South Korea: Economy

Domestic

Samsung revealed its new flagship Galaxy S26 smartphone, raising its price in several major markets due to higher component costs. Concurrently, the company began mass production of its latest HBM4 high-performance memory chip for artificial intelligence, with an executive stating demand is expected to remain strong through 2027. The government announced a phased mandate requiring all workplaces to provide retirement pensions. Economically, the country reported strong January exports showing the sharpest rise since 2021 and logged a record current account surplus for 2025. Other developments included a decline in foreign exchange reserves for a second month and a study warning of potential large costs from overseas transfers of map data.

In a significant financial incident, the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb accidentally distributed a huge amount of Bitcoin to its users, with reported values ranging from $40 to $60 billion, and is now attempting to recover the funds. Some reports indicate the error triggered a selloff of Bitcoin. Separately, Hyundai is testing its new Ioniq 9 electric family vehicle. A global increase in demand for Korean cultural products is reportedly making seaweed more expensive.

International

The United States is advancing plans to increase tariffs on South Korean goods. U.S. Trade Minister Katherine Tai stated that interagency talks are underway to formalize the tariff hike, with the process to begin collecting higher duties starting in mid-February. South Korean officials, including Foreign Minister Cho, are meeting with U.S. lawmakers such as Senator Marco Rubio in Washington to discuss the issue. This potential tariff action comes as Hyundai Motor Group, a major South Korean exporter, posted record-high sales in the U.S. for January. Separately, Hyundai confirmed it will not buy back a car manufacturing plant it had sold in Saint Petersburg, Russia.