Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to step down in big blow to AI boom

The Korea Times - Nov 12, 2026

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is stepping down, leaving the artificial intelligence (AI) industry without its biggest champion and clouding the future of the chipmaker he built into an AI powerhouse. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will take over as interim CEO as Nvidia looks for a permanent successor, the company said on Thursday. It named former Synopysys CEO and board member Harvey Jones as its first-ever board chairman. Huang, who co-founded Nvidia and is its fourth-largest investor with a stake of about 3.61 percent, will exit the board as well. Nvidia shares fell more than 10% in premarket trading, and weighed on the broader market. Pressure had been mounting on Huang in recent days after reports said the 63-year-old, who is married, had an affair with a Chinese businesswoman who US authorities suspect of spying for Beijing. Nvidia's board met on Wednesday to consider his ouster, a person familiar with the matter said, after reports earlier in the day that Huang also had an extramarital affair with a senior company executive who reported to him. Huang's exit plunges the $4 trillion

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CHA Bio Group head outlines vision for stem cells to fight diseases, extend life

Nov 12, 2026

CHA Bio Group head outlines vision for stem cells to fight diseases, extend life

Dr. Cha Kwang-yul, head of the CHA Global Research Institutes at CHA Medical Center and CHA Bio Group, outlined an ambitious vision to use stem cells to treat intractable diseases and potentially extend human lifespan, drawing global interest at an international conference in Busan. Cha delivered his keynote address, titled "Longevity and Reproductive Aging Using K-Cells," at the 16th World Congress of the International Society for Immunology of Reproduction, held Nov. 5-8, with about 400 participants attending. The presentation focused on K-Cell, a proposed cell resource intended to support the development of treatments for intractable diseases before expanding into research on aging and longevity. Cha outlined a donor-screening strategy that combines medical and infectious disease histories with age, clinical characteristics, three generations of family medical history and whole-genome sequencing to identify cells suited to specific therapeutic purposes. He also discussed genetic modification and somatic cell nuclear transfer, a technique that involves transferring the nucleus of a sel

Samsung turns everyday spending into community giving with new charity program

Nov 12, 2026

Samsung turns everyday spending into community giving with new charity program

Samsung is turning everyday purchases near its workplaces into support for vulnerable children, bringing local businesses, employees and labor representatives together in a community-giving initiative that links commercial activity with social welfare. The company held its 2026 Sharing Day event Thursday at DSR Tower, its semiconductor complex in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, wrapping up a two-week Sharing Week campaign and holding the first donation ceremony for its Sharing Stores program. More than 108,000 employees from 23 Samsung affiliates participated in donations, blood drives and volunteer activities during the campaign, which began Nov. 2. Under Sharing Stores, restaurants and cafes near Samsung workplaces donate part of their sales to support children and teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds when employees patronize participating businesses. The program now operates at 22 workplaces across 17 Samsung affiliates, including Samsung Electronics, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Display and Samsung SDI, with 370 local businesses participating. Samsung also raised 300 million wo

LG CNS brings global robotics experts together to advance physical AI

Nov 12, 2026

LG CNS brings global robotics experts together to advance physical AI

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KEPCO Q3 net plunges 78% on higher fuel costs

Nov 12, 2026

KEPCO Q3 net plunges 78% on higher fuel costs

The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said Thursday its third-quarter net profit plunged 78 percent from a year earlier due to higher fuel costs. Net profit for the three months ended in September fell to 835.89 billion won from 3.79 trillion won in the same period last year, the company said in a press release. "Electricity sales declined, while global thermal coal prices continued to rise in the third quarter, weighing on our bottom line, among other factors," a company spokesperson said. Combined fuel costs for KEPCO's power-generating subsidiaries, including Korea South-East Power, exceeded 2.2 trillion won in the third quarter, weighing on earnings, the company said. Operating profit plunged 70.9 percent to 1.64 trillion won from 5.65 trillion won during the same period, while sales fell 2.6 percent to 26.85 trillion won from 27.57 trillion won. KEPCO said it would closely monitor volatile energy prices while maintaining an emergency management system focused on improving its financial position through cost reductions and profitability-driven operations. The company has bee

