Journalist
Candice Kim김혜준
candicekim1121@ajupress.com
ReporterSamsung Electronics, SK hynix, LG Electronics, Olive Young, Musinsa & Semiconductor, K-Beauty
Candice Kim is a dedicated business and technology reporter specializing in the intersection of high-tech innovation and fast-paced consumer trends. Her core beats span the semiconductor, IT, cosmetics, and retail sectors, where she provides in-depth coverage of industry titans including Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and LG Electronics, alongside leading consumer brands like Olive Young and Musinsa. Whether analyzing complex silicon supply chains or tracking the latest shifts in beauty and fashion retail, Candice is committed to delivering sharp, accurate reporting that keeps readers informed on the forces shaping today's most dynamic markets.
"Connecting the dots from silicon chips to consumer shifts."
Latest by Candice Kim
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LG Elec rolls out FDA-cleared diagnostic monitor SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - LG Electronics has launched a new diagnostic monitor cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, expanding its medical display lineup as the South Korean electronics maker targets the business-to-business healthcare market. The 40-inch monitor, model 40HT513D, features a 21:9 curved IPS Black display with a resolution of 5,120 by 2,160 pixels and 11-megapixel support. Its three-way picture-by-picture function allows medical professionals to view three separate sources on a single screen, including current and previous X-ray, CT or MRI images alongside electronic medical records. LG said the setup is designed to replace workflows that previously required multiple monitors. The device also includes a built-in KVM switch that allows users to control two computers with a single keyboard and mouse, as well as calibration tools and viewing modes designed for diagnostic and pathology images. Hospitals can remotely monitor and manage installed displays through LG Calibration Studio Medical software, including running quality-control tests and receiving alerts when issues are detected. "We will continue to strengthen our lineup of FDA-cleared diagnostic monitors and provide differentiated customer experiences in the B2B medical monitor market based on our display technology," said Lee Chung-hwan, head of LG Electronics' Display Business Division. 2026-08-12 10:27:11 -
Samsung brings cross-device gaming lineup to Gamescom 2026 SEOUL, August 11 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics will showcase a gaming lineup spanning PCs, consoles and mobile devices at Gamescom 2026 in Cologne, Germany, as the South Korean tech giant seeks to connect its hardware portfolio across gaming platforms. The world's largest gaming exhibition will run from Aug. 26 to 30, with about 1,500 software, hardware and game content companies expected to participate. Last year's event drew 360,000 visitors, according to Samsung. Samsung's booth will feature products including its Odyssey G8 gaming monitor, 9100 PRO solid-state drive and Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra. The Odyssey G8 supports a dual mode that switches between 6K resolution at 165Hz and 3K at 330Hz, alongside Nvidia G-SYNC compatibility and AMD FreeSync Premium. Visitors will also be able to play Pearl Abyss' open-world action-adventure title "Crimson Desert" on the Odyssey G8, while Samsung will offer gaming demonstrations on mobile devices including the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and Galaxy S26 Ultra. Samsung will hold the world finals of its PlayGalaxy Cup on Aug. 27 and 28, featuring "PUBG Mobile." Ten teams that qualified from five regions — North America, Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia and Southwest Asia — will compete in the tournament. 2026-08-11 17:12:52 -
A Day in the Life at Samsung's P5 Semiconductor Plant in Pyeongtaek At 3:45 a.m., the Samsung Electronics semiconductor campus in Pyeongtaek is already brightly lit, despite the darkness of early morning.Workers, wearing safety helmets with their names and blood types, gathered in groups as they headed to the site ahead of their 5 a.m. shift. A makeshift snack stall and coffee stand at the entrance of P5 opened early, where workers filled up on kimbap and fish cakes while holding cups of coffee as they entered the site.Hwang, 60, who has been working here for six months, said, "Waking up early every day is still tough for me," adding that he walks to the site even in the heat.Park, in his 40s and working at P5 for about a year, noted, "Once you enter, you have to work for a long time, so I eat a hearty meal before coming in. Nowadays, I pay extra attention to my health due to the heat."Samsung Electronics is accelerating the construction of P5 in response to the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory, moving the operational target from 2030 to 2028 to secure next-generation memory production capacity sooner.AI semiconductors are evolving rapidly, with new generations emerging within a year. In contrast, semiconductor plants take years to build, install equipment, stabilize processes, and begin mass production. Waiting until demand is confirmed could mean missing the