive identity. "Whether four members come back or five, NewJeans has its own atmosphere," she said. "I miss that retro, lo-fi sound." Not every fan would agree. Some believe a reunion without every original member is incomplete. But her response highlights the central paradox of modern K-pop. Fans often remain attached to the identity of a group even after the people, contracts and companies behind it have changed. That is what makes returning groups simultaneously so valuable—and so difficult to recreate. A K-pop group is no longer defined only by the people standing on stage. It is also a trademark, a catalog, a visual language and a community of memories that can outlive the contracts that first brought those people together. The performers may leave. The music may stop. Ownership may change. But the group itself rarely disappears. Its next chapter is written in the space between what fans still remember and what the law allows someone else to revive. 2026-07-22 18:04:05
  • AMCHAM launches program connecting South Korean firms with US lawmakers
    AMCHAM launches program connecting South Korean firms with US lawmakers SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - A new program launched by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) will give South Korean businesses direct access to senior U.S. policymakers, the U.S. business lobby in Seoul said on Wednesday. According to AMCHAM, the program, called "K-Doorknock," made its debut with its annual visit to Washington, D.C., from July 13 to 16. A delegation from about a dozen companies led by AMCHAM chairman James Kim held more than 30 meetings with White House officials, executive branch agencies, and members of Congress including four senators as well as representatives from business associations and policy organizations. Their discussions focused on South Korea's investment in the U.S., advanced technologies, economic security, and industrial competitiveness. K-Doorknock is intended to help South Korean companies raise investment priorities, expansion plans and operational concerns directly with U.S. government officials as they increase their presence in the market. The program expands AMCHAM's traditional advocacy work, which has largely focused on strengthening business ties between Seoul and Washington. It said it now plans to support investment in both directions by assisting U.S. companies operating in South Korea and South Korean companies investing in the U.S. Kim said the program's positive response showed that South Korean businesses are increasingly seeking direct communication channels with U.S. policymakers. "This shows how important South Korean companies consider direct dialogue with U.S. policymakers to be as they expand their operations in the market," Kim said. He also said the delegation found broad bipartisan support in Washington for the U.S.-Korea alliance, along with growing recognition of South Korea's contributions to key sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, shipbuilding, and advanced manufacturing. Rather than announcing additional commitments, participants stressed the need to carry out investment and cooperation plans that have already been agreed upon, Kim said. They also discussed market access, non-tariff barriers, and the need for a predictable and fair business environment. Kim said sustained dialogue between governments and industry would be necessary to turn investment, innovation, supply chain resilience, and economic security cooperation into measurable results. AMCHAM said it will continue its efforts to connect companies with policymakers in both countries. 2026-07-22 17:12:26
  • Hyundai Motor Q2 earnings seen down 17%, data due Thurs
    Hyundai Motor Q2 earnings seen down 17%, data due Thurs SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor is expected to post a double-digit decline in second-quarter operating profit, as weaker vehicle sales combine with continued U.S. tariff costs and rising material and warranty expenses to squeeze margins despite favorable currency effects and a richer hybrid mix. According to consensus estimates compiled by FnGuide, the automaker’s operating profit is forecast at 2.99 trillion won ($2.03 billion), down about 17 percent from 3.60 trillion won a year earlier. Revenue is expected to edge up 0.7 percent to 48.6 trillion won. The company is set to report its results 2 p.m. Thursday. Hyundai Motor shares finished 4.76 percent higher at 418,000 won. The outlook weakened as the quarter progressed. Hyundai Motor’s second-quarter operating profit consensus fell 5.8 percent over the month through July 13, according to Kyobo Securities. The downgrade reflects a combination of lower production and rising costs. A supplier fire disrupted output in South Korea, while higher raw material prices, increased warranty expenses and lower factory utilization added pressure. The won’s weakening toward the end of the quarter cut both ways. It raised the won value of overseas sales but also increased foreign-currency-denominated warranty liabilities, adding to costs. Hana Securities is among the more cautious, projecting operating profit of 2.90 trillion won on revenue of 48.3 trillion won. Hanwha Investment & Securities expects operating profit of 3.04 trillion won and revenue of 48.5 trillion won. U.S. tariffs remain a major drag on profitability. Under a 15 percent tariff assumption, Hanwha estimates Hyundai Motor’s tariff-related expenses at about 998 billion won for the quarter, equivalent to roughly one-third of the company’s projected operating profit. The burden remains substantial even though the brokerage expects it to ease from its estimate of 1.82 trillion won a year earlier. Unlike the first quarter, when costs were the dominant drag on earnings, weaker volume is expected to play a larger role in the second quarter. Hyundai Motor’s global wholesale sales are estimated at about 990,000 to 1 million