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 is the fastest-growing region at 26.5% CAGR, projected to exceed US$ 3,053.2 Mn by 2033, driven by Digital China, India's API Setu, industrial IoT adoption in Japan, and South Korea's high cloud / AI penetration. Persistence Market Research
• [New] All of South Korea's military forces will be trained as drone operators in a sweeping overhaul of its warfare strategy. The Guardian
• [New] In global green trade, the first shipment of green ammonia produced at Envision's Chifeng Net Zero Industrial Park was delivered to LOTTE Fine Chemical in South Korea, marking a milestone in the emergence of green oil as a global zero-carbon commodity. Cision PR Newswire
• [New] Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have increased coal procurement as a hedge against LNG disruptions, while additional support stems from reduced Indonesian domestic supply and a forecast super El Nino event lifting cooling demand in the Northern Hemisphere. Westpac IQ
• [New] The skeptical commentary identifies the risk Seoul would have to manage: a U.S.-DPRK process that prizes leader-level optics, election-year achievement, or partial threat reduction to the United States over South Korea's interest in denuclearization, extended deterrence, and alliance-based security. Fault Lines
• [New] The Middle East crisis is reaching South Korea through energy prices, shipping risk, and defence demand at the same time. Fault Lines
• [New] By 2030, 5G connections are expected to make up 95% of all mobile connections in South Korea, Canada, and the United States. IMARC Group
• [New] South Korea's Financial Services Commission is developing a small-business scoring model that uses Naver SmartStore transaction data and Naver Place local business ratings, shifting early-stage business lending away from simple income checks toward growth potential. Mordor Intelligence
• [New] South Korea has announced plans to deploy nuclear-powered submarines in the late 2030s. UPI
• [New] The IMF cut its 2026 growth forecast by 0.22%, the OECD said global GDP growth is expected to slow from 3.4% in 2025 to 2.8% in 2026, with many Asian countries, such as South Korea, India and Thailand, among the most exposed. Zero Carbon Analytics
• [New] Anthropic signed an MOU with South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT, committing to collaborate on AI safety and cybersecurity, model evaluation in the Korean language with the Korea AI Safety Institute, and information-sharing on AI-enabled cyber threats. Build Fast with AI
• [New] The Compression Threat: Breakthroughs in AI software efficiency, such as Google's TurboQuant, could fundamentally reduce the physical memory capacity required per server, potentially dampening long-term demand. / South Korea Bingx Exchange
• [New] Japan and South Korea face higher exposure to Gulf energy risks. Insurance Asia
• [New] South Korea's local elections outcomes in key swing provinces will indicate public approval of the Lee Jae Myung administration and ensure its policy momentum. American Enterprise Institute - AEI
• [New] For South Korea, the common pathway is exposure without control - Seoul must manage energy prices, shipping compliance, export risk, and alliance expectations generated by decisions made in Washington, Tehran, Moscow, Kiev, Brussels, and Beijing. Fault Lines
• [New] For South Korea, the regional risk is that U.S. allies are being asked to absorb more pressure around Hormuz while China watches for signs that coercion can divide U.S. commitments across theaters. Fault Lines
• [New] South Korea's geopolitical exposure acts as a constant drag on its Political Risk Index. PRS Group
• [New] South Korea will start checking returning travelers' mobile roaming history and data. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
• [New] Both South Korea and India are developing solar projects that will surpass the Dingzhuang project. BGR
• [New] The increased thermal coal assumptions for 2026 reflect geopolitical tensions and higher demand from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, as buyers have increased purchases to hedge against potential LNG supply disruptions, particularly benefiting Australian coal. petromindo
• [New] South Korea is projected to expand at 15.8%, benefiting from vertically integrated automotive electronics supply chains that support efficient production and faster technology deployment. FactMr
• There was a still a window of opportunity for Australia to dump Aukus and buy conventionally armed submarines from countries such as Japan, South Korea or Sweden without leaving a capability cap after the retirement of the Collins-class vessels. The Guardian

Last updated: 01 July 2026