Barron’s (October 31)
“A U.S.-China summit in South Korea did just enough, even if it didn’t fix everything that has kept the two sides at odds.” It has “put markets at ease,” at least for a while. “The de-escalation appeared to be more a win for China than for the U.S., but also took a worst-case scenario off the table for markets.”
Tags: At ease, China, De-escalation, Fix, Fragile, Markets, South Korea, Summit, Temporary, Trade truce, U.S., Win, Worst-case scenario
Bloomberg (October 30)
“The one-year truce struck on Thursday in South Korea is likely to only stabilize relations between the world’s two largest economies rather than resolve fundamental differences, with both sides buying time to further reduce dependence on each other in strategic areas. And it made clear just how much stronger China has become since Trump’s first term in office.”
Tags: Buying time, China, Dependence, First term, Fundamental differences, Resolve, South Korea, Stabilize, Strategic areas, Stronger, Truce, Trump
Axios (October 15)
“More people are concerned than excited about the rise of AI in daily life, with Americans topping the global worry list, per a new global report from Pew Research Center.” Some countries, like South Korea and India were relatively excited about AI with less than 20% of respondents saying they were “more concerned than excited.” In contrast, the majority of U.S. respondents were more concerned about Ai than excited, a level of anxiety only matched by Italy. This “public concern over AI could shape how quickly the tools are adopted, and could upend workplaces if employees aren’t comfortable with the changes.”
Tags: Anxiety, Aopted, Concerned, Daily life, Employees, Excited, India, Italy, Pew, Respondents, Rise of AI, South Korea, U.S., Workplaces, Worry
Wall Street Journal (September 10)
“South Korea is at a crossroads, but every direction seems to lead to a dead end. Just as the world wakes up from the decadeslong daydream of North Korean denuclearization, the U.S.—South Korea’s longtime defense partner—has grown unreliable.” A poll conducted by the Korean Herald “found 60% of South Koreans don’t trust the U.S. to use its nuclear weapons to protect Seoul from a North Korean attack.” The lack of confidence in its “ally may convince Seoul that there’s no other way to deter Kim Jong Un” than by procuring nuclear weapons of its own.
Tags: Ally, Crossroads, Daydream, Dead end, Defense, Denuclearization, Kim, Korean Herald, North Korea, Nuclear weapons, Partner, Protect, Seoul, South Korea, Trust, U.S., Unreliable
Reuters (July 15)
“Toyota and Hyundai Motor may have a beef with U.S. protectionism, but they have one thing in common with President Donald Trump: when it comes to global car markets, it’s America first for Asia’s legacy automakers.” With the outlook “upended” by Trump’s tariffs, the U.S. still “remains by far the most important market for Japan’s Toyota, South Korea’s Hyundai and Asian rivals including Honda and Nissan. North America accounts for at least 40% of the revenue at both Toyota and Hyundai.”
Tags: Car markets, Honda, Hyundai, Japan, Legacy automakers, Nissan, Outlook, Protectionism, South Korea, Tariffs, Toyota, Trump, U.S., Upended
South China Morning Post (February 24)
“South Korea is lagging behind or matching China in ‘basic competency’ in five areas of semiconductor technology, including memory chips and artificial intelligence (AI) chips, according to a report released last week by the Korea Institute of Science & Technology Evaluation and Planning.” China has now “surpassed South Korea to rank second in memory chip technologies” and “is now only behind the US in this field.” All of this comes despite “US restrictions on the country’s access to advanced chips and chipmaking technologies.”
Tags: Access, Advanced, AI, China, Chips, Competency, Lagging, Memory, Restrictions, Semiconductor technology, South Korea, Surpassed, U.S.
Bloomberg (December 4)
President Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law “sparked chaos… sending the won and South Korea-related exchange-traded funds sharply lower overnight. While extreme jitters dissipated as financial authorities swiftly vowed to provide ‘unlimited liquidity,’ damage has been done to investor perception of South Korea’s financial markets.” The episode is “a setback to the nation’s ongoing push for upgrades to developed market status in global indexes.”
Tags: Chaos, Damage, ETFs, Financial authorities, Financial markets, Global indexes, Investor perception, Jitters, Martial law, South Korea, Status, Unlimited liquidity, Won, Yoon
Wall Street Journal (September 18)
“The Federal Reserve’s rate cut Wednesday sounded the all-clear for overseas central banks that are also concerned about their domestic economic growth.” Some major central banks like the BoE and ECB, already beat the Fed in cutting rates, but “there are a number of others, including in India, South Korea and South Africa, that have held back. And the Fed’s move could encourage them to take the plunge.”
Tags: All-clear, BOE, Central banks, ECB, Economic growth, Encourage, Fed, India, Overseas, Plunge, Rate cut, South Africa, South Korea
WARC (May 3)
“Political leaders in France and the US have been publicly critical of companies for making products smaller while maintaining the existing price, but South Korea’s government is one of the first to legislate against it.” The Korea Fair Trade Commission “will now require producers that downsize products to put notices on packages, websites, or at stores for the three months following the change.”
Tags: Companies, Critical, Downsize, France, FTC, Legislate, Notices, Packages, Political leaders, Price, Products, Smaller, South Korea, Stores, U.S., Websites
Time (March 1)
“Until the 1970s, women in the most prosperous Asian economies like South Korea, Japan, and China were having more than five children on average. Today, that trend is starkly different.” And not just in Asia. Globally, “fertility rates have decreased worldwide” for seven decades. “Even in the most advanced economies, the rate is now 1.6 children per couple, compared to the recommended rate of 2.1 for countries wanting to keep a steady population without any migration.”
Tags: 1970s, Advanced economies, Asia, Asia. Fertility rates, Children, China, Japan, Migration, Population, Prosperous, South Korea, Steady, Women
