Korea unfreezes Honam grid to add 2.6 GW of solar capacity
The policy ends a two-year connection freeze across 164 substations on Oct. 1, paving the way for 20 GW of planned power across Samsung and SK hynix chip hubs.
South Korea
All coverageSemiconductors, batteries, shipbuilding and defense — and the industrial policy behind them.
OCI anchors Jeonbuk chip materials hub with acid expansion
The chemical maker will lift Gunsan phosphoric acid capacity to 30,000 tons as South Korea commits 45 billion won to anchor an…
POSCO Future M signs $776M LFP cathode supply deal with SK On
The three-year agreement covers battery cells produced at SK On's Georgia plant for North American energy storage systems,…
Samsung SDI debuts cylindrical LFP cells for AI data centers at DCWA
The South Korean cell maker showcased emergency backup power units that passed UL indoor fire testing as hyperscalers demand…
Hanwha Ocean wins $500 million LNG carrier deal from Zodiac
The two-vessel contract lifts the shipbuilder's September intake to 2.89 trillion won, marking a pivot by independent non-energy…
HD Hyundai books $243 million order for two Ro-Ro vessels
The contract with Luxembourg-based CLdN secures shipyard berths through late 2029 while accelerating dual-fuel fleet renewal…
SK hynix validates HBM5 with TSMC on next-generation CoWoS
The South Korean chipmaker secured TSMC's partner award after completing thermal and electrical trials on eighth-generation…
NYK Names Hyundai Samho LNG Carrier for Cameron Export Trade
The 174,000-cubic-meter Diamond Gas Nexus will transport American fuel under charter to Mitsubishi subsidiary Diamond Global…
SK On signs 18 GWh US battery storage pact with NeoVolta
The five-year framework converts unallocated EV pouch cell lines in Georgia to lithium iron phosphate stationary storage for…
LG Energy Solution teams with B2U to repurpose used EV packs for US grid
The partnership gives the California developer priority access to second-life cells to build gigawatt-hour stationary systems for…
Samsung SDI clears UL fire safety test for utility LFP battery systems
The containerized SBB 2.0 system demonstrated zero fire propagation in testing, advancing plans to produce cells at its Indiana…
HD Hyundai Samho builds three-tank LNG carriers for BW LNGMembers
The 176,800-cubic-meter design adds 2,800 cubic meters of capacity and trims daily boil-off by 6% while using standard terminal…
Mobilint tests robot AI chips with Doosan to curb Nvidia costs
South Korea will invest 511.1 billion won through 2030 to deploy domestic neural processing units across collaborative arms,…
Evolution Metals expands Korea magnet plant to 10,000 tons
The US firm is scaling its Pohang facility ten-fold to 10,000 metric tons ahead of a January 2027 Pentagon ban on Chinese rare…
Samsung Heavy clears wage deal as strike risks hit rivals
South Korea's top shipbuilders face diverging slot risks as Samsung Heavy finalizes a 5.2% wage increase while HD Hyundai and…
Qualcomm keeps TSMC for 2nm processors, shutting out Samsung Foundry
The mobile chipmaker affirmed its exclusive production tie to TSMC despite wafer costs topping $30,000, leaving Samsung with…
Korean power gear makers book grid orders on US fab growth
Surging battery storage deployments and grid bottlenecks across North America lift combined order backlogs at South Korea's three…
Korean shipbuilders localize Arctic ice design software
The Big Three shipyards join state-backed software and 3D printing projects to cut reliance on overseas polar engineering as…
Commerce exempts South Korean biopharma from import tariffs on Sept. 29
New BIS rules grant zero-tariff entry for antibody-drug conjugates and cell therapies from 19 allied jurisdictions, shielding…
Hyundai tests used EV battery storage on South Korea's grid
A five-company consortium linking retired vehicle packs to industrial chargers targets electricity cost cuts and mineral…
HD Hyundai develops 150,000 cbm ultra-large ethane carrier
The South Korean shipbuilder partnered with GTT and Lloyd's Register to apply Mark III Slim tanks for growing seaborne ethane…
HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean split naval platforms for export
Shipbuilders pursue specialized foreign bids after Hanwha Ocean locked in a 7.8 trillion won destroyer contract and HD Hyundai…