market opportunity.The early mornings at the P5 site reflect Samsung's efforts to catch up to the two-year timeline it has accelerated.360m Wafer Bridge Connecting P4 and P5One of the most noticeable structures at the site is a large overbridge under construction between P4 and P5.Measuring approximately 360 meters, this is not a pedestrian bridge but a dedicated passage for semiconductor wafers to move between P4 and P5 as needed during processing.A Samsung Electronics official explained, "The structure currently under construction is an overbridge connecting P4 and P5 for wafer transportation. It is not a pedestrian walkway and is a significant facility within the Pyeongtaek campus."The length is three times that of the approximately 120-meter overbridge installed at Samsung's Hwaseong campus.Semiconductor production involves a complex process where a single wafer undergoes numerous equipment and processing steps. Delays in moving wafers to the next equipment after completing a specific process can reduce production efficiency.Ultimately, how quickly and accurately wafers are moved to the necessary processes directly impacts the fab's productivity.Connecting P4 and P5 with the overbridge allows the two plants to operate not just separately but also to share wafers based on processing needs, functioning as a unified production system.The official added, "We are creating a pathway for wafers to move back and forth as needed based on the processes performed at P4 and P5."The entire Pyeongtaek campus spans approximately 2.89 million square meters, comparable to the size of Yeouido, and can accommodate six fabs, including P1 through P4 and FAB1 and FAB2 of P5.The history of the Pyeongtaek campus began over a decade ago.Samsung Electronics broke ground on its first Pyeongtaek plant in May 2015, based on an initial investment plan of 15.6 trillion won. As investments expanded, the total investment amount grew to about 30 trillion won.In July 2017, mass production of fourth-generation 64-layer V-NAND began, and in 2018, construction of a second production line commenced. By 2020, advanced DRAM production also started.Since then, Pyeongtaek has established itself as a key production hub for Samsung's semiconductor business.The scale of P5 is larger than previous investments in Pyeongtaek.According to government data, over 60 trillion won is expected to be invested in the construction of P5 across all phases. Samsung plans to utilize P5 as a core hub for next-generation memory production, including HBM.A Samsung C&T official overseeing the P5 construction stated, "P5 differs from past projects in terms of scale and complexity. It is not just about completing the building on time; ensuring safety while maintaining quality and productivity and responding quickly to changing circumstances is crucial."AI Accelerates 2028 Timeline: Competition for Fab Capacity Between Samsung and SK HynixThe constant movement of cranes and construction equipment in Pyeongtaek is reflected in domestic investment indicators.In the second quarter of this year, domestic facility investment increased by 13% compared to the same period last year, with machinery investment rising by 15%. In June alone, facility investment surged by 21.7%, and machinery investment by 22.2%, driven by increased spending on semiconductor manufacturing equipment.P5 exemplifies how AI is rapidly boosting domestic semiconductor investment.SK Hynix is also accelerating its production facility expansion.The first fab in the Yongin semiconductor cluster has surpassed 70% completion, while an additional investment of 35.2 trillion won is planned for the second Yongin fab, Y2, and 19.1 trillion won for the Cheongju M17 fab.The total investment for these two projects amounts to 54.3 trillion won, which is about 45% of SK Hynix's equity of 120.7 trillion won.The simultaneous large-scale investments by Samsung and SK Hynix stem from the time lag between the AI industry and semiconductor manufacturing.While AI accelerators can see new generations emerge within a year, building a semiconductor fab takes years from construction to equipment installation, process stabilization, and mass production.If production capacity is increased only after demand is confirmed, the companies risk missing the market response window.As a result, the competition between the two companies has expanded beyond simply developing better memory to securing production capacity ahead of future demand.An Ki-hyun, secretary general of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, stated, "Investing increases manufacturing facilities and production scale, which helps secure market leadership. If competitors invest while you do not, you will ultimately lose market dominance."However, he noted that P5 alone is unlikely to significantly alter the competitive landscape between Samsung and SK Hynix.Both companies are making large-scale investments, so the focus will shift from the size of the investment itself to how quickly the newly secured production capacity can be translated into products and revenue.AI Memory Demand Expands from HBM to DRAM and NANDAnother reason semiconductor companies are rushing to invest is the rapid expansion of AI-driven memory demand.The initial AI memory market grew around HBM, with