ANDYLISM Business Insight

 South Korea built its modern economy by repeatedly identifying strategic industries and scaling them faster than many of its competitors. Shipbuilding, automobiles, semiconductors, displays and batteries all played important roles in transforming the country from a relatively poor economy into one of the world's leading manufacturing powers. Now South Korea is preparing for another industrial transition. AI generated image This time, the focus is increasingly moving toward three interconnected areas: artificial intelligence, robotics and advanced nuclear energy, including small modular reactors (SMRs). The strategy is not simply about creating a few successful technology companies. It reflects a much larger question facing South Korea: What will replace the growth model that powered the country for the past several decades? With an aging population, a shrinking workforce and intensifying competition from China, the United States and Japan, South Korea needs new industries c...

 Samsung Electronics could overtake SK Hynix and become the world’s largest supplier of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, in 2027, according to a new forecast from global investment bank UBS. AI-generated image SK Hynix is expected to maintain its leadership position in 2026. However, UBS believes Samsung’s rapid expansion in next-generation HBM4 production could change the market rankings as early as next year. According to the UBS forecast, the global HBM market shares based on bit shipments in 2027 could be: Samsung Electronics: 41% SK Hynix: 39% Micron Technology: 20% The projection suggests that the gap between Samsung and SK Hynix could become extremely narrow, with Samsung taking the lead by only two percentage points. SK Hynix Is Expected to Remain No. 1 in 2026 UBS expects SK Hynix to account for approximately 48% of global HBM bit shipments in 2026, allowing the company to retain its position as the market leader this year. SK Hynix has established a strong competitive posit...

 What if a semiconductor company could keep roughly 7,600 won in operating profit for every 10,000 won in sales? SK Hynix achieved exactly that in the second quarter of 2026, reporting a record operating margin of 76%. Strong demand for high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, combined with sharp price increases in conventional DRAM and NAND flash memory, pushed the Korean chipmaker to another historic quarterly performance. AI generated image SK Hynix Reports Record Quarterly Earnings According to the company’s preliminary earnings report, SK Hynix posted the following results for the second quarter of 2026: Revenue: 79.32 trillion won Operating profit: 60.54 trillion won Operating margin: 76% Year-over-year revenue growth: 257% Year-over-year operating profit growth: 557% Revenue increased by 51% from the previous quarter, while operating profit jumped by 61%. The company’s cumulative revenue for the first half of 2026 reached 131.90 trillion won, surpassing 100 trillion ...

 South Korea is making a new investment in the future  of its cultural industries. T AI-generated image  he Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Financial Services  Commission have announced plans to create a 150 billion won fund,  equivalent to approximately $108 million, to support artificial intelligence,  intellectual property and content companies. Called the K-Culture Value-Up Fund, the public-private investment vehicle is  designed to help Korean cultural content grow into larger global businesses. The initiative reflects an important change in South Korea’s cultural strategy. The government is no longer focusing only on producing individual films, dramas, songs or games. It also wants to support the technologies, intellectual properties and companies that can build global businesses around Korean content. What Is the K-Culture Value-Up Fund? The K-Culture Value-Up Fund is a public-private investment program targeting companies involv...

 Senior leaders from Samsung, SK Group and Naver are reportedly preparing to meet Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in Silicon Valley, potentially bringing together some of the most important companies in the global artificial intelligence supply chain. AI-generated image  The gathering is reportedly being considered for July 24. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei may also participate, although neither the meeting schedule nor the final list of attendees has been officially confirmed. Why the Potential Meeting Matters If the meeting takes place as reported, it could bring together leaders representing several essential layers of the AI industry. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are major producers of advanced memory chips, including high-bandwidth memory, or HBM. Nvidia dominates the global market for AI accelerators, while Naver operates AI models, cloud services and data-center infrastructure in South Korea. ▲ Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, ...