Coupang is facing growing pressure to broaden its lobbying strategy in the United States beyond its Republican allies following the Democrats' sweeping midterm election victory, experts and industry officials said Sunday. The change could be particularly impactful for the e-commerce giant, whose lobbying efforts have helped draw attention in Washington to its dispute with Korean regulators. Republican lawmakers, including members of the House Judiciary Committee, have publicly criticized what they described as discriminatory treatment of the U.S.-headquartered firm in Korea. With Democrats now set to control both chambers of Congress, the institutional backing Coupang has received from Republican lawmakers is expected to weaken, prompting experts and industry watchers to say the company will have to broaden its relationships across both parties to maintain its influence in Washington. “Especially for a digital-focused firm like Coupang, which remains subject to policies under the Republican administration, it is important to balance lobbying efforts between Democrats and Republicans,

More than 9 out of 10 Korean companies operating in Vietnam said they plan to maintain their businesses there despite rising labor costs and regulatory burdens, a survey released Sunday showed. According to the survey conducted by Korea International Trade Association (KITA), 92 percent of Korean companies operating in Vietnam said they had no intention of withdrawing from the Southeast Asian country. Among them, 87.5 percent cited "cost advantage relative to other countries" as the main reason for their stay. The results come despite a sharp rise in wages in Vietnam in recent years, KITA said. The monthly minimum wage of Vietnamese workers increased by more than 4.5 times from $45.4 in 2010 to $205.3 in 2024, according to the association. Monthly wages have risen by an annual average of 11.4 percent during the 14-year period, marking the fastest pace of increase among major economies in Asia. Despite increasing labor costs, companies maintained a positive view on the future outlook of the Vietnamese market. Nearly 60 percent of companies expected their operations in Vietnam to improve ove

Apple hasn’t even got its first foldable iPhone into everyone’s hands, but it may already be doing Samsung’s foldable business a favour.

6G’s founding researcher says 5G was faster, “but that’s kind of it”. As preparations for Australia’s next network ramp up, there are important lessons to be learnt.

3 days of concerts, anime showcases and fan experiences await from 27 to 29 November.

In an unconventional lifeline for Korea's traditional press, a diverse corporate coalition spanning tech, retail and entertainment has agreed to rescue JoongAng Ilbo, one of the nation’s most influential conservative daily newspapers. Under a 520 billion won ($388 million) conditional agreement approved Wednesday by the boards of Daou Technology, Saramin, CJ Corp. and Shinsegae, the newly injected capital will flow directly into the newspaper to clear its debts and pull the media outlet out of a creditor-led workout program it entered this summer. According to an assessment by Korea Investors Service (KIS), a Moody’s affiliate, the acquiring companies possess the financial capacity to comfortably fund the transaction. Under the agreed funding structure, Daou Technology will cover 36.5 percent of the total, or about 189.8 billion won, while CJ Corp. will contribute 35.7 percent, or 185.6 billion won. Shinsegae is participating alongside CJ as a financial investor with a 14.1 percent stake (73.3 billion won), and online job portal Saramin will provide 13.7 percent (71.2 billion won).

Korean sellers are finding new opportunities in the global collectibles market, as overseas buyers are willing to pay a premium for rare, hard-to-find items, with trading card sales by Korean sellers on eBay more than tripling year-on-year in the third quarter. EBay said Friday that Korean sellers in the Collectible Card Games Category saw the highest sales growth among all Korean sellers on the global e-commerce platform from July to September this year. Trading cards featuring characters, artists or celebrity athletes fueled platform users’ attraction toward the Korean resellers. The most popular trading cards featured characters from the globally popular animated franchise Pokemon and iconic League of Legends esports team T1. The top-selling item in the category was the 2026 KOREA MEGA FESTA Magikarp card, which also ranked ninth in overall sales among Korean sellers on eBay. The Riftbound X 2025 World Champion T1 Signature Edition Card fetched a premium even during prelaunch sales, demonstrating a global fandom around the product itself and the team represented by professional gam

