Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both saw their parental leave rates decline in the first half of this year, marking the first time the two companies have recorded simultaneous declines, as expectations for hefty performance-based bonuses grow amid a semiconductor boom. The decline comes as both companies are expected to post record-high profits this year, with employees potentially eligible for bonuses worth hundreds of millions of won as the artificial intelligence (AI)-driven demand for memory chips fuels a semiconductor supercycle. According to the companies’ half-year reports, Samsung Electronics’ parental leave rate among employees with children born during the year stood at 35.5 percent in the first half, down from 36.2 percent a year earlier. The rate fell for both men and women. The rate for men taking parental leave rate dropped to 11.2 percent from 12.4 percent in the same period the year before, while the rate for women fell to 88.2 percent from 94.3 percent. At SK hynix, the parental leave rate among employees with children of elementary school age or younger fell to 3.2

Hanwha Aerospace has apologized for hiring guidelines that restricted experienced-hire applicants based on age and educational background, pledging to discipline those responsible and overhaul its recruitment process to prevent similar incidents. CEO Lee Boo-hwan issued an apology on the company website on Sunday, saying it was unacceptable to restrict applicants’ opportunities based on personal attributes. “There should never have been guidelines that could limit applicants’ opportunities based on personal factors such as education and age, which are unrelated to job performance,” Lee said. The labor ministry launched an inspection on Sept. 16 over allegations that Hanwha Aerospace had prepared and distributed guidelines specifying age ranges and universities for experienced-hire positions to human resources executives and hiring managers. Lee said the guidelines “directly violated” the company’s principles of open hiring and equal opportunity, adding that he took the matter very seriously. “This was a clear failure on our part, as incorrect guidelines were distributed to

Korea’s planned power infrastructure investment in the United States could generate a second wave of orders for Korean battery and power equipment makers, as surging electricity consumption from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers drives demand for energy storage systems (ESS) and grid equipment. Last week, the Korean government announced its first U.S. strategic investment project, part of a $350 billion investment package. The project worth $22.3 billion is centered on building a natural gas-fired power plant in Encinal, Texas, to meet rising electricity demand from semiconductor plants and AI data centers. The project is also expected to create additional demand for equipment needed to store, distribute and stabilize power, enabling relevant system makers to attract more orders from the world’s largest economy. ESS is one of the largest pillar under the project. Korean battery makers — LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On — identify ESS as their major revenue areas while the electric vehicle industry is stuck in a chasm. ESS can store electricity when demand is low

Pre-orders are already opened and there are Early Bird vouchers for redemption on a first-come first-serve basis.

The globaly mega K-pop star has helped design a Chroma Pearl PS5 controller arriving in Singapore on 30 October.

Bandai Namco has started a separate Gundam timeline, with humanity facing something other than itself for a change.

Voting for the HardwareZone Tech Awards 2026 Readers’ Choice is now open! Stand a chance to win $3,000 worth of Grab Vouchers!

IKEA has launched a new collection worldwide that explores a less familiar approach to home decor. For the new Konstrunda collection, seven creators came together to produce 18 distinctive art pieces, suggesting how art can be used to style everyday living spaces at affordable prices. Karin Gustavsson, creative director for the collection that was unveiled earlier this month, said the project is “democratization” of art, emphasizing the pieces’ comparatively low prices, ranging from 29,900 won ($21.50) to 349,000 won. Setting affordability as a key condition for the collection, she gave the artists broad creative freedom in how they expressed their ideas. As the leader for Range Identity at IKEA Sweden, Gustavsson said preserving each artist’s spirit and ideas was just as important as keeping the works affordable. “When I choose people to work with, I make sure that they understand the ethos of IKEA, and even if there is freedom to design, we do work on an entirely different scale and have other factors to consider — affordability being one of the most important,” said Gus

Late last year, Zhang Xuan’s small beef noodle joint in Shanghai suddenly began seeing a dramatic surge in orders. Sales over the past few months have been 50 to 60 per cent higher than normal, he estimates. The driver? The new Street Stars feature on Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holding’s Amap mapping app, which listed Zhang’s eatery as the fourth best restaurant in Shanghai’s Changning district. Prominently displayed on Amap’s main page, the system uses artificial intelligence to rate...