Tickets for Korea’s high-speed KTX trains will be available for booking up to two months before departure starting next month, extending the current one-month window. Along with the booking window, KTX will introduce a set of operational improvements for foreign travelers next month to make the reservation process more convenient, the government said Sunday. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and KTX operator KORAIL, customers will be able to book seats up to two months in advance starting Oct. 1. The government said the extension is intended to make it easier for travelers to plan trips around the country. For foreign visitors in particular, many book flights to Korea at least two months in advance, but KTX tickets have only been available one month before departure, making it difficult to plan their itinerary within the country. “Travelers will be able to book KTX at the same time as purchasing airline tickets, making it easier to plan domestic trips and use KTX more conveniently,” the ministry said in a press release. “Korean travelers will also be a

Shinhan Financial Group is expanding its partnership with Vietnam’s Vingroup beyond motor vehicle finance into capital markets, it said Sunday. Shinhan Financial Chairman Jin Ok-dong met with Vingroup executives Thursday at Shinhan Bank Vietnam’s headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City to discuss new areas of cooperation. Vingroup, the Southeast Asian country’s largest private company by market capitalization, has interests ranging from real estate to electric vehicles. Shinhan’s relationship with the group has so far centered on vehicle finance, particularly for VinFast, its electric vehicle (EV) unit. Since 2024, Shinhan Bank Vietnam has provided a cumulative $100 million in loans to VinFast customers. Shinhan Vietnam Finance financed around 14,000 VinFast motorcycles in the first half of this year, with total financing reaching 15 billion won ($10.9 million). The two parties now plan to explore capital market opportunities, including equity and bond financing through Shinhan Securities Vietnam. Shinhan Bank Vietnam and Shinhan Vietnam Finance will also expand their vehicle finance bu

Taiwan has emerged as a key strategic hub for Coupang’s global growth, as the company brings fast delivery to more regions and develops AI-powered logistics technologies. Taiwan is a relatively new market for the New York Stock Exchange-listed company, which began expanding into the country in October 2022. The move came after the e-commerce giant established a strong presence in Korea, where it has operated since 2010. In just a few years, Coupang connected more than 300,000 sellers on its platform in Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Hong Kong with consumers in the Taiwanese market. Coupang recently completed its fourth fulfillment center in Taiwan, which opened in April. Located in the Bausan Guanyin Logistics Park in Taoyuan City in northwestern Taiwan, the facility was designed to accelerate exports, particularly from U.S. businesses, to the Taiwanese market. “By removing traditional barriers such as complex logistics, long shipping times and high costs, we made it easier for U.S. companies to expand internationally," the company said in a statement released after the

Through the 1980s, Japan pushed the United States — the birthplace and longtime leader of the semiconductor industry — out of the world memory chip market, and the damage ran deep enough that Intel gave up DRAM, the short-term memory that holds a computer's working data. American chipmakers came to believe Japan could not be beaten in memory chips, and Washington and the industry began looking for ways to counter it. Two questions followed: how to contain Japan, and where to find a viable challenger to it. The country that emerged as a memory chip powerhouse in the 1990s was Korea, and Intel had a hand in how Korea overtook Japan to dominate the world market. Chip business nearly dropped "Hey, drop it." Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chul shook his head in disbelief while he sat through a report on the semiconductor company his son had bought. The son was Lee Kun-hee, former Samsung chairman. Lee, then a director at Samsung's broadcasting branch TBC, had acquired Hankook Semiconductor in 1974 after the chipmaker went bankrupt due to financial strain. Hankook Semiconductor, an early Ko

Korean Air is facing a growing mileage-related liability as it moves to integrate its mileage program with that of Asiana Airlines, with higher redemption requirements adding pressure on the combined carrier’s ticket sales and profitability. Last week, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) approved the airlines’ mileage integration plan, requiring Korean Air to provide more opportunities for customers to use their accumulated miles. Under the plan, Asiana miles will remain separately available for 10 years after the merger. As of the end of June, Korean Air’s consolidated mileage-related deferred revenue stood at 4.07 trillion won ($2.94 billion), including 3.12 trillion won for Korean Air and 946.3 billion won for Asiana, according to the companies’ interim reports. The amount represents the value allocated to unused miles that have yet to be redeemed and is recorded as a liability until the related services are provided. The figure does not represent conventional debt that Korean Air must repay in cash. Rather, it reflects future service obligations. When customers redeem their mile