vehicles, down 6 to 7 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 2.5 percent decline in the first quarter. Production disruptions in South Korea and India, an aging domestic model lineup and intensifying competition overseas weighed on deliveries. Regional performance was mixed. U.S. wholesale sales rose 2 percent to 265,208 vehicles, supported by demand for models including the Palisade. European sales fell 9.8 percent to 145,549 vehicles, while domestic sales dropped 15.9 percent to 158,515. Production began returning to normal in June after the supplier disruption affected output in April and May. A more favorable product mix and exchange rate helped prevent a steeper decline. Hana Securities estimates Hyundai Motor’s average selling price rose about 4 percent from a year earlier, as the share of hybrid vehicles increased by 3.2 percentage points and the average won-dollar exchange rate climbed 7 percent. Those gains partly offset higher sales incentives and weaker overall volume. Brokerages expect earnings momentum to improve in the second half as production normalizes and new or updated models, including the Avante, Tucson, Santa Fe and Ioniq 3, support sales and product mix. Higher raw material costs and sales incentives, however, are expected to remain a burden on margins. 2026-07-22 16:40:21
  • Stray Kids to open five-show Seoul run ahead of Aug. 7 EP
    Stray Kids to open five-show Seoul run ahead of Aug. 7 EP SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - K-pop boy group Stray Kids will launch their latest world tour with five sold-out shows in Seoul before releasing its eight-track EP “THIS & THAT” on Aug. 7, JYP Entertainment said Wednesday. The “Stray Kids World Tour ” will open at KSPO Dome in Seoul’s Songpa District on July 25, 26 and 29 and Aug. 1 and 2. The EP will be released at 1 p.m. alongside its title track, “This & That.” Stray Kids’ in-house production trio 3RACHA, Bang Chan, Changbin and Han, is credited on all eight tracks. The three members co-wrote and co-composed “FARMING,” with Bang Chan also contributing to the arrangement. A preview released through the group’s recurring “UNVEIL : TRACK” series on July 17 surpassed 1 million views on YouTube in about two days. The album also includes the pre-release tracks “RUN IT” and “After You,” along with “I Do,” “Way Out,” “The Day” and a festival version of “This & That.” The tour follows the group’s “dominATE” tour, which comprised 56 shows across 35 stops worldwide. Stray Kids will also perform at Tokyo’s National Stadium later in August, becoming the first overseas male act to hold a standalone concert at the venue. The group will return to Latin America in September to headline Brazil’s Rock in Rio and three editions of STRAYCITY, a new festival centered on Stray Kids. In 2025, Stray Kids became the first act to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with each of its first eight chart entries. 2026-07-22 14:27:32
  • Seouls last shantytown takes first step towards redevelopment
    Seoul's last shantytown takes first step towards redevelopment SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - The planned transformation of Guryong Village, widely known as Seoul’s last remaining shantytown, moved a step closer after the city conditionally approved plans to build 2,120 public housing units in two core sections of the settlement. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that its Public Housing Integrated Review Committee, conditionally approved construction plans for the M and B2 blocks within Guryong Village in Gangnam District. The review marks a key administrative step toward the city’s target of beginning construction in 2027 and completing the housing complexes by 2031. Seoul plans to seek approval for the housing construction plans in the second half of 2026. Guryong Village is a settlement of unauthorized makeshift homes that has remained for decades in Gangnam, one of Seoul’s most affluent districts and home to some of the country’s most expensive real estate. The village was formed as people displaced by demolition and redevelopment projects moved into the area during the rapid development of southern Seoul in the 1970s and 1980s. Its proximity to high-priced apartment districts has made it one of the most visible reminders of the displacement that accompanied Gangnam’s expansion. Under the conditionally approved plans, public housing complexes of up to 28 stories will be built in the M and B2 blocks. The larger B2 block will contain 1,820 homes on a 52,718 square-meter site. The complex will include 643 integrated public rental units and 1,177 long-term lease homes under Seoul’s Mirinae House program. The M block will add 300 homes on a 12,901 square-meter site, comprising 115 integrated public rental units, 165 Mirinae House units and 20 units for public sale. Buildings in the block will rise to a maximum of 15 stories. The city plans to provide units ranging from 31 to 59 square meters, or about 330 to 635 square feet. The plans may be revised during the remaining approval process. Seoul said the complexes will be arranged to preserve as much of the surrounding natural environment near Mount Daemo and Mount Guryong as possible. Pedestrian routes will connect the residential buildings with neighborhood parks, community facilities and surrounding green spaces. The project will also incorporate high-insulation and airtight exterior systems, renewable energy facilities and other low-carbon design features. “This review has put the supply of more than 2,000 public housing units in Guryong Village on track,” said Myeong No-jun, head of Seoul’s Housing Office. “The project will significantly improve housing conditions in Guryong Village while contributing to housing stability by supplying quality homes in Gangnam, where demand remains high.” 2026-07-22 13:44:52
  • Korean stocks lead Asia as chip rally sends KOSPI above 7,000
