Weekly Supply Chain in Asia 2026-W27 (2026-06-25~2026-07-01)

Samsung Group and SK Group laid out long-term domestic investment plans that, together with the government’s announced amounts, approach KRW 5 quadrillion this week, aligned with the government’s “5-pole 3-special” regional development strategy for semiconductors, AI, and energy infrastructure. Elsewhere, South Korea is preparing a 24-hour foreign exchange market, and Samsung C&T is working on feasibility studies for small modular reactors in Poland.

This Week’s Events

The scale of capital deployment announced this week is unprecedented. Samsung Group and SK Group have laid out long-term domestic investment plans that, together with the government’s announced amounts, approach KRW 5 quadrillion. This capital is being channeled through a “5-pole 3-special” national balanced development strategy, which decentralizes industrial capabilities. Specifically, the government is focusing on semiconductor fabrication in the Honam region, advanced packaging in Chungcheong, and physical AI and data center infrastructure in Yeongnam. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are spearheading the construction of four new semiconductor fabrication plants in Gwangju with a combined investment of KRW 800 trillion, while SK Group, GS, and Naver are coordinating to build Gigawatt (GW)-class AI data centers nationwide, with plans to invest over KRW 1000 trillion by 2035. Samsung Group has committed to a total domestic investment of KRW 2655 trillion, while SK Group has outlined a total domestic investment of KRW 2100 trillion.

Elsewhere, Asian AI strategy is running in two directions at once this week. While SK Group is deepening its investment in U.S. AI infrastructure—evidenced by SK Telecom’s USD 480 million investment into a new U.S.-based AI investment corporation, bringing total committed funds to the entity to USD 11.01 billion—other Asian players are moving to build sovereign alternatives. As the U.S. export ban on models like Anthropic’s Mythos drags on, Tokyo-based Sakana AI has launched its Fugu model, and China’s 360 has unveiled its Tulongfeng tool. Sakana AI positions Fugu as a hedge strategy, a way to preserve access to frontier AI rather than replace it, and its spokesperson said U.S. models remain important to Asia.

Two infrastructure items also moved this week. Effective July 6, 2026, South Korea will transition to a 24-hour interbank foreign exchange market. The 24-hour market removes the time-zone bottleneck that has historically forced exporters and importers to manage overnight risk, and the Bank of Korea is building an offshore KRW settlement network. This reform is designed to integrate the KRW more deeply into global financial systems. By dispersing trade volume that previously concentrated at the market opening, the Bank of Korea projects a 41% reduction in morning market volatility. Simultaneously, Samsung C&T, Samsung Group’s construction-and-trading arm, is cooperating on feasibility studies for small modular reactors (SMRs) in Poland. Through a partnership with Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE), the project aims to construct 14 BWRX-300 units. OSGE has applied for a Contract for Difference (CfD) scheme, which sets a reference price to reduce the risk from fluctuating electricity trading prices.

In the manufacturing sector, South Korea is leveraging its mature automotive engineering base to capture new markets. Goldman Sachs projects that the nation will support 30% of global humanoid robot production by 2035 by repurposing automotive precision engineering expertise for robot actuators. The government plans to invest KRW 700 billion in 2026 to support this manufacturing alliance. This is complemented by equipment advancements like the new FC Bonder 3.5 from Hanmi Semiconductor, a South Korean maker of TC bonders used in HBM chip packaging, which addresses critical bottlenecks in 2.5D packaging for AI accelerators by supporting large dies and multi-chip integration. Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Group is gaining share in the U.S. market on high demand for its hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) lineup; the group is projected to capture an 11.7% U.S. market share in the first half of 2026, narrowing the gap with Ford.

Looking Ahead

Investors should monitor the progress of the Gwangju semiconductor fab construction and the rollout of the initial 8.4 GW phase of the nationwide AI data center project, which is scheduled for completion by 2029. Additionally, the market reception of the 24-hour foreign exchange market will be a critical bellwether for the stability of the KRW and the effectiveness of the new offshore settlement network. Finally, watch for the European Commission’s decision on the Polish SMR state aid application.