SK hynix holds onto rival Kioxia as AI turns NAND into battleground SEOUL, July 26 (AJP) — Bain Capital earlier this month has closed the book on one of the biggest private equity wins of the artificial intelligence era by fully exiting Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia. SK hynix, however, is staying put. The South Korean memory giant continues to hold an indirect 14 percent stake in Kioxia through a special-purpose investment vehicle established during Bain's 2018 acquisition of Toshiba Memory, underscoring that the investment has ev July 26, 2026

Samsung-Broadcom AI pact signals race for long-term chip supply SEOUL, July 26 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics' sweeping five-year semiconductor partnership with Broadcom underscores a structural shift in the AI era, as leading technology companies increasingly lock in long-term chip supplies rather than rely on the notoriously volatile memory market. The memorandum of understanding, unveiled during the AI Summit in San Francisco on Friday, extends Samsung and Broadcom's collaboration through 2030 across high-bandwidth memory (HBM), advanc July 26, 2026

Korea's big chip week begins as SK hynix, Samsung face AI boom reality check SEOUL, July 26 (AJP) - South Korea's technology sector enters its most closely watched week of the earnings season as memory giant SK hynix reports second-quarter results on Wednesday, followed by Samsung Electronics' full earnings on Thursday, with investors looking beyond record profits for clues on whether the AI-driven semiconductor boom still has room to run. The two companies now sit at the center of the global AI infrastructure cycle, and their earnings conference c July 26, 2026

HD Hyundai Samho secures crane project in US as part of MASGA SEOUL, July 26 (AJP) -South Korea's Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA) initiative recorded its first visible commercial milestone after HD Hyundai secured a contract to supply four port cranes for an HMM-operated terminal in the U.S., in a project combining Korean shipbuilding, steelmaking and port logistics. HD Hyundai said Sunday that HD Hyundai Samho signed an agreement with Washington United Terminals (WUT), the operator of HMM's container terminal at the P July 26, 2026

Korean firms strike $950 billion chip deals with US big tech SEOUL, July 25 (AJP) - South Korean companies and American technology giants will pursue semiconductor cooperation worth a combined $950 billion over the next five years, the presidential Blue House said Saturday, putting a price on the summit President Lee Jae Myung convened in San Francisco a day earlier. Kim Yong-beom, the presidential policy chief, gave the figure at a briefing at the press center in San Francisco, breaking down the results of the San Francisco AI Summit acros July 25, 2026

Korean shipbuilders expand US partnerships in $150B cooperation push SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - South Korea’s three major shipbuilders are expanding partnerships with U.S. companies in naval ship design, smart shipyards, workforce training and supply chains, as Seoul moves to accelerate a $150 billion shipbuilding cooperation package with Washington. The moves follow the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center in Washington, D.C., this week. The center is expected to serve as a key platform for Korea’s participation in effor July 24, 2026

US-Saudi nuclear deal exposes limits of Seoul's enrichment push SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - A proposed U.S.-Saudi nuclear cooperation agreement allowing Riyadh to eventually enrich uranium on its own soil may strengthen South Korea's case for greater control over its civilian nuclear fuel cycle, but it does little to resolve the far more difficult question confronting Seoul's nuclear submarine ambitions: who supplies the fuel. The issue has taken on greater urgency as South Korea and the United States resumed follow-up talks last month on sec July 24, 2026

Nongshim to hike prices for snacks, beverages and cup noodles next month SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - Nongshim will raise prices for a range of its products starting next month, raising concerns that other food makers could soon follow suit. The instant-noodle giant said it decided to raise factory prices for 43 brands by an average of 5.8 percent starting Aug. 1, citing soaring costs for raw materials and other ingredients driven by higher oil prices amid the prolonged conflict in the Middle East. Factory prices for cup noodles, snacks and beverages will r July 24, 2026

Korean leaders meet Nvidia at San Francisco AI summit SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung and a delegation of South Korea's leading executives and researchers are meeting Nvidia and its ecosystem partners at an AI summit in San Francisco this week to map out the country's push into artificial intelligence, the chipmaker said. The gathering builds on Nvidia founder and chief executive Jensen Huang's visit to Seoul last month, advancing what the company describes as a full-stack drive to widen Korea's AI infras July 24, 2026

Kia's profit falls 5% despite record sales in Q2 SEOUL, July 24 (AJP)-Kia mirrored bigger sibling Hyundai Motor in posting record quarterly revenue but weaker profitability, as rising costs eroded margins despite robust sales. South Korea's second-largest automaker said Friday that consolidated revenue rose 12.6 percent from a year earlier to a record 33.04 trillion won ($23.8 billion) in the April-June period. Operating profit declined 4.9 percent to 2.63 trillion won, despite the record sales, while net profit stood a July 24, 2026