SK Hynix taking the lead while Samsung Electronics is catching up with next-generation products like HBM4.Recently, AI demand has also spread to general-purpose DRAM and NAND flash.As Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron increase their production share of HBM and high-value server products, the supply capacity for general-purpose DRAM is decreasing, while AI servers consume large amounts of DRAM, increasing supply pressure.Market research firm SigmaIntel projects that global semiconductor sales will reach approximately $1.59 trillion this year, with memory accounting for about 60%. DRAM sales are expected to increase by over 300%, NAND by about 250%, and the HBM market is projected to exceed $100 billion.Omdia has also raised its forecast for semiconductor market growth to 94.1%, predicting that bottlenecks in HBM, advanced packaging, and cutting-edge processes will continue until 2027.Counterpoint Research anticipates that the share of server sales in total memory revenue will rise from 37% last year to 56% this year.While there are differences in how various research firms define and aggregate the market, they all agree that AI demand is lifting not just HBM but also DRAM and NAND.In the second quarter, Samsung Electronics recorded a 39% market share in global DRAM sales, while SK Hynix's DRAM sales are estimated to have more than tripled compared to the same period last year.In this context, latecomers like China's CXMT and Taiwan's Nanya are also rapidly increasing production.As the existing memory trio of Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron focus their production capacity on HBM and high-value server products, they are being challenged in the general-purpose memory market.AI has not eliminated the traditional cycles of the memory industry. If supply shortages lead to price increases, investments will rise, and increased production capacity will eventually lead to supply growth and price declines.However, in the AI era, the cost of waiting until demand is certain has become significantly higher.Thousands Working on P5: Heatwave as Major Variable This SummerAt the P5 construction site, thousands of workers are installing structures, electrical systems, and plumbing while organizing spaces around equipment.A female worker named Park, met on her way home, remarked, "There are so many people inside that I can't even count them all."Another worker added, "The site is extremely busy right now."A subcontractor employee, Kim, installing partitions around equipment, said, "We don't know if the surrounding equipment is for 2nm or 3nm processes, but we do know that the equipment is very expensive, so we are always told to be careful."He emphasized, "From our perspective, it's ultimately a construction site. It's important to do our job properly without damaging or interfering with the equipment."The site operates under a structure where Samsung Electronics manages the operations, and Samsung C&T oversees major construction projects, with first-tier contractors, subcontractors, and specialized construction companies performing their respective tasks.This multi-tiered structure also affects how workers are impacted when work is halted due to the heatwave.A site manager with long experience in Samsung's semiconductor business noted, "If you belong to a first-tier contractor like us, you can adjust the schedule if you miss a day's work. For subcontractor workers, missing a day can directly lead to a loss of income."This summer, one of the biggest variables at the P5 construction site is the heatwave.Samsung C&T has protocols to halt high-risk work when the perceived temperature reaches 35 degrees Celsius, and to prohibit outdoor work when it exceeds 38 degrees.While these measures are for safety, they mean that even if workers start early in the morning, there may be days when work must be stopped after just a few hours. This can lead to income loss for some workers who are paid based on daily wages.Heat-related illnesses have also been reported on site.One worker mentioned, "Just yesterday, five people collapsed due to heat-related issues, and ambulances were constantly coming and going."Experts explain that the heat felt by workers on the construction site can be much more intense than the temperatures reported by meteorological authorities.Choi Yong-sang, a professor of climate and energy systems engineering at Ewha Womans University, stated, "The temperatures reported by meteorological authorities are based on background air temperature measured under open and well-ventilated conditions, while the actual working environment can be much harsher."In summer, asphalt surface temperatures can exceed 60 degrees Celsius, and heated concrete structures and poorly ventilated spaces can increase workers' heat exposure. The combination of heavy work clothing, safety helmets, and crowded working conditions exacerbates heat stress.Professor Choi emphasized, "We cannot lower the external temperature itself; ultimately, we need to reduce workers' exposure and vulnerability to lower heat stress."To secure as much working time as possible while avoiding the heat, the start of the workday has been moved to early morning.The 360m overbridge for wafer transportation between P4 and P5 is gradually taking shape. Below it, cranes and construction vehicles are in motion, and thousands of workers are heading to their respective tasks.AI has accelerated not only the operational schedule for P5 but also the daily rhythm of the construction site.At 3:45 a.m. the next day, the lights at the P5 construction site will be on again. 2026-08-11 16:44:10 -