The personal information of some 39,000 customers and employees has been leaked from Mirae Asset Securities Co., the securities firm said Saturday. Mirae Asset Securities, the country's leading brokerage house, said the account numbers of some 3,800 customers and the personal information of over 35,000 current and former employees, as well as contractors, were leaked. The Korean brokerage said unauthorized external access occurred Wednesday and Thursday, targeting its mobile web phone authentication login service and internal system, respectively. The leaked non-customer, corporate data included names, employee ID numbers, email addresses, mobile phone numbers and passwords. Mirae Asset said it immediately blocked the affected access routes after detecting suspicious activity from external IP addresses and activated its emergency response system. The company also said it reported the incident to the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Personal Information Protection Commission. The data breach came days after its sister companies, including Mirae Asset

A planned visit to Korea by Madison Huang, a senior director at Nvidia Corp. and the daughter of CEO Jensen Huang, has been abruptly canceled, sources said Saturday. The younger Huang had planned to visit Korea on Sunday to attend the "Nvidia AI Day Seoul 2026" event, set for Monday and Tuesday at the COEX exhibition center in southern Seoul, and meet with Korean government officials. But her scheduled trip was abruptly called off due to family issues, the sources said, without disclosing details. Some industry observers speculate the cancellation may have been influenced by foreign news reports alleging that U.S. intelligence officials believe a woman who had a close relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was a spy working for China. Despite Huang's absence, the Nvidia-hosted event is expected to be held as scheduled, according to the sources.

Unionized workers at Korean steelmaker POSCO on Saturday voted down a tentative wage agreement reached with management that includes a 2.6 percent increase in base pay, union officials said. The vote showed 51.69 percent of the unionized workers opposed the wage agreement, while 48.31 percent approved it, according to the union. The tentative wage deal includes a 2.6 percent hike in base pay, a one-off payment of 6 million won ($4,500) and improved benefits. The union had initially demanded a 7.1 percent increase in base pay, a performance bonus equivalent to 600 percent of base pay, 50 company shares per worker and a holiday bonus equivalent to 200 percent of base pay. "We will probably need to open renegotiations as there were many opposing votes," a union official said. The union and management reached a tentative wage agreement on Oct. 30 after holding about 30 rounds of talks since June. Unionized POSCO workers staged two rounds of partial strikes in September to demand higher wages and bonuses.

The driver’s seat was empty and the steering wheel was turning on its own. Sitting in the back of a Pony.ai robotaxi in Shenzhen, I felt a flicker of nervousness. But as the car glided into traffic, the initial unease gave way to an appreciation of something far less futuristic: the blissful absence of small talk with the driver. My test rides in two of China’s major tech hubs – with Pony.ai in Shenzhen and Baidu’s Apollo Go in Beijing – offered a first-hand experience of how autonomous vehicles...

Mirae Asset Securities Co. said Saturday that it suffered cyberattacks that resulted in the leakage of account numbers some 3,800 customers and personal information of over 35,000 current, former employees and contractors. The South Korean brokerage said unauthorized external access occurred Wednesday and Thursday, targeting its mobile web phone authentication login service and internal system, respectively. They resulted in the leakage of some 3,800 customer account numbers and information on 35,255 current, former and contractors. The non-customer, corporate data leaked included names, employee ID numbers, email addresses, mobile phone numbers and passwords. Mirae Asset said it immediately blocked the affected access routes after detecting suspicious activity from external IP addresses and activated its emergency response system. The company also said it reported the incident to the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Personal Information Protection Commission.

The Intel and AMD versions share most of their core specifications too, though their displays differ.

Insiders say Canva’s billionaire co-founders agonised over layoffs for weeks. They now have to try and turn the company around.

