KOSPI's volatility deepens on fragile foundation SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) - South Korea's stock market still looks spectacular despite its recent correction. Underneath, however, the rally is becoming increasingly narrow, speculative and volatile—three characteristics that help explain why the Korean won remains stuck near crisis-era levels despite the soaring benchmark. The latest evidence came Monday as the market's advance-decline ratio (ADR), a widely watched measure of market breadth, remained in oversold territory, June 29, 2026

Samsung, SK bet over $650 billion on Korea's second memory hub SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are joining forces to build a second memory semiconductor hub along South Korea's southwestern coast, committing more than 1,000 trillion won ($650 billion) in what would become one of the world's largest semiconductor expansion projects as the country races to preserve its leadership in AI-era memory chips. The initiative, unveiled during President Lee Jae Myung's "Three Mega Projects" briefing at the p June 29, 2026

Wearing Korea: 372 stories stitched together by hanbok SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) - Russia-born Violetta, who moved to South Korea after marriage, was sweating under the weight of an elaborately adorned hanbok. But she did not mind. Somewhere beyond the stage, her husband and 7-year-old son were watching with pride. For the brown-eyed mother, the Korea Hanbok Model Contest was about far more than a runway. "Women can feel beautiful and confident," Violetta said. "That is what makes this event more meaningful." For he June 29, 2026

The undying love of yellow milk SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) - Milk may have arrived from the West, but banana milk is unmistakably Korean. It is also a favorite of the Huang family. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and his daughter Madison are known to hand out bottles of the iconic yellow drink whenever they visit South Korea, introducing friends and colleagues to one of the country's simplest—and perhaps most enduring—culinary souvenirs. Half a century after its debut, the squat yellow bottle June 29, 2026

Language, alliances emerge as new fronts in Canada's submarine race SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) - Outsourcing submarines was never expected to become this complex, as the head-to-head contest between South Korean and German shipbuilders for Canada's fleet of 12 new submarines increasingly extends beyond price, technology and delivery schedules to language, industrial partnerships and geopolitical alliances. The latest twist came after a senior executive at Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) argued that Canada's long-term interests wou June 29, 2026

Kookmin student wins 2nd at IBM hackathon SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) - A student from Kookmin University in Seoul was placed second at the IBM Bob Hackathon on June 11 in a global artificial intelligence competition that drew more than 5,600 participants from around the world and challenged them to build working software in 48 hours, the university announced Monday. Kookmin University (KMU)'s AI Department student Kim Chan-joong competed alone in the hackerthon. The competition, jointly organized by IBM and NativelyAI, the June 29, 2026

Battery frenzy lifts KOSDAQ while chip stocks drag KOSPI down SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) - A battery-led frenzy on South Korea's junior KOSDAQ masked a flat, chip-heavy KOSPI on the main bourse on Monday, splitting the country's stock market into two sessions running in opposite directions. The secondary-battery rally drove the KOSDAQ up 8.1 percent to 920.57, while the KOSPI slipped 0.2 percent to 8,394.65 as key chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell. Foreign investors turned net buyers on the main board, while institutional a June 29, 2026

Hanwha launches job academy for 476 young job seekers SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) - Hanwha Group said Sunday it will launch a hands-on training program for 476 young job seekers in fields including shipbuilding, defense, information technology, artificial intelligence, marketing and construction. The Hanwha Naeil Academy was created as part of the government-led K-New Deal Academy initiative, which is overseen by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resource and the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The Korean word “naeil” can m June 29, 2026

Hyundai Motor to resume wage talks with unionized workers SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) - Automaker Hyundai Motor on Monday called on its labor union, which secured the right to strike last week, to resume wage talks. CEO Choi Young-il visited the union office earlier in the day, where he said he wanted to resume talks that had stalled after negotiations with unionized workers broke down on June 12. Choi's visit suggests that the two sides could return to the negotiating table as early as this week, with Choi expected to put forward a prop June 29, 2026

South Korea to create second chip cluster at $520 billion *Updated with additional information SEOUL, June 29 (AJP) -South Korea envisions transforming itself into a "Chip Republic," committing more than 800 trillion won ($520 billion) to build a second semiconductor belt spanning the country's southwestern region in an unprecedented industrial strategy designed to preserve its leadership in AI-era chips. The master plan calls for four new wafer fabrication plants in the southwestern Honam region, an advanced semiconduc June 29, 2026