'Dave the Diver' tops 10 million in a Korean first SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - South Korean studio Mintrocket said that its diving-and-sushi adventure "Dave the Diver" has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, the first domestic single-player packaged game to cross that mark. The milestone announced Tuesday comes as Korean developers, long dominant in free-to-play online titles, increasingly bet on premium single-purchase games for console and PC. "Dave the Diver," released in full in mid-2023, casts pla September 9, 2026

Hanwha Ocean picked as preferred bidder for Thai frigate project SEOUL, September 9 (AJP) - Hanwha Ocean has been selected as the preferred bidder for a frigate project for the Royal Thai Navy, after beating defense companies from Spain, Singapore and Turkey, the shipbuilder said on Wednesday. The project, worth 16.73 billion baht (US$509 million), covers the construction of a 4,000-ton-class frigate, along with related equipment and integrated maintenance and logistics support. The selection of Hanwha Ocean as the preferred bidder allows the September 9, 2026

Ransomware gangs turn on each other, Group-IB says SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - Rival ransomware crews are increasingly fighting among themselves, weaponizing supply chains and enlisting artificial intelligence, in a shift South Korea felt early when one breach exposed dozens of its banks. Ransomware groups logged 2,393 attacks on their public leak sites in the first quarter, up 4.5 percent from the previous quarter, across 79 active groups, according to Group-IB's 2026 ransomware ecosystem report released Tuesday. The structu September 9, 2026

Public Home Shopping faces origin-fraud probe over seafood sales SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - State-run Public Home Shopping is under investigation over suspicions that it sold about 9,935 packages of skate and flatfish labeled as domestic but believed to be foreign-caught, earning roughly 284 million won ($211,923). The Gunsan Coast Guard in North Jeolla Province searched the shopping network's offices on May to examine suspected country-of-origin violations, after notifying the company of the concern in late February and questioning official September 9, 2026

POSCO begins first-ever strike with 48-hour partial walkout SEOUL, September 9 (AJP) - Unionized workers at POSCO began a partial strike on Wednesday, marking the steelmaker's first strike since its founding in 1968. The 48-hour strike comes despite several rounds of talks between the union and management to narrow differences over wages and other labor conditions. The strike halted all production lines at a pickling plant in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, and some lines at a steel sheet plant in Pohang, North Gyengsang Province. T September 9, 2026

Naver courts France in widening global AI push SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - Naver proposed that French companies join it in building artificial intelligence computing complexes for the European market, widening a drive that has carried South Korea's largest internet firm into India and Saudi Arabia this year. Chief Executive Choi Soo-yeon made the pitch at a Korea-France business roundtable in Paris Monday (local time), held during President Lee Jae Myung's state visit. "We want to combine France's stable ener September 9, 2026

Samsung Biologics, union to bargain under mediators' watch SEOUL, September 08 (AJP) - Samsung Biologics and its labor union agreed to hold further bargaining under the watch of state mediators, carrying a wage dispute at the South Korean contract drug manufacturer into a second mediation session on Sept. 15. The two sides are to read through their collective agreement clause once more, with management tabling a proposal and giving reasons for any demand it rejects, the union said in a statement on Tuesday. The announcement comes right a September 8, 2026

Seoul's nuclear sub project reaches IAEA, yet nowhere with Washington SEOUL, September 08 (AJP) - South Korea has moved to clear a major safeguards hurdle for its nuclear-powered submarine program, formally opening consultations with the International Atomic Energy Agency. But substantive negotiations cannot advance far until Washington provides clearer guidance on how Seoul can secure nuclear fuel for the submarines. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Monday that South Korea "has formally notified the Secretariat of its intention to sta September 8, 2026

Samsung leans on ASML alliance as AI chip race heats up SEOUL, September 08 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics fighting on two fronts — SK hynix in advanced memory and Chinese rivals in legacy chips — is leaning on ASML's near-monopoly in cutting-edge lithography to keep its manufacturing edge in the AI race. The strategy goes beyond buying the industry's most advanced lithography machines. Samsung plans to bring High-NA EUV into advanced DRAM mass production by 2028 while joining an ASML-led effort to develop a new 12- September 8, 2026

POSCO to invest 480 billion won in new automotive steel facility SEOUL, September 8 (AJP) - POSCO will invest 480 billion won (US$357 million) to build a new facility for high-end automotive steel, the steelmaker said on Tuesday. It broke ground on the continuous galvanizing line (CGL) facility at its steel mill in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, its first new CGL in nine years. Scheduled for completion in 2028, the new facility will have an annual production capacity of 450,000 tons of hot-dip galvanized steel sheet for automotive exterior September 8, 2026