U.S. Market Wrap

Korea ICT Exports Shatter Monthly Record at $47.79 Billion in May as AI Server Demand Marks Third Consecutive $40B-Plus Month

South Korea's May ICT exports soared 128.9% year-on-year to a record $47.79 billion, driven by semiconductor shipments that surged 169.2% to $37.16 billion on AI server demand.

LG Display (034220.KS) Q1 2026: Operating Profit Surges 4.4x as ₩13.7T Debt Swells Net Loss to ₩575.7B

LG Display (034220.KS) Q1 2026: Profit 4× but ₩576B Net Loss Bites

SK Telecom, NTT, and Chunghwa Telecom Launch USD 500 Million IOWN AI Fund to Back Asia's AI Infrastructure

SK Telecom, Japan's NTT, and Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom announced on June 10 a joint $500 million (approximately ₩760 billion) fund targeting artificial intellig

LG Electronics Opens Korea's First Humanoid Robot Data Factory, Deploys 300 CLOiD Units by Year-End

LG Electronics has converted its 33,000-sqm Yangjae R&D campus into Korea's first humanoid robot data factory. The company is committing more than KRW 400 billion through 2030, deploying 100 CLOiD humanoid robots in July scaling to 300 by year-end, with a 2028 commercial home-robot launch target.

Hanwha Ocean Wins ₩7.8T Destroyer Program as Rival’s Data-Leak Penalty Overturns Technical Lead

South Korea’s KDDX program has selected Hanwha Ocean as preferred bidder, awarding ₩7.8 trillion in destroyer contracts even as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries led on pure technical merit—until a court-upheld security deduction rewrote the score sheet.

Korea Launches First Joint FX-Bank Probe in 14 Years as Won Slides to 17-Year Low

Korea's BOK and FSS launched their first joint examination of FX banks since 2012, as the won slid to KRW 1,555.2 — a 17-year low — prompting warnings of imminent rate hikes to defend the currency.

SK Biopharma (326030.KS) Q1 2026: Cenobamate Lifts Operating Profit 250%, Margin Hits 39%

Single-drug operating leverage transforms SK Biopharmaceuticals from loss-making drug launcher to high-margin cash generator — operating margin more than doubles year-over-year.

Samsung Foundry in Talks to Build Google's Icefish TPU I/O Die as TSMC Runs Full

Samsung Electronics' contract chipmaking unit is in talks to produce the memory I/O die for Google's 10th-generation AI chip 'Icefish' using its 2-nanometer process, with mass production targeted as early as 2028.

Korean Brokerages Earn ₩4.33 Trillion in One Quarter — Nearly Half of 2025's Record Year

South Korea's 61 securities firms earned ₩4.33 trillion ($2.63 billion) in Q1 2026 — 44.9% of the industry's full-year 2025 record — driven by a 333% surge in KOSPI trading volume. Mirae Asset became the first Korean brokerage to top ₩1 trillion in a single quarter.

Hankook Tire (161390.KS) Q1 2026: Margin Hits 9.5%, Operating Profit Surges 43%

Korea-Italy Roundtable Yields Aerospace, Grid, Pharma Deals

Korean and Italian business leaders turned a state-visit photo opportunity into signed commercial deals on Friday, including aerospace, grid and pharma agreements. Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong attended.

Korea's Record KRW 624.7B Fine Hits Coupang Over 37.5M-User Data Breach; Stock Surges 14%

Korea's PIPC imposed a record KRW 624.7 billion privacy fine on Coupang — nearly equal to its full-year 2025 operating profit — over a data breach affecting 37.5 million users. The stock closed up 14.25% on the day, suggesting markets viewed the ruling as the worst-case scenario now quantified.

SpaceX Record IPO Revives Tesla Merger Talk, Korea Exposed

SpaceX's record USD 75B IPO debuted up 11%, reigniting Tesla merger speculation. Korean retail investors hold USD 24.74B in Tesla as LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI supply Tesla's battery chain.