Tag: business

It looks like even more chipmaking capacity may be coming to the U.S.:

SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the company’s advanced HBM packaging facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Aug. 27, where SK hynix plans to begin producing “Made in USA” HBM from the second half of 2029. (SK hynix)

“I think we need to build a factory in the United States. If possible, I believe we should build it,” SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said in July, describing the “enormous pressure” from customers and governments to supply more memory chips. SK hynix was already preparing a US production base, but only for the later stages of making its most valuable artificial intelligence memory.

Its more than $4 billion Indiana plant, which broke ground last month, will receive advanced DRAM wafers made in South Korea and package and turn them into high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, from 2029. The memory chips themselves will still be fabricated in Korea.

The question now is whether SK hynix is willing to move part of the chipmaking itself to the US. Reuters reported Sept. 16 that SK hynix was discussing a bigger step, either leasing part of Intel’s Ohio complex to produce memory chips or forming a venture with Intel and major cloud companies seeking secure supplies. Two days later, Solidigm, SK hynix’s US NAND subsidiary, was reported to be considering a separate NAND plant in the US.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

The Korean defense industry has definitely come a long ways the past 25 years:

Defense News released the list of the top 100 defense firms, including Hanwha, LIG Nex1, Hyundai Rotem and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Four American firms, Lockheed Martin, RTX, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, took the top four spots.

Hanwha ranked 16th with its 2025 defense revenue totaling about US$10.44 billion, up from 22nd place in last year’s list.

LIG Nex1 took 52nd place with defense

revenue totalling about US$3.03 billion, up from 53rd place, while Hyundai Rotem ranked 61st, up from 67th place. KAI ranked 74th, down from 62nd place.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is some really bad luck that may ultimately cost Hanhwa Ocean hundreds of millions of dollars in losses:

Hanwha Ocean’s liquefied natural gas carrier / Courtesy of Hanwha Ocean

Hanwha Ocean is saddled with hundreds of millions of dollars in financial burden, as a fleet of six icebreaking liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers remain undelivered at a domestic shipyard due to sanctions on Russia’s Arctic project, according to industry sources and a report.

The specialized vessels, built for Moscow’s high-stakes Arctic energy expansion venture, have turned into a costly asset for Hanwha Ocean, leaving the Korean shipbuilder with few viable options beyond waiting indefinitely for new buyers or selling the ships at steep discounts.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It is pretty amazing how stock markets continue to set new highs despite the oil disruptions in the Middle East:

South Korean stocks opened at a fresh record high Monday as investor appetite for tech shares helped offset uncertainty surrounding negotiations between the United States and Iran over a peace agreement.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 120.03 points, or 1.42 percent, to 8,596.18 as of 9:15 a.m., continuing its upward momentum after opening at a fresh high.

The KOSPI closed at a record high of 8,476.15 on Friday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If you are looking to exchange dollars into Won now is the time to do it because the strengthening dollar may not last long once the war with Iran is over:

South Korean won briefly slid past the 1,500-per-dollar level on Tuesday, marking its first breach of the psychologically important level since 2009, as the greenback surged in value amid the ongoing U.S.-Israel military operations against Iran.

The won fell to nearly 1,506 won against the dollar at around 12:05 a.m. Wednesday (Seoul time), some 30 minutes after the New York Stock Exchange opened. It later recovered to trade back below the 1,500 mark.

The Korean currency hit 1,500 against the dollar for the first time since March 2009 when the world was reeling from the global financial crisis. 

In March 2009, the Korean won tumbled, approaching the 1,600-won-per-dollar level.

Analysts said that the won’s plunge this week was driven by the dollar’s rally amid fears that the U.S.-Israel operation could escalate into a broader regional war that could last longer than expected.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the Coupang data breach issue is far worse than originally suspected:

Choi Woo-hyuk, director general of the science ministry’s cybersecurity bureau, speaks during a press conference in Seoul on Feb. 10, 2026. (Yonhap)

A joint public-private probe into a major data breach case at the South Korean unit of U.S.-listed e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. has confirmed that over 33.6 million accounts have been exposed, the science ministry said Tuesday, suggesting the company may have sought to play down the incident by initially claiming only some 3,000 had been compromised.

