Global Scans · South Korea · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: South Korea may go nuclear if Trump cancels the missile deployment and leaves the country alone facing the North's threats. With the President facing an impeachment vote and mass demonstrations on the streets political and economic turmoil may follow. Chinese markets has already shaken South Korea, where central bankers downgraded their forecasts for economic growth.

• [New] Asia-Pacific, Japan, and South Korea: Largest Regional Market and Fastest Strategic Growth Region Asia-Pacific was the largest regional market in 2025 with US$ 24,980 million and is projected to reach US$ 49,150 million by 2032. openpr
• [New] South Korea is expanding from US$ 2,740 million in 2025 to US$ 5,290 million by 2032, supported by cloud modernization, advanced digital consumers, and stronger privacy oversight. openpr
• [New] Asia-Pacific will deliver the strongest long-term growth because of China's scale, Japan's regulatory discipline, and South Korea's structured validation programs. openpr
• [New] Among the target countries with published values, South Korea shows one of the fastest expansion profiles, rising from US$ 0.05 billion in 2025 to US$ 0.54 billion by 2032, supported by the K-UAM Grand Challenge, digital infrastructure, and national validation work. openpr
• [New] Not only does the MOLIT aim to demonstrate the potential of AI to transform city management systems, but it also showcases how South Korea's AI-based urban technologies actually work. Coingeek
• [New] South Korea's consumer confidence reading will be closely watched for signs of strain on households. financialpost
• [New] South Korea has agreed to purchase 18 million barrels of crude oil from Kazakhstan using alternative transport routes, in a calculated effort to reduce exposure to geopolitical disruption in the Middle East. The Astana Times
• [New] South Korea's semiconductor industry has secured 4-6 months of helium inventory, preventing immediate supply disruption despite geopolitical tensions. Transpire Insight
• [New] The Incheon Metropolitan Government in South Korea is accepting applications for the second round of its 2026 Social Economy Growth Support Programme, which will select approximately 30 social economy enterprises for tailored business development support. SEWF
• [New] South Korea has developed a well-defined framework - its K-UAM Initiative - that could see urban passenger operations in the next two years through companies such as Eve Air Mobility and Archer Aviation, and other jurisdictions in Asia, the Middle East and North America are poised to take flight. Skies Mag
• [New] Guyang-ri serves as the national prototype for South Korea's rapidly expanding solar income village programme, which aims to reach 2,500 villages by 2030. The Guardian
• [New] South Korea is ranked seventh, driven by an urgent national mandate to integrate unmanned mass into its ground forces to counter regional asymmetric threats. Ronin's Grips Analytics
• [New] Replenishing the munitions inventory will certainly take time and money, as will the redeployment of weapons systems back to South Korea. The Diplomat
• [New] LG Electronics, South Korea's second-largest appliance maker after Samsung, projected record first-quarter revenue of 23.73 trillion won.
• [New] Japan and South Korea not only agreed to invest $550 billion and $350 billion, respectively, they also signed separate memoranda of understanding stipulating that a failure to fulfill investment commitments could result in a reimposition of higher tariffs. Council on Foreign Relations
• [New] South Korea approves a three-year national road map to pivot from an ICT powerhouse to the world's top three artificial intelligence leader by 2028. Center for Strategic and International Studies
• [New] Scope 3 emissions disclosure is expected beginning in 2031, after related calculation and estimation infrastructure is established. / South Korea Mondaq
• [New] Envision Energy and LOTTE chemical Envision has delivered the world's first end-to-end commercial renewable ammonia shipment to LOTTE Fine Chemical in South Korea, marking a major milestone for international trade in renewable hydrogen and derivatives. LinkedIn
• The redeployment of THAAD batteries away from South Korea creates a precedent for alliance resource competition that the PLARF could deliberately exploit by timing a Taiwan contingency to coincide with, or immediately follow, a period of sustained allied inventory drawdown elsewhere. Drone Warfare

Last updated: 29 April 2026