South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai said Sunday it has launched an autonomous surface vessel (ASV) jointly developed with U.S. defense firm Anduril Industries as it seeks to expand into the U.S. market for unmanned naval vessels. HD Hyundai and Anduril held a launching ceremony at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' shipyard in Ulsan, about 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Thursday. The 600-ton ASV is equipped with VAone, an autonomous navigation solution developed by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, and Anduril's Lattice platform, enabling it to conduct reconnaissance, surveillance and maritime intelligence-gathering missions without a crew. HD Hyundai plans to conduct sea trials off Ulsan before further testing in the U.S. early next year to gather operational data as it seeks to enter the U.S. Navy's unmanned vessel market. The U.S. Navy is pursuing a hybrid fleet of manned and unmanned vessels to strengthen its maritime capabilities. In September, it announced plans to procure 30 medium-sized ASVs. The latest launch follows a demonstration by HD Hyundai and Anduril of a 368

LG Electronics’ Tennessee plant surpassed 10 million units in cumulative production, playing a pivotal role in helping the company secure the top spot in the U.S. laundry appliance market. The company said Sunday it held a ceremony to congratulate the production of the 10 millionth unit at the plant participated by local officials and LG Electronics executives. LG Electronics built its Tennessee plant on a 1.25 million-square-meter site in Clarksville, Tennessee in 2018. Since then, the company has invested approximately $500 million in expanding facilities and improving manufacturing processes. The plant began producing washing machines in November 2018, followed by dryers in 2022 and wash towers in 2023. Its annual production capacity now stands at 2.25 million units, more than four times its 2019 level, comprising 1.55 million washing machines and 700,000 dryers. The expansion has established the plant as LG Electronics’ key local manufacturing and supply hub. LG Electronics’ washing machines and dryers accounted for 17.2 percent and 17.4 percent of the U.S. market, respectively

Anthropic's planned initial public offering (IPO) is drawing a muted response in Korea despite expectations it could raise a record-high $90.4 billion, as local brokerages and asset managers shy away from the deal following fallout from SpaceX's IPO, industry officials said Sunday. There were no Korean brokerages among the 22 underwriters named in Anthropic's S-1 registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Korean retail investors are therefore unlikely to gain access to shares through the IPO. Those in Korea will still be able to invest through exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Major asset managers, including Mirae Asset, KB, NH-Amundi and Samsung Asset Management, have launched a range of related ETFs since news of Anthropic's IPO plan emerged. The funds have provisions allowing index committees to consider adding AI companies such as Anthropic once they go public in the U.S. Still, asset managers are taking a cautious approach to launching and promoting the products, emphasizing broader investment themes such as U.S. technology, large language models and

The Korean government said Nvidia's existing partnership commitments to Korea remain intact despite disgraced CEO Jensen Huang's departure from the artificial intelligence (AI) giant. However, uncertainties linger as remarks by Elon Musk and others suggest that much of the cooperation may have relied on Huang's personal verbal commitments. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it held a meeting with Nvidia officials Friday, a day after Huang resigned as the company's CEO, and confirmed that plans to supply graphics processing units (GPUs) to Korea and other collaborative projects remain on track. “The second vice minister presided over a meeting with Nvidia and reconfirmed that the company plans to proceed with the supply of 260,000 GPUs and cooperation with Korean companies as previously announced,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon wrote on Facebook Friday. “We also agreed to continue ongoing projects, including connecting Korean AI chips with Nvidia's platform through NVLink, building AI computing infrastructure, conducting joint research on ph

SINGAPORE — Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed International, under scrutiny for allegedly steering Nvidia chips to China, said on Sunday that suspected spy Alice Huang had left the firm more than a year ago. Megaspeed is suspected of helping Chinese firms get around U.S. export controls by buying Nvidia chips for its data centers in Southeast Asia and routing them to China. Its former director Alice Huang has been identified in U.S. media as an alleged Chinese intelligence asset who had a relationship with Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang, who resigned as the tech giant's chief executive on Thursday. "Ms. Alice Huang officially left Megaspeed effective Aug. 30, 2025, and currently has no role with the company," the firm said in reply to an AFP query. "Megaspeed does not comment on Ms. Huang's personal and private matters." Alice Huang and Jensen Huang are not related. Beijing has denied the spying allegations. Jensen Huang acknowledged an extramarital affair in a Nov. 8 letter to Nvidia employees that did not name the woman involved. He resigned days later. Nvidia's board has sai

Support has continued to build across the tech industry for Jensen Huang, with figures including Elon Musk rallying behind the former Nvidia CEO and an unverified online petition calling on the board to reinstate the company’s founder. Organisers of the “Stand with Jensen” campaign, who describe themselves as Nvidia employees, partners and shareholders, urged the board to “bring Jensen back while an independent investigation establishes the facts”, according to an open letter on the initiative’s...

