S.Korea's digital industry sales top $913 billion in 2024 SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - South Korea's digital industry generated 1,378 trillion won ($913.6 billion) in sales in 2024, up 9.3 percent from a year earlier, as the rapid embrace of artificial intelligence reshaped the country's industrial landscape. According to figures released by the Ministry of Science and ICT on Wednesday, digital industry sales accounted for 15.2 percent of all industry sales of 9,038 trillion won and exceeded half of the country's total manufacturing July 8, 2026

Samsung Heavy Industries tops $10 billion in orders with new tanker deal SEOUL, July 8 (AJP) - Samsung Heavy Industries has secured an order for two additional crude oil tankers, bringing its cumulative orders this year above US$10 billion, the shipbuilder said on Wednesday. The order, placed by a Bermuda-based shipowner, is worth about 284.9 billion won and is scheduled for delivery by May 2029, according to the shipbuilder. With the latest deal, Samsung Heavy Industries' cumulative orders for this year reached $10 billion, including 32 mer July 8, 2026

Samsung tops economic contribution among South Korea's major firms SEOUL, July 8 (AJP) - South Korea's major companies contributed more than 1,700 trillion won (about US$1.13 trillion) to the economy last year as their earnings improved with Samsung Electronics topping the list, according to a report released by corporate tracker CEO Score on Wednesday. The combined economic contribution of South Korea's 100 largest privately owned companies by sales totaled 1,731.16 trillion won last year, up 7.4 percent from 1,612.47 trillion won July 8, 2026

LG Electronics deploys industrial heat pump system at Korean paper mill SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - LG Electronics said Wednesday it has completed the installation of a large-scale industrial heat pump system at a paper mill in South Korea, marking the commercial deployment of a high-temperature heat pump developed under a government-backed carbon neutrality project. The company said the system was supplied to paper manufacturer Ajin P&P in Daegu and entered commercial operation earlier this month. The project forms part of a national research and deve July 8, 2026

ESTsoft launches AI shopping assistant with CJ Olive Young SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - ESTsoft, a South Korean AI service developer, announced it has launched a kiosk-based "AI Shopping Assistant" jointly with CJ Olive Young, one of the country's leading K-beauty retailers. The service will debut first at three Seoul stores popular with foreign tourists: the Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station, Apgujeong Jungang and Ewha Jungang branches. The assistant is built on ESTsoft's real-time conversational AI avatar platfo July 8, 2026

Samsung starts mass production of enterprise SSD expected for Nvidia's Vera Rubin AI platform SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics has begun mass production of its PCIe 6.0-based enterprise solid-state drive, the PM1763, designed for artificial intelligence servers, the company said Wednesday. The product is expected to be used in Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin AI platform, according to officials. The new enterprise SSD combines Samsung’s ninth-generation V-NAND with a 4-nanometer controller and will be available in 4-terabyte, 8TB and 16TB capacitie July 8, 2026

Kakao expands AI assistant's place recommendation, booking features SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - Kakao announced that it has upgraded the place recommendation and booking functions of its AI assistant, Kanana in KakaoTalk, broadening the service well beyond its original restaurant focus. The update revealed Tuesday extends Kanana's reach into tourism and lodging, exhibitions, performances and cinemas, as well as everyday conveniences such as gas stations, convenience stores and auto repair shops, the company said. Users can now chat with Kanana abo July 8, 2026

Korea's record C/A surplus overshadowed by $31 bn foreign stock sell SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - South Korea posted another record current account surplus in May, but the windfall was overshadowed by the largest foreign exodus from the country's stock market on record, exposing a widening disconnect between the economy's external strength and global investors' appetite for Korean assets — a divergence that has helped keep the won stubbornly weak. The Bank of Korea said Wednesday the current account surplus widened to a record $38.61 bi July 8, 2026

Npay launches venture capital investment platform to boost 'productive finance' SEOUL, July 07 (AJP) - Npay, Naver's fintech arm, unveiled a new venture capital investment platform, aiming to bridge the gap between promising startups and investors and channel more "productive finance" into South Korea's capital markets. The service, called Npay Startup, was launched Tuesday at a ceremony at Naver's 1784 headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, with officials from the Financial Supervisory Service and the venture investment industry in July 7, 2026

Canada picked Germany. Korea still made its point  SEOUL, July 07 (AJP) - South Korea may have lost the multi-decade, multi-billion-dollar submarine contract in Canada, but it did not come away empty-handed. In Korea, there is a saying, jeot-jal-ssa — literally "lost, but fought well." It best captures Hanwha Ocean's narrow defeat to Germany's TKMS in what Canada itself described as a "difficult, close decision." To impress Canadian officials, South Korea dispatched the operational KSS-III submar July 7, 2026