Inside Koreas' chip republic: Samsung's AI future starts at 3:45 a.m. This is the second installment of AJP's Chip Republic series, offering a rare first-hand look inside Samsung Electronics' next-generation fab construction site as the chip giant races to defend its technological supremacy. PYEONGTAEK, August 10 (AJP) - At 3:45 a.m., with the worst of the day's heat still hours away, Samsung Electronics' race to build its next great semiconductor factory is already underway. Temporary food stalls appear in the darkness outside P5, the giant new fab rising inside Samsung's flagship Pyeongtaek chip complex. Steam curls from pots of fish cakes and tteokbokki as workers in hard hats marked with their names and blood types grab rolls of gimbap and coffee before filing through the gates for shifts starting around 5 a.m. There is little time to waste. Samsung is advancing construction of P5 toward 2028 from an initial 2030 timetable, accelerating a factory expected to underpin its next generation of advanced memory as artificial intelligence drives an increasingly fierce race for production capacity. The timetable is tightening just as South Korea's extreme summer heat is squeezing the hours available to build it. At 35 degrees Celsius in apparent temperature, Samsung C&T stops high-risk work except in limited circumstances. At 38 degrees, outdoor and other heat-sensitive operations are prohibited. Hwang, 60, joins the stream of workers heading toward P5 before dawn. "Getting up this early and coming to work every day is still difficult," he said. "And in this heat, I still walk to work." Park, a subcontracted worker in her 40s who has spent about a year at the site, eats before going inside. "I eat before going in because once we're inside, we work for a long time," she said. "These days, especially with the heat, you need to eat properly and manage your condition." An ambulance stands nearby for workers suffering from fatigue or heat-related symptoms. By sunrise, the food stalls have vanished. Workers are behind the gates, trucks are moving and cranes hang over the unfinished fab as the temperature begins its climb. The scene is the physical underside of the AI boom. For consumers, artificial intelligence arrives through a screen. In Pyeongtaek, it is arriving in concrete, steel, pipes, cleanrooms and billions of dollars of machinery — all being put in place years before anyone knows exactly how much computing power the world will demand. A bridge built for wafer traffic If the dawn shift captures the urgency, a structure taking shape above the campus shows the precision. Samsung is building a roughly 360-meter elevated bridge between its existing P4 fab and the future P5. It is not for human travel. "The structure currently under construction will connect P4 and P5 through an overbridge designed exclusively for moving chips," an official close to the company told AJP. "It is not a passageway for people at all. It is one of the site's most important structures." The bridge will be about three times as long as a comparable 120-meter structure at Samsung's Hwaseong semiconductor complex. Wafers will eventually move back and forth across it as different stages of production are carried out in P4 and P5. "The bridge is being built so wafers can move back and forth between P4 and P5 as different processes are carried out," the official said. In an advanced fab, that traffic is part of production. A wafer leaving one process may need equipment housed elsewhere before moving to the next. Each transfer, queue and bottleneck affects how quickly costly machinery can be used and how smoothly production moves through the line. The bridge effectively turns P4 and P5 from neighboring factories into parts of one manufacturing system. Hundreds of meters of overhead wafer traffic may look like infrastructure. In chipmaking, the precision of that flow can define a fab's competitiveness. Samsung's Pyeongtaek campus already covers about 2.9 million square meters, roughly 1.4 times the territory of Monaco, or around 400 soccer fields, capable of housing six fabs. Samsung broke ground on the first Pyeongtaek fab in May 2015 under an initial investment plan of 15.6 trillion won. The final cost rose to around 30 trillion won. Mass production began in July 2017 with fourth-generation 64-layer V-NAND. Construction on a second line followed in 2018, with advanced DRAM production beginning in 2020. What started with one giant fab has become Samsung's flagship chipmaking campus. AI is now setting the pace for its next expansion. P5, whose cost is estimated at around 60 trillion won, is expected to become a major production base for advanced memory including high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, the stacked chips feeding data to AI accelerators. But building it is increasingly a race in itself. "P5 is different from the projects we have experienced before in terms of both scale and complexity," a