Foreign ownership in Korean shares rises despite record selloff SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) -Foreign investors sold nearly 50 trillion won ($31.2 billion) worth of South Korean equities in June, yet their ownership of the market climbed to 36.4 percent — the highest in months — suggesting the six-month selling streak has been more a portfolio reshuffle than a broad retreat as soaring share prices boosted the value of remaining holdings. Foreign investors recorded a net withdrawal of 44.86 trillion won from South Korea's listed securit July 31, 2026

Hanwha Aerospace posts record Q2 operating profit near $1 billion SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) - Hanwha Aerospace said Friday its second-quarter operating profit reached a record 1.37 trillion won ($951 million), nearing the $1 billion mark, driven by steady defense deliveries at home and abroad and strong earnings from Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Systems. The company posted 9.29 trillion won ($6.5 billion) in consolidated sales for the April-June period, up 47 percent from a year earlier. Operating profit rose 59 percent on-year to 1.37 trillion won. By b July 31, 2026

ETF boom pushes public funds to overtake private funds for 1st time SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) - South Korea's public investment funds overtook private funds in total assets for the first time in the first half of this year, driven by surging demand for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as retail investors poured money into the stock market. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA) on Friday, public funds jumped 47.3 percent from the end of last year to 897.4 trillion won (US$646 billion), while private funds grew 9.2 percent to 837. July 31, 2026

BTS' quiet Grammy boycott speaks volumes  SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) - It is hardly Grammy season, but BTS brought the awards debate into the middle of summer with a quiet boycott that produced loud repercussions. On July 29, all seven members of BTS posted the same message on their Instagram Stories within minutes of one another. There was no press conference, no statement from HYBE and no explanation beyond a few lines translated from Korean: they would not submit their comeback album, ARIRANG, for consideration at the 69t July 31, 2026

Chip bonanza translates into tax bumper for Seoul SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) -South Korea's stock boom, which saw the main index KOSPI double in the first half, has delivered an unexpected windfall for government coffers, lifting tax revenue by 33 trillion won ($23.8 billion) above last year's level as trading activity, corporate profits and performance bonuses surged. National tax revenue reached 223 trillion won in the January-June period, up 17.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on July 31, 2026

Average South Korean conscript gains 4 kg in a decade SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) - South Korea's average military conscript is now nearly 4 kilograms heavier than a decade ago, underscoring a decade-long expansion of the nation's waistline that has pushed obesity to nearly one in three 19-year-old men, government data showed Friday. The Military Manpower Administration said that the data is based on military service examinations conducted on Korean men at age 19. The indicators cover 24 categories, including body mass index, blood pr July 31, 2026

Won visits 9-month high on suspected Seoul-Tokyo intervention SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) -The South Korean won briefly climbed to its strongest level against the dollar in nine months on Friday as traders speculated that Seoul and Tokyo had stepped into currency markets to head off yen carry-driven capital flight ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy decision. The won strengthened to 1,418 per dollar around 6 a.m., its strongest level since Oct. 20, 2025, before easing to around 1,435 by midday. The Korean currency since mid-July has staged a July 31, 2026

Arrival of new US envoy presents fresh test for alliance SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) - The arrival of a new U.S. ambassador to South Korea would, under ordinary circumstances, have been a routine moment in the long history of the bilateral relationship. He or she would present credentials, offer familiar words about friendship and cooperation, and begin the quiet work of diplomacy. But these may not be ordinary circumstances. Michael Steel's arrival on Thursday has drawn unusual attention here, not so much because she is another Korean-Ameri July 31, 2026

AI chip boom begins to warm South Korea's broader domestic front SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) - Red-hot chip demand, which earned South Korea's two chipmakers 150 trillion won ($108 billion) in combined second-quarter operating profit — equivalent to about 6 percent of the country's entire 2025 nominal GDP — is beginning to warm the broader domestic front, with the AI boom spilling from exports into factories, construction sites and household spending. The latest government data suggest the country's semiconductor-driven expans July 31, 2026

North Korea says peninsula conflict matter of time SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) - North Korea declared Friday that armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula is no longer a question of whether but of when, denouncing a personnel buildup at the US military command in Japan as proof that Washington is preparing for war in the region. The statement came days after Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost, commander of US Forces Japan, disclosed in an interview with Japan's Asahi Shimbun published Saturday that his headquarters had added 215 personnel over the July 31, 2026