China’s pure-play artificial intelligence chipmakers crossed an important milestone in the third quarter as several firms swung into profit, but severe supply chain hurdles and soaring memory costs cloud their long-term growth prospects. Domestic graphics processing unit (GPU) developers including Moore Threads, MetaX and Iluvatar CoreX are racing to fill the market void left by Nvidia, whose high-end processors face strict US export controls. These home-grown firms are competing fiercely to win...

Nvidia Corp. has finalized its payment of $1 billion of investments to Naver Corp. on Friday and acquired 4.13 percent of the portal operator's shares through a third-party rights offering. The South Korean company said it has issued over 6.5 million shares through a private placement involving the U.S. chipmaker, after receiving 1.3 trillion won ($1 billion) in proceeds, according to its regulatory filing. Nvidia's stake acquisition of Naver is set to speed up their joint artificial intelligence (AI) factory venture announced in June. Naver plans to construct graphics processing unit (GPU)-based infrastructure, starting with its Gak Sejong data center in the central city, to expand its GPU-as-a-service businesses.

Chinese e-commerce platform Temu said Friday that a survey it conducted found that 91 percent of Korean sellers reported improvements in their businesses after joining the online marketplace, including increased sales and access to new customers. The company-run survey of more than 100 sellers, conducted in August, found that 58 percent reported higher sales volumes, while 47 percent said they had reached new customer groups. Temu entered Korea in July 2023 and fully introduced its Local Seller Program in May last year, allowing domestic merchants to sell to consumers nationwide. About 66 percent of the survey respondents had been selling on the platform for six months or less. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees accounted for 85 percent of the respondents, while 94 percent had already sold through other online channels before joining Temu. Meanwhile, 82 percent viewed Temu as a sales channel that complements their existing sales routes or as a major driver of sales growth. Another 39 percent said they had expanded their operations after joining Temu or planned to do so within 12 mon

Samsung Biologics' unionized workers staged another strike Friday, as wage and collective bargaining negotiations between labor and management have dragged on for more than six months. With global rivals moving quickly to expand their contract drug manufacturing capability, concerns are growing that the prolonged labor dispute could undermine Samsung Biologics' reputation as a reliable supplier capable of delivering the promised volumes of drugs on time. The Samsung Biologics labor union said it began its partial strike on Friday, without holding a separate rally. The strike is scheduled to continue for about three weeks, through Nov. 27. About 400 workers, or 10 percent of the union's roughly 4,000 members, are participating in the strike. They work in departments including quality control testing, quality assurance, logistics and production. Samsung Biologics’ labor and management declared a breakdown in their 2026 wage and collective bargaining negotiations in March, prompting the union to stage a partial strike in April, the first since the company was established in 2011. The union

Lotte Chemical Corp. on Friday reported its third-quarter net loss of 289.8 billion won ($213.6 million), remaining in the red compared with a year ago. The company, which makes advanced chemical products and battery materials, said in a regulatory filing that it continued to post an operating loss of 281.4 billion won for the July-September period, compared with a loss of 132.6 billion won a year earlier. Sales rose 12.7 percent to 5.39 trillion won.

Hanwha Engine on Friday reported its third-quarter net income of 11.6 billion won ($8.6 million), down 61.7 percent from a year earlier. The company, which is part of Korea's largest weapons producer Hanwha Group, said in a regulatory filing that its operating profit for the July-September period stood at 40.9 billion won, up 53.7 percent from a year ago. Sales also rose 39.1 percent to 413.6 billion won. The earnings failed to meet market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 41.6 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

Introduced in 1986, LF's premium menswear brand Maestro is one of Korea's longest-running menswear labels, having spent four decades adapting its styles and sizing to better suit Korean men's physiques. Marking its 40th anniversary this year, LF said the brand will be more faithful to “Italian elegance” and seek broader global markets beyond Vietnam. LF announced last month that it will further strengthen Albero, Maestro's high-end line featuring Italian-made products, by expanding partnerships with leading Italian textile manufacturers, including Zegna, Loro Piana, Colombo and Piacenza. The company will also expand its made-to-measure (MTM) tailoring services, which account for 30 percent of the brand's sales, by dividing them into three categories: Su Misura, Alta Sartoria and Sartoria Italia. To cater to growing demand from couples preparing for their weddings and consumers in their 20s and 30s who increasingly reserve suits for special occasions, the brand will also expand its formalwear lineup. The Rome Suit, launched in September to celebrate the brand's 40th anniversary, is de