Korea’s defense industry stands at a critical crossroads, as its export boom gives way to a new phase in which major overseas buyers are demanding local production and supply chains in their own markets. From K9 self-propelled howitzers and K2 battle tanks to Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers and air defense systems, Korean-made weapons have rapidly expanded their presence across Europe and other regions. The export boom has transformed the defense industry from a largely domestic-oriented sector into one of Korea’s emerging global growth engines. But the next stage may prove more challenging. Korean defense firms can no longer rely solely on their traditional strengths of competitive prices, fast delivery and proven manufacturing capabilities. As major customers increasingly demand technology transfers, local production and participation in their own defense industries, Korean companies are pushed to become not just arms exporters, but long-term industrial partners. That shift could determine whether the current K-defense boom develops into a sustainable global business or remains a t

Korea has emerged as a major player in the global defense market, with its domestically developed weapons systems gaining traction for their competitive prices, advanced technology and fast delivery. From artillery and tanks to fighter jets and missile defense systems, Korean defense companies are expanding their global footprint and reshaping the country’s position in the international arms industry. K9 Thunder The K9 Thunder is Korea’s flagship self-propelled howitzer and one of the country’s most successful defense export items. Designed to provide mobile, long-range artillery fire support for ground forces, the 155-millimeter system can rapidly move, fire and relocate, making it well-suited to modern, highly mobile battlefields. The K9 is now used or being introduced by a growing list of countries, including Poland, Australia, Egypt, India, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Turkey. Poland has emerged as its largest export customer under a major deal to reinforce its artillery capabilities in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Redback IFV The Redback is Hanwha Aerospace’s nex

Renault Korea’s flagship crossover, the Filante, looks imposing at first glance, but feels surprisingly agile behind the wheel. Its planted ride, refined cabin and better-than-expected fuel economy give the large crossover a distinctive mix of comfort and driving appeal. The Filante was driven for about 400 kilometers on a round trip between Seoul and Daejeon, covering a mix of urban roads and highways. Across the route, the crossover delivered a stable ride and impressive fuel efficiency, making a strong overall impression. The Filante shares some of its design cues with Renault Korea’s popular Grand Koleos SUV, but carries a more upscale and sportier character. Measuring 4,915 millimeters in length and 1,635 millimeters in height, it has a substantial presence. Yet its low, flowing roofline and floating rear spoiler give the large body a sleeker profile, blending elements of a sedan and an SUV. The difference becomes more apparent once the car gets moving. The Filante’s driving character can be summed up in one word: planted. Its E-Tech hybrid powertrain combines a 1.5-liter turbo

Chinese action camera maker Insta360 is deepening its US footprint with a flagship store opening in New York as it navigates escalating price competition with DJI and industry-wide memory cost pressures. The Chinese GoPro rival was slated to plant its flag in the heart of Times Square with its first flagship retail store in the US on Saturday, a marquee launch as the firm looked to “leap to the next stage of growth”, co-founder Max Richter said. “The US market plays a very important role for us...

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Alibaba Group Holding’s research arm, Damo Academy, has open-sourced an artificial intelligence model capable of identifying nearly 150 abdominal conditions – including cancers – by reading computed tomography (CT) scans, marking the latest step in the firm’s growing medical AI efforts. The vision-language model, called Damo Radar, was designed to analyse contrast-enhanced CT scans covering 18 abdominal organs and identify a broad range of diseases and other abnormalities, such as malignant...

Foreign investors ended their seven-month sell-offs of Korean stocks in August amid extended geopolitical risks and woes over artificial intelligence (AI) profitability, data showed Friday. Offshore investors scooped up a net 340 billion won ($246 million) worth of local stocks last month, snapping their selling binge for seven consecutive months, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Following their net purchases in August, offshore investors owned 2,281 trillion won worth of local stocks, or 34.8 percent of total market capitalization. By country, investors from the United States were the top buyers in August by purchasing a net 13.4 trillion won, followed by Ireland with 3.2 trillion won of buying, the latest findings showed. In the local bond market, foreign investors sold a net 3.94 trillion won worth of local debt last month. Their holdings of Korean bonds stood at 330 trillion won as of end-August, accounting for 11.4 percent of listed bonds here, the FSS revealed.

