Defense Ministry to rule out nuclear weapons in submarine bill SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - South Korea plans to include a nuclear weapons ban in its proposed law on nuclear-powered submarines, government sources said Tuesday. The Ministry of National Defense is expected to soon issue a legislative notice for a bill tentatively titled the Special Act on the Acquisition, Operation and Safety Management of Nuclear-Powered Submarines. The move would mark the first time South Korea has written into domestic law a principle rejecting nuclear weapons de July 28, 2026

Naver sells $1 billion stake to Nvidia to fund $10 billion AI factory SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) — Naver said Monday it will sell $1 billion of new shares to Nvidia in a rare third-party capital increase, turning the AI chipmaker into one of the largest shareholders of South Korea's top platform operator as the partners push ahead with a $10 billion AI factory project announced in San Francisco. The Korean internet giant will issue 7.24 million new common shares at 204,500 won each, raising an estimated 1.48 trillion won ($1 billion) through it July 28, 2026

China's CXMT armed with $8.6 billion war chest to chase Korean DRAM giants SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - China's spectacular stock market debut of memory chipmaker CXMT Corp. on Monday handed the country's DRAM champion an $8.6 billion war chest to accelerate its pursuit of South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, highlighting Beijing's determination to build a self-sufficient semiconductor industry despite U.S. technology restrictions. Shares of CXMT, China's largest dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) producer, surged 465.9 percent July 27, 2026

SK hynix Q2 to show how much its all-in AI bet is paying off SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - China's rising chip darling and IPO blockbuster CXMT may be catching up fast, while local archrival Samsung Electronics bristles at the comparison. But in the AI memory race, this year still belongs to SK hynix. The headline numbers may no longer surprise investors when SK hynix reports second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, even though operating profit is expected to nearly double its previous quarterly record and exceed the company's entire profit f July 27, 2026

Why Nvidia needs Korea as much as Korea needs Nvidia SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - When Jensen Huang toured Seoul last month, Nvidia's chief executive said he had found a full five-layer AI cake in South Korea. Over the weekend, he stayed true to that discovery, emerging as both the biggest customer and investor in that cake. Nvidia placed itself at the center of South Korea's all-out AI push as Huang headlined the government-hosted AI summit in San Francisco before joining President Lee Jae Myung and Korea's business leaders for July 27, 2026

How AI redrew the chip map and put Korea at its center SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) -The generative artificial intelligence boom has not simply created another semiconductor supercycle. It has redrawn the geography of the global chip industry. Three years after ChatGPT triggered an unprecedented race to build AI infrastructure, South Korea's semiconductor trade map looks markedly different. Taiwan has become Korea's second-largest chip export destination. The Netherlands has overtaken Japan as largest supplier of semiconductor manufa July 27, 2026

KakaoBank strike spotlights uncommon union structure SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - KakaoBank employees are set to stage a full-day strike on Friday - in what would be the first labor action by a South Korean online-only bank - after this year's wage negotiations collapsed over performance-based compensation. Instead of belonging to the Korea Financial Industry Union, KakaoBank employees are members of the Kakao chapter of a union representing chemical, textile and food industry workers, which also covers workers across Kakao affiliates July 27, 2026

South Korea breaks ground on $791 million light source facility SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - South Korea broke ground on a 1.16 trillion won ($791.5 million) fourth-generation synchrotron radiation facility, a flagship research complex the government hopes will free domestic scientists and industry from reliance on overseas laboratories. The Korea Light Source, or KLS, is being built on a site in Ochang, North Chungcheong Province, and is targeted for completion by the end of 2029, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Basic Science Institute July 27, 2026

SK hynix tops Samsung as students' employer of choice SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - SK hynix has retained its position as the company South Korean university students most want to work for, outpacing Samsung Electronics for a second straight year as the memory chipmaker continues to benefit from strong demand for AI semiconductors. The chipmaker ranked first with 14.2 percent of respondents in a survey of 1,811 university students conducted by recruitment platform Incruit. Samsung Electronics followed with 8.0 percent, while CJ Olive Young, July 27, 2026

Kia to hire engineers in large-scale recruitment drive next month SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - Kia will launch a large-scale recruitment drive to hire engineers for the second half of this year, the automaker said on Monday. Those interested can apply for a two-week period starting from Aug. 10. Applicants must be at least high school graduates, but there are no age or gender restrictions. Kia said it revamped its criteria for evaluating engineering candidates for the first time since 2014 to reflect changes in the manufacturing industry including el July 27, 2026