Chinese snacks spread across Korean shelves, drawing curiosity and scrutiny SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Step into an unmanned snack shop in Seoul and the shelves resemble a miniature world market — with China taking an outsized share, from mala konjac and latiao to spicy seafood and candy. The novelty is drawing shoppers, but also closer scrutiny as Korean regulators flag bacterial contamination, high sodium and labeling problems in some imported products. The Chinese packaged fish snack, bought from an unmanned store in downtown Seoul, looked as forc August 12, 2026

Rookie girl band Hearts2Hearts make Japanese debut with 1st single SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - K-pop rookie girl group Hearts2Hearts made their Japanese debut on Wednesday with their first Japanese single, according to their agency, SM Entertainment. "ICONIC HEART," as SM Entertainment moves the rookie girl group further into one of K-pop's most closely watched overseas markets. The single, which was released in Japan the previous day, includes three songs: the title track "ICONIC HEART" and Japanese-language versions of the August 12, 2026

Lee calls for Korea to lead, not chase, with seven future-tech projects SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday called for South Korea to move beyond catching up with global technology leaders and take the lead in emerging industries, as the government unveiled seven “SEED” projects. Lee said South Korea must use the opportunity created by its semiconductor industry to prepare for the technologies and industries that will follow the current artificial intelligence boom. “The seven advanced technologies and seve August 12, 2026

Shares of chip parts maker jump on strong Q2 earnings SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Shares of semiconductor parts maker Wonik QnC rose on Wednesday after it posted a more than twofold increase in second-quarter operating profit from a year earlier. Its shares closed 5.31 percent higher at 31,750 won (US$22.44). The gain came as consolidated operating profit jumped 119.1 percent from a year earlier to 30.9 billion won ($21.8 million) for the period between April and June, according to its preliminary earnings report released the same day. August 12, 2026

AKMU's Lee Su-hyun to release rendition of Japanese classic next week SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Sibling duo AKMU's Lee Su-hyun is taking on Seiko Matsuda's 1980 J-pop classic "Blue Lagoon," the latest in a wave of Korean renditions of Japanese songs, production company SH Gold Networks said on Wednesday. Her version of the song is set to be released on major streaming platforms next week. "Blue Lagoon" made Matsuda a household name in Japan, with its bright melody and lyrics about the jitters of young love helping cement August 12, 2026

HBM isn't enough: Chipmakers race to break AI's memory wall SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - The race to build faster artificial intelligence memory is beginning to move beyond simply stacking more DRAM, as chipmakers confront a more fundamental problem: even high-bandwidth memory may not be enough to keep increasingly powerful AI processors fed with data. For the past several years, competition among memory makers has centered on successive generations of HBM, from HBM3E to HBM4 and HBM4E. SK hynix, Samsung Electronics and Micron have raced to in August 12, 2026

Naver confirms KEF membership, plays down labor-tension angle SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Naver, South Korea's largest internet company, has become the first domestic IT firm to join the Korea Enterprises Federation, the country's main employers' body. A Naver spokesperson said Wednesday that the membership, secured late last year, should be read chiefly through the lens of industrial convergence rather than labor relations. "This is a period when AI is accelerating connections across industries, and it should be seen as an ef August 12, 2026

Pandemic hangover? Young Koreans opt solo as socializing gets pricey SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - For Jin, a corporate worker in his 30s, some friendships have simply become too expensive to maintain. “I feel uncomfortable meeting friends who want to eat somewhere expensive every single time,” he said. “I also don’t like taking turns paying for meals. Splitting the bill is just easier.” HJ Kim, 32, has reached much the same conclusion. What bothers her is not merely the price of dinner, but the invisible accounting that c August 12, 2026

N. Korea fires ballistic missile ahead of UFS, possible hypersonic weapon tested SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea on Wednesday, with analysts raising the possibility that Pyongyang tested a hypersonic short-range ballistic missile or a medium-range weapon flown on a shortened trajectory. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the missile launched from the Wonsan area at around 6 a.m. “Our military detected a ballistic missile launched from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea at around 6 August 12, 2026

KT Q2 profit falls 36% on tough property-gain base, AI revenue climbs SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - KT reported a 36.1 percent year-on-year drop in second-quarter operating profit, as the absence of a large one-off property gain that lifted last year's earnings to a record weighed on the bottom line. According to regulatory filings released Wednesday, the telecommunications carrier posted consolidated operating profit of 648.3 billion won ($457 million) for the April to June quarter, down from 1.01 trillion won a year earlier. Revenue fell 10.1 percent August 12, 2026