Hyundai Motor union warns of disciplinary action over strike violations SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - Members of Hyundai Motor's labor union who continue working during scheduled strike hours could face disciplinary action, with additional walkouts threatened against entire departments if violations are confirmed, the union said Thursday. The warning came as the union entered its third round of partial strikes this week after wage and collective bargaining talks with the automaker stalled. The union plans four-hour walkouts through Friday, with both pro July 30, 2026

ESS transition helps Samsung SDI swing to profit as peers lag SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) -Samsung SDI returned to the black in the second quarter, snapping seven consecutive quarters of operating losses as booming demand for energy storage systems powering AI data centers offset the prolonged electric-vehicle slowdown that continues to weigh on most Korean battery makers. According to regulatory filings released Thursday, the firm booked an operating profit of 203.8 billion won ($141.5 million) for the three months through June, reversing a loss July 30, 2026

LG Electronics confirms record Q2 on premium power SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - LG Electronics confirmed record second-quarter results on Thursday, driven by strong home appliance sales, resilient vehicle component demand and growing subscription revenue despite geopolitical uncertainties and softer consumer spending. The South Korean electronics maker posted consolidated revenue of 23.83 trillion won ($16.52 billion) and operating profit of 1.58 trillion won ($1.09 billion) for the April-June period, up 14.9 percent and 147 percent, r July 30, 2026

SK hynix scraps paperwork in hunt for AI-native talent SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) -Generous bonuses and an extraordinary AI boom are not the only appeals that have made SK hynix South Korea's most sought-after employer for a second consecutive year, as the chipmaker continues to break hiring norms in search of AI-native talent. SK hynix said Thursday it will scrap the traditional self-introduction essay and replace brief interviews with half-day competency assessments for new graduate recruitment beginning next month, introducing its bi July 30, 2026

Korea fines KT $37 mln over rogue base station breach SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - South Korea's privacy watchdog has fined KT 53.98 billion won ($37.3 million) over a data breach in which rogue miniature base stations, or femtocells, were used to siphon the personal information of about 16,000 subscribers and route unauthorized micro-payments. The Personal Information Protection Commission said Thursday it had imposed the penalty at a plenary session the previous day, alongside corrective orders and a public disclosure order, and would July 30, 2026

HD Hyundai to help modernize U.S. shipyard under deal with Fraser Industries SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - HD Hyundai is moving to support the modernization of a U.S. shipyard as part of broader efforts to contribute to the revival of America’s shipbuilding industry. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the intermediate holding company of HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding business, said Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Fraser Industries LLC on cooperation to modernize shipyards for the revitalization of the U.S. shipbuildin July 30, 2026

Eco-friendly cars to hit 4 million, half of new registrations in H1 SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - The cumulative number of eco-friendly vehicles in South Korea is on track to reach 4 million, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Thursday. The number of registered eco-friendly vehicles including hybrids and electric vehicles increased sharply to 3.95 million as of the end of June, accounting for about 14.8 percent of all registered vehicles. The figure includes 2.81 million hybrids, 1.1 million EVs and 47,000 July 30, 2026

LG Energy Q2 profit slides 77% on weak EV demand SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - LG Energy Solution confirmed that its second-quarter operating profit tumbled 77 percent from a year earlier to 113.3 billion won ($78.6 million), as a prolonged slump in North American electric-vehicle demand continued to erode earnings at South Korea's largest battery maker. According to regulatory filings released Thursday, revenue rose 24.8 percent year-on-year to 7.56 trillion won, while the net loss came to 328.6 billion won, swinging back into the r July 30, 2026

Korean chipmakers confirm stunning Q2, but investors price in the peak SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - South Korea's two memory giants confirmed their supremacy in back-to-back second-quarter earnings releases, generating a combined operating profit of about 150 trillion won ($108 billion), equivalent to roughly 6 percent of the country's entire 2025 nominal GDP, with margins in the 70 percent range that few manufacturers could dream of. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix delivered the same assurance: the extraordinary combination of tight supp July 30, 2026

Army tests combat squad pairing soldiers with drones, robot dogs SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - South Korea’s Army has launched a trial unit that combines soldiers with drones, quadruped robots, multipurpose unmanned ground vehicles and autonomous vehicles at the squad level, as it seeks to test future combat formations built around manned-unmanned teaming. The Army said Wednesday it held a launch ceremony for an experimental manned-unmanned squad at the 11th Maneuver Division in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province. The squad consists of eight personnel July 29, 2026