Tag: Don Southerton
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Korea-US Trade & Investment Briefing — Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Headline: Seoul pivots to record domestic investment. Top Story Under President Lee’s push to keep capital at home, the majors have unveiled large domestic programs: Samsung ~450 trillion won (5-yr), SK ~128 trillion won (through 2028), Hyundai 125 trillion won (2026–2030). The signal: protect Korean R&D and fabs even as the US deal calls for…
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Korea-US Trade & Investment Briefing — Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Headline: Seoul holds the line on the 15% tariff cap as chip duties loom; Korean biopharma and semiconductor ties with the US deepen. 🎧 Listen to the audio version: https://bridgingculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2026-06-16_Daily_Briefing.mp3 Top Story. Korea’s trade ministry reaffirmed that US tariffs on Korean goods will not exceed the 15% ceiling agreed last year, even as Washington’s new…
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Korea-US Briefing, Thursday, June 11, 2026
Headline: Won slides, even as record chip exports power Korea’s trade Top Story The won weakened, near its softest levels in over a decade, even as semiconductors continue to drive record export performance. June chip exports hit an all-time high of ~$14.97B (up 11.6% YoY), with memory exports topping $10B for the first time as…
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Korea-US Briefing — Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Headline: US reaffirms the 15 percent tariff ceiling for Korea Top Story Following Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo’s meeting with USTR Jamieson Greer in Paris, Washington confirmed no tariffs beyond the levels agreed in last year’s bilateral deal (15 percent, down from 25, in exchange for Korea’s $350 billion investment pledge). Trade & Tariff Effective June…
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Korea-US Trade & Investment Briefing
Tuesday, June 9, 2026 Headline Nvidia’s 260,000-chip Korea supply deal anchors the AI buildout. Top Story Korea’s Industry and Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan said he received renewed US confirmation that tariffs on Korea will not exceed the agreed 15%, holding an emergency meeting to calm market jitters. The reassurance matters because semiconductors and pharma carry…
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Korea-US Week in Review, June 1-5, 2026
Korea spent the week cementing its place at the center of the global AI-hardware stack while locking down the most important number in the trade file: a 15% tariff ceiling. Not to mention, Nvidia's Jensen Huang touring Seoul to court the chaebol on AI chips and data centers. Top Stories 1. Huang's Seoul Tour Puts…
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The Signature Paradox: Why Korean Partners Hesitate, and What Korean Law Actually Says
Bridging Culture Worldwide | Client Advisory Over more than twenty years working with Korean companies, I have repeatedly run into what I call the paradox. Korean partners are enthusiastic about a collaboration, have invested months building the relationship, and clearly see the mutual benefit. Yet when it comes time to sign agreed-upon documents they hesitate,…