Hankook Tire & Technology on Friday reported its third-quarter net income of 157.9 billion won ($116.2 million), down a sharp 59.5 percent from a year earlier. The firm, one of the largest tire makers in the world, said in a regulatory filing that it posted 598.8 billion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 586 billion won a year ago. Revenue rose 1 percent to 5.46 trillion won. The earnings fell behind market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 298.1 billion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

Kia Corp. said Friday it will invest 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) through 2029 in the southwestern city of Gwangju to establish an ecosystem for purpose-built vehicles (PBVs). The Korean automaker signed a memorandum of understanding with Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, Chonnam National University, and the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) at its AutoLand plant in Gwangju, about 270 kilometers south of Seoul. Under the agreement, the partners will cooperate in developing PBVs for demand-responsive transport services and testing autonomous PBV shuttles in the city. They will also demonstrate remote driving technology using the PV5 wheelchair-accessible vehicle and test Kia's Easy Swap technology, which allows vehicles to switch between passenger and cargo configurations. Kia said it expects the partnership to strengthen the region's PBV industry and create new growth opportunities by accelerating the development and adoption of advanced mobility services.

Korean food company Nongshim is running a Shin Ramyun food truck in northeastern India to build its brand in a market of 1.4 billion people, the company said Friday. The truck started its tour Oct. 30 and will continue until Nov. 22, making 20 stops in four cities: Guwahati in Assam, Shillong in Meghalaya, Aizawl in Mizoram and Agartala in Tripura. The stops include university campuses and major residential and shopping areas. Shin Ramyun is Nongshim’s flagship spicy instant noodle brand. “Ramyun” is the Korean word for instant noodles. Nongshim said Shin Ramyun suits Indian tastes because the monsoon climate has made warm soups and noodle dishes popular there. The company described the northeast, where the truck is touring, as a key region with a clear taste for spicy food, a strong noodle culture and a warm reception for Korean pop culture. The tour comes as Nongshim expands its distribution network in the region. At the truck, visitors can try the original Shin Ramyun and Shin Ramyun Toomba, a creamy, spicy variant that takes its cue from cream pasta. The noodles are cooked on-s

SK Biopharmaceuticals, a Korean firm focused on developing original prescription drugs, has built a massive artificial intelligence (AI) dataset of more than 7 million chemical entries to streamline candidate screening for new therapies. The project is part of the Ministry of Science and ICT’s program to develop AI foundation models for specific fields. A foundation model is a large AI model trained on vast amounts of data that can be adapted for many tasks. SK Biopharmaceuticals belongs to a medical and health care consortium led by medical AI firm Lunit, along with Trillion Labs, Kakao Healthcare and other companies, universities and hospitals. The consortium built a base model specialized in medical science. It then developed versions focused on three areas: drug development, covering chemical compounds and proteins; omics, the large-scale study of genes and other biological molecules; and clinical research. SK Biopharmaceuticals put together the drug discovery dataset based on what researchers actually need in the lab. The data covers 66 drug development tasks, including predictin

Doosan Corp., a major supplier of core materials for high-tech electronics, is expanding its manufacturing footprint in China to boost production of copper-clad laminates — essential components used in advanced microchips, artificial intelligence servers and smartphones. The company said Friday it signed an investment agreement with Changshu, a city in China's Jiangsu province, to build new copper-clad laminate (CCL) production lines near its existing factory. The agreement was signed Thursday at Suzhou City Hall, with Suzhou Mayor Wang Wei, Doosan President Yoo Seung-woo and Kim In-wook, head of the company's Electronics Business Group, among those in attendance. The project represents the Chinese portion of an investment plan worth approximately 970 billion won (about $670 million), announced by Doosan in September, including approximately 550 billion won earmarked for China. Doosan plans to develop a 185,000-square-meter site near its existing Changshu factory, with investment scheduled to be carried out in stages through 2028. The new production lines are expected to begin operating

