Photonic semiconductors have become indispensable to modern defense — prized for their ultra-high-speed data processing, high capacity, low power consumption, and exceptional reliability. Yet despite their growing strategic importance, South Korea remains almost entirely dependent on foreign suppliers for these critical components. Industry leaders are now sounding the alarm: as global supply chains fracture along geopolitical lines, photonic semiconductors are no longer just industrial goods — they are national security assets, and South Korea's access to them is far from guaranteed

Samsung Electronics' largest labor union said it will proceed with an 18-day strike beginning May 21 after last-ditch government-mediated talks failed to resolve a dispute over performance-based bonuses, according to Yonhap News Agency and Reuters

Trump has once again accused Taiwan of "stealing" the US semiconductor industry — his second such broadside in as many months

After the Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, China's senior leadership has stepped up inspections of artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing and computing infrastructure, offering a clear signal of where Beijing wants its technology policy to move over the next three years

As artificial intelligence reshapes the global economy, demand for data centers is rapidly redrawing the export map of nations

Japan's three largest automakers reported fiscal 2025 results that signal shifting production strategies and significant implications for suppliers across North America and beyond. The outcomes have varied: Toyota and Honda steadied operations amid different pressures, while Nissan moved into deep restructuring after heavy losses

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) chair and CEO Lisa Su led the company's China team in Shanghai for AMD AI DevDay 2026 on May 19. The event marks the first time it has been held outside the US, drawing large crowds of Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) developers, supply chain partners, and corporate customers

Hyundai Motor Group's humanoid robot ambitions are moving closer to commercialization, with Boston Dynamics preparing for a broader capital-market push and factory deployment of its Atlas robot. But analysts warn that China's control over rare-earth supply chains could become a key risk as the company looks to scale production

South Korea depends on the Middle East for 70% of its crude oil, and relies heavily on oil refining, petrochemicals, and power generation in its industrial sector. As a result, Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has led to wide-ranging pressures on South Korea's economic security

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is approaching its planned STAR Market IPO with sharply stronger earnings, as a global memory upcycle helps China's leading DRAM maker move closer to offsetting years of accumulated losses

Plug and Play has closed a 6 billion Japanese yen fund — approximately US$40 million — making it one of the largest first-time seed funds ever raised in Japan, the firm announced on the first day of the Plug and Play May Summit in Sunnyvale

Japanese electronic components manufacturer TDK will make its largest-ever capital investment in fiscal 2026, running from April 2026 to March 2027, to address surging demand related to artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on batteries, hard disk drive (HDD) components, and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC)

Rising memory prices are squeezing the smartphone OLED panel market. Chinese suppliers are feeling it more than their Korean rivals, as handset makers scale back production plans

Samsung Electronics is putting health care at the center of its smartwatch strategy as Chinese rivals Huawei and Xiaomi gain ground in the global wearables market