Samsung C&T project official overseeing the work told AJP. "The success of P5 is not simply about meeting a construction schedule and completing a building," the official said, citing the need to maintain safety, quality and productivity while responding quickly to changing conditions. AI moves into Korea's capital spending The cranes in Pyeongtaek are beginning to show up in South Korea's investment numbers. Facility investment rose 13 percent from a year earlier in the second quarter, while investment in machinery climbed 15 percent, according to official industrial-activity data. The pace accelerated sharply in June. Facility investment jumped 21.7 percent on year and machinery investment 22.2 percent, with semiconductor-manufacturing equipment among the drivers. P5 is among the most visible manifestations of that capital cycle. Rival SK hynix is more than 70 percent through construction of its first fab at the Yongin semiconductor cluster. On Friday, its board approved 35.2 trillion won for a second Yongin fab, known as Y2, and another 19.1 trillion won for the M17 fab in Cheongju. Together, the two projects amount to roughly 45 percent of SK hynix's shareholders' equity of 120.7 trillion won. The Yongin investment alone represents 29.19 percent. The spending reflects a basic mismatch in the AI race. A new generation of AI accelerators can arrive within a year. A semiconductor fab takes years to build, equip and qualify. By the time demand becomes certain, it can already be too late to build the factory needed to meet it. Samsung and SK hynix are therefore competing not only over who can develop better memory, but who will have enough cleanroom space and equipment ready when customers want it. That makes investment itself part of the competition. "When you invest, you expand your manufacturing facilities and your production scale. That gives you leadership in the market," said Ahn Ki-hyun, executive director of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association. "If you don't invest while your competitors do, you lose that leadership." Ahn cautioned, however, against viewing P5 alone as something that would fundamentally shift the balance between Samsung and SK hynix. Both companies are accelerating investment, he said, making the race less about whether to expand than about how quickly each can turn new capacity into products and sales. The memory boom gets broader The market is giving them reason to hurry. The first phase of the AI memory boom centered on HBM, where SK hynix established an early lead and Samsung has been working to catch up through newer generations including HBM4. Now the shortage is spreading. As Samsung, SK hynix and Micron devote more capacity to HBM and other high-value server products, less is available for conventional DRAM. AI servers themselves consume large quantities of DRAM, tightening the market from both sides. NAND flash is joining the cycle as enterprise solid-state drives absorb the vast stores of data needed by AI systems. Sigmaintell expects global semiconductor revenue to reach about $1.59 trillion this year, with memory accounting for roughly 60 percent. It sees DRAM revenue rising more than 300 percent and NAND nearly 250 percent, with the HBM market alone topping $100 billion. Omdia has raised its semiconductor growth forecast to 94.1 percent and likewise expects memory to account for more than half of industry revenue, with bottlenecks in HBM, advanced packaging and leading-edge production persisting into 2027. Counterpoint Research expects servers to account for 56 percent of memory revenue this year, up from 37 percent last year, another sign that the industry's center of gravity is moving away from consumer electronics. The firms use different definitions and methodologies, and their headline market estimates are not directly comparable. Their direction is the same: AI is pulling HBM, DRAM and NAND into the same investment cycle. Samsung and SK hynix are benefiting across that spread. Samsung held 39 percent of the global DRAM market by revenue in the second quarter, while SK hynix's DRAM revenue more than tripled from a year earlier, according to market estimates. The boom is also drawing competitors. China's CXMT and Taiwan's Nanya posted explosive revenue growth as the three dominant memory makers concentrated more capacity on premium products. That is another reason Samsung cannot assume today's shortage will last forever. Memory has always been cyclical: shortage drives investment, investment creates supply, and supply eventually puts pressure on prices. AI has not repealed that cycle. It has made waiting for certainty more costly. The people beneath the cleanroom Inside P5, the language of artificial intelligence quickly disappears. Workers erect structures, install partitions, electrical systems and pipes, clean equipment and guide vehicles through the site. "There are so many people inside that you can't count them," one female worker said after leaving work. "It's extremely busy inside," another said. Kim, a subcontracted worker installing partitions around equipment areas, said the sophistication of the technology rarely enters his working day. "We don't really know whether it's a 2-nanometer process or a 3-nanometer process," he said. "What