Central Asian neighbors take Kambarata-1 hydropower talks to Istanbul SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - Negotiations on a hydropower plant that Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan plan to build and run together moved to Istanbul, where the three governments held technical talks with support from the World Bank, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy said. The meeting followed three rounds of negotiations this year on a draft intergovernmental agreement. This treaty would set out how the three countries build, finance and operate the 1,860-megawatt Kambarata- October 30, 2026

Gov't tax revenue surges last month as chipmakers post record earnings SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - South Korea's tax revenue reached 55.2 trillion won (US$40.9 billion) last month, up 26.4 trillion won from a year earlier, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance and Economy on Friday. The increase in September was driven by stronger corporate earnings, particularly in the semiconductor industry, with corporate taxes accounting for the bulk of the increase, rising 23.6 trillion won to 36.2 trillion won. The ministry attributed the sharp October 30, 2026

AI boom boosts Big Tech earnings, but rising costs raise questions SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - America's tech giants are seeing a surge in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) computing, with cloud businesses gaining momentum at Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft. However, their massive spending on data centers and other infrastructure has raised questions about how quickly they can turn those investments into profits. The latest earnings from the three cloud providers, alongside Meta Platforms and chipmaker Intel, show how the AI boom is reshapin October 30, 2026

Battery makers ride storage boom amid AI jitters SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - Orders for the batteries that keep AI data centers running are still pouring into South Korea's battery makers, even as investors question whether the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has swollen into a bubble. Samsung SDI on Thursday reported a third-quarter operating profit of 407.8 billion won (US$308 million), reversing a 591.3 billion won loss a year earlier. The result, its largest in 12 quarters, came on climbing sales of energy storage syste October 30, 2026

Korea's wings paint Sacheon's autumn skies Eight fighter jets sweep across the brilliant blue autumn sky, breaking formation and coming together again in perfect symmetry. Behind them, white smoke trails trace the Taegeuk, the ancient Korean symbol at the heart of the national flag. It is a distinctly Korean signature in the sky. At the 2026 Sacheon Airshow, held from October 22 to 25 in South Korea's southeastern aerospace hub, the spectacle was more than a display October 30, 2026

BVLGARI's B.zero1 Pop-up Event at Lotte Avenuel From left, Vincenzo Pujia, BVLGARI's Executive Vice President of Sales and Retail, actor and BVLGARI ambassador Byeon Woo-seok, BVLGARI CEO Laura Burdese, and Lee Jung-hak, CEO of BVLGARI Korea, pose for photos during a photocall event for the "BVLGARI B.zero1 Experience" pop-up at Lotte Department Store's Avenuel World Tower branch in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on October 30, 2026. AJP Yoo Na-hyun October 30, 2026

South Korea's KF-21 flies with US Air Force jets for first time SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - South Korea's domestically developed KF-21 fighter jet flew in formation with U.S. Air Force aircraft for the first time over the Yellow Sea, military officials said Friday. The flight took place on Oct. 23 and involved a KF-21 assigned to the 156th Fighter Squadron under the South Korean Air Force's 16th Fighter Wing. The U.S. Air Force deployed a U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft from the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron, along with F-35 and October 30, 2026

SK taps ex-KEPCO chief to run SK Innovation SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - SK Group named Cheong Seung-il, a former vice industry minister who once ran state utility Korea Electric Power Corp., as chief executive of its energy arm SK Innovation, while keeping SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung in place, the group said Friday. The annual reshuffle was brought forward by about a month for a second straight year. It leaves most affiliate heads untouched after last year’s sweeping overhaul and puts new leaders in charge of the energy October 30, 2026

Samsung says tech edge still fragile despite record profits SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics warned Friday that its technological competitiveness has yet to fully recover despite record quarterly profits, urging employees not to grow complacent amid an AI-driven memory boom. In a message marking Samsung's 57th founding anniversary, Jun Young-hyun, vice chairman and head of the company's semiconductor division, cautioned that the current market boom may not last. "No one can predict how long the current market c October 30, 2026

KOSPI plunges nearly 4% amid lingering AI concerns SEOUL, October 30 (AJP) - South Korean stocks plunged nearly 4 percent in early morning trading on Friday, extending losses from the previous session as a selloff in U.S. technology shares weighed on the market and investors broadly sold shares of major companies in Seoul. Even record quarterly earnings from chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix failed to cushion the slide. The benchmark KOSPI stood at 5,706.68 points as of around 9:10 a.m., down 3.89 percent from Thursday' October 30, 2026