1. Semiconductors

SK Hynix raised approximately 37 trillion won (roughly $27bn) on July 10th through an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) listing on the Nasdaq. The proceeds are earmarked for construction of a semiconductor cluster in Yongin and an advanced packaging facility in Cheongju. Days earlier, on the 7th, Samsung Electronics reported preliminary second-quarter results of 171 trillion won in revenue and 89.4 trillion won in operating profit — a near-nineteenfold surge year-on-year and the highest operating profit ever recorded by the company. Analysts attributed the blowout figures to surging demand for memory chips used in artificial-intelligence servers.

2. Circuit Boards

Samsung Electro-Mechanics topped the brand-reputation rankings for listed electronics-equipment companies in July (surveyed June 10th–July 10th), with its index score jumping 78.98% from the previous month. Meanwhile, LG Innotek broke ground this month on a semiconductor substrate plant in Haiphong, Vietnam — covering RF-SiP, FC-CSP, and FC-BGA products — with completion scheduled for May next year. Demand for FC-BGA substrates used in AI servers is running well ahead of supply, prompting both companies to accelerate capacity expansion in Vietnam.

3. Internet

Market forecasts published on the 7th suggest that both Naver and Kakao are on track for solid second-quarter results. Analysts' consensus estimates put Naver's revenue at 3.35 trillion won and operating profit at 572.7 billion won, up 14.8% and 9.8% respectively year-on-year. For Kakao, the consensus calls for revenue of 2.06 trillion won and operating profit of 223.4 billion won, up 1.4% and 20.1% respectively. Nevertheless, brokerages have trimmed their price targets for Kakao, and sentiment toward the two companies diverges notably over the question of how quickly each can monetise its AI investments in the second half.

4. Renewable Energy

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced on the 10th that it will develop 700MW of battery energy storage systems (BESS) to alleviate grid-connection bottlenecks for solar power in the Honam region and Jeju Island.

6. Shipbuilding

Reports on the 7th indicated that Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries have lost out to Germany's thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) in the race to become preferred bidder for Canada's patrol submarine project (CPSP), a contract valued at up to 20 trillion won (or as much as 60 trillion won including maintenance and support).

7. Defence

President Lee Jae-myung and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte met in Türkiye on the 7th and formally announced the opening of negotiations on a Basic Procurement Agreement between South Korea and NATO. The deal is expected to serve as a gateway into NATO's defence procurement market, which is worth some 15 trillion won annually. South Korea's Ministry of National Defence also convened a Korea–ASEAN Defence Industry Cooperation Conference in Bangkok on the 9th, activating channels for defence and logistics collaboration with South-East Asian nations.

8. Nuclear Energy

South Korea, the United States and Japan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on the sidelines of the NATO summit on the 7th, committing to support the adoption of small modular reactors (SMRs) across Indo-Pacific countries. The agreement is expected to open new overseas opportunities for South Korean SMR-related companies, including Doosan Enerbility.

9. K-Pop

(G)I-DLE made their comeback on the 6th with their ninth mini-album, *We Made*. A third-quarter comeback calendar released on the 8th confirmed a string of forthcoming activities this month, including solo projects from TXT's Yeonjun and Monsta X's Kihyun, as well as Japan-focused schedules for aespa, ILLIT, and ATEEZ.

10. Retail

The three dominant South Korean department-store groups — Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai — launched their summer sales from June 26th to July 12th, offering discounts of up to 40–50% and spotlighting cooling bedding and wet-season functional clothing. Separately, reporting on the 8th noted that the pop-up store market has tripled in size over two years, spreading beyond the fashionable Seongsu-dong district in Seoul to venues across the country.

11. Hotels

The Shilla Seoul has been named South Korea's top hotel for the second consecutive year at the *La Liste* Hotel Awards 2026, announced in Paris on the 8th. The ranking covers more than 7,300 luxury hotels across over 200 countries.

12. Leisure

Hanatour topped the brand-reputation rankings for listed leisure companies in July (surveyed June 10th–July 10th). Paradise — a casino and resort operator — surged more than 55% in index score to claim second place, overtaking Kangwon Land, in what analysts read as a reflection of improving results across the casino and resort sector.