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] South Korea's Financial Services Commission will introduce a minimum core capital ratio for insurers from 2027 under the Korean Insurance Capital Standard, a move that will affect solvency metrics and capital planning for domestic carriers and regional groups with Korean operations. Insurance Business
• [New] The task force has said its work will focus on modernizing rules for crypto service providers, tightening inspections of non-compliant exchanges, and aligning South Korea more closely with international standards, such as the Financial Action Task Force's travel rule. The Cool Down
• [New] South Korea / stablecoin & spot-ETF push - the 2026 growth plan signals an accelerated Phase-2 digital-asset legislative drive-expect a stablecoin framework and moves to enable spot crypto ETFs, which will raise on-shore licensing and bank-involvement checks for counterparties. Continuum
• [New] South Korea's interest could be welcomed in Moscow, even given Seoul's participation in sanctions, as Russia seeks to demonstrate that the Arctic route remains internationally relevant beyond China. High North News
• [New] South Korea hosts about 28,500 US troops in combined defence against North Korea's military threat and Seoul has raised its defence budget by 7.5% for 2026. The Guardian
• [New] After securing more power in the international diplomatic stage, South Korea will have more opportunities to join or create a multilateral framework and come up with a creative solution on North Korea issues. The Diplomat
• [New] South Korea's live-fire testing of improvised anti-drone cages on K2 Black Panther tanks signals that even technologically advanced militaries are adopting low-cost passive defences against the proliferating threat of top-attack FPV drones and loitering munitions. Drone Warfare
• [New] South Korea's longer-term policy goal of achieving 100% electric new vehicle sales by 2040 is affecting how insurers price and structure motor products. Insurance Business
• [New] South Korea will pursue pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interests. The Asia Cable
• [New] South Korea has already entered a decade-long beta bet that will determine whether funnelling public money into the neo-Keynesian military-industrial complex could bring both military strength and long-term economic growth. COLUMBIA POLITICAL REVIEW
• By 2043, Japan's population may drop to less than 100 million, and South Korea's may drop to less than 40 million. Valdai Club
• The Western System, led by the United States, Europe, Taiwan, and South Korea, will continue to drive bleeding-edge technology. MIT Initiative for New Manufacturing Substack
• South Korea's Samsung is expanding AI chip production, and Europe, through its European Chips Act, aims to double its share of global semiconductor manufacturing by 2030. The Geopolitics
• Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan are expected to have the highest share of older people by 2050. Aon
• Life DWP in South Korea is projected to rise from KRW 188.2 trillion (US$ 140.2 billion) in 2025 to KRW 234.3 trillion (US$ 174.4 billion) in 2030, implying a CAGR of 4.5% between 2025 and 2030. Insurance Business
• General insurance direct written premiums (DWP) in South Korea will increase from KRW 33.7 trillion (US$ 25.1 billion) in 2025 to more than KRW 39.1 trillion (US$ 29.1 billion) by 2029. Insurance Business
• South Korea's Financial Services Commission has approved changes to insurance business supervisory regulations that will gradually extend the payout period for insurance sales commissions to as long as seven years and link a larger share of remuneration to policy maintenance. Insurance Business
• Motor gross written premiums will reach KRW 25 trillion (US$ 18.6 billion) by 2029, up from a projected KRW 20.9 trillion (US$ 15.6 billion) in 2025, implying a compound annual growth rate of around 4.5%. / South Korea Insurance Business

Last updated: 28 January 2026