Business - The Korea Times

Kakao launches ChatGPT service on KakaoTalk

Kakao said Tuesday ChatGPT, a popular generative artificial intelligence (AI) service developed by OpenAI, is now available for use on the KakaoTalk online messaging app. With ChatGPT for Kakao, KakaoTalk users can access the chatbot with a single tap and share AI-generated conversations, images and text with friends in real time, according to the company. Existing ChatGPT users can use the service within KakaoTalk with their preexisting ChatGPT account. This rollout marks the first major outcome of the partnership formed between Kakao and OpenAI in February as part of the Korean internet giant's broader strategy to join a global AI alliance amid intensifying competition in the market. Kakao's AI agent, Kakao Tools, is integrated with ChatGPT for Kakao, allowing the service to provide optimized answers by linking to Kakao's other applications, including Kakao Map, Kakao Reservation, Kakao Gift and Melon. To protect underage users, the service is available only to those aged 14 or older, the company said. Kakao added that it plans to expand ChatGPT for Kakao to non-Kakao apps and broaden it

Oct 28, 2025By Yonhap

Kakao launches ChatGPT service on KakaoTalk

InterviewWalnut cake expert set to sweeten APEC summit with decadent 'K-desserts'

Among the official domestic sponsors of this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Buchang Bakery is tasked with introducing global economic leaders and top decision-makers to the richness of Korean desserts. The brand’s specialty is its variety of walnut cakes — a beloved street treat that has remained popular in Korea for over half a century. Although reserved for the upcoming APEC Economic Leaders’ Summit on Friday and Saturday, Buchang Bakery’s pastries have already made an appearance at the region’s largest economic forum earlier this year — the third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3) held in Incheon in July. Attendees of last week’s Finance Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) and Structural Reform Ministers’ Meeting (SRMM) in Incheon also had the opportunity to enjoy the spongy walnut cakes, available with a variety of fillings. Lee Kyung-won, president of Fresh Gourmet, which operates Buchang Bakery, was on hand at a booth in Songdo Convensia in Incheon during SOM3. The booth’s milk-and-salt and green pea wal

Oct 28, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan

Walnut cake expert set to sweeten APEC summit with decadent 'K-desserts'

Business leaders to watch at APEC CEO Summit

Business leaders from the world's top companies have been gathering in Korea’s historic southeastern city of Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang Province to sharpen their global strategies and explore new business opportunities at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit. Notable participants include Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun and the heads of Korea’s most influential conglomerates, including the leaders of Samsung, LG, SK and Hyundai Motor. Following a welcome reception on Tuesday, the main events will begin on Wednesday with an opening speech by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who also serves as chairman of the 2025 APEC CEO Summit and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). He will address cutting-edge technologies and how rapidly changing global supply chains are reshaping the future business landscape. Huang, who co-founded Nvidia, the world’s highest-valued chipmaker, will deliver a special address on Friday about future business paradigms being driven by artificial intelligence (AI). He is widely expected to meet with the heads of Ko

Oct 28, 2025By Lee Min-hyung

Business leaders to watch at APEC CEO Summit

Nvidia CEO expected to meet Samsung, Hyundai chairs in Seoul

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun are expected to meet with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in Seoul later this week, industry sources said Tuesday. The highly anticipated meeting is likely to focus on semiconductors, autonomous driving, software-defined vehicles and robotics. Huang is scheduled to visit Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, which kicks off with a reception Tuesday in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Lee and Chung are also set to participate in the APEC event. After the summit, Huang plans to attend a ceremony in Seoul on Thursday marking the 25th anniversary of Nvidia’s GeForce graphics processing unit (GPU) launch in Korea. In August, the three business leaders also met during the Korea-U.S. Business Roundtable held in Washington, D.C., on the sidelines of the summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump. This week’s meeting carries extra significance as Huang and Lee are expected to discuss whether Nvidia will adopt Samsung’s high-bandwi

Oct 28, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo

Nvidia CEO expected to meet Samsung, Hyundai chairs in Seoul

ContributionBeyond industrial power: building a cooperative manufacturing order

As world leaders gather in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, this week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit — a meeting that will mark the first United States–China presidential encounter in years — the world’s attention turns to the uneasy yet vital relationship between its two largest economies. Witnessing the fierce rivalry between these two powers, especially in manufacturing, raises a deeper question: Why did the world once celebrate America’s industrial dominance, yet now view China’s rise in manufacturing with unease? In the 1950s, the U.S. produced half of the world’s manufactured goods: 57 percent of all steel, 80 percent of automobiles and 94 percent of aircraft. However, this overwhelming dominance was not regarded as a threat. The war-torn world desperately needed America’s productive power, and that need endowed U.S. leadership with moral legitimacy. The U.S. rebuilt Europe and Asia, established the Bretton Woods system and underwrote the rules of a liberal economic order. American industrial supremacy was framed as a public good — the

