Samsung defends record results for 2025, but falls behind local rival in chip profitability *Updated with additional earnings details and stock quote SEOUL, January 29 (AJP)-Samsung Electronics, South Korea's No. 1 tech behemoth, raked in strong operating income and record sales in the final quarter and full year of 2025, but fell short of expectations and in the memory race versus local rival SK hynix, which shifted faster toward an AI-centric architecture and client base. According to its finalized results disclosed Thursday, for the quarter ended December the com January 29, 2026

Hanwha Aerospace seeks Chunmoo rocket launcher deal in Norway SEOUL, January 29 (AJP) - Hanwha Aerospace is emerging as a key contender to supply multiple rocket launchers to Norway, as the Nordic country moves ahead with a roughly $2 billion long-range artillery procurement. Norway’s parliament has given final approval to a plan to acquire a long-range artillery system, local media reported on Wednesday. The proposed deal is estimated to include 16 Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers along with related equipment. Industry officials January 29, 2026

Riboncar Says Certified Used-Car Sales Rose 41% in 2025, Led by Hyundai Grandeur Riboncar said Thursday that its sales last year rose 41% from the previous year. As sales expanded for key segments such as sport utility vehicles and mini cars, the company said buyers increasingly weighed overall value and practicality for the vehicle class, not just price, when purchasing used cars. The most-selected company-run certified used car among Riboncar customers was Hyundai Motor Co.’s Grandeur. The Grandeur, a leading large sedan in South Korea, is seen as offering proven qu January 29, 2026

Nexon to Refund All Purchases for MapleStory Idle After Ability Odds Error Nexon has decided to refund in full all money users spent in the idle game “MapleStory Idle” following a dispute over ability-related probability settings. The company said it is the first time in Nexon’s game-service history that it has moved from a CEO apology to compensation and a full refund over an operations controversy. In a notice posted Tuesday, Nexon said it committed a “serious mistake” by fixing an error that had a “critical impact” on gameplay without notifying users. “Taking January 29, 2026

NC AI Unveils Beta of Varco Sound, an AI Audio Generation Service NC AI, an artificial intelligence company, said Wednesday it has released a beta version of Varco Sound, a sound-generation AI service designed to create multiple sounds needed for a single scene at once and allow users to split the output by element for editing. Varco Sound accepts images and video as well as text. Users can describe a situation in a sentence — such as “water droplets in a dark cave” — or upload a forest photo or battle footage, and the service analyzes the scene’s conte January 29, 2026

Air Busan to Add Four Seasonal Charter Routes Ahead of Summer Peak Air Busan is expanding its flight offerings with four seasonal charter routes ahead of the summer peak travel season. The airline said Wednesday it will operate charter flights for the 2026 summer season on two routes from Busan — Shizuoka and Takamatsu — and two from Incheon — Hong Kong and Chiang Mai. Air Busan said the added flights are aimed at giving passengers more choices, expanding service from Busan to smaller Japanese cities and launching new routes from Incheon. Flights from B January 29, 2026

Samsung Electronics posts record Q4 revenue of 93.8 trillion won, operating profit 20.1 trillion Samsung Electronics said a boom in its memory business drove record quarterly results in the fourth quarter of 2025, with consolidated revenue of 93.8 trillion won and operating profit of 20.1 trillion won. It said the quarter marked the first time a South Korean company has posted more than 20 trillion won in operating profit in a single quarter. In an earnings filing on Wednesday, Samsung reported fourth-quarter consolidated revenue of 93.8374 trillion won and operating profit of 20.073 January 29, 2026

Hanwha Aerospace Seen as Front-Runner for Norway’s Chunmoo Rocket Deal Hanwha Aerospace is widely being cited as a leading contender to supply Norway’s multiple rocket launcher program, with analysts pointing to fast delivery and strong performance as key advantages. According to local media reports on Thursday, Norway’s parliament gave final approval to a US$2 billion plan to procure a long-range artillery system. The export contract is believed to include 16 Chunmoo launchers and related equipment. Industry watchers say Norway is likely to choose Hanwha Ae January 29, 2026

Autonomous A2Z posts record revenue on growth in self-driving projects Autonomous A2Z said Wednesday it set a record for annual revenue last year. The company reported about 16 billion won in revenue on a preliminary basis, up about 50% from 10.7 billion won a year earlier. It attributed the increase, ahead of full commercialization of autonomous driving services, to winning central and local government research and development projects, field tests and contract work. Autonomous A2Z said it has posted more than 10 billion won in revenue for a second straight January 29, 2026

Samsung Electronics to Pay 1.3 Trillion Won Special Dividend for Q4 2025 Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it will pay a 1.3 trillion won special dividend tied to its 2025 fourth-quarter results. Under its 2024-2026 shareholder-return policy, Samsung Electronics has been paying about 2.45 trillion won in cash dividends each quarter, or 9.8 trillion won a year. Including the 1.3 trillion won special dividend for the fourth quarter, the quarterly payout will rise to about 3.75 trillion won, bringing total annual dividends to 11.1 trillion won. The dividen January 29, 2026