South Korea's RIMPAC command marks a naval coming of age SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - South Korea crossed a milestone in its decades-long naval evolution this week by commanding the maritime component of the world's largest multinational naval exercise for the first time, underscoring Seoul's growing ambition to become a blue-water navy capable of operating far beyond the Korean Peninsula. The Republic of Korea Navy served as commander of the Combined Forces Maritime Component during this year's Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), July 30, 2026

South Korea mulls protection measures for platform workers under ILO convention SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - South Korea is considering requiring delivery apps and other digital labor platforms to explain how their algorithms distribute work, as the government prepares legal changes needed to ratify a international convention protecting platform workers, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said on Thursday. It is also considering extending the right to refuse dangerous work to delivery riders, drivers and other platform workers who are not formally classified as emp July 30, 2026

Seoul's ETF fallout leaves a costly lesson and search for accountability SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - Funeral flowers stood outside the National Assembly, while online protesters called for the "death of single-stock leveraged ETFs." Seoul authorities have been rolling out one emergency action after another for damage control as the epic downward spiral in chip stocks themed around single-stock leveraged ETFs hemorrhaged investors from pensioners to teenagers. The public anger soon evolved into a broader debate over who should bear responsibility July 30, 2026

Hanwha chairman's three sons promoted in major leadership reshuffle SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - Hanwha Group said Thursday it will promote Chairman Kim Seung-youn’s three sons and replace the heads of five affiliates, in a major leadership reshuffle set to take effect on Aug. 1. Kim Dong-kwan, the chairman’s eldest son and vice chairman of Hanwha Group, will be promoted to senior vice chairman. Kim Dong-won, the second son and president of Hanwha Life, will become vice chairman, while Kim Dong-sun, the youngest son and vice president of Hanwh July 30, 2026

Seoul says China's stance on denuclearization unchanged SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - South Korea's foreign ministry said Thursday that China's position on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula has not changed, setting the tone for a planned visit to Seoul by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the first by a top Chinese diplomat since President Lee Jae Myung took office. Wang is expected to travel to Seoul on August 19 and 20 for talks with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, according to diplomatic sources cited in Korean media reports, July 30, 2026

Why Kazakhstan puts more women to work than Korea or US SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - Kazakhstan's female workforce grew again in the first quarter of 2026, extending the reach of one of the world's higher rates of working women, a distinction the Central Asian country owes less to recent policy than to a century of history. The number of employed women reached 4.527 million in the first three months of the year, up 42,600 or 0.9 percent from a year earlier, according to Kazakhstan's National Statistics Bureau under the Agency for July 30, 2026

With probe into local elections extended, ballots set to be recounted next month SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - Ballots from the June 3 local elections kept in southern Seoul are expected to be opened and recounted next month as part of a parliamentary investigation into a shortage of ballot papers that disrupted the elections. A parliamentary committee consisting of ruling and opposition lawmakers agreed Thursday to extend its probe into alleged irregularities during the elections by about a month until the end of August, with its initial 45-day period set to expire July 30, 2026

Chip boom fuels Samsung heyday, beggars its device business SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - A trophy child often comes at the expense of a sibling, and the "beggar-thy-family" concept can scarcely be better illustrated than by Samsung Electronics' second-quarter results. The South Korean technology behemoth reported that its Device Solutions (DS) semiconductor division generated an operating profit of 89.2 trillion won ($64.4 billion) on revenue of 127.5 trillion won in the second quarter, translating into a jaw-dropping operating mar July 30, 2026

Korea bets on being indispensable in U.S.-China AI rivalry SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - When the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week barred new imports of Chinese-made humanoid robots, it marked another escalation in the technology war that began with semiconductors and rare earths. More importantly, it showed that strategic competition has entered the age of physical artificial intelligence — where robots, AI models and communications networks are increasingly treated as national-security assets. For South Korea, the dec July 30, 2026

Hyundai Motor union warns of disciplinary action over strike violations SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - Members of Hyundai Motor's labor union who continue working during scheduled strike hours could face disciplinary action, with additional walkouts threatened against entire departments if violations are confirmed, the union said Thursday. The warning came as the union entered its third round of partial strikes this week after wage and collective bargaining talks with the automaker stalled. The union plans four-hour walkouts through Friday, with both pro July 30, 2026