Sep 10, 2025 PM EDT - Jason
Roughly 475 workers were detained during a large-scale immigration raid at a Hyundai-LG Energy Solution battery plant construction site in Georgia on September 4, more than 300 of them South Korean nationals. The South Korean government has prepared a charter flight to bring its citizens home, but the exact timing of the departure remains uncertain amid U.S. procedural delays.
Aug 15, 2025 AM EDT - Hannah
Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong secured a record $16.5 billion chip manufacturing deal with Tesla and broke Sony's iPhone sensor monopoly with an Apple contract during his 17-day US business trip. These major wins position Samsung as a stronger competitor to TSMC in the global semiconductor market.
Jul 30, 2025 PM EDT - Hannah
LG's ChatEXAONE AI chatbot excels at business strategy and analysis compared to ChatGPT and Google Gemini, but struggles with math problems and current events, positioning itself as an enterprise-focused tool rather than a general-purpose AI assistant.
Jul 10, 2025 AM EDT - Hannah
Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a announced plans to launch an AI agent service powered by OpenAI technology that can autonomously handle daily tasks like restaurant bookings and taxi reservations, following a strategic partnership between the Korean tech giant and OpenAI announced in February 2025. The initiative is part of Kakao's push to transform into an "AI-native" company through its Kanana messenger app, which will operate separately from KakaoTalk.
Jun 21, 2025 PM EDT - Hannah
POSCO Group became the first steelmaker ever inducted into the World Steel Dynamics Hall of Fame after 15 consecutive years as the world's most competitive steelmaker, and is now betting its future on revolutionary hydrogen-based steelmaking technology to maintain its technological edge through 2050.
Jun 10, 2025 PM EDT - Hannah
Hyundai Department Store has developed HEYDI, South Korea's first AI shopping assistant designed specifically for physical retail spaces, which will launch globally in July 2025 supporting seven languages for international customers. The conversational AI system provides real-time personalized shopping recommendations, restaurant reservations, and store navigation as part of the company's broader digital transformation strategy.
Jun 10, 2025 PM EDT - Hannah
South Korea's Fair Trade Commission approved the merger of streaming platforms Tving and Wave to create a domestic rival to Netflix, but the deal still faces opposition from major shareholder KT Studio Genie. The combined platform would control about 25% of Korea's streaming market compared to Netflix's 61%.
Jun 10, 2025 AM EDT - Hannah
HYBE IM announced its MMORPG "Architect: Land of Exiles" will launch on iOS and macOS platforms in the second half of 2025, marking a rare move for Korean MMORPGs to fully support Apple's ecosystem. The Unreal Engine 5-powered game, developed by Aquatree with a 30 billion won investment, represents a crucial test for HYBE IM's expansion into comprehensive game development.
Jun 08, 2025 AM EDT - Hannah
South Korea's Naver is establishing Naver Ventures, a new Silicon Valley investment subsidiary led by Yong-Jung Park, to accelerate its AI capabilities and compete with global leaders like OpenAI, with video AI startup TwelveLabs confirmed as its first investment target.
Jun 07, 2025 AM EDT - Hannah
K-pop group NewJeans firmly rejected a court-suggested settlement with their agency ADOR during a June 4, 2025 hearing, citing "completely shattered" trust following the removal of their creative director Min Hee-jin. The legal battle continues with the next hearing scheduled for July 24, as NewJeans faces potential fines of $735,000 per member for any independent activities without ADOR's approval.
Jun 05, 2025 PM EDT - Hannah
NCSOFT launched its remastered MMORPG Blade & Soul NEO on Steam for North American and European markets on June 4, 2025, expanding beyond its proprietary PURPLE platform as part of a broader global expansion strategy that includes Lineage2M's Southeast Asian launch and upcoming China release with Tencent.
Jun 05, 2025 AM EDT - Hannah
Young professionals, especially Gen Z and millennials, are increasingly extending business trips for leisure and secretly bringing friends or family along, driving the "bleisure" travel market from $692.7 billion in 2024 to a projected $3.5+ trillion by 2034. This trend reflects a generational shift toward work-life balance, with 74% willing to invite companions on work trips and many not telling their employers about it.
Jun 05, 2025 AM EDT - Hannah
Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong has ordered aggressive global talent recruitment "regardless of nationality or gender," highlighted by hiring former TSMC executive Margaret Han to lead US foundry operations as Samsung struggles with declining market share and mounting losses in its chip business.
Jun 04, 2025 AM EDT - Hannah
Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon and Webtoon Entertainment CEO Kim Jun-koo are meeting with Netflix executives at Silicon Valley headquarters this Thursday to explore expanded collaboration opportunities, following their highly successful 2023 bundling partnership that boosted Netflix's Korean user base from 10 million to over 14 million subscribers.
Jun 02, 2025 PM EDT - Hannah
South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster is aggressively expanding into Europe with its revolutionary "experiential retail" concept that transforms stores into art galleries, achieving nearly $600 million in revenue and catching the attention of Google for a smart glasses partnership. The brand exemplifies how Korean companies are leveraging cultural soft power and innovative design to challenge traditional European luxury brands on their own turf.
Sep 23, 2025 PM EDT - Isaac
Sep 22, 2025 AM EDT - Hannah
K-WAVE - Dec 31, 1969 PM EST - Hannah
Korea - Dec 31, 1969 PM EST - Isaac
K-WAVE - Dec 31, 1969 PM EST - Hannah
K-WAVE - Dec 31, 1969 PM EST - Hannah
