Fried-chicken chain bhc opens first store in Viet Nam SEOUL, September 15 (AJP) - South Korean fried-chicken chain bhc Chicken has opened its first store in Viet Nam, marking its entry into the Southeast Asian market and expanding its overseas presence to 10 countries. According to Dining Brands Group, formerly known as BHC Group, which operates the chain, its first Vietnamese outlet opened last Saturday at Vincom Plaza Phan Van Tri in Ho Chi Minh City, several months after it signed a franchise deal with Vietnamese food and beverage September 15, 2026

Korea scraps renewable quotas in energy transition push SEOUL, September 15 (AJP) - New renewable power projects in South Korea will sell electricity under long-term fixed-price contracts won at government auctions from January, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said Tuesday. The revised renewable energy promotion act retires the renewable portfolio standard that has shaped the market since 2012. Developers will bid beneath a government ceiling price in auctions run separately for each energy source, and winners will sig September 15, 2026

Korean carbon firms sign supply deals at Shanghai expo SEOUL, September 15 (AJP) - Two South Korean carbon material makers signed preliminary supply agreements with Chinese buyers at the China Composites Expo in Shanghai last week, World-OKTA said Tuesday. World-OKTA, a Seoul-based association founded in 1981 that connects overseas Korean businesspeople through 157 chapters in 76 countries, ran the Korean pavilion at the expo from Sept. 1 to 3. Seven South Korean carbon and composite companies took part. Mcell, which coats fabric September 15, 2026

Korea's Arctic trial arrives Europe. Now come the return trip and viability SEOUL, September 14 (AJP) - South Korea's maiden container voyage testing Arctic waters has successfully arrived in Rotterdam, raising hopes that the Northern Sea Route could sharply shorten cargo voyages between Asia and Europe. The journey of the PanStar Acro is only halfway over, and the harder challenge is the return leg and whether the Arctic option is commercially viable. The 2,758-TEU container ship arrived in Rotterdam on Sunday, 22 days after departing Busan on Aug. September 14, 2026

Samsung, LG to pay suppliers 1.9 trillion won early ahead of Chuseok SEOUL, September 14 (AJP) - South Korea's Samsung and LG will make a combined 1.9 trillion won ($1.4 billion) in early payments to suppliers ahead of the Chuseok holiday, seeking to ease cash-flow pressures on smaller business partners during a period of increased funding needs. Samsung said Monday that 13 affiliates, including Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T and Samsung Biologics, will pay a combined 1.3 trillion won to suppliers about seven days earlier than scheduled. September 14, 2026

Korea seeks new marine construction technologies for field trials SEOUL, September 14 (AJP) - South Korea will open applications for new marine construction technologies to be tested at actual project sites, aiming to help promising technologies prove their performance and expand their use in the field. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Monday it will accept applications from Sept. 15 through Nov. 13 for new domestic technologies and patents to receive support under its trial construction program. The program gives technologies that ha September 14, 2026

LG bets on home-grown AI with factory-floor data edge SEOUL, September 14 (AJP) - South Korea's LG Group is preparing to put its homegrown artificial intelligence to work across production lines stretching from hair-loss materials research to home appliances, betting that industrial know-how can matter as much as sheer computing power. Its AI control tower, LG AI Research, has built the EXAONE ecosystem around models that can be tailored to specific industries, run at lower computing costs and, when necessary, operate inside corp September 14, 2026

LG Chem pushes into China's chip cleaning materials market SEOUL, September 14 (AJP) - LG Chem has agreed to supply a Chinese specialty chemicals maker with the raw material for an ultra-high-purity solvent used to clean semiconductor wafers. The South Korean company said Monday that it will ship propylene-based isopropyl alcohol from its Yeosu plant, which produces about 165,000 tons a year. Partner Jiangyin Jianghua Microelectronics Materials is to refine it into semiconductor-grade isopropyl alcohol (IPA) for Chinese fabs. Chip fa September 14, 2026

AI time-out calls grow just as Korea readies AI jolt SEOUL, September 14 (AJP) - After years of acceleration and frenzied infatuation with generative artificial intelligence, U.S. creators and users are suddenly shouting time-out, with debate spreading among incumbent and former presidents, Silicon Valley and beyond over warnings of a Frankenstein moment and even doomsday for humanity. The sober reckoning, raised most dramatically by former OpenAI and Anthropic researchers, has arrived just as the latest generation of models pushes September 14, 2026

Eastar Jet to launch new daily flight from Busan to Hong Kong next month SEOUL, September 14 (AJP) - Eastar Jet will begin operating flights from South Korea's southern port city of Busan to Hong Kong next month, the budget carrier said on Monday. The daily flight set to be available from Oct. 25 will depart Busan at 9:30 p.m. and arrive in Hong Kong at 12:10 a.m. the following day. Return flights will leave Hong Kong at 2 a.m. and arrive in Busan at 7:05 a.m. The service will be Eastar Jet's second route to Hong Kong, following its curren September 14, 2026