Korea Pavilion shows nation's heritage to world SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - The Republic of Korea Pavilion, the official host country exhibition for the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, is introducing Korea's cultural heritage to visitors from around the world at BEXCO in Busan. South Korea is hosting the committee for the first time since joining the World Heritage Convention in 1988. The 11-day session opened on July 19 and runs through July 29, bringing together delegates and her July 25, 2026

Nvidia puts SK partnership at $500 billion SEOUL, July 25 (AJP) - A partnership between SK Group and Nvidia will reach $500 billion, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said in San Francisco on Friday (local time), naming a sum larger than everything the chipmaker sold in its last full fiscal year. He said it in the future tense during a meeting with President Lee Jae Myung at a hotel downtown. The two companies would announce the partnership that day, he said, and the scale reached $500 billion (733 trillion won). As of S July 25, 2026

President Lee pitches South Korea as AI testbed SEOUL, July 25 (AJP) - The country that makes most of the world's memory chips now wants to be the first country to put artificial intelligence to work everywhere else. President Lee Jae Myung carried that argument to San Francisco on Friday, delivering what his office named the San Francisco AI Declaration to a room holding the chief executives of Nvidia, OpenAI, Anthropic and Broadcom. The declaration made two promises at once. South Korea would keep AI chips moving to globa July 25, 2026

Korean shipbuilders expand US partnerships in $150B cooperation push SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - South Korea’s three major shipbuilders are expanding partnerships with U.S. companies in naval ship design, smart shipyards, workforce training and supply chains, as Seoul moves to accelerate a $150 billion shipbuilding cooperation package with Washington. The moves follow the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center in Washington, D.C., this week. The center is expected to serve as a key platform for Korea’s participation in effor July 24, 2026

KOSPI leads Asian retreat on oil jitters, capping sidecar-ridden week SEOUL, July 24 (AJP)— South Korean stocks suffered another sharp selloff Friday as surging oil prices driven by escalating Middle East tensions and mounting interest-rate concerns fueled broad risk aversion, sending both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ into sell-side sidecars for a fifth consecutive trading session. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 6,690.62, down 5.72 percent, and the junior KOSDAQ fell 5.32 percent, to 748.22, as foreign and institutional investors accelerated selling desp July 24, 2026

Court rejects bid to block wider distribution of box office hit 'The King's Warden' SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - A Seoul court has rejected a bid to block further distribution of The King's Warden, clearing a legal obstacle to the historical drama's release on streaming services, home video and other platforms. The Seoul Western District Court dismissed an injunction sought by the family of a screenwriter who alleged that the film had copied the script of the 2000s television drama Eom Heung-do. The application was filed against co-producers Onda Works and BA July 24, 2026

SM Entertainment to host running event for K-pop fans this fall SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - A running event bringing together K-pop singers and their fans will be held this autumn, talent mill SM Entertainment said on Friday. Dubbed "SMTOWN RUN CLUB 26," the event is scheduled to be held at Wangsan Marina in the western port city of Incheon on Oct. 3, featuring a 10-kilometer course followed by live performances by SM artists and singers. The event was inspired by the "SM London Run," a fan-coined name for an impromptu run last July 24, 2026

Gwanghwamun's Hangul signboard to be discussed SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - The government will bring 200 citizens together this weekend to debate whether a Hangeul signboard should hang at Gwanghwamun Gate alongside the existing Chinese character one. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will hold the first "Forum for Everyone" on the question from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 26 at Yonsei University's Baekyang-nuri hall in Seoul, the ministries said Thursday. July 24, 2026

Seoul to offer free month of bike-sharing after data breach SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - The Seoul Facilities Corporation, which suffered a data breach affecting 4.62 million citizens after its Ddareungi bike-sharing system was hacked by two middle school students, announced it will provide affected users with a one-month Ddareungi pass worth 5,000 won. The operator of bike-sharing service Ddareungi, sent text messages to users on July 21 informing them of the details of the hacking incident and the categories of personal information exposed. July 24, 2026

US-Saudi nuclear deal exposes limits of Seoul's enrichment push SEOUL, July 24 (AJP) - A proposed U.S.-Saudi nuclear cooperation agreement allowing Riyadh to eventually enrich uranium on its own soil may strengthen South Korea's case for greater control over its civilian nuclear fuel cycle, but it does little to resolve the far more difficult question confronting Seoul's nuclear submarine ambitions: who supplies the fuel. The issue has taken on greater urgency as South Korea and the United States resumed follow-up talks last month on sec July 24, 2026