U.S. private equity firm Texas Pacific Group (TPG) will acquire the remaining shares in Korea's leading car rental company, Lotte Rental, through a tender offer by early next month, the company said Friday. TPG's wholly owned special purpose vehicle (SPV), Lexicon Korea Holdco Inc., plans to purchase 14 million shares, or a 38.83 percent stake, in Lotte Rental at 59,000 won ($43.50) per share during the tender offer period from Friday through Dec. 3, according to a regulatory filing. The tender offer is valued at 831.7 billion won. "We have launched the tender offer to secure control of the target company, delist it from the Korean stock market and make it a wholly owned subsidiary," Lexicon Korea said in the filing. The bidder plans to settle the tender offer in cash on Dec. 7, paying for all shares, the filing outlined. KB Securities is advising on the deal. Last month, TPG acquired a combined 61.2 percent stake in Lotte Rental for 1.31 trillion won from Lotte Group affiliates Hotel Lotte and Lotte Hotel Busan. Lotte Group, the country's sixth-largest conglomerate by assets, has been sel

Lam Research said Friday it has appointed Kim Tae-won as the new regional vice president of Korea, succeeding Park Joon-hong, who has worked at the U.S. semiconductor equipment maker for nearly 25 years. Kim is a technology expert with more than 20 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, specializing in chemical vapor deposition and etching technologies. Since joining Lam Research in 2008, Kim has served in key positions in productivity solutions, product deployment and process development within the company's etch products group. Kim earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Seoul National University and a doctorate from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Lam Research Senior Vice President of Global Customer Operations Neil Fernandes said Kim's technical expertise, customer-focused leadership and track record of bringing teams together would help strengthen partnerships with Korean customers and drive further growth and innovation. Outgoing Regional Vice President Park previously held several senior positions at Lam Research, including head of the Surf

Few people who lace up a pair of Nike sneakers have heard of Changshin, but there is a good chance the Busan-based company made them. And before long, those shoes may carry Palantir's technology, too. Palantir Technologies said Friday it has signed a partnership agreement with Changshin, which has been producing Nike sneakers under contract since the 1980s. According to the two sides, Changshin will deploy Palantir’s Foundry and Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) across its footwear development and production operations. Foundry integrates and analyzes enterprise-wide data in one place, and AIP brings generative artificial intelligence (AI) into business workflows. Building on these platforms, Changshin said it will seamlessly connect information flows from footwear development and sample production planning to factory operations. This will allow the company to gain a comprehensive view of its manufacturing processes and enable closer collaboration across departments. The partnership is based on the results of a recent AgentCamp, a program in which participants develop AI agents and

Celebrity restaurateur and entrepreneur Paik Jong-won traded his usual role as a restaurant executive for that of a delivery rider, personally bringing pizzas to customers to promote a new menu item from his Paikboy Pizza chain. In a video uploaded Thursday to his YouTube channel, “Paik Jong-won,” Paik spends a day working at a franchise location in South Chungcheong Province as part of his series “My Business, My Way 2.” The visit was inspired by the franchise owner's efforts to personally deliver many orders placed through delivery apps, ensuring customers receive freshly baked pizzas while still warm. Paik joined the deliveries on a motorcycle, surprising customers by bringing an additional pizza he had paid for himself and demonstrating how to finish the new menu item with cheese and crushed red pepper. Several customers appeared startled by the unexpected visit, with some taking commemorative photographs with the restaurant entrepreneur. Paik also kept a promise he made to firefighters he encountered along the way, telling them he would bring pizzas during their lunch break b