South Korean shares turn lower as chipmakers fall ahead of earnings

South Korean benchmark KOSPI fell 0.76 percent to 6,639.97 as chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix slipped ahead of their second-quarter earnings. South Korea announced 950 billion dollars in new AI initiatives involving Samsung Electronics, SK Group and U.S. tech firms, while Naver surged 8.67 percent on Nvidia's one billion dollar investment. Foreign investors were net sellers of 1.5 trillion won and the won weakened 0.44 percent against the dollar.