Top executives from Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) held a rare joint gathering, Monday, to strengthen cooperation in physical artificial intelligence (AI) and next-generation mobility technologies, signaling closer ties between two of Korea’s largest industrial groups. The meeting comes as the two conglomerates are seeking to expand cooperation beyond existing business ties in areas, such as automotive electronics, batteries and components, with a particular focus on electric vehicles (EVs), autonomous driving, software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and robotics. Samsung hosted senior Hyundai Motor Group executives at its training center in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province, for an event dubbed HMG Appreciation Day, the first large-scale event of its kind that Samsung has held for a major Korean business group. The gathering brought together 177 executives and their spouses from the two groups under the theme “One Harmony,” highlighting their growing strategic partnership. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun said the two groups have been “reliable par

Late Hyosung Group Honorary Chairman Cho Suck-rai has been posthumously awarded the Korea-America Friendship Award in recognition of his decades-long efforts to strengthen economic ties between Korea and the United States. The group said that the late chairman received the 24th annual award from the Korea-America Association (KAA) at its ceremony on Monday in Seoul, with his son, Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, accepting the award on his behalf. The association recognized Cho Suck-rai for his efforts to strengthen bilateral economic ties, particularly his role in rallying business support for the free trade agreement between Korea and the U.S. and helping secure Korea's entry into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. Accepting the award, Cho Hyun-joon expressed gratitude on behalf of his family, noting that his grandfather, former KAA Chairman Song In-sang, had received the same honor in 2004. "It is deeply meaningful to see that my father's lifelong wish for a Korea-U.S. alliance in which the two countries understand each other and grow together is becoming a reality today," He said. "I will ke

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's admission of a romantic relationship with a suspected Chinese spy is raising concerns among Korean industry officials that the controversy could eventually affect the U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) giant's partnerships with Korean companies, particularly if investigations expand into potential security breaches or questions over Huang's leadership. Huang acknowledged having an extramarital affair with businesswoman Alice Huang in a message to Nvidia employees, saying he was “unfaithful” to his wife and family. New York Times first reported that U.S. intelligence officials believed that Alice Huang was a Chinese spy. Following his admission, Nvidia's board launched an independent investigation, saying there was no evidence that confidential company information or U.S. national security had been compromised, while U.S. lawmakers requested a closed-door briefing with Huang on Nov. 18. Amid the controversy, Nvidia Senior Director of Product Marketing Madison Huang, daughter of CEO Jensen Huang, canceled her planned appearance at Nvidia AI Day Seoul 2026 on M

Korea's major banks are sharply increasing their cybersecurity budgets for next year following a series of hacking incidents, with some lenders planning to spend more than 100 billion won ($74 million) on information security, data showed Monday. According to data submitted by the country's four major banks to Rep. Lee Yang-soo of the main opposition People Power Party, Shinhan Bank plans to allocate 115 billion won to information security in 2027, nearly 2.8 times its budget of 40.6 billion won this year. Hana Bank has set its budget at 100.1 billion won, while Woori Bank plans to spend 76.3 billion won. KB Kookmin Bank is also considering raising its allocation to more than 100 billion won, although the figure has yet to be finalized. The planned increases follow a series of suspected artificial intelligence-assisted cyberattacks that have raised concerns across the financial sector. In October, a data breach at Shinhan Bank exposed the personal information of about 25,000 customers. The number of customers affected by a separate breach at KB Kookmin Bank was 2,210, significantly highe

Four cases of cheating using artificial intelligence (AI) glasses have been reported at middle and high schools this year, the education ministry said Monday. According to data collected from all 5,679 middle and high schools nationwide between Oct. 27 and last Tuesday, one middle school and three high school students were caught using AI glasses during their midterm or final exams. The middle school and one high school are in Seoul while the two other high schools are in North Jeolla Province and the southern island of Jeju. Three of the four were caught while constantly touching their glasses, while the other was caught switching to AI glasses after the exam got under way. In the latter case, the proctor had been keeping a close eye on the student following a tip-off from another student, officials said. All four students received zero scores on the affected exams in accordance with relevant regulations. In addition, separate disciplinary measures were taken against the three high school students, such as three days of special education, four hours of community service and a five-day s

