LG Electronics deploys industrial heat pump system at Korean paper mill SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - LG Electronics said Wednesday it has completed the installation of a large-scale industrial heat pump system at a paper mill in South Korea, marking the commercial deployment of a high-temperature heat pump developed under a government-backed carbon neutrality project. The company said the system was supplied to paper manufacturer Ajin P&P in Daegu and entered commercial operation earlier this month. The project forms part of a national research and deve July 8, 2026

ESTsoft launches AI shopping assistant with CJ Olive Young SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - ESTsoft, a South Korean AI service developer, announced it has launched a kiosk-based "AI Shopping Assistant" jointly with CJ Olive Young, one of the country's leading K-beauty retailers. The service will debut first at three Seoul stores popular with foreign tourists: the Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station, Apgujeong Jungang and Ewha Jungang branches. The assistant is built on ESTsoft's real-time conversational AI avatar platfo July 8, 2026

KOTRA sees UAE defense openings for Korean firms after Middle East war SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency has published a new guide for Korean defense companies seeking to enter the United Arab Emirates market, as demand in the Middle East shifts from arms purchases to broader defense-industrial cooperation. The report, titled “From Arms Exports to Full-Cycle Cooperation: Strategy for Entering the UAE Defense Market,” is aimed at helping Korean firms expand in the UAE after the recent U.S.-Iran war. The UA July 8, 2026

KAIST builds stretchable display that expands without image distortion SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - South Korean researchers have developed a stretchable display platform that expands evenly in every direction when pulled, keeping text and images in their original proportions instead of squashing them, a problem that has held back screens designed to stretch like rubber. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said Wednesday that a team led by Yoo Seung-hyup, a professor in its School of Electrical Engineering, developed the platform July 8, 2026

Korean titles crowd Netflix charts as 'Agent Kim Reactivated' joins SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - Korean titles filled several top spots on Netflix's global charts last week, led by action drama "Mr. Kim," which climbed to No. 1 on the platform's non-English TV chart in its second week of release. "Agent Kim Reactivated" logged 10.5 million views for the week of June 29 to July 5, according to Netflix's official Top 10 data. Netflix calculates views by dividing total viewing hours by a title's running time. The se July 8, 2026

KOSPI extends slide as chip conviction cracks SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - South Korean stocks fell for a third straight session Wednesday morning as foreign investors kept unwinding the semiconductor trade, a retreat that record earnings from Samsung Electronics have failed to arrest and that has now circled through Wall Street and back to Seoul. The KOSPI opened at 7,443.8, down 212.5 points, or 2.8 percent. The drop follows Tuesday's 4.9 percent plunge, which triggered the main board's sixth circuit breaker of the year, July 8, 2026

Samsung starts mass production of enterprise SSD expected for Nvidia's Vera Rubin AI platform SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics has begun mass production of its PCIe 6.0-based enterprise solid-state drive, the PM1763, designed for artificial intelligence servers, the company said Wednesday. The product is expected to be used in Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin AI platform, according to officials. The new enterprise SSD combines Samsung’s ninth-generation V-NAND with a 4-nanometer controller and will be available in 4-terabyte, 8TB and 16TB capacitie July 8, 2026

South Korea's agriculture satellite makes 1st contact after liftoff in California SEOUL, July 8 (AJP) - South Korea's next-generation mid-sized satellite successfully made first contact after being launched aboard a SpaceX rocket in the U.S. on Tuesday, according to the Korea AeroSpace Administration said. The space agency said it communicated with a ground station at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute in Daejeon at around 10:50 p.m. here, about 6 hours and 38 minutes after lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. During the first July 8, 2026

Seoul, Washington, Tokyo forge SMR export alliance SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - South Korea, the United States and Japan signed an agreement on Tuesday to jointly export small modular reactors, turning three countries that have long competed for the same nuclear contracts into a coordinated bloc aimed at the fastest-growing corner of the global energy market. South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday that Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Mot July 8, 2026

Kakao expands AI assistant's place recommendation, booking features SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - Kakao announced that it has upgraded the place recommendation and booking functions of its AI assistant, Kanana in KakaoTalk, broadening the service well beyond its original restaurant focus. The update revealed Tuesday extends Kanana's reach into tourism and lodging, exhibitions, performances and cinemas, as well as everyday conveniences such as gas stations, convenience stores and auto repair shops, the company said. Users can now chat with Kanana abo July 8, 2026