KKR deploys record $3 billion into South Korea AI hardware
The private equity firm is targeting data center platforms, enterprise services and clean generation capacity tied to advanced…
Arkema secures Ulsan acrylic acid storage to supply Korea
The French specialty chemical group booked 3,000 cubic meters of glacial acrylic acid capacity at the Ulsan HDOT terminal,…
Semiconductors
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SK Hynix, Micron Shares Fall as Chip Sell-Off Hits Korea Market
A broad decline in Korean chip stocks on Oct. 13 dragged SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics lower, tracking losses in Micron shares…
Samsung backs chip suppliers as fab output rises in KoreaMembers
A 78.9 billion won incentive fund and free test wafers target domestic parts vendors as rising run rates test supplier balance…
SK hynix honors Onto Innovation for advanced HBM inspection
The US toolmaker was the sole supplier recognized for technology achievement after deploying its Dragonfly G5 system to catch…
Batteries & EV
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SK On Cuts Jobs at Stanton, Tennessee Battery Plant Amid Slower EV Demand
SK On trimmed staffing at its Stanton, Tennessee battery plant on Oct.
LG Energy Solution tests sodium batteries for US power grids
The South Korean cell maker plans a 30-megawatt-hour sample verification by early 2027, converting Ochang lines to counter…
POSCO Future M plans domestic LFP precursor supply by 2029
The battery materials maker is using steelmaking waste acid to forge non-Chinese lithium iron phosphate cathode inputs after…
Robotics
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Rainbow Robotics files US waiver to bypass robot import ban
The South Korean firm sought conditional approval after the FCC blocked equipment authorisations, halting American deliveries of…
Doosan Robotics and DEEPX develop AI nuclear welding robotsMembers
A 45-month South Korean state project targets a 50% cut in multi-layer cycle time at Doosan Enerbility, countering a severe…
Doosan Robotics picks DeepX NPU chips for on-device welding cobotsMembers
A 98.9 billion won government initiative pairs domestic neural processing units with collaborative robots to automate heavy…
Shipbuilding
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Hanwha Ocean Sets Up Dedicated Nuclear Submarine Development UnitMembers
The shipbuilder created the organizational unit on Oct. 13, a step that follows months of talks on US-Korea naval cooperation…
HD Hyundai and Siemens launch Busan digital shipyard center
The Global Marine Center deploys 50 engineers to test virtual shipyard tools, aiming to cut vessel construction time by 30% by…
HD Hyundai Marine Solution buys Goltens for $247.5 millionMembers
The South Korean firm acquired the repair specialist to secure 28 global hubs for green ship retrofits and service data center…
Energy & Minerals
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Gaon Cable builds US nuclear wire lines in North Carolina
The South Korean supplier will equip its Tarboro factory for reactor circuits, expanding beyond a $50 million distribution cable…
LS Cable backs Korea Future Materials in $15M US copper push
The South Korean wiremaker is taking up 40 million new shares to finance a recycling plant near LS GreenLink in Virginia, raising…
HD Construction Equipment wins $286M data center engine deal
The South Korean machinery group will supply 22-liter natural gas engine blocks to Enchanted Rock through 2028 to power North…
Trade & Policy
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Seoul Creates Chip Policy Office to Speed Up 800 Trillion Won Push
The new unit is meant to cut approval times for subsidies and permits tied to Korea's semiconductor investment plans, though its…
Commerce locks in Korean steel duties as mills press quota review
Countervailing rates of up to 3.68% land on Seoul producers as U.S.
Korea rejects Russia fuel breach claims as port checks widen
Trade authorities confirmed refined petroleum falls outside current export controls after reports alleged 176,000 tonnes moved…
Analysis
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Strong Won Cuts Samsung and SK hynix Profit Views by 21T WonMembers
A rapid 10.4% won appreciation wiped 21 trillion won off combined 2026 operating profit estimates for South Korea's top memory…