Korea's battery makers forge lithium alliance to counter China's grip SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) - POSCO Group and SK On have sealed a long-term lithium supply deal worth up to 25,000 tons through 2028, in the latest sign that South Korean battery players are locking arms to build a domestic supply chain capable of challenging China's stranglehold on the global battery market. Under the agreement announced Wednesday, POSCO Argentina will ship lithium extracted from the Salar del Hombre Muerto salt flat in Argentina's Salta province to SK On' February 26, 2026

Samsung Electronics ushers in agentic AI phone era with Galaxy S26 SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) -The drizzle over the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco did not stop more than 1,200 journalists and influencers from crowding into the domed venue Wednesday for Samsung Electronics’ latest Unpacked event — a return to the same stage where the company once declared it was preparing for a “new decade” of mobile. This time, instead of dazzling hardware theatrics, Samsung framed the Galaxy S26 series as its first truly “agent February 26, 2026

SK hynix okays $16 bn investment into Yongin chip facility to stay ahead in HBM race SEOUL, February 25 (AJP) - SK hynix said Wednesday it will invest more than 21 trillion won ($15.7 billion) in new semiconductor production facilities at the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, as it moves to expand capacity and stay ahead in the high-bandwidth memory race amid the artificial intelligence boom. According to a regulatory filing with the Financial Supervisory Service, the company plans to invest 21.61 trillion won in the construction of Phases 2 through 6 of its first fabri February 25, 2026

LG's smart home robot 'Cloi', ultra-thin OLED TV take home iF Design awards SEOUL, February 25 (AJP) - South Korean tech giant LG Electronics announced it has won 26 awards at the iF Design Award 2026, taking home accolades across multiple categories including product design, user experience, and architecture. The company's key award-winning products include the "LG Cloi," a home robot designed to interact with users by responding to human facial expressions, voice commands, and gestures. LG also won an award for its "LG OLED evo W6," February 25, 2026

China's Unitree Robotics unveils new robot dog with enhanced speed and mobility SEOUL, February 25 (AJP) - Chinese robotics firm Unitree Robotics has unveiled the As2, a new quadruped robot with upgrades in speed, endurance and terrain-handling capability, as the company expands its lineup of compact size industrial capability robots. The Hangzhou-based company announced the As2 on its website on Tuesday, offering the robot dog in three variants — Air, Pro and Edu. Weighing about 18 kilograms with its battery, the machine's standout feature is its February 25, 2026

Except for chips, Korea now a laggard behind China in next-gen industries SEOUL, February 25 (AJP) - With the exception of semiconductors, South Korea has slipped into laggard status behind China across most next-generation industries, from robotics and electric vehicles to batteries and autonomous driving, a government-backed report warned Tuesday, underscoring a widening competitiveness gap that is no longer narrowing. A study released by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) found that China now holds comprehensive value-chain a February 25, 2026

Kia's Georgia plant tops 5 Million vehicles in cumulative production SEOUL, February 25 (AJP) - Kia's American unit in Georgia has reached a cumulative production of 5 million vehicles, the automaker said Tuesday. Production is expected to accelerate further as its West Point plant begins producing the new version of its Telluride SUV, adding the spacious hybrid model to the regular mass-production lineup, alongside assembly lines for midsize Sorento and compact Sportage SUVs. With the start of hybrid production, the plant with an annual cap February 25, 2026

Coupang confirms data breach affected 200,000 accounts in Taiwan SEOUL, February 25 (AJP) - Coupang Inc., the American operator of the biggest ecommerce platform in South Korea, disclosed on Wednesday that a massive data breach involving 33.7 million accounts included approximately 200,000 users located in Taiwan. The e-commerce giant cited a forensic analysis by cybersecurity firm Mandiant, which linked the Taiwanese breach to the same former employee responsible for the unauthorized access of South Korean user data in November 2025. While the February 25, 2026

Chipflation (1): Korean memory makers seize pricing power in AI boom Editor’s note: This is the first installment in AJP’s Chipflation series, which examines how explosive demand for artificial intelligence and South Korea’s dominance in memory chips are triggering a ripple effect of price hikes across the global tech supply chain — from Silicon Valley data centers to everyday consumer electronics. This installment looks at how Korean memory makers have gained the upper hand in price-setting. SEOUL, February 24 (AJP) - South February 24, 2026

Seoul opts for antidumping duties on Chinese, Japanese steel for industry relief SEOUL, February 24 (AJP) - South Korea's shipbuilders enjoy heyday on robust orders and backlog, but they had limited trickle-down effect on steelmakers at home as they struggled with the flood of cheaper Chinese and Japanese imports. The government stepped in for relief as the industry undergoes stringent cost-saving streamlining to survive a global glut, a protectionist environment and the U.S. 50-percent tariff on steel imports. On Monday, it warned of antidumping duties o February 24, 2026