Hyosung Heavy Industries is expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint through a new joint venture to produce high-voltage circuit breakers in Pennsylvania. The company said June 16 that its subsidiary, Hyosung HICO, signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Quanta Services to establish Hyosung Hico Breaker, a joint venture for gas circuit breakers. The joint venture, incorporated in July, will begin manufacturing high-voltage circuit breakers ranging from 72.5 kilovolts to 800 kilovolts as early as October. Production will take place at Quanta's existing facility in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Quanta Services is a major U.S. engineering, procurement and construction company specializing in power and energy infrastructure. It serves utilities, power generation and energy storage projects, data centers, telecommunications providers and other customers across the United States. The partnership combines Hyosung's power equipment expertise with Quanta's infrastructure capabilities as the Korean company expands its presence in the U.S. power market. With more than 50 years of experience in high-v

Hyundai Steel has obtained ISO 37301 certification, an international standard for compliance management systems, recognizing its efforts to align its compliance framework with global standards. The steelmaker held a ceremony Wednesday at its Pangyo office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, attended by Hyundai Steel Executive Vice President Seo Sang-weon, head of management support, and Korea Fair Competition Federation Chairman Park Jae-kyu. During the ceremony, the two sides shared the results of the certification process and discussed ways to further strengthen Hyundai Steel’s compliance management system. ISO 37301 is established by the International Organization for Standardization. It assesses whether a company has systems in place to comply with laws and internal rules and to identify, prevent and manage compliance risks. As part of the certification process, Hyundai Steel analyzed its business environment and stakeholder requirements, assessed potential compliance risks in key business processes and established measures to manage them and areas for improvement. The company also esta

Samsung Electronics' Exynos application processors (APs) accounted for 9 percent of global smartphone AP shipments in the second quarter, the highest level since the data was first compiled in 2024, industry data showed Friday. The figure was up 2 percentage points from the previous quarter and 3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research. APs, often described as the brains of mobile devices, handle core computing tasks needed to run operating systems and applications. The increase was driven by stronger Exynos shipments across both premium and mid-range smartphones. The flagship Exynos 2600, used in Samsung's Galaxy S26 series, contributed to growth in the premium segment, while Exynos chips used in the Galaxy A57 and A37 supported shipments in the mid-range segment. Taiwan's MediaTek, which makes Dimensity and Helio chipsets for a wide range of smartphones, led the market with a 31 percent share in the second quarter, data showed. U.S.-based Qualcomm, which makes Snapdragon chipsets, followed with 23 percent, while Apple, which designs its

Korean luxury automotive brand Genesis has unveiled its latest high-profile cultural initiative at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, filling the grand niches of the museum’s Fifth Avenue facade with four new monumental sculptures by Chinese artist Liu Wei. “The Genesis Facade Commission: Liu Wei, Speculation” opened Thursday (local time) and will remain on view through June 8, 2027, marking the third commission presented through Genesis’ multiyear partnership with the museum. Liu’s four works — “Speculation / Λ,” “Speculation / G,” “Speculation / c” and “Speculation / h” — draw on architectural fragments and bodily forms assembled from fiberglass composite, steel, aluminum alloy, polyurethane paint and bovine rawhide. The sculptures explore fragmentation, transformation and renewal, examining cycles of rupture and repair amid rapid social and cultural change. The human hand appears throughout the commission as a recurring motif, connecting recognizable forms with more fantastical ones while reflecting Liu’s interest in transformation, perception and imagina

Toss, Korea’s dominant financial super-app, has completed a proof of concept with the state-run Korea Minting, Security Printing and ID Card Operating Corp. for a blockchain-based public payment infrastructure connecting digital currency with existing payment systems, the companies said Friday. The project follows a memorandum of understanding signed in April and examines whether blockchain-based digital currency can work with existing public payment infrastructure. Toss and Korea Minting, Security Printing and ID Card Operating Corp. built a separate test environment for local love gift certificates and implemented the full payment process, from charging gift certificate tokens with blockchain-based digital currency to payments and merchant settlements. The system uses Optimism, an ethereum layer 2 network, to process transactions while linking digital currency transfers with transactions handled by existing payment systems. The companies also tested Privacy Boost, a privacy solution designed to protect sensitive transaction information from exposure on a public blockchain during paym

Global construction giant Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C) is stepping up its clean-energy push, heading a state-backed project to engineer large-scale green hydrogen facilities capable of generating over 100 megawatts of zero-carbon fuel. Hyundai E&C said Friday that its HMG Construction Research Institute will lead the project, which is being promoted by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment. The project aims to develop a comprehensive design package covering plant systems, core processes and operating configurations for large-scale hydrogen production, with the goal of bringing the technology to a level suitable for demonstration and commercialization. Hyundai E&C will lead a consortium that includes Hyundai Engineering, Hyundai Motor, Hanwha Global, Korea Midland Power, Mirae Standards Research Institute, Seoul National University and Korea University. Hyundai E&C will be responsible for developing the basic engineering package and conducting an economic feasibility assessment, according to the company. The project will also use artificial intelligence and dynamic si

