South Korea

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South Korea Seeks Equal Tariff Relief Amid New US Semiconductor Measures

Jan. 19, 2026 | Geopolitics & Defense

South Korea is engaging with the United States over newly announced semiconductor tariffs, seeking to protect its leading memory chip industry and secure treatment comparable to Taiwan’s.

**Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo assessed that the first tranche of US semiconductor tariffs, unveiled on January 14, 2026, will have limited direct impact on Korean firms.**
The initial 25 percent levy targets advanced AI chips from Nvidia and AMD but explicitly excludes memory chips, the primary export of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. President Trump’s proclamation likewise focuses on Nvidia AI semiconductors imported from Taiwan and re-exported to China and other markets, although South Korean high-bandwidth memory embedded in those products faces scrutiny despite the tariff’s stated scope.

**At the January 16 groundbreaking of Micron’s New York facility, US Commerce Secretary Howard Rutnik warned that major memory chip producers must build US manufacturing capacity or face tariff increases up to 100 percent.**
He stated that companies will either pay full tariffs on imported memory semiconductors or shift production stateside. While he did not name specific firms, industry observers interpret this message as targeting South Korean and Taiwanese leaders in global semiconductor output.

**Last month the United States and Taiwan finalized a trade agreement granting Taiwanese chipmakers structured exemptions designed to encourage foreign direct investment in US fabs.**
During plant construction, imports up to 2.5 times new capacity enter tariff-free, and after startup up to 1.5 times capacity remains exempt. South Korea secured a “no less favorable treatment” commitment in the Korea–US Joint Fact Sheet but has yet to finalize equivalent tariff relief, using Taiwan’s terms as the benchmark for its negotiations.

**On January 18 the Blue House announced plans to consult with Washington under the “no less favorable treatment” principle, aiming to align Korean outcomes with those granted to Taiwan.**
Policy chief Kim Yong-beom is coordinating with relevant ministries to develop countermeasures, drawing on prior assurances that South Korea’s semiconductor industry would not face stricter treatment than other economies. At the same time, Seoul is monitoring US reviews of critical mineral imports tied to broader supply-chain diversification goals and maintaining continuous high-level dialogue to clarify the timing and scope of any second phase of tariffs.

South Korea Advances Dokpamo AI Project With New Consortium Call and Revised Evaluation Criteria

Jan. 19, 2026 | Technology & Innovation

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT has set the stage for the next phase of its Dokpamo AI foundation model project by announcing first-stage results and opening a call for an additional consortium.

**On January 15, 2026, the ministry released the first-stage evaluation for Dokpamo, the national initiative to develop an independent AI foundation model.**
LG AI Research, SK Telecom, and Upstage advanced to the second stage. Because only three teams moved forward instead of the planned four, the ministry invited all original applicants—eliminated teams and new entrants alike—to compete for the remaining slot.

**The evaluation combined benchmark testing, expert assessments, and real-user evaluations to measure model performance, cost efficiency, usability, and ecosystem impact.**
LG AI Research led every category and earned the top composite score of 90.2 points, receiving the highest marks from both experts and end users.

**Naver Cloud, initially ranked among the top four, fell foul of the ministry’s originality rules.**
Its foundation model relied on a non-updatable external encoder tied to a Chinese AI system, violating the requirement that teams develop models from fully initialized and optimized weights. As a result, the ministry disqualified Naver Cloud’s entry as an independent model.

The consortium chosen through the second-chance recruitment will receive the same support as the other advancing teams, including GPU access, data resources, and designation as a “K-AI company.” Naver Cloud and NC AI both confirmed they will not reapply, while other original applicants and companies such as Kakao and KT are reportedly considering participation in the new call.

**For the second-stage evaluation, the ministry refined its criteria to emphasize objective performance, technical capability, and practical industrial usability.**
While maintaining the three core pillars—benchmark testing, expert review, and user evaluation—it increased the weight on efficiency and usability over sheer model size. The revised framework also addresses past concerns about technological originality and open-source usage, incorporating feedback from academia, industry, and domain experts.

**Vice Minister Ryu Je-myung said the ministry has evolved project criteria and evaluation procedures in consultation with participating teams.**
He pointed to ongoing adjustments in benchmarking methods, evaluation items, and scoring rules to ensure clarity and flexibility, keep pace with rapid global AI developments, and avoid the issues encountered in the initial phase.

**SK Telecom’s consortium tied with LG AI Research for first place in Phase 1 with its A.X K1 foundation model, which features over 519 billion parameters.**
The team plans to expand its training data, add multimodal capabilities—starting with document image recognition and summarization—and integrate voice and video processing in the second half of 2026. Supported languages will include Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish.

**Development of A.X K1 involves eight core partners—SKT, Krafton, 42dot, Rebellion, Liner, Selectstar, Seoul National University, and KAIST—alongside new collaborations with KAIST’s AI Graduate School and SNU’s Department of Mathematical Sciences.**
SK Group affiliates such as SK Hynix, SK Innovation, SK AX, and SK Broadband, as well as roughly 20 other institutions including the Korea Higher Education Foundation and the Choi Jong-hyun Academy, will adopt and deploy the model.

