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South Korea
Trump scales back Korea military drills over stalled $350B investment pledge
President Donald Trump's order to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea reflects not only his desire to re-engage North Korea diplomatically but also a broader administration frustration with Seoul's failure to deliver on a $350 billion investment commitment…
South Korea’s Lee calls for stronger self-defense after Trump cuts drills
President Donald Trump threw annual US-South Korea military exercises into disarray on Sunday when he ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, citing his "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and frustration…
Trump orders Hegseth to cut military drills with South Korea
President Trump announced Sunday that he has instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" joint military exercises with South Korea, a move that comes just one day before the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills were set to begin.
South Korean stocks slide as AI spending fears rattle global markets
The artificial intelligence investment boom has become one of the most pressing threats to global credit stability, according to Fitch Ratings, as markets from Seoul to New York grapple with the consequences of unprecedented capital spending on AI infrastructure.
Japan, South Korea factory output hits multi-year highs on AI chip demand
Manufacturing activity across Japan and South Korea accelerated in July, powered by a wave of semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related orders that pushed output in both countries to multi-year highs, according to purchasing managers' surveys released on Monday.
Japan and South Korea jointly intervene to boost currencies against the dollar
The Japanese yen surged by as much as 2.4% against the dollar on Thursday in its biggest single-day gain since January 2023, with market participants attributing the sharp move to government intervention in New York currency markets. South Korea simultaneously…
Hong Kong, South Korea tighten rules after leveraged ETF collapse
Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission has overhauled its rules for single-stock leveraged exchange-traded products, replacing fixed 2x leverage with a dynamic mechanism that allows fund managers to dial down exposure during volatile markets. The changes take effect August 3,…
SK Hynix earnings miss sparks record South Korea selloff
SK Hynix reported a record second-quarter operating profit of 60.5 trillion won on Wednesday, a 557% surge from a year earlier, but the results fell short of the 64 trillion won forecast compiled by LSEG SmartEstimate, triggering a brutal selloff…
Nvidia announces over $500B in AI deals across Japan and South Korea
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang spent the past two weeks courting Asia's industrial heavyweights, forging partnerships in Japan and South Korea that aim to embed artificial intelligence into factories, robots, and data centers at unprecedented scale.
South Korea moves up leveraged ETF deposit rules to July 31
South Korea's Financial Services Commission is moving to implement stricter deposit requirements for single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds ahead of schedule, with the tripled minimum cash deposit of 30 million won now expected to take effect on July 31 rather than…
Foreign investors pull billions from Taiwan as Korea’s deleveraging rout spreads
A cascade of forced liquidations in South Korea's overleveraged equity market has rippled across Asia, with foreign investors pulling $8.76 billion from Taiwan stocks in a single week as the region's two largest chip-dependent markets reel from a sharp reversal…
South Korea bans new leveraged ETF listings, sparking global chip sell-off
U.S. semiconductor stocks slumped on Thursday as South Korea's crackdown on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds compounded growing unease over elevated valuations in the AI chip trade. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index PHLX Semiconductor fell 4.29%, while memory chip makers bore…
Stripe files South Korea trademarks for Open USD stablecoin
Stripe has filed trademark applications in South Korea for "Open USD" and "Open Standard," expanding the legal groundwork for a stablecoin initiative that has drawn more than 140 companies into what may be the most serious challenge yet to the…
Foreign investors dump $11B in Japanese stocks as Asian tech selloff deepens
Foreign investors pulled back sharply from Asian equity markets last week, offloading ¥1.82 trillion ($11.2 billion) in Japanese stocks during the week ended June 27 — the largest weekly foreign selloff since March — as a months-long technology rally showed…
South Korea unveils $576B chip and AI investment plan
South Korea on Monday unveiled its largest-ever semiconductor investment plan, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix committing 800 trillion won (approximately $518 billion) to build four new chip fabrication plants in the country's underdeveloped southwest, marking a historic geographic expansion…
South Korea scrambles jets as China, Russia hold air patrol
China and Russia carried out their 11th joint strategic air patrol on Saturday over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, and the western Pacific Ocean, according to a statement from China's Ministry of National Defense. The operation prompted…
South Africa reach World Cup knockouts for first time
South Africa advanced to the knockout phase of the FIFA World Cup for the first time in their history on Wednesday night, defeating South Korea 1-0 at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, Mexico, to finish second in Group A and set…
Mexico beats South Korea 1-0 to reach World Cup round of 32
Co-hosts Mexico defeated South Korea 1-0 on Thursday night at Estadio Guadalajara, becoming the first team to clinch a spot in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Luis Romo's 50th-minute goal, born from a goalkeeping error,…
Anthropic opens Seoul office amid US export controls on its top AI models
Anthropic opened its Seoul office on Tuesday and announced a memorandum of understanding with South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT to cooperate on AI safety, even as the company's most advanced models remain disabled worldwide under a U.S. government…
South Korea rallies past Czechia 2-1 in World Cup opener
South Korea launched their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a dramatic comeback victory over Czechia on Thursday evening at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico, overcoming a first-half deficit with two second-half goals to claim all three points in Group…
Nvidia signs sweeping AI deals with South Korean giants
Nvidia on Monday announced a series of partnerships with South Korean technology companies including SK Hynix, SK Telecom, Naver, and Doosan, as CEO Jensen Huang visited the country to deepen ties with Asia's chip industry amid surging demand for AI…
North Korea’s Naegohyang wins AFC Women’s Champions League in South Korea
North Korea's Naegohyang Women's FC defeated Japan's Tokyo Verdy Beleza 1-0 on Saturday in Suwon, South Korea, to claim the AFC Women's Champions League title — the first continental club championship for a North Korean side. The victory came with…
Dominican Republic routs South Korea 10-0 in WBC quarterfinals
The knockout stage of the 2026 World Baseball Classic opened Friday night with a lopsided affair in Miami and a highly anticipated clash in Houston, as eight nations began the fight for a spot in the semifinals.
BTS reveals fifth album title ‘ARIRANG,’ set for March release
BTS has officially unveiled the title of their long-awaited fifth studio album: ARIRANG. The announcement, made Thursday morning by BigHit Music on social media, marks the K-pop septet's first full-group release in nearly four years following their military service hiatus.
Korean acting legend Lee Soon-jae dies at 91
Lee Soon-jae, South Korea's oldest active performer and a towering figure in Korean entertainment for nearly seven decades, died early Tuesday morning, his family confirmed. He was 91 years old.