Thoughts on Korean Business by Don Southerton

  Wednesday, July 15, 2026 Listen to the audio version TOP STORY USTR's proposed Section 301 forced-labor tariffs (10-12.5%) on 60 economies, including Korea, are testing the bilateral trade deal. Seoul is pressing Washington to keep any new action inside the existing framework that capped reciprocal tariffs at 15% in exchange for Korea's $350B US investment pledge. TRADE & TARIFF Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo urged the US to resolve the USTR forced-labor probe and future disputes within the boundaries of the Korea-US deal rather than as standalone actions. Commerce Secretary Lutnick said he wants Samsung and SK Hynix to build plants in the US, raising the stakes on how Korea's $350B commitment gets allocated domestically vs. stateside. SECTOR WATCH Semiconductors: SK Hynix completed a Nasdaq ADR listing this month, one of the largest US share sales this year, riding the AI memory boom; the inflows from the conversion helped strengthen KRW this week. Samsung de...

  Listen to the audio version   FEATURE · PIECES Magazine Interview Don Southerton — Leadership That Earns Trust Inside Two Systems PIECES Magazine (CoreAxis Lab) just published a Q&A with Don on cross-cultural, cross-border leadership. The through-line: global expansion doesn't succeed on how rigidly a company holds its headquarters' playbook, but on how fast and accurately it adapts to local realities. The rarest advantage is the ability to be trusted inside both systems at once. "The companies that struggle are usually the ones trying to run the local operation on headquarters' timing and assumptions rather than adapting to how business actually gets done on the ground." Three takeaways: The real barrier isn't language or market knowledge: it's speed of adaptation to local decision-making and trust structures. The home-market playbook that built success: cadence, reporting lines, how authority is set, is exactly what a team reads differently. The le...

    Listen to the audio version Headline:  A July 24 tariff still looms as the 10 percent global Section 122 tariffs expire and USTR races to replace them with new Section 301 measures. Korea sits among 16 economies in the parallel excess-capacity probe. Top Story The Section 122 tariffs that set a 10 percent floor on most US imports expire July 24, and USTR wants replacement measures in place by then. Steel, aluminum, autos, and semiconductors ride on separate authority, so do Korea's 15 percent auto, but Korea remains one of 16 jurisdictions in the Section 301 excess-capacity probe. Sector Watch Semiconductors: SK Hynix began trading Nasdaq ADRs on July 10 and is committing 100 trillion won to domestic fabs, with the M17 plant targeted for first-half 2029. Samsung and SK Hynix are both scaling memory output for AI demand after an early-July chip selloff clipped both stocks.  Global: the memory duo still powers roughly two-thirds of the world's memory chips, keeping...

  Listen to the audio version Sunday, July 12, 2026  · Bridging Culture Worldwide​ One theme all week: Korea keeps going big at home, and the domestic mega-pledges could draw fresh U.S. pressure to build stateside. The five deals that mattered: $201.7B home investment wave —   Hanwha , Hyundai , Samsung , and SK will pour 312 trillion won into the Yeongnam region for AI , robotics , and chips $522B chip flashpoint —  Samsung and SK's record 800 trillion won plan for Korea's chip belt is now a possible test of the U.S. relationship, and could revive President Trump's threat of up to 100% tariffs on chipmakers that don't build in the U.S. Record exports —  June exports hit $102.25B (+70.9% YoY) — Korea joins Germany, the U.S., and China as the only nations ever to clear $100B in a month. Chip exports nearly tripled to $44.82B. Tariff clock —  The 10% Section 122 tariff expires ~July 24; and KITA is asking the USTR to cut a planned 12.5% Section 301 rate. ...

  By Don Southerton • May 2026 • 94 pages Hyundai is no longer a fast follower; it has become a game-changer. In this 4th edition, I trace how one of the world’s most competitive companies reinvented itself under Executive Chairman Euisun Chung : from the founder’s raw entrepreneurial drive, through a global quality revolution, to today’s bold bets on EVs , autonomous vehicles , robotics , and hydrogen . At the center is a framework I call “ work funneling ,” the chaebol strategy that lets Hyundai enter new markets, create captive demand, and reach profitability faster than Western rivals can react. Whether you’re a business leader, investor, dealer, or new to the Hyundai organization, this book gives you the context and the framework to understand where Hyundai has been and where it’s going. Available on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H21WLCG7

  Korea-US- Global Briefing — Fri Jul 10 SK Hynix debuts on Nasdaq as Washington presses Korean chipmakers to build US memory capacity Listen to the audio version TOP STORY SK Hynix begins trading American depositary receipts on Nasdaq today, bringing the trillion-dollar Korean memory leader directly to US investors. The debut lands one day after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick publicly pressed SK Hynix and Samsung to expand memory production in the US, putting Korea’s two chip giants at the center of both Wall Street and Washington this week. TRADE & TARIFF Speaking at Micron ’s fab ceremony in Clay, New York, Lutnick said he wants Samsung and SK Hynix to build memory plants in the US to ease the AI-driven chip shortage . The pressure collides with the two firms’ recently announced 800 trillion won plan for four new fabs at home, a tension worth watching as trade-deal implementation talks continue. KOREAN CORPORATE TRACKER SK Hynix’s US footprint anchors the ADR story : ...