The American Society of Safety Engineers Releases Latest Educational Itinerary

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...

Jensen Huang’s departure from Nvidia threatens the stability of the AI industry and the market as a whole, as experts express differing outlooks on the chipmaker’s future. Huang resigned as CEO of the company he built from the ground up, Nvidia’s board of directors announced Thursday, after The New York Times reported on a pair...