Korean ants suffer twice as losses become fake spectacle SEOUL, August 07 (AJP) - Forty years of savings. Gone. A leveraged bet on SK hynix. A 78.7 percent loss. Some 2.2 billion won ($1.5 million) wiped out. A brokerage screenshot appeared to prove every painful detail. The post, uploaded to local community platform Danggeun on July 30, claimed an investor had gone bankrupt after pouring four decades of savings into a leveraged exchange-traded fund tied to SK hynix. It was devastating…except that it was also fake. Th August 7, 2026

Can robots fill Korea's military ranks? SEOUL, August 07 (AJP) - Robots are emerging as a necessity rather than a choice for South Korea, which must defend one of the world's most heavily militarized borders with a rapidly thinning pool of young men. As birthrates collapse and the number of available conscripts shrinks, the question facing militaries such as South Korea's is no longer whether machines will join the ranks, but how much work they can take off human soldiers. For now, that does not mean robotic in August 7, 2026

KOSPI extends losses as SK hynix tumbles on Nvidia memory concerns SEOUL, August 07 (AJP) - South Korean stocks fell for a second straight session Friday, dragged down by SK hynix as renewed Strait of Hormuz concerns and weakness in United States tech shares fueled foreign selling. The benchmark KOSPI closed 0.60 percent lower at 6,258.77, extending Thursday's 4.58 percent drop. The index opened 1.09 percent higher at 6,365.07 and climbed as high as 6,415.60 before reversing course. It briefly fell to 6,158.73 before paring losses toward the August 7, 2026

Kakao settles wage dispute after first strike SEOUL, August 07 (AJP) - A wage agreement that took 18 rounds of bargaining and the first strike in the company's history was ratified this week, closing a roughly three-month standoff at Kakao over how the South Korean technology company pays for performance. The deal applies a 6.3 percent increase measured against the funding base for total annual salary, excluding money set aside for stage-up raises tied to moves into higher job grades and roles. Employees also receive a sp August 7, 2026

Won rallies to 10-month high, bonds flat before U.S. jobs SEOUL, August 07 (AJP) - The South Korean won strengthened to its highest level in about 10 months on Friday, buoyed by heavy local dollar supply, while Korean government bond yields barely moved as investors waited for U.S. employment data later in the day. The won closed daytime trading at 1,416.1 per dollar, strengthening 7.7 won from the previous session despite higher oil prices and a firmer dollar overseas. Exporter dollar selling, custody-related flows and expectations o August 7, 2026

SK hynix clears nearly $40 bn fab budget despite glut worries SEOUL, August 07 (AJP) -SK hynix is pressing ahead with a 54.3 trillion won ($38 billion) expansion of its memory production empire even as its shares have more than halved from their June highs amid oversupply and peak concerns, committing capital equivalent to about 45 percent of its shareholders' equity to new fabs in Yongin and Cheongju. The world's leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory said Friday that its board approved 35.2 trillion won for construction of its August 7, 2026

Homeplus reopens 67 stores after 25-day shutdown SEOUL, August 07 (AJP) - Shelves stood about 30 percent stocked, by the company's own count, when 67 Homeplus stores reopened across South Korea on Friday, 25 days after the country's second-largest hypermarket chain ran out of cash to keep them running. A court in Seoul will decide within four weeks whether the company survives. Homeplus called Friday's reopening a soft opening rather than a return to normal trading at the 67 big-box stores, which combine a full super August 7, 2026

CJ ENM Q2 operating profit rises as TVING, commerce offset SEOUL, August 07 (AJP) - CJ ENM's second-quarter operating profit rose even as revenue declined, as a turnaround in its media platform business and stronger commerce earnings offset a sharp slump in film and drama Operating profit rose 16.9 percent from a year earlier to 33.4 billion won, topping the FnGuide consensus of 31.1 billion won by roughly 7.6 percent and rebounding sharply from just 1.5 billion won in the first quarter. The operating margin widened to 2.8 percent August 7, 2026

AI chip boom puts Korea ahead of Japan, lifts China trade SEOUL, August 07 (AJP) -South Korea's dominance in artificial intelligence memory chips is reshaping Asia's trade landscape, helping the country overtake Japan in merchandise exports while driving a surge in shipments to China despite Beijing's aggressive push for semiconductor self-sufficiency. China's imports from South Korea nearly doubled in July, extending an AI-fueled trade boom that has transformed Korea into one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global race August 7, 2026

Uzbek President Mirziyoyev holds open business dialogue in August SEOUL, August 07 (AJP) - Uzbekistan will hold its annual open dialogue between President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and entrepreneurs in late August, the Uzbek Embassy in Seoul said on Friday, with no date yet fixed three weeks out. Nearly 6,000 inquiries have reached the organizing commission's call centers and official bots since intake opened, according to material the embassy distributed. More than 4,200 were resolved, and roughly 1,800 remain under review. Expert groups are worki August 7, 2026