A chip design firm reportedly builds deliberately weak server processors that fall below U.S. and South Korean export-control thresholds, then pairs them with high-end HBM memory from Samsung and SK hynix that is otherwise banned for export to China. The bundled chips are shipped to Hong Kong and carried across the border into Shenzhen, where workshops desolder the boards to extract the valuable HBM and discard the rest, according to The Information.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-11-03
President Lee Jae Myung presented South Korea's largest-ever budget to the National Assembly, with total spending rising 12.8% to 820.9 trillion won ($610.14 billion) for 2027. The plan includes 21.3 trillion won for semiconductors, physical AI and data centers, and a separate 4.7 trillion won earmarked for building what Lee called a sovereign AI model with the world's highest performance. The budget also funds training 2,000 semiconductor specialists and raises defense spending 8.2% to 73.3 trillion won.
cnbc.com
· 2026-11-02
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made a surprise visit to South Korea over the weekend, meeting roughly 50 Samsung affiliate executives in Yongin and reportedly lunching with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won alongside SK Hynix and SK Telecom executives. The talks reportedly touched on AI chip cooperation, high-bandwidth memory supply and data center development, building on partnerships Altman announced during an October 2025 visit under OpenAI's Stargate initiative.
cnbc.com
· 2026-11-02
Seoul police say 80 Tesla drivers illegally activated Full Self-Driving using aftermarket devices that bypass regional software locks, confiscating 21 such units. The modules tap into the car's CAN bus, with some drivers importing devices from Europe or China and at least one building his own using GitHub instructions. Drivers face prosecution under the Motor Vehicle Management Act, carrying penalties up to two years in prison or a 20 million won ($15,000) fine.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-30
South Korea's Korea Media and Communications Commission fined Google KRW 42.9 billion ($32 million) and Apple KRW 20.81 billion ($15.6 million) for violating the Telecommunications Business Act. The regulator's investigations, begun in 2022, found both companies forced in-app payment methods, charged a 26 percent commission on third-party payments, blocked external payment options, and delayed app reviews without explanation; Apple was also found to calculate commissions differently for Korean versus overseas developers.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-29
South Korea's Korea Media and Communications Commission fined Apple roughly $15.5 million (20.81 billion won) and Google a separate penalty for violating the country's Telecommunications Business Act. Regulators found both companies forced developers toward their own in-app payment systems via a 26% commission, delayed app reviews without clear explanation, and applied discriminatory commissions, and ordered policy changes to correct these practices.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-10-28
South Korea's Korea Media and Communications Commission fined Google 42.9 billion won and Apple 20.8 billion won, totaling about $47.6 million, for violating a 2021 law requiring app stores to allow alternative payment systems. The regulator said both companies effectively forced developers to use their own payment systems by charging a 26% commission and withholding features from third-party options, and also delayed app reviews without explanation. Apple was additionally accused of overcharging Korean developers compared with developers elsewhere between 2015 and January 2023.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-28
South Korean brokerages Daishin Securities and Mirae Asset Global Investments, along with crypto exchange Bithumb, disclosed separate cybersecurity incidents this week. Daishin confirmed that personal data of 38,490 customers—including names, emails and phone numbers—was exposed, and said it has notified affected users and will offer compensation as required. Mirae Asset and Bithumb have not confirmed whether customer data was compromised, and investigators have not yet determined the cause of the breaches.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-28
SK Hynix reported that net profit more than tripled in the third quarter, with revenue and operating profit reaching record highs for a sixth consecutive quarter. The South Korean memory-chip maker announced plans to return $75 billion to shareholders following the results.
wsj.com
· 2026-10-28
A 71-year-old crop farmer in South Korea sought treatment after two months of eye irritation, redness and blurred vision. Ophthalmologists found and removed 11 living Thelazia callipaeda roundworms, some pregnant with larvae, using forceps after numbing his eyes with a topical anesthetic. The case was documented in the New England Journal of Medicine.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-10-26
Seoul Metropolitan Police say a seven-member gang, led by a former penetration tester, breached more than 90 South Korean organizations starting in September 2025 and stole 8.2 million records. The group used the ARTEX AI pentesting framework in most attacks and demanded ransom payments of 360 million won ($270,000) in 38 cases to avoid leaking stolen data. The leader was arrested on October 15 and referred to prosecutors on October 23; the other six suspects remain under investigation but not detained.
bleepingcomputer.com
· 2026-10-26
Retail pages in Europe have listed Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Buds On, with varying release dates clustering around the first half of December. Swiss stores reportedly show prices of CHF 179 and CHF 199, while Samsung has already confirmed a South Korean launch on October 27 at 299,000 won. Separately, newly surfaced animations from The Cipher Project give a 360-degree view of the earbuds and their rounded, cube-like charging case, similar to the Galaxy Buds 4 series.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-23
GoKawiil