Daegu named first hub for South Korea's AI drug-discovery drive SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - South Korea has designated the southeastern city of Daegu as the first innovation hub for artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery under "K-Moonshot," the government's flagship program to embed AI across national science and technology research. The Ministry of Science and ICT said on Wednesday it had held a launch ceremony in Daegu for a pilot project to build an "AIxBio" research base focused on synthetic new drugs, drawing tog August 12, 2026

Lee accepts credentials of US Ambassador Steel and others SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung welcomed U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel on Wednesday in their first meeting since the Korean American and former congresswoman took up her post in Seoul. Lee greeted Steel at Cheong Wa Dae during a ceremony in which he received credentials from newly appointed ambassadors of four countries. After accepting Steel's credentials, Lee said, "Welcome," before posing with her for a commemorative photo. He t August 12, 2026

China grabs over 80% of global ship orders, Korea at 16% SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - With global ship orders falling by more than half in July from the previous month, China accounted for more than 80 percent of the orders, while South Korea accounted for just 16 percent. According to data released by London-based Clarkson Research Services on Wednesday, global ship orders last month totaled 3.57 million compensated gross tons (CGT) or 137 vessels, down 56 percent from 8.03 million CGT a month earlier and 22 percent from 4.55 million CGT a August 12, 2026

Money may buy happiness: SK hynix happier than Samsung SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Who says money can't buy happiness? SK hynix ranked among the top 3 percent of South Korean companies for employee happiness while archrival Samsung Electronics placed around the top 60 percent, according to a workplace survey released Wednesday, underscoring how the AI memory boom is translating into starkly different perceptions of reward inside Korea's two biggest chipmakers. The findings came from the latest Blind Index, compiled by workpla August 12, 2026

Samsung Securities liable for phantom-share losses, top court rules SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - South Korea's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Samsung Securities was vicariously liable for employee negligence behind its 2018 "phantom-share" debacle, broadening the legal basis for compensation while leaving a 1.87 billion won ($1.3 million) award to the National Pension Service unchanged. A four-justice panel of the Supreme Court, with Justice Oh Kyeong-mi as the justice in charge, rejected appeals from both sides and upheld a lower cour August 12, 2026

SK hynix workers move to unify union to up bargaining power SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Workers at SK hynix are moving to establish a new union spanning production and office employees, with organizers seeking majority representation to strengthen bargaining power at the world's leading high-bandwidth memory maker. The proposed SK hynix Integrated Labor Union had attracted more than 1,250 members as of Wednesday after its organizing committee filed for official registration on Aug. 8, according to industry sources. The union could formall August 12, 2026

More nighttime ferry rides available on Han River this weekend SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Seoul's water ferry service along the Han River will expand its nighttime operations starting this weekend, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday. Two additional departures from Jamsil in southern Seoul to the financial district of Yeouido in western Seoul will be available at 6:50 p.m. and 7:20 p.m., while routes connecting Yeouido and Magok, a newly developed neighborhood in far western Seoul, will also have departures at 8:25 p.m. and 8:5 August 12, 2026

LG Elec rolls out FDA-cleared diagnostic monitor SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - LG Electronics has launched a new diagnostic monitor cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, expanding its medical display lineup as the South Korean electronics maker targets the business-to-business healthcare market. The 40-inch monitor, model 40HT513D, features a 21:9 curved IPS Black display with a resolution of 5,120 by 2,160 pixels and 11-megapixel support. Its three-way picture-by-picture function allows medical professionals to vie August 12, 2026

KAIST develops AI to detect foreign-linked online commenters SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Software built to catch foreign influence campaigns online has long had the same blind spot. It can tell a platform which accounts look suspicious, but not why. A research team in South Korea says it has closed that gap with an artificial intelligence system that points to the exact words behind every judgment it makes, so a person can check the machine's reasoning instead of taking it on faith. Run across nearly two decades of comments on Naver News, August 12, 2026

Samsung Elec payout hopes lift KOSPI more than 2% SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) -Seoul's main index jumped more than 2 percent in early trade Wednesday as foreign and institutional money returned to large-cap stocks on speculation that chip bellwethers could sharply increase shareholder payouts. The KOSPI traded at 6,484.59, up 2.2 percent from Tuesday's close of 6,345.53, while the junior KOSDAQ reversed course and fell 1.5 percent to 845.18. The rally was narrow. Decliners outnumbered advancers 473 to 357 on the main board, w August 12, 2026