Lee's approval rating falls again, remains below 50% for six weeks SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell for another week, according to a survey by pollster Realmeter released on Monday. In its survey of more than 2,500 adults nationwide last week, 46.3 percent of respondents said Lee was doing well, down 2.1 percentage points from the previous week. Slightly more respondents or 49.5 percent disapproved of his performance, while 4.2 percent remained undecided. Lee's approval rating has now remained in th July 27, 2026

Seoul to hold petroleum price cap until Gulf tensions ease SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung said South Korea should maintain its ceiling on petroleum prices until instability in the oil market has clearly subsided, signaling that the emergency measure will remain a central part of the government’s response to renewed tensions in the Middle East. “I ask that the petroleum price ceiling remain in place until instability in oil prices has clearly been resolved, and that policy tools such as fuel-tax reductions be ma July 27, 2026

South Korea breaks ground on $791 million light source facility SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - South Korea broke ground on a 1.16 trillion won ($791.5 million) fourth-generation synchrotron radiation facility, a flagship research complex the government hopes will free domestic scientists and industry from reliance on overseas laboratories. The Korea Light Source, or KLS, is being built on a site in Ochang, North Chungcheong Province, and is targeted for completion by the end of 2029, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Basic Science Institute July 27, 2026

SK hynix tops Samsung as students' employer of choice SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - SK hynix has retained its position as the company South Korean university students most want to work for, outpacing Samsung Electronics for a second straight year as the memory chipmaker continues to benefit from strong demand for AI semiconductors. The chipmaker ranked first with 14.2 percent of respondents in a survey of 1,811 university students conducted by recruitment platform Incruit. Samsung Electronics followed with 8.0 percent, while CJ Olive Young, July 27, 2026

SK nears call on SK Siltron sale as AI lifts valuations SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - SK Group will decide this week on whether to proceed with the sale of semiconductor wafer maker SK Siltron after surging semiconductor demand prompted a reassessment of the deal. The group's board is scheduled to discuss the proposed sale on Friday, industry sources said. The meeting comes more than seven months after Doosan was named the preferred bidder, with negotiations yet to be finalized. The prolonged negotiations have raised questions about wh July 27, 2026

Kia to hire engineers in large-scale recruitment drive next month SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - Kia will launch a large-scale recruitment drive to hire engineers for the second half of this year, the automaker said on Monday. Those interested can apply for a two-week period starting from Aug. 10. Applicants must be at least high school graduates, but there are no age or gender restrictions. Kia said it revamped its criteria for evaluating engineering candidates for the first time since 2014 to reflect changes in the manufacturing industry including el July 27, 2026

Tariffs shouldn't define Korea-U.S. partnership: AMCHAM chief SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - A fresh round of U.S. tariffs may cloud the Korea-U.S. economic relationship, but they should not define one of the world's deepest strategic business partnerships, according to James Kim, Chairman and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. With Seoul and Washington seeking closer cooperation in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing, Kim argued that sustained dialogue—not escalating trade measur July 27, 2026

LG Elec wins Nvidia nod, eyes bigger role in AI data centers SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - LG Electronics has cleared a key hurdle in its AI infrastructure push after receiving Nvidia's qualification for its coolant distribution unit (CDU), the company said Monday. The CDU is a liquid-cooling system designed to circulate coolant through cold plates attached to GPUs and CPUs, removing heat generated by high-performance AI servers. The system is designed to complement conventional air-cooling infrastructure as power density in AI server racks co July 27, 2026

AI deal euphoria steadies KOSPI and lifts KOSDAQ SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) -The big-tech-studded AI spectacle President Lee Jae Myung wrapped up in San Francisco last Friday helped South Korean shares recover on Monday, though the rebound fell well short of offsetting the nearly 6 percent plunge in the previous session. The KOSPI rose 0.7 percent, or 44.9 points, to 6,735.5, led by SK hynix and Samsung Electronics after their AI partnerships with Nvidia and Broadcom. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ outperformed, climbing 3.2 percent to 772.0, July 27, 2026

Hanwha Aerospace signs big deal, possibly linked to Spain's howitzer program SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - Hanwha Aerospace has signed a major deal valued at least 2.5 percent of its annual sales, according to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on Monday. The aerospace company said the deal was signed last Friday, but it did not disclose details such as the contractor, items to be supplied or contract period at the counterparty's request. "We will make a follow-up disclosure once the reason for confidentiality July 27, 2026