Naver clinches $1.5 bil. AI computing deal with US firm

Nov 12, 2026

Naver clinches $1.5 bil. AI computing deal with US firm

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Nov 12, 2026

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Korea Zinc loses court battle over curbs on Young Poong's voting rights

Nov 12, 2026

Korea Zinc loses court battle over curbs on Young Poong's voting rights

A court ruled Thursday that a resolution passed at Korea Zinc's annual shareholder meeting last year that restricted the voting rights of Young Poong Corp. and private equity firm MBK Partners Ltd. must be nullified. Young Poong and MBK formed an alliance under an agreement signed in September 2024 to secure management control of Korea Zinc, the world's largest refined zinc smelter. Since then, the two parties have jointly exercised their voting rights, prompting Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-beom to wage a protracted battle to fend off their takeover bid. The Seoul Central District Court ordered Korea Zinc to revoke the resolution adopted at its March 2025 shareholder meeting in a lawsuit filed by the Young Poong-MBK alliance. The court said that Korea Zinc cannot restrict the voting rights of existing shareholders by invoking rules governing cross-shareholdings as a means of defending its management control. It did not provide further details. Choi's side had orchestrated a move for Sun Metals Corp. (SMC), a second-tier subsidiary of Korea Zinc, to acquire a stake greater than 10 percen

Jensen Huang's potential exit casts shadow over Korea's AI road map

Nov 12, 2026

Jensen Huang's potential exit casts shadow over Korea's AI road map

Mounting uncertainties surrounding Nvidia are threatening to disrupt Korea's semiconductor industry and its broader artificial intelligence (AI) road maps, as U.S. semiconductor restrictions are likely to be tightened and the future of its beleaguered CEO Jensen Huang is unclear. Following Huang's admission of an affair with a suspected Chinese spy, U.S. lawmakers have stepped up calls for tighter restrictions on China's access to U.S.-made AI chips. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday (local time) called on Congress to pass three acts tightening export controls on advanced AI chips. “This alarming situation makes clear that Congress must now act to pass critical bipartisan legislation like the AI Overwatch Act, the MATCH Act and Chip Security Act to cut off China's access to advanced American technology before it's too late," Schumer said during a Senate floor speech. The AI Overwatch Act is aimed at allowing Congress to block advanced AI chip exports to U.S. foreign adversaries. The Chip Security Act will require AI chips subject to export controls to have a “location

Can tougher reappointment rules curb power of Korea's bank holding company chiefs?

Nov 12, 2026

Can tougher reappointment rules curb power of Korea's bank holding company chiefs?

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Nov 12, 2026

City-backed startup summit bolsters Seoul's drive to be global innovation hub

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KOGAS Q3 net more than triples on equity gains, lower costs

Nov 12, 2026

KOGAS Q3 net more than triples on equity gains, lower costs

Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS), Korea's state-run gas utility, said Thursday its third-quarter net profit more than tripled from a year earlier, driven by increased gains from equity investments and lower interest costs. Net profit for the three months ended in September jumped to 272.4 billion won ($204.6 million) from 86.8 billion won in the same period last year, the company said in a press release. "Gains from investments in affiliated companies and lower interest costs on outstanding loans boosted our quarterly bottom line," a company spokesperson said. Operating profit rose 51.1 percent to 587.8 billion won in the third quarter from 388.99 billion won a year ago. Sales climbed 17.8 percent to 7.5 trillion won from 6.37 trillion won. The company attributed its improved operating performance to increased earnings from a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Canada, in which KOGAS holds a stake, and a gas exploration project in Mozambique. For the first nine months of the year, net profit more than doubled to 1.16 trillion won from 539.09 billion won in the year-ago period. Operating profit r

Samsung, SK hynix tighten security training amid industrial espionage concerns

Nov 12, 2026

Samsung, SK hynix tighten security training amid industrial espionage concerns

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