Apple’s next-generation software updates will arrive days before the release of the iPhone 18 Pro, Apple Watch Series 12, and Apple Watch Ultra 4.

Korea has become a cultural force for many movements today, and Spotify is committed to exporting K-culture globally, an executive from the music streaming platform said. Gautam Talwar, the general manager for Asia-Pacific (APAC) at Spotify, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency in Seoul on Wednesday. "Korea is a home base for creative expression. It's a cultural force," the executive said during the interview. "We are seeing it in entertainment, in esports or webtoon ... Korea is punching above its weight." The ex-Disney executive said K-pop holds a special place in the music streaming platform's history, noting it was an early investor in the genre. In 2014, Spotify unveiled the first-of-its-kind playlist that eventually became home to the K-pop genre on the platform. Now K-pop has opened the door to the discovery of new artists and genres, he explained, as the platform is witnessing a breakout of music movements in genres like indie, rock and electronic music. According to Spotify, K-rock streaming on the platform was up 58 percent on-year in 2025, while K-

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to expand financial cooperation in Africa, the state-run lender said Thursday. The agreement was signed in Seoul the previous day by Korea Eximbank Chairman and CEO Hwang Ki-yeon and AfDB President Sidi Ould Tah on the sidelines of the 8th Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference. The KOAFEC Ministerial Conference is jointly hosted by Korea's Ministry of Finance and Economy, Korea Eximbank and the AfDB to promote economic cooperation between Korea and Africa. The MOU covers financing cooperation in several areas, including artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, critical mineral supply chains, and green and renewable energy infrastructure. The two institutions agreed to work together to expand financing for projects addressing emerging global economic challenges and supporting new industries. The agreement marks a comprehensive revision of an MOU first signed by the two institutions in 2005, according to Korea Eximb

MiCo Group has completed its acquisition of Dutch power equipment maker NEM Energy, seeking to capitalize on surging demand for gas-fired power plants as the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers strains electricity supplies in North America. MiCo said Tuesday that its subsidiary Hyundai Heavy Industries Power Systems (HPS) had completed payment for acquiring NEM Energy, formally closing the deal. The group plans to combine NEM Energy’s engineering expertise and global customer network with HPS’ large-scale manufacturing capabilities to strengthen its position in the gas-fired power market, particularly in North America. The acquisition comes as power availability has emerged as a critical constraint on the expansion of AI infrastructure. The construction of data centers for generative AI and cloud services is driving electricity demand sharply higher, while utilities and developers are turning to gas-fired generation to provide stable power alongside renewable sources. Major gas turbine manufacturers, including GE Vernova and Siemens Energy, have seen thei

BYD Korea’s Dolphin compact electric hatchback is far more than just a low-cost electric vehicle (EV), positioning itself as a serious contender in the segment with strong practicality and solid driving performance. Dolphin’s greatest strength lies is its pricing. With government subsidies applied, the vehicle can effectively be purchased in the low-20 million won ($13,600) range, placing it in direct competition with key rivals — Hyundai Motor’s Casper Electric and Kia Ray EV. Consumer response has been swift. The company sold 1,202 vehicles in August, ranking fourth in the imported vehicle market here. The combination of affordability and practicality clearly resonates with buyers. The vehicle's popularity becomes easy to understand after spending time behind the wheel, particularly for first-time EV buyers or consumers seeking a practical commuter-focused second car. The base model produces 70 kilowatts, or roughly 95 horsepower. The figures appear modest, but the instant torque delivery characteristic of EVs provides lively acceleration in urban driving conditions. The vehicle

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is scheduled to visit an artificial intelligence (AI) data center under construction in the southeastern city of Ulsan later this week, industry sources said Thursday. Chey will visit the site of SK Group's AI data center being built in Ulsan's national industrial complex Friday, they said. Chey and other participants are expected to tour the construction site and check the progress of the project. The envisioned center is an AI-focused data center being jointly developed by SK Group and Amazon Web Services (AWS) at an estimated cost of 7 trillion won ($5.2 billion). Construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony in August last year, with the data center scheduled to begin operations in the second half of 2027. The facility is designed to support high-performance computing based on graphics processing units (GPUs) and incorporates hybrid cooling systems to provide greater performance and efficiency than conventional data centers. The group plans to use the Ulsan data center as a hub for attracting AI companies, creating jobs and driving manufacturing innov

SK Telecom's Chief Executive Officer Jeong Jai-hun participated in a regional event hosted by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this week and met with industry officials in the Association of South East Asian (ASEAN) nations, the Korean telecom operator said Thursday. Discussions centered on pressing industry issues in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), including AI sovereignty and ways to establish trustworthy telecom networks, according to SK Telecom, During the event held Wednesday (local time), Jeong also met with Vivek Badrinath, the director general of the GSMA. The two talked about discovering new growth opportunities related to AI, as well as areas of cooperation based on SK Telecom's "AI full-stack strategy," the company added. Established in 1995, the GSMA is a global advocacy organization for the mobile communications industry, representing some 800 mobile operators and hundreds of companies in the broader mobile ecosystem.