As the technology world debates how Nvidia is likely to fare without Jensen Huang, analysts keep returning to the same analogy: the departure of legendary CEO Steve Jobs from Apple. The similarities between the two cases are clear: a top American tech company forced to move on from a visionary leader. And Apple’s history is all the more intriguing given it replaced Jobs twice – with dramatically different results. Huang resigned from Nvidia on Thursday amid media reports of his alleged...

Megaspeed, the Singaporean company caught in the Nvidia controversy, has pushed back against reported claims about its supply chain practices and distanced itself from former CEO Alice Huang. The firm said in a statement on Sunday that it “conducts legitimate and lawful business” and had hired external legal counsel to investigate media reports concerning its business, supply chain and global operations. Megaspeed said Huang officially left the company on August 30, 2025, and no longer had any...

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While global markets focus on the geopolitical and business implications of Jensen Huang’s resignation from Nvidia, another fierce debate is raging among Asian-Americans: whether race played a role in the downfall of one of corporate America’s most recognisable Asian faces. At the heart of the unease is the lack of public evidence for the most explosive allegation against Huang: that he had a romantic relationship with a Chinese businesswoman reportedly engaging in espionage for Beijing. The New...

Korea’s largest-ever antitrust fine will cut into this year’s earnings at the brokerages and banks that underwrite government debt, but it is unlikely to weaken their capital buffers, according to Korea Investors Service (KIS), a Moody’s affiliate. In a report released earlier this week, the credit rating agency said the penalties imposed by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will make “a short-term decline in profitability unavoidable,” especially at the firms facing the largest penalties. It added that their capital strength and the earnings they built up in the first half should be enough to absorb the cost, creating a formidable yet manageable financial hurdle for the country's primary financial institutions. The regulatory crackdown stems from an investigation into primary dealers in Korea's sovereign debt market. The FTC issued corrective orders on Wednesday and imposed roughly 1.6 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in combined fines on 15 financial institutions — all designated primary dealers responsible for underwriting Korea Treasury bonds — for restricting competit

The ICT ministry said Saturday it will inspect disruptions to domestic companies' operations following a global outage of tech giant Microsoft's services. Microsoft 365 services experienced disruptions earlier this week, with some companies in the country reporting difficulty accessing their emails Friday. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it plans to check the restoration of the company's services and possible damage to users in South Korea by working with Microsoft Korea. It added that it will form a joint emergency response team with the company to continue monitoring the situation.

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Jensen Huang’s abrupt resignation from Nvidia has cast uncertainty over the US chip giant’s multibillion-dollar investments in open-source artificial intelligence, while potentially depriving Chinese developers of one of their most influential advocates in Washington. His departure could prompt Nvidia to scale back spending on open-weight models and their supporting infrastructure, analysts said, although strong commercial incentives would likely keep the company committed to the broader...

The memory business has rarely had it this good, thanks to the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. Korea’s chipmakers are reporting extraordinary earnings and unusual confidence that the good times will last. SK hynix’s third-quarter operating profit rose more than sevenfold to 83.3 trillion won ($62 billion), an operating margin of almost 80 percent. Samsung Electronics’ rose nearly ninefold to 107.4 trillion won, with its memory business setting records of its own. Across the West Sea, China’s challengers are sharing in the windfall. ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) remains far smaller, but its quarterly revenue rose more than sevenfold to 118.7 billion yuan ($17.8 billion), with a net profit attributable to shareholders of 54.4 billion yuan, reversing years of losses. CXMT and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) are the twin pillars of China’s drive for memory self-sufficiency, part of Beijing’s broader pursuit of technological independence facing U.S. export restrictions. Fresh capital, new factories and increasingly sophisticated technology are helping them challenge th

