Korea pivots to U.S. warship market after Canada setback SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - South Korea's shipbuilders wasted no time dwelling on their loss in Canada's multibillion-dollar submarine contest, shifting their focus to the far larger U.S. naval market as Presidents Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump elevated shipbuilding cooperation to the highest political level. The issue featured prominently during a reception and dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, wher July 9, 2026

Convenience store chain CU opens 600th store in Mongolia SEOUL, July 9 (AJP) - Convenience store chain CU has opened its 600th store in Mongolia, about eight years after entering the market, BGF Retail, which operates CU, said on Thursday. The 600th store, located in Bulgan province about 600 kilometers west of Ulaanbaatar, opened on June 26. Spanning about 281 square meters, it targets tourists and long-haul transport drivers. Unlike typical convenience stores, the store offers shower facilities for travelers, following a simi July 9, 2026

Naver poised to challenge Coupang on its specialty turf: logistics SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - Naver, a distant No. 2 in South Korea's ecommerce market, is crossing into the one territory long dominated by Coupang as it prepares its first directly operated logistics network, abandoning the asset-light strategy that defined its shopping business for two decades. The move marks a wholesale reversal for the internet giant, which has long relied on outside partners to store, haul and deliver merchants' goods while focusing on search traffic and mark July 9, 2026

Rebellions targets Seoul IPO next year, weighs US listing SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - South Korea's Rebellions, a Samsung-backed artificial intelligence chip startup, plans to list on the main KOSPI exchange in the first half of next year, seeking to ride surging investor appetite for AI hardware. The company aims to debut in the first or second quarter of 2027 and will complete all filing paperwork by year-end, though the final timing hinges on market conditions, CEO Park Sung-hyun said in an interview on Wednesday (local time). JP Morgan July 9, 2026

Police raid Kakao Pay over alleged leak of 40 million users' data to Alipay SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - South Korean police have raided the headquarters of Kakao Pay over allegations that the fintech firm handed the personal data of about 40 million customers to Chinese payment service Alipay without their consent, escalating a probe that began in March. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police's anti-corruption and economic crime unit searched Kakao Pay's offices in the Bundang district of Seongnam over two days on Monday and Tuesday, seizing digital record July 9, 2026

Hanwha Systems begins sea trials for self-developed unmanned vessel SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - Hanwha Systems seeks to expand its presence in the global maritime unmanned systems market. A 30-ton unmanned surface vessel, developed with the company’s own investment, was successfully launched near Gadeok Bridge in Busan early last month and has begun sea trials while operating between Busan and Jangmok Port in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, the company said Thursday. Hanwha Systems said it is investing about 70 billion won ($46.5 million) to d July 9, 2026

Unionized workers at Hyundai Motor to stage three-day partial strike next week SEOUL, July 9 (AJP) - Unionized workers at Hyundai Motor are expected to stage a three-day partial strike next week unless they reach a deal in ongoing wage negotiations. The union on Wednesday voted to hold a two-hour strike each day from next Monday through Wednesday before joining a nationwide general strike led by the Korean Metal Workers' Union on the final day. The move came after the collapse of their 15th round of talks earlier in the day, during which the c July 9, 2026

SK AX rolls out full-stack robotics service to build self-running factories SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - SK AX announced it is launching a full-stack robotics service designed to steer South Korean manufacturers toward autonomous factories that can sense, decide and act on their own. The push, branded "Manufacturing RX" for robot transformation, aims to tackle chronic labor shortages and sagging productivity on factory floors by knitting robots, manufacturing execution systems and equipment data into a single, self-directing operation. SK AX's se July 9, 2026

SK hynix ADR oversubscribed by 7 times, Chey to ring opening bell SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - SK hynix's American depositary receipt (ADR) offering attracted demand exceeding seven times the shares on offer ahead of pricing, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The offering drew interest from global long-term institutional investors, technology-focused funds, sovereign wealth funds and Asia-focused investment firms, according to the report. Orders totaled about $171.5 billion, based on subscription demand. July 9, 2026

The missing ingredient in Korea's AI cake: a foundation model SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - "Seize this opportunity," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang exclaimed during his visit to South Korea last month, calling the country one of the few capable of owning the entire AI stack — from energy and memory to data-center infrastructure, AI models and applications. Huang may have overrated Korea. By almost every measure, South Korea is among the world's most enthusiastic adopters of artificial intelligence. Yet one crucial ingredient remains July 8, 2026