Dyson Head of New Product Development Rich Bacon introduces the CameraJet electric toothbrush during a press event on Seom Sevit, man-made islets on the Han River in Seoul, Thursday. CameraJet is equipped with an optical system that identifies gaps between the teeth in real time, triggering a jet burst of mouthrinse into the gap within 0.1 seconds. Courtesy of Dyson Korea

Hyosung Heavy Industries is strengthening its foothold in the U.S. power infrastructure market as soaring electricity demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and efforts to replace aging power grids drive a rapid expansion of the country's power infrastructure. The company said Tuesday that its localization strategy, spearheaded by Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, is beginning to bear fruit as demand rises for ultra-high-voltage power equipment in the United States. Cho anticipated the growing importance of power infrastructure amid the rapid development of AI and has called on Hyosung Heavy Industries to become a "game changer" in the power infrastructure market driving the transformation of global industries. The United States is expanding its 765-kilovolt (kV) ultra-high-voltage transmission network to accommodate rising electricity demand, including from AI data centers. Such networks enable the long-distance transmission of large amounts of electricity with lower losses. Hyosung Heavy Industries currently accounts for nearly half of the U.S. market for 765kV ultra

Blackstone, a New York-based asset management firm, has teamed up with ESR to invest in a major logistics center development project in the Seoul metropolitan area, the company said Thursday. The move highlights Blackstone’s growing focus on logistics real estate as a key investment market in Korea. The firm said funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate Partners have invested in a majority interest in Sanha Logistics Park II, a prime dry-storage logistics development in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, through a primary share issuance. ESR will retain its investment in the project while continuing to oversee its development and asset management through ESR Kendall Square, its local platform in Korea. Construction is underway on Sanha Logistics Park II, which covers 334,000 square meters and is slated for completion in 2028. The logistics facility is located along the Gyeongbu Expressway, a major transportation route linking Seoul and Busan, in a well-established industrial and distribution area home to operations of major Korean conglomerates. The facility is being developed with significant p

POSCO remodeled eight special education classrooms at elementary schools in three regions where the company has business operations, as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, Classrooms Growing Together. According to the steelmaker, Thursday, it remodeled special education classrooms at six elementary schools in Seoul, one in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, and another in Gwangyang, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City. The CSR program targeted public elementary schools operating special education classrooms in the cities where POSCO has business operations. After accepting applications in April, POSCO selected the schools through on-site reviews in May and June and interviews with special education teachers. The evaluation considered factors including the age of school buildings, the number of students receiving special education and other relevant conditions. During the renovation, POSCO reflected students’ daily routines and teachers’ feedback in the design, improving flooring, heating systems and spaces intended to support the emotional stability of st

Korea and the United States are reportedly discussing a possible Korean investment in Westinghouse Electric, as plans to include the construction of eight large nuclear reactors in the U.S. in a broader investment package have gained a momentum. The prospect of Korea's acquiring a stake in Westinghouse has drawn attention because it could give the country greater leverage in addressing intellectual property (IP) issues that have long constrained its nuclear export ambitions. But experts caution that a financial investment alone may do little unless it is accompanied by meaningful voting rights, governance safeguards and clear commercial returns. According to government sources, the two sides have put the Westinghouse issue on the negotiating table after the U.S. proposed the idea. The potential investment is being discussed alongside a project to build eight large-scale reactors in the U.S. For Korea, the most immediate strategic benefit would be a stronger position in negotiations over IP. Korea’s state-run nuclear plant operator, the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and the country’s

Korean Air faces possible prosecution after three employees allegedly deleted files and emails during a Fair Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into the airline’s request to ease seat-supply obligations imposed as part of its merger with Asiana Airlines. The FTC said Thursday that it submitted a review report recommending that Korean Air and the three employees each be referred for prosecution over alleged obstruction of the regulator’s investigation. The recommendation is not a final decision. The case will be reviewed by the FTC’s full commission, which will make its final determination after giving Korean Air and the employees opportunities to submit their opinions and review evidence. The watchdog conducted an on-site inspection of Korean Air’s headquarters in Seoul from Feb. 2-6, as part of its review of the airline’s request to ease seat-supply requirements on the Cheongju-Jeju and Jeju-Cheongju routes. According to the FTC, three Korean Air employees deleted work-related electronic files and emails connected to the case between Feb. 2 and 4. Investigators determined th