Credit card users will be able to convert their dormant reward points into regional cash vouchers starting May next year, officials said Friday, as part of efforts to boost consumption and breathe vitality into local economies, The government announced the measure after President Lee Jae Myung instructed officials in late June to allow the conversion of "various hidden or dormant points into local currency to boost consumer vitality and revitalize traditional markets and neighborhood shops," officials said. The Office for Government Policy Coordination under the prime minister's office has since worked with the interior ministry, the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute to come up with details, officials said. Credit card points will be the first to be allowed for the conversion. Accumulated card points amount to 2.1 trillion won ($1.57 billion) and such points already have well-established systems for conversion into cash, officials said. Once the conversion service begins in May, card users can use "account info" or "regional c

The Korean government said Friday that Google has complied with security requirements imposed as a condition for allowing the transfer of high-precision map data overseas. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said a government-led consultation body reviewed Google's implementation of security measures following its conditional approval in February to export 1:5,000-scale digital map data. The review found that the global tech giant had implemented measures to prevent the exposure of geographic coordinates, as well as sensitive military and security facilities, on its global Google Maps and Google Earth services, including web and mobile platforms. To meet the requirements, Google developed a dedicated control system for Korea and introduced safeguards to block app updates if they risk exposing restricted geographic coordinates. In August, Google also signed an agreement to obtain satellite imagery processed for security purposes by the National Geographic Information Institute (NGII) through a local partner. Google is said to have chosen the local navigation company, TMAP Mo

A global Microsoft outage disrupted operations at major Korean companies on Friday, leaving some employees unable to access emails, coordinate with business partners and manage daily workflows as the tech giant struggled to restore its systems. The disruption affected multiple Microsoft services, including its Outlook email, parts of its Teams messaging app, Microsoft 365 productivity tools and Copilot artificial intelligence (AI) assistant. While the impact varied by company depending on the services used, some employees were forced to postpone work or turn to alternative communication channels. Some major companies sent urgent companywide notices alerting employees about the outage and asking them to check which Microsoft services were affected. Some companies also circulated email notices identifying services that were unavailable. An information technology (IT) industry official said employees had turned to other messaging apps to keep some work moving but the workaround offered only limited relief. “Since we cannot use email, we are exchanging files through messaging apps. But some

Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wan has secured a one-year extension of his term, becoming the first among the heads of Korea's five major commercial banks whose terms expire at the end of this year to win another term. Woori Financial Group said Friday that its subsidiary CEO recommendation committee decided to recommend Jung for an additional year, extending his term through Dec. 31, 2027. His reappointment is subject to final approval at a shareholders' meeting scheduled for later this month. Jung was initially appointed in November 2024 for a two-year term, with the possibility of a one-year extension based on his performance. Announcing the recommendation results, Woori Financial pointed to his efforts to strengthen the bank's capital position, expand its digital platform businesses and advance inclusive finance initiatives during his tenure. In particular, the group said Jung had raised Woori Bank's common equity Tier 1 capital ratio — which lagged behind those of rival lenders when he took office — to the second-highest level among commercial banks. Woori Financial also cited his effort

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) said Friday it has agreed to expand cooperation with Indonesia's state-run aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) in the field of aviation, including KF-21 fighter jet production. KAI and PTDI signed three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) covering the KF-21 fighter jet, flight simulators and commercial aircraft on the sidelines of the 12th Korea-Indonesia Defense Industry Cooperation Committee meeting held in Jakarta on Wednesday. Under the KF-21 agreement, the two companies will explore cooperation on manufacturing aircraft components in Indonesia, including three types of structural components, with PTDI participating in the production process. Indonesia has maintained close defense industry ties with KAI, having purchased the company's KT-1 basic trainer aircraft and T-50 advanced trainer jets. The Southeast Asian country has also participated as an international partner in the joint development of the KF-21 fighter jet. KAI has exported 20 KT-1B trainer aircraft to Indonesia and signed a contract to extend their service life. It has a

U.S. tech giant Nvidia Corp. has confirmed its commitment to deploying up to 260,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) in South Korea in partnership with South Korean companies, Seoul's science minister said Friday. In October, Nvidia announced a plan to supply GPUs to South Korea to build large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) factories in the country. In a post on Facebook, Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon stressed that business cooperation will continue despite Huang's resignation adding that the science ministry has held a meeting with Nvidia on pending issues. The business tie-up plans announced last year involve the South Korean government and major industry leaders, including Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group and Naver Cloud, that will each establish their own AI computing centers powered by Nvidia's latest Blackwell GPUs. A GPU is a high-performance semiconductor chip designed to handle many calculations simultaneously and is widely used to train and run AI models.

