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

Navy tests humanoid robot at ship's wheel in first crew experiment SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - South Korea’s Navy has tested a humanoid robot as a ship crew member for the first time, putting the machine at the wheel inside a bridge simulator as part of efforts to reduce sailors’ workload and prepare for a shrinking pool of military personnel. The Navy said Friday that the experiment was conducted Wednesday at the Naval Education and Training Command’s ship-handling training facility in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, in coopera July 24, 2026

Hyundai Mobis posts record Q2 profit SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - Hyundai Mobis announced that its second-quarter operating profit climbed 12.1 percent from a year earlier to 975.2 billion won ($665.7 million), as brisk sales of high-margin electronics components and a resilient after-sales parts business carried the auto parts maker. According to preliminary regulatory filings released Friday, revenue rose 2.4 percent to 16.32 trillion won, while net profit advanced 13.5 percent to 1.06 trillion won. Measured against the fi July 24, 2026

Hyundai Rotem, Hanwha vie for military robot dog project SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - South Korea’s military is moving to acquire quadruped robots, setting the stage for another competition between Hyundai Rotem and Hanwha Aerospace in the country’s growing military robotics market. According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and industry sources Friday, the military is preparing to draw up a purchase plan in September for the quadruped robot project, with a contractor expected to be selected through open bidding ear July 24, 2026

Kolon TissueGene extends slide as trial miss guts valuation SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - Shares in Kolon TissueGene fell for a sixth consecutive session on Friday, extending a rout that has erased about three-quarters of the biotech firm's market value in a single week after its osteoarthritis gene therapy failed to outperform a placebo in a late-stage U.S. trial. The stock traded at 15,620 won as of 10:04 a.m. on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ, down 5,430 won, or 25.94 percent from the previous close. The shares had already hit the daily limit-down July 24, 2026