SBS NEWS

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won Considers Setting Up Semiconductor Joint Venture in Japan Visiting Japan to attend the Korea-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry presidential meeting held in Sendai, Chairman Chey said in an interview with Bloomberg that he is reviewing the feasibility of a joint venture for memory chip production in Japan as one of the ways to meet surging artificial intelligence demand and reduce production costs. SBS Aug 31, 2026 3:07 PM

Fair Trade Commission Approves Hanwha's Acquisition of KAI Shares: "No Competition Restriction" The Fair Trade Commission announced today that it has approved the acquisition of KAI shares by Hanwha Aerospace and two other affiliates. SBS Aug 31, 2026 2:30 PM

BOK: Semiconductor Bonuses Fuel Spending on Homes in Dongtan and Teslas In a report released today titled "How Will Consumption Fare in Semiconductor-Benefited Regions?", the BOK stated, "The semiconductor industry boom is already having a meaningful, positive impact on domestic consumption, and as the scale of future bonus payouts grows, the ripple effect through consumption channels will expand further." To assess whether consumption is actually increasing due to the semiconductor boom, the BOK analyzed card spending in so-called "semiconductor-benefited regions": Giheung-gu in Yongin, Hwaseong, and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, where Samsung Electronics operates, and Icheon in Gyeonggi Province and Heungdeok-gu in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, home to SK Hynix. SBS Aug 31, 2026 1:38 PM

SME Count Jumps by 200,000, But Employment Edges Up by Just 7,000... 78% Are Solo Businesses According to the Basic SME Statistics released by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups today , the number of SMEs stood at 8,499,552 as of 2024, an increase of 200,637 from the previous year. SBS Aug 31, 2026 1:36 PM

BOK: Semiconductor Bonuses Drive Home Purchases in Dongtan and Purchases of Teslas In a report released today titled "How Will Consumption Be Affected in Semiconductor Beneficiary Regions?", the BOK stated that the semiconductor industry boom is already having a meaningful positive impact on domestic consumption, and that the ripple effect through consumption channels will expand further as bonus payments increase in scale. SBS Aug 31, 2026 12:35 PM

July Industrial Output and Consumption Stagnate, Facility Investment Jumps on Semiconductor Boom Industrial output remained similar to the previous month, while consumption showed a slowdown. SBS Aug 31, 2026 12:29 PM

Lee So-young, Nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups: 'Preventing a Repeat of 'Tada'… Easing Unreasonable Regulations' Lee So-young, nominee for Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated, "If appointed as minister, I will go beyond support policies for small and medium-sized enterprises and startups, and ease unreasonable regulations with the mindset of a minister for regulatory reform." On her way to work at the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency in Yeouido, Seoul, today , Nominee Lee met with reporters and said, "I will pour my capability and drive into reflecting on our regulatory approach itself." She further emphasized, "I will ensure that an incident like 'Tada' never happens again in South Korea." This appears to refer to the amendment to the Passenger Transport Service Act, commonly known as the "anti-Tada law," which effectively banned the business model of the past rental car-based ride-hailing service "Tada." Nominee Lee pointed out, "No matter how much mentoring and support the government provides to founders, if they are blocked by regulations, their ideas will inevitably be snuffed out. SBS Aug 31, 2026 11:34 AM

July Securities Transaction Tax Surges 401%; Cumulative Tax Revenue Reaches KRW 274 Trillion with 5-Year High Progress Rate According to the "Current Status of National Tax Revenue for July 2026" released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance today , tax revenue for last month was tallied at KRW 51 trillion, up KRW 8.4 trillion from a year earlier. SBS Aug 31, 2026 11:32 AM

Korail and SR Finalize Institutional Integration, Launching Combined KTX and SRT Services Tomorrow Pictured here is Seoul Station on August 31. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced today that it has completed the institutional integration of the Korea Railroad Corporation and SR, and will begin combined operations of KTX and SRT starting from the 1st of next month. SBS Aug 31, 2026 11:27 AM

KOSPI Trading Value Plummets to Annual Low Amid Shift to US Stocks As the KOSPI fluctuates and remains trapped in a trading range, individual investors' enthusiasm for domestic investment is shifting toward buying US stocks. SBS Aug 31, 2026 11:17 AM