Hanwha Systems said Friday it has signed a contract with the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) to join, as the private-sector developer, a national system for tracking and predicting collisions among objects in orbit. The deal, signed Sept. 9, makes Hanwha Systems a system developer for the Korean Space Situational Awareness system (K-SSA) — a project under the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), the country's space agency. Space situational awareness refers to observing and analyzing the position and orbit of objects in space to detect and forecast risks such as collisions or objects falling back to Earth. The company said the number of satellites in low Earth orbit has grown sharply in recent years, raising the risk of collisions between spacecraft and both artificial and natural objects in orbit — from defunct satellites to debris and meteoroids — and adding urgency to efforts to protect national space assets. Under the project, KASI will serve as the lead research institute, setting the mission, operating concept and system requirements for the K-SSA system

Hankook Tire & Technology said it has signed a four-year deal to keep supplying original equipment (OE) tires — tires installed on vehicles at the factory, before they reach dealers — to German trailer manufacturer Schmitz Cargobull, extending a partnership that dates back more than a decade. Under the agreement, which runs from July 2026 through June 2030, Hankook will supply truck and bus radial (TBR) tires for Schmitz Cargobull's new trailers across Europe, the company said. Hankook first began supplying OE tires to Schmitz Cargobull in 2013 and has since expanded the range of products it provides. Schmitz Cargobull, headquartered in Germany, is Europe's largest trailer manufacturer, with production plants across the continent, including in the United Kingdom, Spain, Lithuania, Romania and Turkey. The company makes refrigerated semi-trailers and dump trailers, among other commercial vehicle equipment, and is a major supplier to Europe's logistics industry. The tires supplied under the deal will use Hankook's Smartec platform, its top-tier TBR technology line. Products include the

Hanwha Group’s financial affiliates are expanding ties with Abu Dhabi across digital finance, stablecoins and cross-border payments, as the group seeks to build a broader foothold in the Middle East’s financial center. Hanwha Life Insurance, Hanwha General Insurance, Hanwha Asset Management and Hanwha Investment & Securities signed separate agreements with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), covering digital finance and financial infrastructure. Hanwha Life signed a partnership with ADIO to collaborate on developing digital financial services, strengthening ties between the Korean and Abu Dhabi financial and capital markets and exploring opportunities in digital banking. Hanwha Asset Management, meanwhile, signed a tripartite partnership with ADGM and Hana Financial Group on stablecoins and financial infrastructure to develop cross-border payment and remittance solutions linking Korea and Abu Dhabi. The four financial affiliates also signed a partnership with ADGM for Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2026, building on discussions at last year’s event ab

Coway has launched the Berex Triple Chair 2 Slim, a multifunctional chair that combines the functions of an office chair, recliner and massage chair. The new product reflects growing demand for space-saving furniture as housing costs rise and one- and two-person households become more common, the home appliance maker said. The Triple Chair 2 Slim is 9 percent smaller in volume than the previous model, making it easier to fit into tight spaces. It also features hidden wheels that give the chair a cleaner look while making it easier to move. The chair is designed for people who spend long hours sitting, such as those working from home or studying. The massage balls are tucked inside the backrest when the massage function is not in use, reducing pressure on the back. The head cushion supports the head and neck, while the seat height can be adjusted by up to 5 centimeters to suit different body types. The backrest can be reclined from 110 degrees for working to 150 degrees for relaxing. Users can also adjust the backrest and leg rest separately for a more comfortable position. The chair also f

Chinese artificial intelligence models from seven major developers combined generate only about 10 per cent of the revenue reported for OpenAI and Anthropic, even as investor enthusiasm remains intense, according to US-based research firm Rhodium Group. The Chinese AI models earned an estimated US$10.7 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) from March to August, a fraction of the more than US$100 billion combined for OpenAI and Anthropic, according to the Rhodium report published on...

As market fears mount over waning Big Tech spending and calls to slow down frontier artificial intelligence development, Asia-Pacific semiconductor foundries are better positioned to withstand a potential downturn in AI investment than other tech hardware firms in the region, according to S&P Global Ratings. In a report published on Thursday, the rating agency said it had stress tested four key Asia-Pacific sectors – foundries, memory manufacturers, cooling component suppliers and original...

Huawei Technologies expects a major domestic shift towards its artificial intelligence computing infrastructure for model training next year, as its Ascend processors gain ground on Nvidia in China despite supply constraints, according to rotating chairman Eric Xu Zhijun. “I believe that starting from next year, a lot of the AI model training will be based on the SuperPoD or SuperCluster based on Ascend 950DT,” Xu told reporters during the Huawei Connect 2026 conference in Shanghai on...