Brokerage sees long-term buying opportunity in KOSDAQ's Ecopro BM SEOUL, August 03 (AJP) — Shares of South Korean battery materials maker Ecopro BM fell more than 11 percent on Monday after Hana Securities slashed its target price by 40 percent, but the brokerage argued the selloff has already priced in most near-term risks, leaving room for a recovery as long-term battery demand strengthens. The brokerage cut its target price to 154,000 won ($111) from 257,000 won, saying demand is expected to remain weak as major European customers delay n August 3, 2026

Lee's approval rating hits lowest level since taking office SEOUL, August 3 (AJP) - President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell to its lowest level since taking office, according to a survey released by pollster Realmeter on Monday. In its survey of more than 2,500 adults nationwide conducted last week, 45.9 percent of respondents said Lee was doing a good job. The figure was down 0.4 percentage point from the previous week, marking the third straight week of decline. Slightly more respondents or 50.5 percent disapproved of his p August 3, 2026

S-Oil returns to profit in second quarter on firm refining margins SEOUL, August 03 (AJP) - South Korea's S-Oil swung to a second-quarter operating profit as robust refining margins and record lubricant spreads outweighed a sharp drop in crude prices. According to regulatory filings released Monday, operating profit came in at 965.0 billion won ($674.2 million) for the three months ended June, reversing a year-earlier operating loss of 344.0 billion won. Revenue climbed 40.9 percent from a year earlier to 11.34 trillion won, lifted by elevat August 3, 2026

KAIST's AI builds workable schedules without optimization software SEOUL, August 03 (AJP) - Researchers in South Korea have taught an artificial intelligence system to draw up delivery routes, factory schedules and hospital rosters that a company can actually run, without handing the job to the specialist commercial software the industry now relies on to make the numbers work. In testing, the system produced a legal plan in 100 percent of the problems it was handed, across five benchmark sets used throughout the field. No comparable method that l August 3, 2026

Seoul unwinds record rebound as foreigners flip to selling SEOUL, August 03 (AJP) - Korean stocks gave back a large piece of Friday's record rebound at Monday's open, as foreign investors flipped from historic buying back to selling in the same chip shares that had driven the surge. The main index in Seoul shed 322.7 points to 6,272.8, a drop of 4.9 percent. Samsung Electronics fell 7.8 percent and SK hynix 7.5 percent, pulling the large-cap KOSPI 200 down 5.3 percent while the KOSDAQ lost only 0.35 percent to 718.18. Tokyo August 3, 2026

Na Hong-jin's sci-fi thriller attracts over 4 million moviegoers SEOUL, August 3 (AJP) - Director Na Hong-jin's latest film "Hope" has attracted over 4 million moviegoers less than a month after its release. According to ticket sales data released by the Korean Film Council on Monday, the sci-fi film reached the milestone the previous day, becoming this year's third film to do so, after "The King's Warden" and "Colony." The milestone is particularly impressive given the film's competition from August 3, 2026

New US envoy Steel tours Seoul landmarks after taking up post SEOUL, August 02 (AJP) - Michelle Steel, the new U.S. ambassador to South Korea, has visited a string of Seoul's most recognizable sites in the days since taking up her post, in an early effort to underscore her personal ties to the country as its first Korean American woman to hold the role. Steel marked the start of her tenure by raising the American flag alongside the embassy's Marine Security Guards, calling it "a symbolic and meaningful start" to her time as August 2, 2026

S.Korea swelters as Yangsan hits record 42.5 degrees Celsius SEOUL, August 02 (AJP) - South Korea buckled under its most brutal heat in more than a century on Sunday, as the southeastern city of Yangsan reached 42.5 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature ever recorded since modern observation began in 1904. The reading, logged at 1:26 p.m., pushed the country past 42 degrees for the first time in 122 years and marked the third straight day that a national record had fallen. Yangsan has now topped 40 degrees for five consecutive days. Oth August 2, 2026

Korea seeks emergency power to slash leverage on single-stock funds SEOUL, August 02 (AJP) - South Korea's financial regulators are moving to arm themselves with emergency authority to unilaterally cut the leverage ratio on single-stock funds, escalating a campaign to tame the wild swings that have gripped the country's stock market. Industry sources say Sunday that the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service they would push an amendment to the capital markets act that would allow authorities to act swiftly to sta August 2, 2026

Seoul named global youth's favorite city for fifth straight year SEOUL, August 02 (AJP) - Seoul has been named the world's favorite city among younger travelers for a fifth consecutive year, the city government said, extending a run that has burnished the South Korean capital's standing as a global tourism draw. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Organization said Sunday that the city topped the "Favorite Worldwide City" category in the 2026 The Trazees awards, run by U.S.-based travel media outlet Trazee Tr August 2, 2026