Category: Korea-Business

Here is some good news for South Korea nuclear industry:

A view of the new Dukovany nuclear power plant site in the Czech Republic. [YONHAP]

The Czech Republic picked Korean companies as the preferred bidder to build two nuclear reactors in Dukovany, an estimated 24 trillion won ($17 billion) project that could serve as a catalyst for the country’s renewed drive to export nuclear power facilities.

The decision marks the first overseas nuclear power deal for local firms in some 15 years since securing a contract to build nuclear power reactors in Barakah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2009.  

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Considering how most of the fatalities from this deadly fire were foreign nationals, it is not surprising the company is being investigated for hiring illegal workers:

Police officers carry boxes confiscated from battery maker Aricell and workforce suppliers in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday, as they, together with the labor ministry, ratcheted up the investigation into a deadly fire at the company’s factory that killed 23 workers on Monday. Yonhap

The Ministry of Employment and Labor has launched an investigation into lithium battery maker Aricell over suspected illegal hiring of foreign workers after Monday’s deadly fire at its factory killed 23 employees, including 18 foreign nationals, officials said Thursday.

In particular, the ministry is looking into whether Aricell had directly imposed work orders on foreign temporary laborers hired by subcontractors, which is an illegal practice.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Continued Russian aggression has been good for South Korea’s defense industry:

Romania has confirmed its plan to buy South Korean K-9 self-propelled howitzers for US$920 million, the defense ministry said Wednesday, in another boost for Seoul’s drive to clinch more arms export deals.

Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar announced the decision during talks in Romania with Seoul’s defense chief Shin Won-sik, who is on a weeklong trip to Eastern Europe that will also take him to Poland, according to the ministry.

Shin thanked Tilvar for the decision and anticipated the deal — the biggest in Romania’s arms acquisition over the past seven years — will further activate defense and arms cooperation between the two countries.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This should be considered a good thing for South Korea as China has repeatedly shown they are willing to use economic retaliation to try and coerce policy changes where the U.S. has not:

South Korea’s exports to the United States exceeded those to China so far this year, data showed Monday, raising the possibility that the U.S. could be the top export destination for South Korea for the first time in 22 years.

Outbound shipments to the U.S. amounted to $53.3 billion from January through May 2024, compared with South Korea’s export value to China of $52.69 billion, according to the data from Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

If the current trend continues, the U.S. will be the No. 1 export destination for South Korea for the first time since 2002.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Due to outside pressure the Yoon administration is now having to provide public updates on what they had previously been handling quiety with the Naver issue and Japan:

The presidential office said Tuesday a report set to be filed with the Japanese government by LY Corp. will not include plans for stake sales by the South Korean portal giant Naver Corp.

Naver has been under pressure from the Japanese government to “review its capital relationship” in LY Corp., the operator of Line controlled by a joint venture between Naver and SoftBank of Japan, over a massive data leak of user information. 

“We have been communicating with Naver, and LY’s report set to be submitted to the Japanese government will not include plans for Naver selling stakes,” a high-ranking presidential official said over the phone.

“The Japanese government should not disadvantage Naver because the report did not include a stake sales plan,” the official added.

It marked the first time for the presidential office to directly address the possibility that Naver would not sell its stakes to SoftBank.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but to sum this whole issue up, the Japanese government was unhappy with the massive data leak Naver’s Line app had. The Japanese government then pressured Naver to improve cyber security or consider selling Line to someone who will. The Korean left predictably decided to turn this into a anti-Japan issue, which now has caused the Yoon administration to make public statements instead of trying to handle this issue quietly with the Japanese government.

By the way the Japanese government never even issued any formal guidance to sell Line:

Sung noted the Japanese government has stated several times there was no mention of a stake sale in the administrative guidance it issued to LY, Line’s operator, earlier this year, nor any reference to control of the company.

Once again this is a cyber security issue. Naver needs to fix the cyber security for their Line app and then the Japanese government will leave them alone. Did I miss anything?

Another sector of the Korean defense industry could be receiving some work in the near future in the United States:

The world’s largest shipbuilder, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. of Ulsan, South Korea, has signed a deal to seek U.S. government shipbuilding and maintenance contacts in alliance with Philly Shipyard Inc., which employs around 1,000 at the former Philadelphia Navy Yard site in South Philadelphia.

An agreement to “explore a potential business relationship” for government work was signed April 12 by Won ho Joo, chief executive of HD Hyundai’s naval and special ships unit, and Steinar Nerbovik, who has run the Philly yard since 2014 on behalf of its owner, Norway-based Aker ASA. The deal announced this week follows a February visit by U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro to Korean shipyards where he invited owners to invest in U.S. shipyards to build for military and civilian clients.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Hyundai is understanding that the vast majority of consumers do not want to drive an EV. I have always said the focus should be on plug in hybrid because the range anxiety is a real thing when it comes to EVs:

Hyundai Motor will boost sales of its hybrid cars and SUVs as part of its key strategy to ensure profitable growth amid falling sentiment for electric vehicles (EV), the company said Thursday during a conference call.

The decision came as demand for hybrid vehicles is on the gradual rise, after the global EV industry entered a chasm this year. The company displayed the vision after disclosing a slight fall in its first-quarter operating profit.

In a regulatory filing, the carmaker reported an operating profit of 3.55 trillion won ($2.58 billion) in the first quarter, down 2.3 percent from the previous year, hit by an overall sales fall. The company, however, generated robust sales of 40.65 trillion won, up 7.6 percent during the same period.

The company said it will place its management focus on defending its profitability by widening sales for hybrid vehicles and SUVs, at a critical juncture when the global EV industry shows no immediate signs of a rebound.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The defense industry continues to be a major growth sector for the South Korean economy:

South Korean defense firm Hanwha Aerospace Co. is expected to export an additional batch of Chunmoo multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) to Poland, a deal estimated at around 2.2 trillion won (US$1.6 billion), multiple sources said Tuesday. 

A Polish delegation, led by Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Bejda, plans to observe a test-firing of the K239 Chunmoo MLRS at the state-run Agency for Defense Development’s Anheung testing site in Taean, 109 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Wednesday. 

A successful test of the system, modified to fit a Polish military vehicle, is expected to lead to a deal, sources familiar with the issue said. 

As Poland committed to buying 288 units of the Chunmoo and signed a contract to purchase 218 units in November 2022, the anticipated deal is likely to cover the remaining 70 units, they noted.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is a big incentive for Samsung to build a chip plant in Texas:

The U.S. government announced a plan Monday to award Samsung Electronics up to $6.4 billion in grants to support the Korean tech giant’s chipmaking investment in central Texas, as it strives to strengthen domestic semiconductor production.

The Commerce Department said it has reached a nonbinding preliminary agreement with Samsung to provide the grants under the CHIPS and Science Act to back the company’s expected investment of more than $40 billion, in the establishment of a “leading-edge semiconductor ecosystem” in the state.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.