we do know is that the equipment is extremely expensive. So we're always told to be careful around it." "To us, it's construction work," he said. "You do your own job properly and make sure you don't damage anything." Workers also describe another structure running through P5: a rigid contracting hierarchy. Samsung Electronics owns the complex. Samsung C&T oversees major construction. Beneath them sit first-tier contractors, subcontractors and smaller specialist crews. "There's definitely a hierarchy here," said a supervisor who has worked across Samsung's semiconductor sites. "Samsung Electronics is at the top, then Samsung C&T, then the first-tier contractors, and then companies below them." Some subcontracted workers jokingly call Samsung Electronics employees "juin-nim," literally "master." "We call them 'juin-nim,'" one worker said with a laugh. "This place is basically a class society." Different employers can mean different gates, dining facilities, buses and schedules. "We don't really mix much with Samsung employees," one worker said. "The gates we use are different, the places we eat can be different, and even the times we use them can be different." The hierarchy becomes most consequential when work stops. "If you're with a first-tier contractor like us, missing a day isn't necessarily a huge problem," the supervisor said. "We can move the work to another day." "But for people working for subcontractors of subcontractors, that day itself is money." And in the heat, work does stop. On days when apparent temperatures reach the site's safety thresholds, shifts can end only hours after they begin. The companies can rearrange schedules; workers further down the contracting chain can lose the day's income. The danger is more immediate than the lost hours. Workers said ambulances had become a familiar sight. "Just yesterday, five workers collapsed with heat-related illnesses, and ambulances were going back and forth," one worker said. The official temperature, however, tells only part of the story. "The temperature measured by weather authorities is essentially a background atmospheric temperature, taken under open and well-ventilated conditions," said Choi Yong-Sang, a climate scientist at Ewha Womans University. "At an actual work site, conditions can be much hotter." Asphalt surfaces can exceed 60 degrees Celsius, while concrete, poor ventilation and enclosed spaces can further raise workers' thermal exposure, Choi said. Heavy protective clothing, helmets and crowded working conditions add another layer of risk. "You cannot control the outside temperature," Choi said. "So to reduce heat stress, you have to reduce workers' exposure or vulnerability." P5 will be built. The question is how fast. Samsung has pulled its timetable forward to 2028 from 2030. On the ground, the working day is being pulled forward too, toward the cooler hours before sunrise. Above the site, the unfinished wafer bridge reaches toward P5. Below it, cranes, trucks and thousands of workers race a clock that can stop by late morning when the heat becomes too much. One day, wafers carrying Samsung's most advanced memory will cross that bridge on their way into AI machines around the world. For now, the traffic is human. At 3:45 a.m. tomorrow, it starts again. 2026-08-10 16:27:25 -
No longer a 'dad phone'? Samsung's Fold8 finds younger, female buyers SEOUL, August 10 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Z Fold8 is drawing a younger and more female customer base than its predecessors, early sales data showed, offering signs that the premium foldable is moving beyond its traditional image as a productivity-focused device favored largely by older male users. Consumers in their teens through 30s accounted for more than half of Fold8 purchases through Samsung's Korean online store during the preorder period, according to the company. Purchases by women in the same age group more than doubled from the previous model. The shift comes alongside stronger initial demand for Samsung's broader Galaxy Z8 foldable lineup. Counterpoint Research said global preorders for the Galaxy Z8 series rose more than 30 percent from its predecessor, including a 39 percent increase in South Korea and growth of more than 20 percent in Europe. The research firm pointed to the Fold8's wider display and improved portability as factors behind the stronger early demand. Samsung has sought to make the device thinner and lighter while retaining the large-screen format that has traditionally distinguished its Fold series. The changes could help Samsung broaden a category that has historically appealed heavily to users seeking multitasking and work-oriented features. Early demand has also strengthened overseas. U.S. preorders were more than 30 percent above Samsung's previous record for a Fold series, while some Fold8 variants sold out on Samsung's Japanese online store, according to the company. Whether that initial momentum translates into sustained sales remains to be seen, but the changing buyer mix suggests Samsung's foldable flagship may be reaching beyond the relatively narrow customer base that defined earlier generations. 2026-08-10 11:39:52 -
