Canada submarine race turns winner-take-all as final decision nears SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Canada's multibillion-dollar submarine competition is increasingly shaping into a winner-take-all contest after the country's defense minister publicly highlighted the financial and operational drawbacks of operating two different submarine fleets. The remarks weaken speculation that Ottawa could split its planned order of up to 12 submarines between South Korea's Hanwha Ocean and Germany's Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as a political comp June 30, 2026

Two weak currencies, two different stories: Indonesia and Korea SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Crisis-era exchange rates and relentless foreign stock selling have become familiar headaches for policymakers in both Indonesia and South Korea. At first glance, the two economies appear to face the same challenge. A closer look tells a different story. The Indonesian rupiah's slide to record-low territory has revived memories of past currency crises, putting renewed pressure on Jakarta as investors question whether the country's external buffers ar June 30, 2026

AI investment push, chip rally lift KOSPI; KOSDAQ slips SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - South Korean stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as semiconductor heavyweights led a sharp recovery in the benchmark KOSPI after morning losses, helped by stronger U.S. chip stocks overnight and the South Korean government's fresh support for artificial intelligence semiconductors, while the junior KOSDAQ slipped as investors took profits in battery and biotechnology shares. The benchmark KOSPI closed up 0.97 percent at 8,476.48. The index had fallen as low as June 30, 2026

Heat advisory grips Seoul while monsoon approaches SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Seoulites sought temporary relief from the scorching heat under shaded areas and other resting spots including the Cheonggyecheon Stream in central Seoul on Tuesday, as a heat advisory remained in effect across the capital. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), daytime temperatures in Seoul climbed to around 33 degrees Celsius. The KMA said heat advisories remain in place for Seoul, parts of the surrounding metropolitan area, and the c June 30, 2026

Samsung Elec Q2 to raise the bar on blockbuster earnings SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics is widely expected to deliver another blockbuster quarter when it issues preliminary second-quarter earnings guidance next week, reflecting a 60 to 70 percent surge in mass-market memory prices and explosive demand for lucrative high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in artificial intelligence. According to market consensus compiled by FnGuide, Samsung is projected to post second-quarter revenue of 166.76 trillion won ($120.3 billion) and June 30, 2026

Seoul to roll out Korea's first Level 4 robotaxi service this fall SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Seoul metropolitan government announced Tuesday that it will become the first city in South Korea to put a Level 4 autonomous taxi on the road, with the self-driving service set to launch in November in the Sangam neighborhood of Mapo District. The plan is part of a list of policy changes and public services the city has scheduled for the second half of 2026. The robotaxi will be available through a regular taxi-hailing app, allowing passengers to call th June 30, 2026

Kookmin University hosts global ICT security symposium SEOUL, July 1 (AJP) - Kookmin University will host researchers and industry officials from 11 countries next week week as the school stages the second International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Working Group 8.4 International Symposium, known as EBISION 2026, from July 8 to 10 in Seoul, the university said Tuesday. The conference, held at Kookmin University's main administration building near central Seoul, is the official flagship event of IFIP Working Group 8 June 30, 2026

Margin-driven stock selloffs quadruple amid volatile KOSPI swings SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Involuntary stock selloffs more than quadrupled last week after a sharp market decline left many retail investors unable to pay for shares they had purchased. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA) on Tuesday, stocks forced to be sold due to margin calls totaled 271.7 billion won (US$200 million) last week, more than four times the 64.8 billion won recorded a week earlier. Stocks worth 50.9 billion won were sold off last Friday alon June 30, 2026

Not everyone in Korea stock-crazy. Some chase Pokémon cards instead SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - For many South Koreans in their 20s and 30s, priced out of homeownership and wary of the stock market, a rare Pokémon card has become both a comfort and a hard-won luxury. Dozens, then hundreds, of collectors lined up outside a shop in Yongsan, downtown Seoul, long before its 10:30 a.m. opening. Ten minutes after registration began, 63 groups were already queued on the kiosk tablet, tapping their feet impatiently for the doors to open. Security gua June 30, 2026

More areas in Gyeonggi Province placed under property curbs amid surging prices SEOUL, June 30 (AJP) - Three additional areas in Gyeonggi Province have been designated as "speculative zones" in an effort to curb overheated demand in parts of the Seoul metropolitan region, where housing prices have recently skyrocketed, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on Tuesday. According to the ministry, Dongtan in Hwaseong, Giheung in Yongin, and Guri have been newly added to such zones, under which loans for buying homes there are limited, w June 30, 2026