HD Hyundai to help modernize U.S. shipyard under deal with Fraser Industries SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - HD Hyundai is moving to support the modernization of a U.S. shipyard as part of broader efforts to contribute to the revival of America’s shipbuilding industry. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the intermediate holding company of HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding business, said Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Fraser Industries LLC on cooperation to modernize shipyards for the revitalization of the U.S. shipbuildin July 30, 2026

WayV builds new EP ahead of Seoul concerts SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - NCT's China-based unit WayV will return next month with a seven-track EP built around Chinese words that share the same pronunciation but carry different meanings, SM Entertainment said Thursday. The Chinese boy band will release its eighth EP, "Vision Wings," at 6 p.m. (0900 GMT) on Aug. 10, according to SM Entertainment. The album includes Chinese- and English-language versions of the title track, "Vision Wings." Each song is tie July 30, 2026

Eco-friendly cars to hit 4 million, half of new registrations in H1 SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - The cumulative number of eco-friendly vehicles in South Korea is on track to reach 4 million, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Thursday. The number of registered eco-friendly vehicles including hybrids and electric vehicles increased sharply to 3.95 million as of the end of June, accounting for about 14.8 percent of all registered vehicles. The figure includes 2.81 million hybrids, 1.1 million EVs and 47,000 July 30, 2026

LG Energy Q2 profit slides 77% on weak EV demand SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - LG Energy Solution confirmed that its second-quarter operating profit tumbled 77 percent from a year earlier to 113.3 billion won ($78.6 million), as a prolonged slump in North American electric-vehicle demand continued to erode earnings at South Korea's largest battery maker. According to regulatory filings released Thursday, revenue rose 24.8 percent year-on-year to 7.56 trillion won, while the net loss came to 328.6 billion won, swinging back into the r July 30, 2026

KOSPI continues to slide on chip flight despite record earnings SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) -SK hynix continued to skid on Thursday, dragging the benchmark KOSPI lower despite renewed buying by foreign and institutional investors. The Seoul benchmark opened higher after plunging 17 percent over the previous two sessions, but selling in heavyweight chip stocks quickly erased the gains. As of 9:50 a.m., the KOSPI was down 0.74 percent at 5,621.47. Samsung Electronics rose 1.0 percent on record second-quarter operating profit of 89.49 trillion won ($6 July 30, 2026

US ambassador Steel to land in Seoul after 18-month vacancy SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - The new United States ambassador to South Korea lands in Seoul on Thursday afternoon, ending a vacancy of about 18 months at the top of the American mission and filling the post for the first time since President Donald Trump returned to office. Michelle Steel is expected to arrive at Incheon International Airport at about 3:20 p.m. She will deliver an arrival statement to reporters at 4 p.m. in the briefing room at the first-floor entrance to the VIP lounge i July 30, 2026

Lee arrives in Santiago for summit to revamp decades-old FTA with Chile SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Chile on Wednesday for the second leg of his South American tour, after concluding his state visit to Brazil. Lee is expected to push to upgrade a decades-old free trade agreement with Chile, Seoul's first FTA partner, and expand cooperation on critical minerals supply chains and infrastructure. Upon arrival at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago, Lee was greeted by Chilean officials incl July 30, 2026

Korean chipmakers confirm stunning Q2, but investors price in the peak SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) - South Korea's two memory giants confirmed their supremacy in back-to-back second-quarter earnings releases, generating a combined operating profit of about 150 trillion won ($108 billion), equivalent to roughly 6 percent of the country's entire 2025 nominal GDP, with margins in the 70 percent range that few manufacturers could dream of. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix delivered the same assurance: the extraordinary combination of tight supp July 30, 2026

Seoul mulls 20% cap on single-stock leveraged ETFs SEOUL, July 30 (AJP) -South Korea's financial authorities are moving toward tougher curbs on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds, proposing to limit such products to a fixed share of retail investors' portfolios after a sharp selloff exposed the risks of heavy speculation in semiconductor stocks. At an emergency meeting among key financial policymakers on Wednesday, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, Bank of Korea Gov. Shin Hyun-song, Financial Services Commission C July 30, 2026

Army tests combat squad pairing soldiers with drones, robot dogs SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - South Korea’s Army has launched a trial unit that combines soldiers with drones, quadruped robots, multipurpose unmanned ground vehicles and autonomous vehicles at the squad level, as it seeks to test future combat formations built around manned-unmanned teaming. The Army said Wednesday it held a launch ceremony for an experimental manned-unmanned squad at the 11th Maneuver Division in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province. The squad consists of eight personnel July 29, 2026