Hoban Group is facing a strategic dilemma over its next move in its ongoing ownership battle with Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, as sharp swings in Hanjin KAL’s stock make it increasingly costly for either side to keep buying shares to maintain the top shareholder position. Hoban became Hanjin KAL’s largest shareholder on Nov. 4 after increasing its stake to 20.69 percent, narrowly overtaking the 20.58 percent held by Cho and his affiliates. The shift followed a surge in Hanjin KAL shares. The stock has since become even more volatile. It hit a record high of 245,000 won on Tuesday before plunging to an intraday low of 185,000 won on Thursday and closing at 203,500 won on Friday. The sharp swings have added to the financial burden on both sides as they continue to accumulate shares in their battle for control. Hoban has three possible options for its next move. The first is to sell its stake through a block deal. Hoban could negotiate with Cho around next year's annual shareholders meeting over whether to halt further purchases and participate in Hanjin KAL's board. If an agreement

Hoban Group’s stake in Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Hanjin Group, gained an estimated 1.1 trillion won ($822 million) in market value this month through Friday amid sharp share price swings fueled by speculation over a potential battle for control. Its value also rose by about 265.2 billion won from Nov. 4, when Hoban was disclosed as the company’s largest shareholder. Hoban emerged as Hanjin KAL’s second-largest shareholder in 2022 and steadily increased its holdings before overtaking Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae and related parties. The Nov. 4 disclosure showed that Hoban and related parties held 13,814,053 common shares, or 20.69 percent, narrowly ahead of Cho’s bloc at 20.58 percent. Hanjin KAL shares climbed from 123,900 won on Oct. 30 to 184,300 won on Nov. 4, reaching a closing peak of 239,000 won on Tuesday, a 92.9 percent increase from October’s final close. Profit-taking subsequently pushed the stock down 14.64 percent on Wednesday and another 0.49 percent Thursday. It edged up 0.25 percent Friday to close at 203,500 won. Assuming Hoban’s disclosed sharehol

Personal information of participants of a government-backed startup program has been leaked following a cyberattack against a company supporting the program, the startups ministry said Friday. The artificial intelligence solutions company detected a hacking attack on Wednesday, which compromised the personal data of 20,028 people, including 818 participants of the startup support program, according to the ministry. The leaked information includes the names, phone numbers and email addresses of service users. The data leak took place just months after personal information of 5,000 participants of the startup program was leaked in June in a similar hacking attack. The ministry had announced measures in July to strengthen security for the program and prevent future attacks.

For years, Jensen Huang was more than Nvidia’s CEO – he was a key figure driving the artificial intelligence boom, parlaying close ties with Asian chip foundries and aggressive financial backing into an unprecedented global buildout of data centres. Following his sudden resignation, the industry is confronting two immediate questions: without Huang’s personal relationships in Taiwan and South Korea, can Nvidia defend its priority access to scarce chipmaking and memory supply? And will it...

The tech giant is turning servers off and on again as it works to fix an outage affecting tens of thousands of users around the world.

Jensen Huang resigned as chief executive officer of chipmaker Nvidia following an affair with an alleged Chinese spy, boosting the odds of tighter US export controls against China days before the countries’ leaders are due to meet. Huang left the company he founded in 1993 with immediate effect, according to a statement on Thursday. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will act as interim chief executive while the board looks for a permanent replacement to head the world’s second-biggest...

Hoban Group is facing a strategic dilemma over its next move in its ongoing ownership battle with Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, as sharp swings in Hanjin KAL’s stock make it increasingly costly for either side to keep buying shares to maintain the top shareholder position. Hoban became Hanjin KAL’s largest shareholder on Nov. 4 after increasing its stake to 20.69 percent, narrowly overtaking the 20.58 percent held by Cho and his affiliates. The shift followed a surge in Hanjin KAL shares. The stock has since become even more volatile. It hit a record high of 245,000 won on Tuesday before plunging to an intraday low of 185,000 won on Thursday and closing at 203,500 won on Friday. The sharp swings have added to the financial burden on both sides as they continue to accumulate shares in their battle for control. Hoban has three possible options for its next move. The first is to sell its stake through a block deal. Hoban could negotiate with Cho around next year's annual shareholders meeting over whether to halt further purchases and participate in Hanjin KAL's board. If an agreement