Korea Investment & Securities (KIS) has entered into a series of strategic partnerships earlier this week with global asset managers Fidelity, PIMCO and Carlyle, expanding cooperation across research, equities, fixed income and alternative investments, the company said Thursday. On Monday in London, KIS signed a strategic partnership agreement with Fidelity, a global asset manager overseeing roughly $7.8 trillion in assets. Under the agreement, KIS will provide Korean investors with exclusive access to Fidelity's research capabilities while exploring joint product development and co-investment opportunities. The partnership's first joint product, a Korea-China-U.S. technology fund, is under development. On Wednesday in New York, KIS signed separate agreements with PIMCO and Carlyle. PIMCO is a global fixed income specialist managing approximately $2.33 trillion in assets. The firms plan to expand cooperation in discretionary asset management, with KIS providing PIMCO's research and fund products to Korean customers. They will also cooperate on customized products using PIMCO's asset manag

Hanwha Systems is taking satellite imagery out of the realm of raw data and turning it into battlefield intelligence, unveiling an artificial intelligence (AI) system designed to analyze images in real time. The Korean defense company said Thursday that it introduced its Space AI Analytics Solution at MSPO 2026 in Kielce, Poland, marking its first overseas unveiling of the technology. During a launch event, Hanwha Systems demonstrated how the system can analyze live imagery captured over Eastern Europe by an operational satellite and rapidly extract information for military and disaster-response uses. The system uses AI to detect objects, identify patterns and flag anomalies in satellite imagery, allowing commanders and operators to receive summarized information for faster decision-making. It can analyze imagery from both electro-optical and synthetic aperture radar satellites, combining the two types of data to produce more detailed intelligence. Synthetic aperture radar satellites can capture imagery at night and in poor weather, but their radar images can be difficult to interpret vis

SK hynix said Thursday that it reduced water consumption at its Korean plants by an average of 170,000 tons a day last year, an amount roughly equal to the daily household water use of 550,000 people. The chipmaker is presenting the figures this week at Korea International Water Week 2026, running through Friday at EXCO in Daegu, where it also outlined a goal to cut cumulative water use by 600 million tons by 2030. The event brings together government agencies, companies and experts from about 50 countries to discuss water management, with roughly 80 companies and institutions taking part this year. SK hynix has run a water and wastewater reduction task force since 2018. Its cumulative water savings reached 303.37 million tons last year, surpassing its target of 264 million tons, and the company aims to raise that figure to 329 million tons this year. Water reuse has also grown, rising to 73.59 million tons last year from 47.88 million tons in 2022, an increase of about 54 percent. At its plant in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, the company produces 94,400 tons of reused water daily through

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will invest 1 trillion won ($746.7 million) in land-based power generation engines and small modular reactors (SMRs) to strengthen its presence in the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure market. The company said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it will invest 1.07 trillion won to build a new production base for power generation engines and a dedicated manufacturing facility for SMRs. Of that amount, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will invest 833.6 billion won to build a new production base for its HiMSEN engines in Ulsan, with an annual production capacity of 3 gigawatts. The new production base will occupy a 215,000 square meter site and will include an engine assembly and testing plant, a crankshaft machining plant and other production facilities. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year, with completion slated for May 2028. When completed, HD Hyundai expects to it will secure 4 gigawatts of annual production capacity for land-based power generation engines. The new plant and HD Hyundai Engine in Yeongam, Jeonnam-Gwangju

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said Thursday it is in talks with the Korean government on measures to limit children's use of social media. Philip Chua, Meta's Asia-Pacific general manager for product public policy, made the remarks during a "Screen Smart" roundtable in Seoul. He said Meta has been discussing with the Korean government what measures would be appropriate to protect teenagers from online harm on social media platforms. "Teenagers use many different apps, so no single company can provide the entire solution. Youth safety needs to be addressed across the industry, with consistent, age-appropriate standards that apply throughout the app ecosystem," Chua said. He mentioned measures such as limiting children's use of Facebook and Instagram to two hours a day and restricting their access to the platforms during late-night hours. "Meta has not waited for regulation. We have built Teen Accounts, introduced strong safety protections by default and completed the rollout for teens in Korea. We will continue to refine these protections and work with polic

