Kazakhstan marks 35 years since closing of nuclear site SEOUL, August 25 (AJP) - The Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb on the Kazakh steppe on Aug. 29, 1949. Kazakhstan shut the place down 42 years later, to the day. Saturday marks 35 years since the closure of the Semipalatinsk Test Site. The anniversary is also the International Day against Nuclear Tests, a United Nations observance that exists because Kazakhstan asked for it. The site absorbed 456 nuclear explosions over four decades, 340 of them underground and 116 in August 25, 2026

KOSPI extends losses on deepening chip selloff SEOUL, August 25 (AJP) - South Korean stocks fell more than 3 percent Tuesday morning as foreign investors took their cue from an overnight rout in U.S. chip stocks to dump Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. The benchmark KOSPI opened at 6,539.37, down 2.35 percent from Monday's close, and extended its decline to 6,490.65, down 3.08 percent, as of 10:22 a.m. The junior KOSDAQ fell 2.9 percent to 789.48. Selling was broad, with 247 stocks advancing and 610 declining, while 41 w August 25, 2026

SK hynix union rejects stock-heavy wage deal SEOUL, August 25 (AJP) -SK hynix union members on Tuesday narrowly rejected a tentative wage agreement that would have shifted a larger share of profit-sharing bonuses into company stock, sending labor and management back to the bargaining table as the chipmaker tries to spread its AI windfall across employees and shareholders while its shares remain well below earlier highs. The proposed 2026 wage and collective bargaining agreement was defeated with 50.08 percent, or 7,535 member August 25, 2026

Lee to hold private meetings with Samsung, Hyundai chiefs SEOUL, August 25 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung is reportedly arranging to meet with Samsung Group chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Eui-sun this week, following a private dinner with SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won last week. But Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday declined to confirm whether Lee would meet with them, saying it does not comment on the president's private schedule. Such meetings come as Lee has stepped up cooperation with business leaders sinc August 25, 2026

Hyundai Motor reaches tentative wage deal after 60 hours of strikes SEOUL, August 25 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor and its labor union reached a tentative wage agreement, granting workers bonuses of more than 400 percent of monthly pay plus 12.7 million won ($9,189), ending a two-year run of strikes at South Korea's largest carmaker. The deal, reached after a two-day on Tuesday, 17th round of bargaining at the company's Ulsan plant, also lifts base monthly wages by 100,000 won and awards each worker 15 company shares, 500,000 won in welfare points a August 25, 2026

Chip tax windfall to fuel record 2027 budget for Korea SEOUL, Aug. 25 (AJP) — South Korea is packaging a record budget of 800 trillion won ($579 billion) for the first time for 2027, with spending set for its first double-digit increase since the global financial crisis as a chip-driven tax bonanza gives the government room to accelerate fiscal expansion even as monetary policy tightens and public debt continues to climb. The Ministry of Planning and Budget is putting the finishing touches on the spending plan, which is expect August 25, 2026

Korea's Aug consumer confidence falls on volatile stocks and prices SEOUL, Aug. 25 (AJP) — South Korea's consumer confidence fell for the first time in four months in August as a stock-market correction and accumulated price pressures weighed on sentiment despite solid economic conditions, central bank data showed Tuesday. The Bank of Korea's Composite Consumer Sentiment Index (CCSI) fell 2.3 points from a month earlier to 104.5, snapping three straight months of gains since May. The index nevertheless remained above the benchmark o August 25, 2026

Ruling Adilet sweeps first vote for new Kazakh parliament Almaty, August 24 (AJP) -Kazakhstan's ruling Adilet party swept to a landslide victory with 71.17 percent of the vote in preliminary results from Sunday's parliamentary election, far ahead of its rivals in the country's first vote for the new single-chamber Kurultai. The Central Election Commission said Monday that Adilet received 6,528,948 votes. Auyl came a distant second with 6.26 percent, followed by Respublica with 5.56 percent, Ak Zhol with 5.21 percent and August 24, 2026

Taiwan drone defense gaps emerge as US-Korea drills scale back SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - As the United States and South Korea scaled back their largest summertime military exercise, defense experts in Taiwan were highlighting gaps exposed by their own drills, calling for stronger layered air defenses against drones and other low-altitude threats. Taiwan's assessment follows its annual Han Kuang exercise, held from Aug. 5 to 14 to test the island's ability to respond to a potential Chinese attack. Hsiao-Huang Shu, an associate research August 24, 2026

H.PIO stock bolstered by stock retire scheme SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) -South Korean health supplement maker H.PIO's shares rose Monday after the company announced plans to cancel all of its treasury shares. Its shares closed 2.64 percent higher at 2,135 won ($1.54) on the KOSDAQ. The KOSDAQ-listed company said its board approved the cancellation of 191,003 common shares, according to a regulatory filing Monday. The cancellation is scheduled for Sept. 11. The cancellation represents about 0.46 percent of its 41.29 millio August 24, 2026