South Korea launches AI network to power industrial robots SEOUL, July 14 (AJP) - South Korea has begun building a next-generation communication network designed to run physical artificial intelligence on factory and shipyard floors. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency (NIA) held a kickoff meeting for the "Hyper-AI Network" project on Tuesday, which fuses standalone 5G with an AI-based radio access network, known as AI-RAN. The pilot network aims to prove out physical AI services such as July 14, 2026

Homeplus goes dark, exposing the cost of Korea's biggest retail buyout SEOUL, July 14 (AJP) - Homeplus, once South Korea's second-largest hypermarket chain and a symbol of the country's modern retail boom, switched off the lights across its remaining stores on Monday after running out of cash, leaving roughly 12,000 employees, hundreds of suppliers and thousands of shopping mall tenants caught in what is becoming Korea's biggest retail collapse in decades. The nationwide shutdown marks the dramatic end of a company that once challenged E-ma July 14, 2026

British Princess Anne tours HD Hyundai Heavy shipyard in Ulsan SEOUL, July 14 (AJP) - Britain's Princess Anne visited HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' shipyard in Ulsan and toured its facilities, the shipbuilder said on Tuesday. Her visit, accompanied by her husband Sir Timothy Laurence and Colin Crooks, the British ambassador to South Korea, came as part of her trip to South Korea. The princess was welcomed by the shipbuilder's chairman Chung Ki-sun, and other executives, who briefed her on the company's shipbuilding technolog July 14, 2026

Samsung wins eight Red Dot Design Awards, including two top honors SEOUL, July 14 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics said Monday it received eight awards, including two "Best of the Best" honors, in the Design Concept category at the Red Dot Design Award 2026, one of the world's major international design competitions. The company's top-winning entries were Samsung Home Appliances Accessories, a concept that uses color coding to help users identify how appliance consumables should be reused, recycled or disposed of, and Dremo & Min July 14, 2026

Naver, Kakao, telecoms and startups line up for Korea's free AI project SEOUL, July 14 (AJP) - South Korea's biggest technology names are jostling to join the government's "AI for All" project, a state drive to build a homegrown artificial intelligence service that every citizen can use free of charge, as the contest for a slice of the initiative gathers pace. Kakao and LG Uplus have confirmed their bids, while Naver, SK Telecom and KT are weighing entry, industry sources said on Tuesday. AI startups and mid-sized firms are also sou July 14, 2026

KF-16 fighters to fly nonstop to Australia for Pitch Black exercise SEOUL, July 14 (AJP) - South Korea’s Air Force will take part in Pitch Black 2026, a multinational air combat exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force, at Darwin Air Base from Friday to Aug. 7, the Air Force said Tuesday. The exercise will bring together about 110 aircraft from 16 countries, including F-35A stealth fighters from the United States, Japan and Australia, Rafale fighters from India and Typhoon fighters from Spain and Germany. South Korea will send six July 14, 2026

Samsung Elec edges out Apple as top smartphone vendor Q2 SEOUL, July 14 (AJP) -Samsung Electronics stole back the world's top smartphone vendor title in the second quarter from Apple amid the worst slump in global smartphone market in 13 years due to spike in memory costs. According to preliminary data released Monday by Counterpoint Research, Samsung captured a 24 percent share of global smartphone shipments in the April-June period, compared with Apple's 20 percent. In the first quarter, Apple briefly moved ahea July 14, 2026

Krafton studio Flyway Games launches action roguelike 'Ascend to Zero' SEOUL, July 14 (AJP) - Krafton's creative studio Flyway Games launched its new action roguelike "Ascend to Zero" worldwide, releasing the title simultaneously as an Xbox Game Pass day-one offering. The game went live at Monday 4 p.m. Korea time across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, the ROG Xbox Ally and Steam. Game Pass subscribers can play it at no additional cost. "Ascend to Zero" casts players as a fighter who wields the power to freeze July 14, 2026

Mega chip cluster project in Gwangju hits stumbling block over Air Force training SEOUL, July 13 (AJP) - South Korea's plan to transform a military air base in Gwangju into a major semiconductor cluster is facing another stumbling block, as concerns grow over whether the Air Force can relocate pilot training operations without disrupting combat readiness. The fresh concerns emerged after the government last week handpicked the roughly 8.3 million-square-meter military airport in the southwestern region as the location for the cluster, despite some opposition July 13, 2026

South Korea to steer record tax revenue into AI, physical AI push SEOUL, July 13 (AJP) - South Korea will channel its largest-ever projected tax revenue into a new future-response fund, pouring resources into three mega-projects led by artificial intelligence. Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon, who also serves as science and ICT minister, positioned physical AI as the country's next growth engine, pledging to "export Korea's factories to the world" on the back of a homegrown, full-stack platform. Speaking at the 2026 nation July 13, 2026