**NC AI, eliminated in the first-stage evaluation, confirmed it will not participate in the revival round.**
The company said it will focus on its existing base model and consortium partnerships to advance industry-specific AI and physical AI technologies, contributing to developments in the nation’s industrial sector.

Monitored Intelligence for South Korea - Jan. 19, 2026

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HD Hyundai's Avikus to supply autonomous navigation system to 40 HMM vessels

Korea Herald | English | News | Jan. 19, 2026 | UndeterminedTech Development/Adoption

HD Hyundai's autonomous shipping unit Avikus has secured a contract to supply its HiNAS Control autonomous navigation system to 40 vessels operated by HMM, marking the largest single order for the system. The agreement, signed at HD Hyundai’s Global Research and Development Center in Seongnam, involves collaboration among HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Avikus, and HMM.

HiNAS Control is distinguished by its comprehensive capabilities, including route recognition, decision support, and vessel control, surpassing rival systems that mainly assist navigation. It enhances maritime safety by selecting optimal routes and enabling autonomous navigation with minimal crew intervention. Additionally, the system improves fuel efficiency and addresses the issue of crew shortages in the global maritime workforce.

The three companies also committed to expanding cooperation on AI-powered autonomous navigation technologies to boost competitiveness in the shipbuilding and shipping sectors. Avikus will provide AI navigation programs, HMM will implement these systems on its vessels, and HD KSOE will offer technical support, aiming to develop next-generation autonomous ship technology.

실험실 벗어나 CES 장악한 ‘휴머노이드’…초기 주도권은 ‘중국’이 잡았다

Humanoids Break Out of the Laboratory to Dominate CES… China Takes Early Lead

Maekyung | Local Language | News | Jan. 19, 2026 | UndeterminedTech Development/Adoption

The global humanoid robot market entered a full-scale commercialization phase in 2025, with around 16,000 units installed worldwide. China accounted for over 80% of these installations, driven by rapid adoption in logistics, manufacturing, and automotive sectors. The top five manufacturers—AGIBOT, Unitree, UBTECH, Leju, and Tesla—dominated 73% of the market.

Shanghai-based AGIBOT, founded in 2023, emerged as the market leader with a 31% share by shipping over 5,000 units in 2025. Its success is attributed to high-quality manipulation datasets, an open-source strategy, and rapid product development, with deployments spanning hotels, entertainment, manufacturing, and logistics. Unitree secured second place with 27%, known for its dynamic motion control and self-balancing technology, highlighted at CES 2026 with its "G1" robot. UBTECH, third with over 5%, advances inter-robot collaboration using AI platforms, while Tesla entered the top five for the first time with about a 5% share, preparing for mass production of its Gen 3 model in 2026.

CES 2026 showcased multipurpose humanoid robots, signaling accelerated commercialization and capacity expansion focused in China. Products priced under $1,600 are boosting expectations for service-robot market growth, with some Chinese companies targeting consumer home models emphasizing affordability and human-friendly interaction. The Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model, led by Unitree and AGIBOT, is rapidly spreading, improving maintenance and operational efficiency, and lowering the total cost of ownership to ease robot adoption.

The cumulative installations of humanoid robots are projected to exceed 100,000 units by 2027, with logistics, manufacturing, and automotive sectors comprising over 70% of annual installations. As production costs decline and technology matures, the humanoid robot industry is expected to make a significant leap forward after 2026.

(LEAD) Banks join authorities to stem currency weakness

Yonhap | English | News | Jan. 19, 2026 | Regulation

South Korea's major commercial banks are collaborating with government foreign exchange authorities to address the recent weakening of the won. Measures include offering incentives for customers to sell U.S. dollars and reducing interest rates on foreign-currency deposits. Despite these efforts and verbal interventions, the won has hovered near 1,450 per dollar, with the rate at 1,473.6 per dollar as of Friday, pressured by a strong U.S. dollar, geopolitical risks, and robust overseas equity investments by local investors.

Authorities have urged banks to actively stabilize the foreign exchange market. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) plans to meet with major banks to discourage aggressive marketing of U.S. dollar and foreign currency deposits. The Bank of Korea recently reviewed foreign currency deposit reserve requirements and related interest rates with local banks and announced a temporary plan to pay interest on foreign currency reserves to enhance domestic dollar liquidity and support the won.

Banks, such as KB Kookmin and Woori, have introduced promotional events encouraging currency conversion to the won and lowered interest rates on dollar deposits to discourage holding foreign currency. Regulators are also focusing on insurers, as sales of dollar-denominated insurance products have surged, contributing to speculation and pressure on the won. The FSS, led by Governor Lee Chan-jin, has ordered financial firms to curb excessive marketing of such products and plans to review insurers' internal controls and conduct inspections if necessary.

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