Coway's overseas business powers double-digit revenue growth SEOUL, August 08 (AJP) - South Korean home appliance rental company Coway reported double-digit revenue growth in the second quarter, driven by robust overseas demand and steady sales of premium products in its home market. Revenue rose 14.6 percent from a year earlier to 1.44 trillion won ($1.04 billion) in the April-June quarter, while operating profit increased 4.3 percent to 253.2 billion won, according to the company. First-half revenue climbed 13.9 percent to 2.77 trillion won, with operating profit rising 11.1 percent to 504.1 billion won. International operations remained Coway's strongest growth engine, with overseas revenue surging 24.2 percent year-on-year to 587.5 billion won. Malaysia, the company's largest overseas market, generated 434.5 billion won in quarterly revenue, while sales also increased in the United States, Thailand and Indonesia. Domestic revenue rose 7.7 percent to 786.8 billion won, supported by strong demand for premium products including ice water purifiers and BEREX beds and massage chairs. Net additions of domestic rental accounts increased 51.6 percent from a year earlier to 242,000 during the quarter. Coway said it plans to strengthen its position in the premium home wellness market and diversify its product portfolio to sustain growth in the second half of the year. "Our strong sales momentum and expanding rental account base at home and abroad once again demonstrated the resilience of our business in the second quarter," Chief Financial Officer Kim Soon-tae said in a statement. He said the company would continue expanding its premium product lineup and growth drivers in the second half. 2026-08-08 17:48:47 -
Naver begins monetizing AI as Kakao prioritizes ecosystem over near-term revenue SEOUL, August 08 (AJP) - South Korea's two largest internet platforms are taking increasingly different approaches to monetizing artificial intelligence, with Naver beginning to generate new advertising revenue from AI-powered search while Kakao focuses on building an AI agent ecosystem before pursuing meaningful revenue growth. Naver said its AI services are already contributing to advertising revenue after integrating sponsored content into AI-powered search features such as AI Briefing and AI Tab, allowing the company to monetize search areas that previously generated little or no advertising income. Speaking during the company's second-quarter earnings call, Chief Executive Choi Soo-yeon said generative AI had begun creating new advertising inventory rather than replacing existing search ads. The company said AI Tab has surpassed 10 million users, with more consumers using conversational AI to search for products, restaurants and services. Naver expects AI to improve purchase conversion rates by better understanding user intent and connecting searches with shopping and reservation services. The strategy allows Naver to leverage its existing search traffic and advertiser base to generate AI-related revenue without introducing an entirely new business model. However, the company continues to face rising AI infrastructure costs as it expands investment in data centers and computing capacity. Despite a 16 percent increase in second-quarter revenue, operating profit edged down as higher depreciation and infrastructure spending weighed on earnings. Kakao, meanwhile, is taking a longer-term approach. Rather than focusing on immediate AI monetization, the company said it is building an AI agent platform capable of connecting users with third-party services through KakaoTalk. The platform is designed to allow AI assistants not only to answer questions but also to complete tasks such as restaurant reservations, shopping and payments by linking directly with external partners. During its second-quarter earnings call, Chief Executive Chung Shin-a said Kakao aims to establish the foundation for mass adoption of its AI services by the end of this year, with meaningful monetization expected to begin in 2027. Chief Financial Officer Shin Jong-hwan also said AI investment currently precedes revenue generation, reflecting the company's focus on expanding partnerships and user adoption before commercializing AI services. The contrasting strategies highlight two different paths toward AI commercialization: Naver is seeking faster returns by embedding AI into its established advertising business, while Kakao is betting that AI-driven transactions and third-party services will become its primary revenue engine over the longer term. 2026-08-08 16:42:51 -
OpenAI delays Astra rollout as safety review flags potential cyber risks SEOUL, August 08 (AJP) - OpenAI has delayed the development and rollout of its next-generation artificial intelligence model, Astra, after internal safety testing indicated it could pose heightened cybersecurity risks due to its advanced coding capabilities. The company said on Saturday that Astra could qualify for its highest internal risk classification, "Critical," following preliminary safety evaluations that found the model performed significantly better than existing systems in coding and cybersecurity tasks. According to OpenAI, the "Critical" category applies to AI systems that could identify and exploit zero-day software vulnerabilities across multiple high-security systems without human intervention, or independently plan and execute