    Korean stocks lead Asia as chip rally sends KOSPI above 7,000 SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - Korean stocks led Asian markets by a wide margin Wednesday morning, driven by heavy foreign buying in semiconductor shares after a sharp overnight rally in U.S. chipmakers revived expectations for continued artificial intelligence infrastructure investment. The benchmark KOSPI was trading 5.6 percent higher at 7,125.8 as of 10:30 a.m., outperforming Japan's Nikkei 225, which gained 1.9 percent to 67,512.1. China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index each fell 0.6 percent to 3,839.7 and 24,978.9, respectively. The KOSPI opened at 7,052.09, up 4.51 percent from the previous session, and climbed as high as 7,166.00 before trimming part of its gains. Its intraday low stood at 7,052.09. A buy-side sidecar was triggered at 9:06 a.m. after KOSPI 200 futures surged more than 5 percent, temporarily suspending program buy orders. The benchmark reclaimed the 7,000 level as soon as trading began. Foreign investors led the advance, purchasing 1.78 trillion won ($1.2 billion) worth of KOSPI-listed shares. Retail investors sold 1.37 trillion won, while institutions were also the biggest sellers, offloading 430.7 billion won in the latest disclosed tally. Semiconductor heavyweights accounted for much of the index's gain. SK hynix jumped 8.5 percent to 1,992,000 won, while Samsung Electronics rose 5.8 percent to 274,000 won. The two companies together account for more than half of the KOSPI's total market capitalization. Their gains followed a semiconductor-led rebound on Wall Street. Micron Technology surged 12.2 percent, Intel gained about 8 percent and Nvidia advanced 2 percent. SK hynix's U.S. depositary receipts soared 13.74 percent to $171.93, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 5.21 percent. Buying returned to chipmakers as investors reassessed concerns over slowing AI infrastructure investment and focused instead on continued growth in demand for AI servers, memory chips and data centers. SK hynix received an additional boost amid separate reports that SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Naver founder Lee Hae-jin were arranging a private meeting with Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang near Silicon Valley this week, with OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei also reportedly possible attendees. The proposed talks are expected to cover high-bandwidth memory, graphics processing units, AI data centers and generative AI services, although the participants and schedule have not been finalized. Samsung Electronics also benefited after S&P Global Ratings raised its outlook on the company to positive from stable, citing stronger memory-chip earnings and expectations that Samsung will be a major beneficiary of an extended memory supercycle. The credit rating agency projected that shortages in memory supply could persist for at least two years as capital expenditure by the world's four largest hyperscalers increasingly shifts toward AI data-center construction. Other KOSPI heavyweights advanced alongside the semiconductor rally. Samsung Electro-Mechanics gained 9.5 percent to 1,435,000 won, Hyundai Motor rose 6.8 percent to 426,000 won and LG Electronics climbed 10.1 percent to 190,700 won. Doosan Enerbility added 6.3 percent to 71,000 won, while SK Eternix surged 19.3 percent to 66,700 won. Electronic products and wireless communications services were the strongest sectors, each rising about 9 percent, followed by machinery stocks with an 8.4 percent gain. SK Telecom climbed 11.3 percent, while LG Uplus advanced 1.7 percent. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ was trading 2.9 percent higher at 774.8. The index moved between an intraday low of 767.77 and a high of 789.23, giving up part of an earlier gain of more than 4 percent. Retail investors bought 176.3 billion won worth of KOSDAQ shares, while foreign and institutional investors sold 95 billion won and 80.2 billion won, respectively. Robot and physical AI stocks led the secondary market after Samsung Electronics announced the establishment of its Robotics eXperience, or RX, business office directly under its chief executive. The unit will oversee the company's medium- and long-term robotics strategy, core technology development and commercialization as Samsung seeks to expand robotics into a major growth business. Rainbow Robotics, which Samsung Electronics incorporated as a subsidiary in late 2024, surged 23.5 percent to 508,000 won. The stock climbed as high as 529,000 won earlier in the session. Buying spread across the robotics sector, which gained 9.8 percent as a group. TXR Robotics and Cosmo Robotics both hit their daily limit with 30 percent gains, while robotics-related shares including Doosan Robotics, Robotis, Robostar and Neuromeka also posted double-digit advances. Physical AI stocks rose 9.5 percent, led by KNS, which surged 29.9 percent. Among heavily traded KOSDAQ shares, Lightron gained 15.4 percent to 2,770 won and NRobotics rose 28.6 percent to 2,367 won. On the downside, HLB fell 7.7 percent to 28,050 won. Pintel dropped 28.2 percent, while Zinitix, Nano, Plasmapp and Sonokong declined between 11.9 percent and 17.9 percent. The Korean won strengthened 0.2 percent to trade at around 1,480 won against the U.S. dollar. Oil prices continued to rise as geopolitical tensions threatened supply routes in the Middle East and other major exporting regions. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.5 percent to $85.60 per barrel, while Brent crude rose 1.6 percent to $92.50, remaining near a six-week high. Concerns intensified over potential disruptions in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, as well as attacks targeting the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's Black Sea terminal, a key export route for crude oil from Kazakhstan. 2026-07-22 11:07:50