Korea's Lee administration is using a strong legislative majority to move fast on four sectors it wants to define the next decade. This edition of the GR Korea newsletter covers what is happening in each.
Korea's semiconductor edge now comes from a single high-value product, HBM. SK Hynix controls roughly 62% of global HBM market share and posted a 49% operating margin in 2025. January semiconductor exports hit $20.54 billion, up 102.7% year-on-year. Three major laws passed in twelve months (the K-Chips Act, the Semiconductor Special Act, and the Korea-US Strategic Investment Special Act) now embed government support into statute through 2036. At CES 2026, Korean firms won 60% of all Innovation Awards, and 81.5% of those winners were SMEs, not chaebols.
Defense exports reached an estimated $24 billion in 2025, nine times the 2021 level. The Cheongung-II missile defense system posted a 96% intercept rate in UAE combat deployment during the Israel-Iran War, triggering emergency procurement from Gulf states and new interest across the region. Korea can deliver in roughly 18 months at 20-40% lower cost than Western suppliers, with no end-use restrictions. The government is targeting the world's fourth-largest arms exporter by 2030.
Biohealth exports hit a record $27.9 billion in 2025, with the sector projected to grow 20-21% in 2026 against a global rate of roughly 5%. Telemedicine formalization takes effect in December, drug pricing reform arrives in the second half of the year, and Eli Lilly and Roche have each committed roughly $500 million in investment.
The KOSPI surged 44% through late February 2026, pushing total market cap past $3.76 trillion and past France as the world's ninth-largest market. Three Commercial Act amendments targeting fiduciary duty, audit independence, and treasury share cancellation are designed to redirect household savings from real estate into equities.
Find the full analysis in our newsletter below.
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| GR Korea Newsletter_At the Global Frontier: Inside Korea's Four Strategic Sectors_March 2026 | 632.89 KB |