sophisticated cyberattacks once given a broad objective. The company said testing of Astra remains ongoing, and no final risk classification has been assigned. However, preliminary results suggested the model's cyber capabilities were stronger than expected, prompting OpenAI to suspend some internal development and operational activities while additional safety assessments are conducted. The decision comes amid growing scrutiny over the cybersecurity implications of increasingly capable AI models. OpenAI said recent incidents involving advanced AI systems have highlighted the need for stronger safeguards before deploying more powerful models. Last month, reports emerged that several AI systems, including OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol, demonstrated autonomous cyberattack capabilities by compromising external platforms during controlled testing, raising fresh concerns over AI safety. Similar behavior has also been observed in recent evaluations of models developed by other leading AI companies, including Anthropic's Claude, Meta's Muse Spark and Moonshot AI's Kimi, according to the company. OpenAI has increasingly emphasized safety evaluations alongside performance gains as competition intensifies among developers seeking to build more capable frontier AI models. The company said Astra will undergo further testing before any decision is made on its public release. 2026-08-08 13:59:45 -
South Korea scales back driving tests as heat wave intensifies SEOUL, August 08 (AJP) - South Korea has begun scaling back and suspending portions of its driver's license examinations as an intense heat wave continues to grip the country, prompting authorities to introduce emergency measures to protect test-takers and staff. The Korea Road Traffic Authority said on Saturday that driving skills tests would be concentrated in the cooler morning hours as heat wave warnings remain in effect across much of the country. In the afternoon, the number of tests will be reduced when the perceived temperature reaches 35 degrees Celsius (95°F). Tests will be suspended if the perceived temperature rises to 38 degrees Celsius (100.4°F), the agency said. The temporary measures are intended to reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses among applicants and examiners working outdoors. Applicants affected by schedule changes will be notified individually, while driving test centers have been equipped with portable outdoor air conditioners, shade shelters and parasols. South Korea has been experiencing prolonged periods of extreme heat this summer, prompting authorities to expand heat safety measures across public facilities and outdoor workplaces as temperatures and humidity remain elevated. The Korea Meteorological Administration has issued heat wave warnings for many parts of the country in recent days, with high humidity pushing perceived temperatures well above actual air temperatures. 2026-08-08 11:42:34 -
South Korea's Lee orders review of ISA, stock-price tax proposals after criticism SEOUL, August 08 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ordered a review of proposed changes to the country's Individual Savings Account (ISA) system and a tax measure aimed at preventing controlling shareholders from suppressing stock prices, following criticism from investors and lawmakers. Lee instructed officials on Friday to reconsider the two proposals included in the government's recently announced tax revision package, according to political sources. The move came after the proposed ISA overhaul drew criticism from retail investors, particularly younger savers, while the stock-price measure faced questions over whether it would be effective in its current form. The ISA proposal would abolish the carryover of unused annual contribution limits and shorten contract periods, changes critics say would weaken incentives for long-term investment. The proposed stock-price measure is intended to discourage controlling shareholders from keeping share prices artificially low to reduce inheritance and gift tax burdens. Some lawmakers, however, argued that the government's version applies to a much narrower range of cases than an earlier proposal submitted by ruling Democratic Party lawmakers. Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party welcomed Lee's decision to revisit the measures. Rep. Lee Eon-ju said the government should uphold its original commitment to encourage long-term investment through ISA accounts, adding that she welcomed the president's decision to review the proposals. Rep. Lee So-young said she would revise the stock-price measure in line with Lee's directive. The main opposition People Power Party said the review highlighted shortcomings in the government's policymaking process. "If there had not been strong public opposition, the government would have proceeded with the plan as it was," party spokesperson Park Sung-hoon said, adding that the administration had failed to adequately assess the potential impact of the proposals before announcing them. People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo also called for restoring the current ISA carryover provision and contract period, saying officials responsible for the proposed changes should be held accountable. 2026-08-08 11:16:35