More nighttime ferry rides available on Han River this weekend SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Seoul's water ferry service along the Han River will expand its nighttime operations starting this weekend, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday. Two additional departures from Jamsil in southern Seoul to the financial district of Yeouido in western Seoul will be available at 6:50 p.m. and 7:20 p.m., while routes connecting Yeouido and Magok, a newly developed neighborhood in far western Seoul, will also have departures at 8:25 p.m. and 8:5 August 12, 2026

LG Elec rolls out FDA-cleared diagnostic monitor SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - LG Electronics has launched a new diagnostic monitor cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, expanding its medical display lineup as the South Korean electronics maker targets the business-to-business healthcare market. The 40-inch monitor, model 40HT513D, features a 21:9 curved IPS Black display with a resolution of 5,120 by 2,160 pixels and 11-megapixel support. Its three-way picture-by-picture function allows medical professionals to vie August 12, 2026

KAIST develops AI to detect foreign-linked online commenters SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Software built to catch foreign influence campaigns online has long had the same blind spot. It can tell a platform which accounts look suspicious, but not why. A research team in South Korea says it has closed that gap with an artificial intelligence system that points to the exact words behind every judgment it makes, so a person can check the machine's reasoning instead of taking it on faith. Run across nearly two decades of comments on Naver News, August 12, 2026

Samsung Elec payout hopes lift KOSPI more than 2% SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) -Seoul's main index jumped more than 2 percent in early trade Wednesday as foreign and institutional money returned to large-cap stocks on speculation that chip bellwethers could sharply increase shareholder payouts. The KOSPI traded at 6,484.59, up 2.2 percent from Tuesday's close of 6,345.53, while the junior KOSDAQ reversed course and fell 1.5 percent to 845.18. The rally was narrow. Decliners outnumbered advancers 473 to 357 on the main board, w August 12, 2026

Lee offers condolences to victims of deadly earthquake in Columbia SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung mourned the victims of a strong earthquake in Colombia earlier this week and expressed hope that the missing would still be found safe. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday, Lee said he was saddened by the devastating damage caused by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western Colombia, killing more than 100 people and damaging hundreds of buildings. He offered condolences to Colombians who lost family members and ne August 12, 2026

North Korea fires ballistic missile ahead of South Korea-US joint drills SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, military authorities here said. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected a missile launched from Wonsan, Kangwon Province at around 6 a.m. that flew more than 700 kilometers. It is analyzing the launch, including details about the missile, in coordination with U.S. authorities. "South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are closely sharing information on the launch and maintaining August 12, 2026

RIIZE shines at seoul forest photocall Members of K-pop boy group RIIZE pose for photos during a photocall event at Setter House Seoul Forest in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, Aug. 11, 2026. August 11, 2026

KOSDAQ roars back as leveraged bets unwind SEOUL, August 11 (AJP) — South Korea's long-neglected KOSDAQ is suddenly outrunning its bigger sibling and major stock markets around the world, gaining 19 percent in the first seven trading sessions of August as investors look beyond the leveraged chip trade that dominated the first half. The junior market closed Tuesday at 857.84, up 19.2 percent from 719.76 at the end of July. The benchmark KOSPI, by contrast, has lost 3.8 percent over the same period to 6,345.53. August 11, 2026

Even Buddhism gets muddled over election in South Korea SEOUL, August 11 (AJP) - Elections can get dirty, and even one of South Korea's oldest religious traditions is not immune to the rough edges of politics. Inside Jogyesa Temple in downtown Seoul on Tuesday, 53 members of the Jogye Order's Central Assembly bowed before the Buddha and recited a declaration supporting incumbent chief administrator Ven. Jinwoo for another four-year term. They praised his first term for making Buddhism more "friendly and warm" and s August 11, 2026

Korea, Tajikistan industry officials meet ahead of C5 summit SEOUL, August 11 (AJP) - Ahead of the first Korea-Central Asia Summit in September, South Korea and Tajikistan on Tuesday discussed expanding economic cooperation in critical minerals, supply chains and new technologies. South Korean Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Moon Shin-hak met Isojon Qurbonzoda, Tajikistan's first deputy minister of industry and new technologies, in Seoul to discuss projects that could produce tangible economic outcomes at the upcoming summi August 11, 2026