1. Semiconductors

SK Hynix listed American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq on 10th July, raising approximately $28 billion — the largest-ever US stock market listing by a foreign company. The shares trade under the ticker "SKHY". Proceeds will be channelled into expanding AI memory production capacity, including the company's semiconductor cluster in Yongin and advanced packaging facilities focused on high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

2. Internet

Coupang, South Korea's dominant e-commerce platform, announced on 10th July that it would rebrand its digital payments service from "Coupang Pay" to "Rocket Pay" and extend its reach to third-party merchants both online and offline. The relaunch is targeted for later this year. The move is set to turn what has been a three-way race — dominated by Naver Pay, Kakao Pay, and Toss Pay — into a four-way contest.

3. Renewable Energy

South Korea's Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced on 10th July a plan to install 700MW of battery energy storage systems (ESS) to relieve grid-connection bottlenecks affecting solar power in the Honam region and Jeju Island. Separately, LG Energy Solution said on 15th July that it would supply batteries to the "Steel River Energy Centre" project, a venture backed by Google and US renewable-energy independent power producer Cypress Creek Energy. The project has an initial capacity of around 2GWh, with operations targeted for 2029, and scope to expand to 2.9GWh.

4. Shipbuilding

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) and Samsung Heavy Industries both surpassed 70% of their full-year order targets within the first half of the year, according to reports on 13th July. HD KSOE secured an order for three very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) from a European shipowner, worth approximately 545.6 billion won, bringing it to 70.3% of its annual target of $23.31 billion. Samsung Heavy Industries reached 72% of its $13.9 billion target.

5. Defence

Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Systems, and Hanwha Ocean participated in World Defence Show (WDS) 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 8th to 12th July. On 10th July, Khaled Al-Biyari, the Saudi Deputy Minister of Defence for Executive Affairs, signed contracts directly with the chief executives of Hanwha Aerospace and three other companies at the event, marking a concrete step forward in defence export cooperation with the Middle East.

6. Nuclear Energy

Doosan Enerbility said on 10th July that supply contracts with US small modular reactor (SMR) developers — including NuScale Power, X-energy, and TerraPower — are gathering pace, supported by expanding trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States, and Japan. The company is also being discussed as a potential supplier of primary-circuit components, including reactor vessels and steam generators, should South Korea be confirmed as preferred bidder for the Czech nuclear power plant project.

7. Capital Markets

South Korea's financial regulators announced tightening measures on 16th July targeting single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) — products that offer up to three times the daily return of an individual share and have drawn heavy retail investor interest, amplifying market volatility. From 5th August, the minimum deposit required to trade these instruments will be raised to 30 million won and will apply to additional purchases by existing investors as well. New listings and promotional marketing will be temporarily suspended until markets stabilise. Liquidity providers will also face stricter controls on end-of-day price deviation: the permitted gap will narrow from 3% to 2% for domestic products and from 6% to 5% for foreign ones.

8. Leisure

The three casino operators in South Korea licensed exclusively to serve foreign visitors — Paradise, Lotte Tour Development, and Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) — reported an average 14% year-on-year increase in table drop (a measure of gross gambling turnover) for the second quarter, according to reports on 13th July. The positive mood quickly soured, however, when news emerged that the government is considering raising the ceiling on casino levy payments to the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund from 10% to 15% of revenue. When the proposal became public on 15th July, shares in Lotte Tour Development fell 14.6%, Paradise dropped 13.5%, and GKL declined 10.8%. If the increase is enacted, annual costs are estimated to rise by approximately 50 billion won for Paradise, 30 billion won for Lotte Tour Development, and 20 billion won for GKL, based on 2026 projections.