Ninety-two cases of safety and labor standard violations have been found at food service company Ourhome, the labor ministry said Monday following an inspection prompted by the deaths of two workers at one of the firm's plants. Of the total violations, 53 cases concerned industrial safety, while 39 were related to labor standards, the ministry said after inspecting nine Ourhome plants nationwide. In response, the ministry said it plans to send 13 cases to the prosecution for potential indictment and slap a fine of 86.3 million won ($63,800) over 37 cases. Corrective action has been ordered for the remaining 42 incidents. The violations included continuing the use of conveyor belts that had not undergone safety checks, not holding or belatedly holding special training classes for conveyor belt workers at six of the nine plants, and failing to install covers or protective fences as part of tofu-making or food mixing processes. There were also cases of illegal worker dispatches between Ourhome's plants and partner companies, and workers being not paid or underpaid for overtime or holiday wo

SK shieldus aims to source all of its electricity from renewable energy this year as the security company expands its emission-reduction efforts across its operations and supply chain. The plan follows the approval of its near-term emissions targets by the Science Based Targets initiative in 2025. SK shieldus said it was the first Korean security company to have its targets validated by the initiative, which assesses corporate emissions targets against climate science. Using 2023 as its base year, the company aims to cut its direct greenhouse gas emissions, known as Scope 1, by 99 percent by 2029. It also plans to maintain 100 percent renewable electricity use from 2026 through 2030 and reduce other indirect emissions across its value chain, or Scope 3, by 55 percent by 2033. Its longer-term goal is to achieve net-zero emissions across Scope 1 and Scope 2, which covers emissions associated with purchased energy, by 2040. The targets address energy demand from operations including round-the-clock monitoring centers, a nationwide dispatch network and security equipment installed at custome

Nvidia, SK Telecom and domestic artificial intelligence (AI) chip startup Rebellions agreed Monday to combine their respective strengths to establish a heterogeneous computing system. Under the trilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU), the companies will cooperate in the establishment of a heterogeneous AI computing system connecting Nvidia's graphic processing units (GPUs) with neural processing units (NPUs) designed by Rebellions that will be used in the building of SK Telecom AI data centers. The tie-up will be based on the U.S. chipmaker's NVLink Fusion program. The NVLink Fusion program allows hyperscalers and custom chip designers to integrate their own AI processors directly into Nvidia's rack-scale infrastructure. The MOU was signed on the margins of AI Day Seoul, a tech event hosted by Nvidia that kicked off its two-day run in southern Seoul. "Korea is a technology leader, and with AI being one of the fastest growing technologies that has ever happened ... this collaboration we are working on together, we believe, can help accelerate innovation in Korea," Jesse Clayton, the p

Nvidia, SK Telecom and domestic artificial intelligence (AI) chip startup Rebellions agreed Monday to combine their respective strengths to establish a heterogeneous computing system. Under the trilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU), the companies will cooperate in the establishment of a heterogeneous AI computing system connecting Nvidia's graphic processing units (GPUs) with neural processing units (NPUs) designed by Rebellions that will be used in the building of SK Telecom AI data centers. The tie-up will be based on the U.S. chipmaker's NVLink Fusion program, the ministry added. The NVLink Fusion program allows hyperscalers and custom chip designers to integrate their own AI processors directly into Nvidia's rack-scale infrastructure. The MOU was signed on the margins of AI Day Seoul, a tech event hosted by Nvidia that kicked off its two-day run in southern Seoul. "Korea is a technology leader, and with AI being one of the fastest growing technologies that has ever happened ... this collaboration we are working on together, we believe, can help accelerate innovation in Korea,"