• 
  Kia to provide vehicles for FIFA World Cup athletes and officials SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - Kia will provide more than 600 vehicles for this summer's FIFA World Cup, the automaker said on Wednesday. At an event in Los Angeles the previous day, Kia pledged to supply over 660 vehicles ahead of the quadrennial sporting event, which kicks off in June, as one of the tournament's official sponsors, aiming to broaden its brand exposure in the global market. The vehicles, which included Kia's key models such as the Carnival, K4, Niro, Soren May 20, 2026
• 
  LG CNS pushes AI-powered smart factory platform into North America SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - LG CNS announced it has stepped up efforts to expand its artificial intelligence-driven smart factory business in North America, positioning its proprietary Factova platform as a gateway for small and mid-sized manufacturers seeking to automate production lines. The IT services arm of South Korea's LG Group said Wednesday that it was the only Korean firm to exhibit at IoT Tech Expo 2026 in San Jose, California, held from Monday to Tuesday, an event that dra May 20, 2026
• 
  Samsung Live: Samsung faces 'D-Day' as last-ditch labor talks spilled over into execution eve SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics and its largest labor union will head back to the negotiating table on Wednesday morning after grueling, marathon talks failed to reach a breakthrough overnight, leaving the tech giant just hours away from a historic full-scale strike. The closed-door session is scheduled to reconvene at 10 a.m. at the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in Sejong, marking the third round of post-mediation talks. The immediate eve-of-strike meeting May 20, 2026
• 
  Samsung Live: Govt to mediate if talks fail in settlement by 10 p.m. SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) -The South Korean government is ready to put up its mediation version if Samsung Electronics Co. and its largest labor union fail to reach a wage agreement by 10 p.m. as it endeavors to stop a potentially disruptive strike at the world’s largest memory chipmaker planned for Thursday. "We will see if the management and union come to a settlement by around 10 p.m., and it will be decided whether an agreement is reached or whether a mediation is necessary May 19, 2026
• 
  ASIA DEEP INSIGHT: The Curtain has risen on the great U.S.-China AI war The U.S.-China summit held in Beijing in May 2026 appeared calm on the surface. President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping projected an image of management rather than confrontation. In the aftermath of the meeting, both sides reiterated the familiar diplomatic line that “dialogue will continue,” and financial markets responded with a measure of cautious relief. Yet the true significance of this summit lay far beyond the choreography of diplomacy. What unfolded in May 19, 2026
• 
  Uniqlo's flagship outlet to return to Seoul's shopping district of Myeong-dong SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - Japanese fast-fashion brand Uniqlo is returning to Seoul's major shopping district of Myeong-dong later this week. The reopening of its Myeong-dong outlet, slated for Friday, comes after most of its stores gradually exited the market about five years ago except for a few key locations, due to South Koreans' boycott of Japanese products over historical spats between the neighboring countries, compounded by declining sales during the coronavirus pan May 19, 2026
• 
  S. Korea launches cyber breach probe panel ahead of law SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT launched a statutory committee empowered to investigate major cyberattacks, moving to shore up the country's defenses against an escalating wave of digital intrusions. The cyber breach investigation committee held its inaugural meeting on Tuesday, marking the formal stand-up of a body created under a revised Information and Communications Network Act passed in response to a string of high-profile breaches last y May 19, 2026
• 
  South Korea launches AI humanoid project as Asia's bipedal race intensifies SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - South Korea has launched a five-year, state-led drive to develop a homegrown artificial intelligence (AI)-powered humanoid platform, joining a broader Asian race to commercialize bipedal robots, even as the country's largest factories teeter on the brink of a paralyzing strike. The Ministry of Science and ICT held a meeting at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) in Seoul on Monday, the starting point for what officials describe as a May 19, 2026
• 
  US suspends joint defense body with Canada as security tensions grow SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - The U.S. has suspended a key defense cooperation body with Canada as tensions with Ottawa widen into security ties. U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby said Monday that Washington would suspend activities of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, or PJBD, a bilateral body responsible for coordinating military cooperation and defense policy between the United States and Canada, according to The Hill. The PJBD, which includes military offi May 19, 2026
• 
  Samsung Live: Industry Minister urges 'dramatic settlement' on final day of Samsung talks SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - As Samsung Electronics and its union entered the crucial final hours of government-mediated talks on Tuesday, South Korea's Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan made an urgent public plea for a resolution to avert a massive strike. Speaking at a parliamentary committee meeting, Kim expressed a "desperate need" to prevent the 18-day walkout scheduled to begin Thursday. "If we cannot resolve this when everyone knows the negative impacts of a strik May 19, 2026