More Koreans see themselves as better off than Japanese SEOUL, August 14 (AJP) - South Koreans increasingly see themselves having a higher standard of living than people in Japan, a survey released ahead of Liberation Day showed. According to a survey released Thursday by online polling platform Now & Survey, 37.2 percent held that view, compared with 23.3 percent who said people in Japan had a higher standard of living. The poll, conducted by South Korean IT company Elimnet Inc.’s survey platform, questioned 1,007 adults August 14, 2026

Samsung brings AI brains as chip rivalry with SK hynix heats up SEOUL, August 14 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics has recruited two artificial intelligence specialists to accelerate the use of AI in semiconductor research and manufacturing, as its intensifying rivalry with SK hynix expands beyond advanced memory chips into how those chips are designed and produced. Samsung has hired Seoul National University professor Bohyung Han, a specialist in deep learning and computer vision, as a Fellow to lead the development of AI models tailored to semicon August 14, 2026

Fund inflows defy KOSPI rout, firms turn to banks SEOUL, August 14 (AJP) - South Korean equity funds attracted 11.4 trillion won ($8.0 billion) in fresh money in July despite the steepest stock-market rout since 2008, while corporate bank loans increased by 7.7 trillion won as the bond market remained in net repayment. The benchmark KOSPI plunged 22.2 percent to 6,595 at the end of July from 8,476 a month earlier, marking its worst monthly performance since October 2008, the Bank of Korea said Friday in its monthly financial-mark August 14, 2026

LG to roll out Nvidia-powered humanoid Q1 2027 SEOUL, August 14 (AJP) -South Korea's LG Group plans to unveil a bipedal humanoid robot powered by Nvidia's artificial intelligence technology in the first quarter of next year, pushing partnership beyond technology and component supply into joint development and commercialization across robotics, AI factories and autonomous driving. The electronics giant said Friday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Nvidia at the U.S. chipmaker's headquarters in Sa August 14, 2026

North Korean leader 'could reengage with Trump after US midterm elections'  SEOUL, August 14 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could seek talks with Washington if U.S. President Donald Trump's Republican Party loses the U.S. midterm elections this fall, according to a U.S. Korea expert. In a post in a question-and-answer format on the website of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Thursday, Victor Cha, the think tank's Korea Chair, raised the possibility of renewed talks between Pyoung and Washington. "The conv August 14, 2026

Kim Koo tops independence fighter searches ahead of Liberation Day SEOUL, August 14 (AJP) - Kim Koo, Ahn Jung-geun and Yu Gwan-sun were among the most searched independence activists on the Independence Hall of Korea's online biographical dictionary this year. The results show how public interest remains centered on Korea's best-known anti-colonial figures ahead of Liberation Day. The Independence Hall of Korea said Friday it analyzed user activity on the Korean Independence Movement Information System's biographical dictionary f August 14, 2026

SK hynix surges as KOSPI extends fifth-day rally SEOUL, August 14 (AJP) - Seoul's memory trade ran into a fifth straight session Friday, with SK hynix jumping more than 5 percent after a U.S. flash memory maker's long-term margin targets pushed investors to reprice the storage cycle. The KOSPI traded at 6,944.14, up 1.9 percent, after pushing back above the 7,000 line early in the session and then slipping under it. The index added 130.80 points. Foreigners bought a net 572.8 billion won ($404.3 million) of Seoul sha August 14, 2026

Pyongyang warns of 'new level of deterrent' against US.-South Korea drills SEOUL, August 14 (AJP) - North Korea on Friday denounced an upcoming joint military exercise between South Korea and the U.S., warning that it would respond to the drills with a "new level of deterrent." "It is our consistent principle of ensuring security to respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent," a spokesperson for North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. August 14, 2026

White House flags Korea in China tariff-evasion network SEOUL, August 14 (AJP) -The White House has placed South Korea in the top tier of countries exposed to potential Chinese tariff evasion, singling out Gyeonggi Province's semiconductor belt as a possible conduit for China-linked chips as Washington prepares an artificial intelligence-powered crackdown on what it calls a global "shadow transshipment network." A report released by the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy identifies more than 40 countries August 14, 2026

Trump shipbuilding order opens MASGA lane for Korea SEOUL, August 14 (AJP) -U.S. President Donald Trump has opened a potentially significant procurement route for South Korean shipbuilders under Seoul's $150 billion MASGA partnership, allowing qualifying foreign yards to build the first two ships in selected U.S. naval programs at home before shifting subsequent construction to American shipyards. The move, contained in a presidential memorandum signed Thursday, could turn part of the Korea-U.S. Make American Shipbuilding Grea August 14, 2026