Aei Robot taps Nvidia tools to cut humanoid training costs SEOUL, June 08 (AJP) - South Korean humanoid robot developer Aei Robot announced it has reached a key milestone in bipedal robot development by harnessing Nvidia's motion-generation and inverse-kinematics tools, sharply lowering the cost of gathering the training data that machines need to learn human tasks. The announcement came as Aei Robot prepared to meet Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang later Monday, the final day of his four-day South Korea trip, during which the chip giant has cou June 8, 2026

Seoul, Tokyo hold first rescue drill in 9 years SEOUL, June 08 (AJP) - South Korea and Japan held a bilateral search and rescue exercise in international waters southeast of Jeju Island on Sunday, marking the first such drill between the two countries in nine years amid efforts to rebuild defense ties. The maritime exercise, known as SAREX, is designed to rehearse joint procedures for responding to maritime emergencies involving distressed vessels and was held for the first time since December 2017. The South Korean Navy deplo June 8, 2026

Nvidia, Doosan to collaborate on physical AI, data center infrastructure SEOUL, June 08 (AJP) - Nvidia and South Korea's Doosan Group announced they will expand their partnership across physical AI, robotics and AI factory infrastructure, the latest in a string of deals struck during CEO Jensen Huang's visit to Seoul. The collaboration spans four Doosan units — Doosan Robotics, Doosan Bobcat, Doosan Enerbility and Doosan Corporation Electro-Materials BG — pairing Nvidia's accelerated computing platforms with the conglomerate's June 8, 2026

Nvidia deepens South Korea push with Naver, SK hynix pacts SEOUL, June 08 (AJP) - Nvidia tightened its grip on South Korea's artificial intelligence buildout, unveiling parallel partnerships with Naver to construct a gigawatt-scale AI factory and with SK hynix to co-develop next-generation memory for its computing platforms. The dual announcements made Monday, timed to CEO Jensen Huang's visit to Seoul, underscore how the chip giant is weaving itself into the country's two pillars of the AI economy: hyperscale infrastructure and June 8, 2026

KOSPI crashes over 8% at open as US chip rout hits Seoul SEOUL, June 8 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI plunged 8.4 percent at the open Monday, shedding 683.1 points to 7,477.5 within the first minutes of trade, as a Friday rout in US semiconductor shares spilled into Seoul and dragged the index to its steepest opening drop in years. The decline was led by Samsung Electronics, which opened down 9.3 percent at 298,500 won (US$192.2), and SK Hynix, down 8.0 percent at 1,904,000 won. The two memory-chip giants account for a substant June 8, 2026

Nvidia's Huang, SK's Chey solidify AI partnership over chicken and 'somaek' in Seoul SEOUL, June 07 (AJP) - Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (Tony Chey) held a highly public, casual dinner meeting over fried chicken and beer in Seoul on Sunday, a gathering that highlighted the close ties between the AI chip giant and the world's leading high-bandwidth memory (HBM) maker. Arriving at a Kkanbu Chicken branch in southern Seoul's Gangnam district at 6:46 p.m., Huang wore a Doosan Bears baseball uniform—having just thrown the cer June 7, 2026

Nvidia CEO throws first pitch at baseball game before another 'Kkanbu' gathering SEOUL, June 7 (AJP) - Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang threw a ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game in Seoul on Sunday as part of his high-profile visit to South Korea, which also included meetings with top business leaders and tech experts. Huang, who has been busy with a packed schedule since arriving in Seoul last Friday, appeared at Jamsil Stadium in southern Seoul ahead of the game between the Doosan Bears and Kiwoom Heroes and met fans. He wore a Doosan Bears jersey with June 7, 2026

Former Naver CEO tapped as next PM SEOUL, June 7 (AJP) - Minister of SMEs and Startups Han Seong-sook was tapped to become the next prime minister, replacing incumbent Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Cheong Wa Dae said on Sunday. At a press briefing in Seoul, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said President Lee Jae Myung has nominated Han as the next prime minister. Referring to the outgoing prime minister, Kang also thanked Kim for his service and said the government's policy achievements were largely d June 7, 2026

South Korean footballers hold 1st training session in Mexico ahead of World Cup opener SEOUL, June 7 (AJP) - With this year's World Cup set to kick off later this week, South Korean footballers held their first training session in Mexico on Saturday, drawing hundreds of fans there. They will play their first three group-stage matches in the expanded 48-team quadrennial tournament co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. The warm-up session took place in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, just a day after their arrival in Mexico, following three weeks of preparation in June 7, 2026

South Korea posts 2nd-fastest OECD growth on chip boom, but long-term risks mount SEOUL, June 7 (AJP) - South Korea posted the second-fastest economic growth among major economies in the first quarter, driven by a semiconductor boom. According to data released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Sunday, South Korea's real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.7 percent in the first three months of this year, ranking second among 35 member countries. Only Denmark grew faster at 1.9 percent, while the OECD average stood at 0 June 7, 2026