SK hynix union rejects stock-heavy wage deal SEOUL, August 25 (AJP) -SK hynix union members on Tuesday narrowly rejected a tentative wage agreement that would have shifted a larger share of profit-sharing bonuses into company stock, sending labor and management back to the bargaining table as the chipmaker tries to spread its AI windfall across employees and shareholders while its shares remain well below earlier highs. The proposed 2026 wage and collective bargaining agreement was defeated with 50.08 percent, or 7,535 member August 25, 2026

Hyundai Motor reaches tentative wage deal after 60 hours of strikes SEOUL, August 25 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor and its labor union reached a tentative wage agreement, granting workers bonuses of more than 400 percent of monthly pay plus 12.7 million won ($9,189), ending a two-year run of strikes at South Korea's largest carmaker. The deal, reached after a two-day on Tuesday, 17th round of bargaining at the company's Ulsan plant, also lifts base monthly wages by 100,000 won and awards each worker 15 company shares, 500,000 won in welfare points a August 25, 2026

Taiwan drone defense gaps emerge as US-Korea drills scale back SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - As the United States and South Korea scaled back their largest summertime military exercise, defense experts in Taiwan were highlighting gaps exposed by their own drills, calling for stronger layered air defenses against drones and other low-altitude threats. Taiwan's assessment follows its annual Han Kuang exercise, held from Aug. 5 to 14 to test the island's ability to respond to a potential Chinese attack. Hsiao-Huang Shu, an associate research August 24, 2026

U.S. artillery setbacks open door for Korea's K9  SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - U.S. artillery helped South Korea withstand North Korea's invasion in the Korean War. More than seven decades later, the U.S. Army is testing a South Korean gun to help modernize its own firepower. The U.S. Army's decision to select Hanwha Aerospace's K9-based artillery system for prototype testing is more than a breakthrough for the South Korean defense company. It also reflects years of difficulty modernizing U.S. artillery after repeated deve August 24, 2026

Sovereign AI race pulls world deeper into Nvidia's orbit SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - When South Korea named the three teams last week that will carry its bid for a homegrown artificial intelligence model, the reward that mattered most was not cash or recognition. It was more Nvidia. The government said on Aug. 18 that SK Telecom, LG AI Research and startup Upstage had cleared the second round of its sovereign AI foundation model contest. For the next stage, each team will receive access to roughly 1,000 Nvidia B200 graphics processing units August 24, 2026

Samsung forecast to reclaim No. 1 spot in global smartphone shipments SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics is expected to reclaim the top spot in the global smartphone market this year as its shipments rise while those of archrival Apple decline, according to a report released by Counterpoint Research on Monday. The research firm forecast that Samsung's smartphone shipments will rise 0.8 percent from a year earlier, while Apple's are expected to fall 2.1 percent, putting Samsung back in the No. 1 spot after Apple took the lead last yea August 24, 2026

HD Hyundai affiliate wins major order for LPG carriers SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering has won a contract from an Oceania-based shipping company to build four liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers, it said on Monday. Under the deal, worth 515.4 billion won, equivalent to 2.93 percent of the company's annual revenue, the vessels will be built by its affiliate HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and delivered by the first half of 2030. With the latest order, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore En August 24, 2026

DAPA sets guidelines for access to NATO standards SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Monday it has introduced its first formal guidelines for providing and managing NATO standards, a move aimed at helping domestic defense companies enter European and other NATO markets. The new rules establish procedures and security requirements for South Korean companies, research institutes and government agencies seeking access to standards used by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. August 24, 2026

Celltrion files for approval of Keytruda biosimilar, joining domestic race SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - Celltrion announced it has applied to South Korea's drug regulator for approval of CT-P51, a biosimilar version of Merck's blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, joining a race among Korean drugmakers to grab market share once the original loses patent protection. The filing with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety revealed Monday comes about two weeks after rival Samsung Bioepis submitted its own Keytruda biosimilar, SB27, for domestic approval on Aug. August 24, 2026

Illegal weight-loss drug imports surge in Korea H1 SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - The number of illegal imports of the weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Mounjaro seized by South Korean customs authorities jumped more than threefold in the first half of 2026, driven by a wave of individual online purchases shipped through the international postal system. Customs officials caught 4,155 attempts to smuggle in obesity treatments, including Mounjaro and Wegovy, between January and June, the Korea Customs Service said Monday. The tally is about 3 August 24, 2026