Korea uses more AC, pays less than Japan SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - South Korea's households crank up their air conditioners more aggressively in summer than those in most advanced economies, yet they shoulder the lowest electricity bills among major nations, industry reports say. Per-capita cooling electricity consumption reached 191.5 kilowatt-hours in 2022, about a quarter of the 766.2 kWh recorded in the United States in 2020 but well above other major economies. The figure ran 1.2 times higher than Japan's 160. July 29, 2026

Krafton unveils voice AI model topping Korean-language benchmarks SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - South Korean game developer Krafton said it had released a voice artificial-intelligence foundation model, A.X K2 Raon-Speech, on the global platform Hugging Face, deepening its push into the technology it views as central to the future of gaming. The model, announced by Krafton on Wednesday, was developed under a government-led "sovereign AI foundation model" project overseen by the Ministry of Science and ICT, in which Krafton leads next-generation July 29, 2026

Celltrion to unveil obesity, cancer drug data as it pushes beyond biosimilars SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - Celltrion announced it would release preclinical data for its next-generation obesity candidate this year and begin disclosing early clinical results for its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) programs from the first half of 2027, as the South Korean drugmaker moves to widen its footing beyond biosimilars into novel therapies. The company, which built its name replicating blockbuster biologics, is now betting that the antibody expertise and global clinical, manufac July 29, 2026

SK hynix rewrites record books, but misses lofty Q2 profit forecasts SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - SK hynix rewrote the record books in the second quarter as booming demand for artificial intelligence memory chips drove another quarter of historic earnings, though operating profit fell short of lofty market expectations. Operating profit for the April-June period came to 60.54 trillion won, up 61 percent from 37.61 trillion won recorded in the previous quarter. The figure fell short of the market consensus of approximately 64.1 trillion won, accord July 29, 2026

Hanwha Systems posts 219 percent jump in Q2 operating profit SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - Hanwha Systems reported sharp growth in second-quarter earnings, driven by major defense export programs and domestic weapons production projects, the company said Tuesday. The defense electronics and ICT company posted 1.12 trillion won ($7.7 billion) in consolidated sales for the April-June period, up 45 percent from a year earlier. Operating profit surged 219 percent on-year to 103.7 billion won. Net profit rose 14 percent to 52.7 billion won. Hanwha July 28, 2026

Why Korea is turning to Brazil's C-390 as aging airlift fleet faces pressure SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung wasted little time in Brazil tending to one of Seoul's key dense priorities. Upon arriving in Brasilia for a state visit, Lee headed straight to inspect a Brazilian-built C-390 Millennium military transport aircraft before holding summit talks with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The acquisition addresses two strategic objectives: replacing South Korea's aging tactical transport fleet while diversif July 28, 2026

South Korea to secure more naphtha supplies despite stable inventories SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - Naphtha supplies in South Korea are expected to remain stable through August despite renewed tensions in the Middle East, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said on Tuesday. At an emergency meeting at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul, government officials and industry representatives assessed supplies for naphtha and petrochemical products and discussed contingency measures. The meeting came amid growing concerns that July 28, 2026

CXMT rise signals a new kind of challenge to Korea's memory giants SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - China's first publicly traded memory chipmaker hardly poses an immediate threat to Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron Technology at the technological frontier. But ChangXin Memory Technologies' (CXMT) record-breaking stock market debut suggests something potentially more disruptive: Beijing's familiar playbook of localizing production, achieving scale and then moving up the technology ladder may finally be reaching the last major semi July 28, 2026

US enlists South Korea, allies in 6G push to counter China SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - The Trump administration launched a global partnership on sixth-generation wireless technology, rallying 25 governments including South Korea in a bid to shape the next era of telecommunications and blunt China's growing influence over the field. The initiative announced Monday (local time), dubbed the "Call to Action for 6G Leadership and Security," drew endorsements from major economies such as Japan, Britain, Germany and France, alongside Alba July 28, 2026

Hanwha, KAIST launch space talent program for young students SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - Hanwha Group and KAIST have launched the fifth class of their youth space talent program, selecting 30 middle school students as South Korea seeks to nurture future talent for its growing space industry. The program, called “Space Pebbles,” began Saturday at Hanwha Building in Seoul, the company said Monday. The program is designed to identify and train promising first- and second-year middle school students from across the country. Hanwha selec July 28, 2026