Korea's job decline exposes weakness beneath chip boom SEOUL, June 11 (AJP) - South Korea’s employment rate fell by the steepest pace in five years as weakness in manufacturing and youth hiring exposed the limited spillover from a recovery increasingly driven by memory chip exports. According to data released Thursday by Ministry of Data and Statistics, the employment rate for people aged 15 and older fell 0.5 percentage point to 63.3 percent, marking the sharpest decline since February 2021. The number of employed people a June 11, 2026

US approves $292 million sale of AMRAAM missiles to South Korea SEOUL, June 11 (AJP) - The United States has approved the sale of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles and related equipment to South Korea in a deal worth $292 million, the State Department said Wednesday. The department said it approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Seoul of 70 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, known as AMRAAMs, and two AMRAAM guidance sections. The package also includes AMRAAM containers, control sections, support equipment, spar June 11, 2026

OpenAI CEO to visit South Korea next week SEOUL, June 11 (AJP) - Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, who ushered in a revolutionary artificial intelligence (AI)-driven era, is expected to visit South Korea again, according to multiple industry sources on Thursday. In an internal notice, Samsung reportedly told its executives and employees that Altman will give a lecture at its office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province on June 15. His visit comes as Samsung expands the use of external generative AI tools across its businesses as part of June 11, 2026

Naver launches local merchant AI campaign in Busan, timed to BTS concert SEOUL, June 11 (AJP) - Naver began rolling out its first "Local Ground" campaign in the southern port city of Busan, extending the AI-driven growth tools it built online to brick-and-mortar merchants in regional commercial districts. The inaugural campaign runs from Tuesday to Saturday and draws in 104 small and mid-sized stores across busy quarters including Jeonpo-dong, Yeongdo and the Bosu-dong secondhand bookstore alley, the company said. Naver is helping the shops June 11, 2026

Why a concrete truck strike is threatening South Korea's high-tech chip ambitions SEOUL, June 11 (AJP) - The sprawling industrial belt south of Seoul is the heart of South Korea's semiconductor industry, home to the massive campuses of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix that dominate the global memory chip market powering the artificial intelligence boom. But activity across the region is beginning to slow because of a shortage of one of the most basic construction materials: concrete. A strike by ready-mix concrete truck drivers is exposing a critical vul June 11, 2026

Second Korean vessel exits Strait of Hormuz after being stranded amid Middle East war SEOUL, June 11 (AJP) - A second Korean vessel stranded near the Strait of Hormuz due to the Middle East war has passed through the waterway, South Korea’s Oceans Ministry said Thursday. The latest passage came after the HMM-operated tanker Universal Winner became the first Korean vessel to exit the strait. The tanker, carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil, arrived at the port of Ulsan on Wednesday. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said the second vessel was a liquefie June 11, 2026

Exports for early June hit record high as semiconductor boom continues SEOUL, June 11 (AJP) - South Korea's exports in early June surged more than 80 percent from a year earlier to a record, driven by booming semiconductor shipments that more than tripled. According to data released by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) on Thursday, exports in the first 10 days of this month totaled US$28.63 billion, up 85.9 percent from a year earlier and the highest for the period on record. The previous high was $25.2 billion in April. Average daily exports, June 11, 2026

LG CNS, LX Pantos to deploy humanoid robots at logistics hub SEOUL, June 11 (AJP) - LG CNS and logistics firm LX Pantos have signed a memorandum of understanding to introduce humanoid and shuttle robots at a major distribution center, as South Korea's IT services industry accelerates its push into physical artificial intelligence. Under the agreement announced Thursday, the two companies will deploy an integrated robot automation system at LX Pantos' MegaWise Cheongna center. The setup envisions shuttle robots retrieving outbound g June 11, 2026

Lee arrives in Italy after wrapping up his visit to Belgium SEOUL, June 11 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung, who is on a trip to Europe, arrived in Italy on Wednesday after wrapping up his itinerary in Belgium. During the second leg of his two-week trip to Europe, he is scheduled to meet Italian President Sergio Mattarella after a welcoming reception. Lee will also hold separate talks later in the week with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom he met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York in September last year and again June 11, 2026

SpaceX debut drains capital from South Korea as KOSPI falls for 2nd day SEOUL, June 11 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI opened about 4 percent lower on Thursday, falling for a second straight session as foreign investors pulled money out ahead of SpaceX's record Nasdaq listing slated for Friday. The index dropped 316.2 points to 7,414.6 within minutes of morning trading, pulling further away from the 8,000 level it had only reclaimed days earlier. Investors see the world's largest-ever IPO acting as a magnet for global capital, drawi June 11, 2026