Suspect arrested after stabbing two LG Electronics employees in Seoul SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - A subcontractor employee was arrested after stabbing two LG Electronics workers in the Magok district of Seoul, police and company officials said. The suspect, who is not a direct employee of LG, turned himself in to police shortly after the attack and was placed under emergency arrest. The two injured LG employees were transported to a local hospital. An LG spokesperson confirmed that their injuries are non-life-threatening. Authorities have taken the May 27, 2026

SK Square breaks clear of Hyundai as AI rally reshuffles Korea's top-five SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - SK Square, SK Group's investment intermediate holding company, has surged past Hyundai Motor to become South Korea's third-most-valuable listed company, as a rally in artificial-intelligence shares reshapes the upper tier of the market beneath the two dominant chipmakers and rewards firms tied, directly or indirectly, to the semiconductor boom. As of Monday's close, SK Square ranked third at a market capitalization of 155.8 trillion won ($103.8 bill May 27, 2026

Starbucks Korea boycott hits sales after "Tank Day" backlash SEOUL, May 27 (AJP)-Starbucks Korea under Shinsegae Group suffers commercial fallout on top of reputational damage from its “Tank Day” controversy, with payment volumes and new app installations dropping sharply in the week following the backlash over marketing tied to South Korea’s May 18 democratization movement. According to data released Wednesday by AI analytics firm IGAWorks’ Mobile Index, Starbucks Korea’s weekly payment volume fell to 23.69 bil May 27, 2026

KOSPI outshines as Seoul hosts 2 $1 trillion stocks, Nikkei also at record highs SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - South Korean and Japanese equities surged Wednesday while most other Asian markets moved sideways, highlighting the widening divergence in the region’s AI-driven rally. The KOSPI emerged as the standout performer, briefly topping the 8,400 level a day after entering the new four-digit era, as South Korea became home to two $1 trillion listed companies. As of 11:08 a.m., Seoul’s benchmark index was up 4.29 percent at 8,391.53, while the junior KOSD May 27, 2026

SM Entertainment's sub-label releases compilation album ahead of Europe tour SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - ScreaM Records, a dance music label under talent behemoth SM Entertainment, released a compilation album on Wednesday ahead of a U.K. and Europe tour scheduled for next month. "K-POP ScreaM 3" reinterprets K-pop songs by SM Entertainment artists including RIIZE and NCT WISH into electronic dance music styles such as jungle, tech house, hard house, bass music and Jersey club. Jersey club is a percussion-driven genre that originated in New Jersey and May 27, 2026

KAIST researchers develop smart antibody to control cancer treatment with light SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea have developed an antibody platform that allows immune cells to target and attack cancer cells only when activated by specific light or chemical signals, KAIST said Wednesday. Current cellular therapies, such as CAR-T treatments, can cause severe side effects because engineered immune cells begin attacking immediately upon recognizing cancer, sometimes damaging health May 27, 2026

Quad launches joint Indo-Pacific maritime surveillance initiative SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - The U.S., Japan, India and Australia agreed Tuesday to launch a joint maritime surveillance initiative in the Indo-Pacific, as growing concerns over disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea sharpened fears over the vulnerability of global shipping lanes and energy supplies. The four nations — known collectively as the Quad — announced the "Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration" during a foreign ministers' meeting May 27, 2026

ASIA INSIGHT: South Korea's role as Asia's "dagger" in a new civilizational era SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - Why did the United States describe South Korea as a “dagger”? When Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, recently referred to South Korea as a “dagger in the heart of Asia” on a U.S. Army War College podcast, it was not a casual metaphor. His words reflected the reality that the Korean Peninsula is no longer merely a frontline against North Korea. It has become a strategic crossroads where U.S.-China rivalry, the Indo-Paci May 27, 2026

North Korea 'conducts tests of major weapons' SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - North Korea "conducted tests of newly-developed lightweight multi-purpose missile launching system and multiple tactical cruise missile weapon system," state media reported on Wednesday. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), its leader Kim Jong-un inspected the previous day's "tests of major weapons" which were part of the country's five-year plan for "modernizing the artillery and missile armed forces&qu May 27, 2026

South Korea joins OpenAI's trusted cyber access program SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - South Korea has become one of the first two countries in Asia, together with Japan, to join OpenAI's Trusted Access for Cyber program, securing government-level access to the U.S. firm's most advanced artificial intelligence models for cybersecurity research and defense. The Ministry of Science and ICT announced Wednesday that Vice Minister Ryu Je-myung met OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon in Seoul on Tuesday to formalize Seoul's participati May 27, 2026