Hyundai Motor & Kia Q2 2026 Actual Results: Tariffs and Warranty Costs Drag Profits Despite Record Revenue
Hyundai Motor Q2 2026 OP fell 20.8% to ₩2.85T, missing consensus. Kia OP down 4.9% on record ₩33T revenue. Tariffs, warranty costs bit hard. Both held FY2026 guidance.
EcoPro BM, Soulbrain and Aekyung Chemical Form Korea's First Integrated Sodium-Ion Alliance — Targeting CATL's USD 8.6B Market
Three Korean battery-material specialists — EcoPro BM, Soulbrain and Aekyung Chemical — formed the K-Sodium Alliance on July 26, creating Korea's first integrated sodium-ion battery material stack and positioning to compete with China's CATL in the USD 1.26B-8.64B SIB market.
Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong Meets OpenAI's Sam Altman at Silicon Valley HQ — AI Infrastructure and Chip Cooperation in Focus
Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met July 25 at OpenAI HQ, deepening Korea's first country-level APAC AI strategic partnership covering HBM, DRAM, foundry, and enterprise AI deployment.
SK Hynix Becomes Kioxia's Second-Largest Shareholder as Bain Capital Books USD 15B Exit — Japan's NAND Flagship Now Partly Owned by Korea's Memory Champion
Bain Capital exited Kioxia with ~USD 15B profit in July 2026. SK Hynix's 14% stake (worth ~USD 28.6B) now makes it Kioxia's second-largest shareholder after Toshiba, creating cross-ownership dynamics between Korea's memory champion and Japan's NAND flagship.
SK Group's Chey Tae-won Ordered to Pay Korea's Largest Divorce Settlement of ₩944B — Hynix Drops 8.3%, SK Square Falls 9.2%
Seoul High Court orders SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to pay ₩944 billion ($645.7M) cash to ex-wife Roh Soh-yeong — Korea's largest-ever divorce settlement. SK Hynix fell 8.34% and SK Square 9.17% on July 25. Cash-only ruling preserves Chey's 17.9% SK Inc. stake.
Lino Industrial (058470.KQ) Q1 2026: Net Profit Surges 38% as AI-Driven Test Demand Anchors 47% Operating Margin
Lino Industrial (058470.KQ) Q1 2026 analysis: revenue ₩99.8B +27.3% YoY, operating profit ₩47.3B +35.4% (47% margin), net profit ₩40.4B +37.7%. KOSDAQ's precision IC test socket leader benefits from AI chip complexity surge.
Korea Opens MASGA Shipbuilding Hub in Washington — HD Hyundai, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Target $150B U.S. Naval and LNG Push
Seoul formally launched the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC) on July 24 in Washington D.C., operationalizing the $150 billion MASGA investment commitment. Hanwha Ocean's $5 billion Philly Shipyard expansion, Samsung Heavy's ₩10 trillion Geoje upgrade, and a U.S. Navy RFI to all three Korean builders underscore the initiative's scale.
Hana Financial Group (086790.KS) Q2 2026: ₩1.17T Net Profit, H1 Record ₩2.30T, ₩200B Fresh Buyback
Hana Financial Group posted Q2 2026 provisional net profit of ₩1.1733 trillion (+13.4% YoY), with H1 cumulative earnings reaching a record ₩2.301 trillion. The group announced an additional ₩200B share buyback and quarterly dividend of ₩913/share, while CET1 expanded to 13.39%.
Kia Q2 2026 Profit Drops 24% as $570M U.S. Tariff Bill Wipes Out Record Revenue Gains
Kia (000270.KS) Q2 2026 preliminary earnings show revenue of ₩32.4T (+10.3% YoY) with operating profit declining ~24% YoY to ~₩2.6T as a ₩786B ($570M) U.S. tariff impact offset strong hybrid and BEV momentum.
U.S. Imposes 12.5% Forced-Labor Tariff on South Korea — Semiconductors and Autos Escape as KOSPI Falls 3% on Iran War Risk
USTR enacted 12.5% Section 301 forced-labor tariffs on South Korea effective July 25, but semiconductors, automobiles and steel are explicitly excluded. KOSPI fell 2.96% to 6,886.56 as Iran war fears — not the tariff announcement — drove the selloff.
JB Financial (175330.KS) Sets Record H1 Profit of ₩385.7B — Highest-Ever Dividend and ₩100B Buyback Signal Value-Up Breakthrough
JB Financial Group (175330.KS) reported record Q2 2026 net profit of ₩219.6 billion, up 5.7% YoY, with H1 profit reaching a record ₩385.7B. The board declared the highest-ever quarterly dividend of ₩314 per share and authorized ₩100B in treasury share buybacks, signaling strong Value-Up execution ahead of potential BNK Financial merger negotiations.
Geely Wins EU Factory via Ford's Spain JV — Korean Batteries Exit, Hyundai and Kia Face Localized Chinese Rival
Ford (66%) and Geely (34%) launch a manufacturing JV at Valencia, Spain — giving Geely its first EU factory while deepening pressure on Korean battery makers (LGES, SK On) and Korean automakers (Hyundai, Kia) in Europe.