Humanoids can beat Bolt. The harder race starts on the factory floor SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) - A humanoid robot ran 100 meters in 8.64 seconds at Beijing's World Humanoid Robot Games last week, nearly a full second faster than Usain Bolt's world record. Except that it kept going. Tiangong Ultra hurtled past the finish line, slammed into a padded barrier and crashed to the floor in a shower of sparks, leaving staff to rush in with fire extinguishers before the machine was carried away. Impressive as the machines are, much of humanoid robotic August 31, 2026

FSS to hold public hearing before toughening financial consumer rights SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) -South Korea's financial watchdog will put its consumer protection efforts under public scrutiny next month as regulators face mounting criticism over safeguards surrounding leveraged single-stock ETFs, which intensified a retail investment frenzy before the market rout left individual investors nursing heavy losses. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said Monday it will hold a public forum on Sept. 17 in Seoul with about 250 participants, including August 31, 2026

Samsung Heavy Industries secures new order after surpassing annual target SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) - Samsung Heavy Industries has secured an additional order for two container ships, the shipbuilder said on Monday. According to the shipbuilder, it signed a contract with an Africa-based shipping company to build two container ships worth 444.5 billion won (US$324 million), with the vessels scheduled for delivery in stages by December 2028. With the latest deal, the company’s merchant ship orders this year rose to 36 vessels worth $6.1 billion, s August 31, 2026

Hanwha Aerospace signs K9 deal with Spain in Western Europe debut SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) - Hanwha Aerospace has signed a contract with Spanish defense company Indra Sistemas to export K9 self-propelled howitzers, marking the South Korean defense manufacturer’s first entry into the Western European market. Hanwha Aerospace said in a regulatory filing Monday that it signed an execution contract with Indra for the export of K9 self-propelled howitzers and related systems. The company did not disclose the number of systems, contract value or August 31, 2026

NCT to bring 10th anniversary events across Seoul SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) - NCT will hold a series of public events across Seoul in September to mark the 10th anniversary of its brand launch, SM Entertainment said Monday. The events will be held in collaboration with Seoul Fashion Week and will include fountain shows, costume displays, a runway program, installations and an anniversary exhibition. From Sept. 1 to 5, Banpo Hangang Park's Moonlight Rainbow Fountain will present nightly shows set to songs by NCT 127, NCT DREAM August 31, 2026

South Korea tops travel destination for Japanese SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) - More than one in four Japanese traveling abroad this year chose South Korea, drawn by its proximity and the relative affordability of won-priced travel as rising costs and a weak yen weigh on longer-haul trips. Korea welcomed 12.8 million foreign visitors from January to July, up 21.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Japanese visitors accounted for 2.28 million, up 18.8 percent from 1.92 million ove August 31, 2026

Jeju Air reaches 5 million cumulative passengers on China routes SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) - Jeju Air has carried more than 5 million passengers on its flights to China, the low-cost carrier said on Monday. According to the carrier, its cumulative number of passengers to destinations in China stood at 5.18 million as of the end of July this year, since it began offering flights to one of the world’s most populous countries in 2012. Of the 15.38 million passengers carried by all South Korean low-cost carriers on China routes from April 2010, August 31, 2026

Bonuses lift discretionary spending up to 4% in Korea's chip hubs SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) - Discretionary spending on cars, furniture and other high-end goods in South Korea’s semiconductor-heavy communities rose by as much as 4 percent relative to areas with little chip exposure after Samsung Electronics and SK hynix began paying outsized bonuses from the industry boom, a Bank of Korea study showed Monday. The latest edition of BOK Issue Note estimated that bonuses at the two chipmakers generated about 1.1 trillion won ($790 million) in ad August 31, 2026

Seoul steps up ferry safety checks ahead of Chuseok SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) - South Korea will conduct special safety inspections of 141 coastal passenger ferries nationwide ahead of the Chuseok holiday, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Monday. The joint inspections will run for 12 days from Aug. 31 through Sept. 11, involving the ministry, the Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority, the Korea Coast Guard, local governments and civilian safety inspectors. This year’s four-day Chuseok holiday runs from Sept. August 31, 2026

Samsung, SK hynix tax payments nearly triple on chip boom SEOUL, August 31 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics and SK hynix paid a combined 11.2 trillion won ($8 billion) in corporate taxes in the first half of 2026, nearly triple the amount a year earlier, company filings showed. Samsung paid 3.99 trillion won in corporate taxes during the January-June period, up from 1.12 trillion won a year earlier, according to the company's separate financial statements filed with the Financial Supervisory Service. SK hynix paid 7.22 trillion August 31, 2026