Hyundai Steel became the first domestic company to sign a collective bargaining agreement with subcontracted workers Thursday since the yellow envelope act took effect in March, expanding the bargaining obligations of primary contractors toward subcontracted workers. According to the labor ministry, Hyundai Steel held a collective agreement signing ceremony at its Dangjin plant, attended by labor and management representatives from the steelmaker and four subsidiaries — Hyundai ITC, Hyundai IEC, Hyundai IMC and Hyundai ISC. They signed the 2026 collective bargaining agreement between the prime contractor and subcontractors, the ministry said. Hyundai Steel's management has conducted separate negotiations, primarily over industrial safety issues, with the labor and management of the four subcontractors since Aug. 20. They subsequently reached a final agreement, which includes a commitment to continuously improve industrial safety and health management systems at the subcontractors, the ministry noted. The yellow envelope act has made prime contractors more accountable for subcontracted w

DeepSeek has released its V4.1 Flash model, claiming it outperforms its previous flagship while cutting inference costs and boosting speeds – the latest salvo in China’s aggressive price-and-performance war. The Chinese artificial intelligence developer said on Thursday that V4.1 Flash used a new “Causal-Encoder-Decoder” architecture. While built on a massive 552 billion-parameter framework, it relies on a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) design. In traditional AI, every query runs through the entire...

Apple’s long-awaited entry into the foldable smartphone market, the iPhone Duo, has drawn immediate attention in China over its eye-watering price tag and exclusive dual-eSIM design, as the American tech giant targets entrenched domestic rivals Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi. Unveiled on Wednesday, the iPhone Duo – Apple’s thinnest and most expensive flagship model yet – captured the attention of Chinese consumers with its smooth transition between inner and outer displays. By Thursday morning,...

An AI safety researcher emailed me this week to say human extinction is a real threat. He is no longer an outlier in his own field.

Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo, its first-ever foldable smartphone, at its annual product launch event on Wednesday in Cupertino, California, following months of mounting anticipation. Presented by CEO John Ternus, the sleek, passport-style device stole the spotlight at the Apple Park event. Ternus, who took over from Tim Cook on September 1, said the handset would “redefine the experience of using a foldable phone”. Starting at US$1,999 – or HK$17,499 (US$2,231) if bought in Hong Kong – Apple’s...

Apple’s new Pro iPhones arrive in Singapore on 18 September, while the foldable iPhone Duo follows in October with prices starting at S$3,099.

This new release is the most expensive iPhone ever, but I learnt a long time ago not to bet against Apple.

The new Audio Intelligence and Siri AI features could be a real game-changer for the Apple Watch.

New Apple CEO John Ternus said the Duo has the “largest display ever on an iPhone, yet fits into your pocket”, claiming it will redefine the experience of using a foldable smartphone.

The AirPods 5 comes in two models, but ANC is available on both of them.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong will purchase 1.9 trillion won ($1.42 billion) worth of the company's shares from his mother, the tech giant said Wednesday. Lee plans to buy 7,188,793 shares from Hong Ra-hee, representing 0.11 percent of the company's total shares, at 269,500 won per share in an off-exchange transaction on Oct. 12, according to the company in a regulatory filing. With the purchase, Lee's total stake in the company will rise to 1.58 percent. Sources believe Hong could use the proceeds from the sale to repay loans taken out to pay inheritance taxes following the death of her husband, former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, in 2020. Meanwhile, Korea and France have signed an initial pact to strengthen cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and quantum technologies, the science ministry said Wednesday. The signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) took place Tuesday (French time) on the sidelines of President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to France this week, according to the ministry. Under the MOU, the two countries will hold regular meetings

Naver is seeking to deepen its artificial intelligence (AI) ties with France, proposing cooperation on AI infrastructure, industry-specific systems and cultural content during President Lee Jae Myung's visit to the country. Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon and Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won met with executives from French companies and institutions in media, information technology, energy, mobility and finance during Lee’s visit. Choi outlined three areas for cooperation at Korea-France Business Roundtable in France on Tuesday: global AI infrastructure, industry-specific AI built around data sovereignty and security, and cultural content. She said Naver wanted to combine France’s stable energy infrastructure with its experience in building AI ecosystems to develop AI factories that European companies and startups could use. Naver recently announced plans with Nvidia and Brookfield to build more than 1 gigawatt of global AI factory capacity. Choi also pointed to Naver’s work developing AI systems tailored to finance and nuclear power, including BOKI with Bank of Korea and Hy-NuRI with Korea Hydro