Monthly wage tops $2,200 for half of Korean earners SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) —More than half of South Korean wage earners earned at least 3 million won ($2,260) a month in the first half of 2026, while the share earning at least 5 million won reached a record high for the period, government data showed Tuesday. Of the country’s 22.37 million wage workers as of April, 51.9 percent earned 3 million won or more per month, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. Workers earning between 3 million won and 4 millio October 27, 2026

Too many captains aboard South Korea's AI ship SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - Artificial intelligence is as much a common thread in South Korean government as in corporate management. The result is intense competition, even within the government. On Oct. 13, the science and industry ministries hosted separate physical AI showcases two floors apart at Seoul's COEX. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources sponsored the Korea Electronics Show with "CES Asia Unveiled Seoul," while the Ministry of Science and ICT ra October 27, 2026

Military probes security lapses after woman damages GOP fence SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - South Korea's military is investigating security lapses after a woman in her 30s entered a restricted border area and damaged surveillance sensors along a military fence near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday. The Ground Operations Command began investigating the unit involved on Monday, reviewing its overall security operations and response to the incident, a JCS official said On Oct. 24, the woman entered October 27, 2026

Samsung fined $15 million over misleading Galaxy gaming claims SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - South Korea's antitrust watchdog on Wednesday imposed a provisional 20 billion won ($15 million) fine on Samsung Electronics for misleading consumers about the gaming performance of its Galaxy smartphones and tablets. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said Samsung advertised the Galaxy S21 and S22 smartphones and Galaxy Tab S8 tablets as capable of delivering smooth, high-performance gaming without disclosing that their processing speeds were aut October 27, 2026

Ex-Samsung patent chief jailed for stealing secrets to sue former employer SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - A South Korean appeals court on Wednesday upheld a three-year prison sentence for a former Samsung Electronics executive convicted of leaking company secrets to support a patent lawsuit against his former employer. Ahn Seung-ho, who oversaw Samsung's patent operations for nine years before leaving in 2019, was taken into custody after the Seoul High Court upheld his conviction for violating trade secret protection laws. After leaving Samsung, Ahn e October 27, 2026

Wireless brain chip tracks Alzheimer's drug in real time SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - A wireless chip implanted in the brain has tracked, second by second, how a widely used Alzheimer's drug changes the level of a brain chemical tied to memory. It gives researchers a direct view of a brain drug at work instead of an inference drawn from behavior. KAIST said Tuesday that a team led by Jang Kyung-in, a professor in its Department of Mechanical Engineering, developed the chip with researchers from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science October 27, 2026

Korea's debt issues up 78% Sept following back-to-back rate hike SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) —A rush of debt sales bolstered securities pipeline in September after a back-to-back rate hikes in the previous two months, while IPO remained thin amid weak stock market, government data showed Tuesday. Companies issued securities worth 28.56 trillion won ($21.56 billion) in September, up 74.9 percent from 16.33 trillion won in August - 28.17 trillion won in bonds and 385.3 billion won in equities, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. October 27, 2026

Korea moves to overhaul culture law for AI era SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - South Korea is moving to overhaul its decades-old cultural arts law to reflect the rise of artificial intelligence and broader changes in the country's creative industry. The Culture Ministry will hold a policy forum Wednesday on revisions to the Culture and Arts Promotion Act, enacted in 1972 and long regarded as the country's basic law for the sector. The law has undergone full revisions in 1995 and 2007 as well as a series of partial amendme October 27, 2026

HYBE centralizes global distribution under single label unit SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - HYBE is consolidating music distribution, marketing and artist support across its global operations under a single label services organization as the K-pop company expands its business beyond Korea. HYBE Global Label Services will support artists across the company's operations in Korea, Japan, the United States, Latin America and other markets, handling functions including distribution, marketing and promotion. Juan S. Arenas, previously chief int October 27, 2026

Korea bids to become global nuclear manufacturing hub SEOUL, October 27 (AJP) - South Korea will seek to turn its reactor manufacturing and construction prowess into a global production base for nuclear power, the science ministry said Tuesday, as the country hosted an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ministerial conference for the first time. Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon, who chairs the meeting in Songdo, Incheon, also pledged to develop small modular reactors (SMRs) safely and to shore up public October 27, 2026