Oct 28, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo

Beyond industrial power: building a cooperative manufacturing order

Global LNG leaders gather in Gyeongju to tackle AI-era energy demands

SK Innovation will host the Asia Pacific LNG Connect session on Friday during the APEC CEO Summit, organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). The session will address LNG, or liquefied natural gas, supply stability and sustainability in Northeast Asia, the world’s largest LNG-consuming region, and its role in meeting rising power demand in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. The APEC CEO Summit, scheduled from Tuesday to Friday in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, is the Asia-Pacific region’s largest annual business forum, attracting around 1,000 global CEOs, academics and government officials to discuss key economic issues and future directions. SK Group Senior Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won and SK Innovation E&S President Choo Hyeong-wook will outline their vision for a sustainable energy ecosystem at the LNG session. Leaders from 10 companies across six countries, including Thailand’s PPT and Japan’s Tokyo Gas, will discuss energy security, competitiveness and sustainability in a session moderated by Keisuke Sadamori of the IEA. The United States’ strat

Oct 27, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee

Global LNG leaders gather in Gyeongju to tackle AI-era energy demands

SK chairman's global reach shapes largest-ever APEC CEO Summit

Hanwha expands global security network at APEC forum

Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Ocean, three defense companies under the Hanwha Group, held the “Hanwha Future Tech Forum: Defense” in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Monday. The event, held under the theme “Sustainable Peace for All,” is an official side event of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, bringing together about 270 participants, including domestic and international military officials, security experts and defense industry CEOs. In his welcome remarks, Son Jae-il, CEO of Hanwha Aerospace, highlighted the importance of preparing for peace responsibly in an era where artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced manufacturing converge, stressing that Hanwha’s technology is aimed at protection rather than provocation. He added that the group is investing in frontier areas such as AI, smart manufacturing, space and energy, while expanding a trust-based network for global security cooperation. The forum also offered networking opportunities for small and mid-sized Korean defense companies to connect with major domestic firms, including K

Oct 27, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo

Hanwha expands global security network at APEC forum

Hyundai looks to Gyeongju for progress in tariff talks

Hyundai Motor Group’s top executives — represented by its Executive Chair Chung Euisun — are set to make last-ditch efforts to help achieve a breakthrough in Korea’s stalled tariff talks with the United States at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit. The carmaker seeks to take advantage of the event — slated for three days beginning Tuesday — as a major opportunity for smooth progress in the two countries’ unsettled trade negotiations. Chung is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in the event’s host city of Gyeongju this week and reiterate the carmaker’s pledge to expand its U.S. investment. Hyundai Motor Group’s two carmakers — Hyundai Motor and Kia — are urgently seeking a tariff reduction in the U.S., where a 25 percent import duty on Korean vehicles remains in place. In July, Korea and the U.S. reached a framework agreement, which included a reduction of auto tariffs to 15 percent, in exchange for Seoul’s planned $350 billion (500 trillion won) investment in the U.S. Howev

Oct 27, 2025By Lee Min-hyung

Hyundai looks to Gyeongju for progress in tariff talks

SK hynix begins installing equipment at new HBM hub in Korea

SK hynix has begun installing production equipment at its new fabrication plant under construction in central Korea, with the goal of starting operations next year, industry sources said Monday. According to the sources, the Korean chipmaker has started installing production equipment in the cleanroom of the M15X fab in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The facility will serve as the company's main hub for producing high bandwidth memory (HBM) products. The M15X is an expansion of the existing M15 plant, with SK hynix aiming to complete construction this year. SK hynix has also relocated part of its workforce from its headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, to Cheongju in preparation for production. The new M15X fab is expected to solidify SK hynix's leadership in the HBM sector amid growing global demand. SK hynix recently completed preparations for the mass production of HBM4 and is currently in final-stage discussions with Nvidia over its supply.

Oct 27, 2025By Yonhap

SK hynix begins installing equipment at new HBM hub in Korea

HD Hyundai charts sustainable future for shipbuilding at APEC summit

HD Hyundai opened the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) events in Korea Monday by presenting a blueprint for the future of shipbuilding in collaboration with global leaders. The company hosted the Future Tech Forum: Shipbuilding on the sidelines of the APEC CEO Summit under the theme “Shaping the Future of Shipbuilding.” The event drew more than 600 participants, including HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun and speakers from Huntington Ingalls Industries, Anduril Industries and Siemens, as well as representatives from the shipbuilding industry, academia, government and the military. In his keynote speech, Chung highlighted the potential for sustainable growth in the shipbuilding industry through innovative technologies and called for greater global cooperation to make it a reality. “The rapid advancement of AI (artificial intelligence) technology has had a tremendous impact on other key fronts of our innovation — the sustainability of our ships and the digital manufacturing cycle,” Chung said. “For all these exciting possibilities to come true, we’ll need much clo

Oct 27, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan

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