The South Korean unit, Coupang Corp., also failed to promptly report the incident despite related regulations, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

“The science ministry concluded the incident as being a major breach case leading to a massive leak of information involving the country’s top online commerce platform,” Choi Woo-hyuk, director general of the ministry’s cybersecurity bureau, said during a press briefing.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is exactly the behavior Trump has been trying to create with his tariff policy. Would these automakers have increased sales of U.S. made cars and even import them to Japan without Trump’s pressure?:

Workers are seen assembling an Ioniq 5 vehicle at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Ellabell, Georgia on March 27. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Toyota’s decision to resume sales of the Camry through reimporting comes two years after halting its domestic sales and is seen as an effort to improve trade relations with the United States. Trump has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with Japan’s trade surplus with the United States. 
  
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda announced a $10 billion investment plan in the United States last month and appeared at a car event wearing a red MAGA hat, signaling his continued outreach to the United States.

Honda and Nissan are also reportedly considering reimporting U.S.-built models. Honda may bring in its Ridgeline pickup truck, Passport SUV and some Acura-branded electric vehicle models, according to Japanese business daily Nikkei. Nissan is weighing reimports of its Altima midsize sedan, Murano SUV and Pathfinder SUV. 
  
For Korean carmakers, reimporting U.S.-made vehicles is less viable due to high labor costs, added logistics expenses and unfavorable currency exchange rates. Instead, they are focusing on ramping up production within the United States. 
  
Hyundai Motor Group aims to increase the local production share of vehicles sold in the U.S. market from the current 43 percent to 80 percent by 2030. It also plans to boost annual North American sales from 834,000 vehicles last year to 1.44 million by the end of the decade. 
  
In a recent interview with Automotive News, Hyundai COO Jose Muñoz said that the company’s goal is not only to raise local production to 80 percent but also to increase the share of local suppliers from 60 percent to 80 percent, outlining plans to target the midsize pickup truck, SUV and commercial vehicle segments — including electric vans and medium-duty trucks. 
  
Industry experts see Trump’s MAGA policy as a catalyst for a shift in global production strategies within the automotive sector.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

South Korea was pretty much forced to cut a deal with the Trump administration after the Japanese completed a deal just a week prior. They basically got the same trade deal as the Japanese:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration has agreed to lower “reciprocal” tariffs on South Korea to 15 percent from the proposed 25 percent in return for massive investments and market opening, and hold a summit with President Lee Jae Myung at the White House in two weeks.

Trump announced the deal with South Korea in a social media post, shortly after Seoul’s Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and other top negotiators met him in an effort to finalize an agreement before Friday, when the steep blanket tariffs are set to take effect unless a deal is reached.

“We have agreed to a Tariff for South Korea of 15%. America will not be charged a Tariff,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Under what he called a “full and complete” trade deal, Trump said South Korea will give the United States US$350 billion for investments “owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself.”

He claimed South Korea has agreed that it will be “completely” open to trade with the U.S., and that it will accept American products, including cars, trucks and agricultural goods.

The deal also includes South Korea’s agreement to purchase $100 billion of U.S. liquefied natural gas or other energy products, and invest a large sum of money for Seoul’s investment purposes, Trump said.

“This sum will be announced within the next two weeks when the President of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung, comes to the White House for a Bilateral Meeting,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I guess we will see if this trip to Korea by Trump Jr. will lead to any breakthroughs in trade negotiations with the U.S.:

Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, arrived in Seoul on Tuesday for a meeting with around 20 business leaders from South Korean conglomerates, industry sources said.

The two-day trip by Trump Jr., his first to South Korea since his father’s inauguration in January, comes at the invitation of Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin.

Per sources, Trump Jr. arrived at Gimpo International Airport, western Seoul, in his private jet at around 6:25 p.m. Tuesday. It had been scheduled to touch down at 4:45 p.m. but there had been a slight delay before the departure.

Wearing a black cap and a long-sleeve shirt, Trump Jr. left the airport without speaking to the dozens of waiting South Korean reporters.

South Korean business circles asked Chung to facilitate Trump Jr.’s visit as a way to establish contact with the Trump administration, according to the sources.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.