00:06A new law takes effect this week that could hand activist shareholders a seat on your board.
00:1150 major Korean conglomerates have already cut their board sizes by nearly 3% this year
00:17to blunt its effect. Hyundai Motors chairman just told workers in Louisiana their new steel
00:22plant will feed humanoid robots and, eventually, rocket parts. Here's what these three moves
00:28signal for how Korean companies are managing risk right now. It's Monday, September 7.
00:33Let's look at a business story shaping corporate Korea. South Korea's amended Commercial Act
00:38mandates cumulative voting at listed companies with over $2 trillion won in assets starting September 10.
00:45The rule makes it easier for minority shareholders to concentrate votes behind a single board candidate,
00:51raising the odds of an outside appointee winning a seat. Companies across the country have spent
00:56this year's shareholder meetings, restructuring board composition, and staggering director terms
01:01to limit the law's impact. Here's what the numbers show. Analysis of 269 companies across Korea's top
01:0850 conglomerates found total board seats fell from 1,780 to 1,733, a 2.6% drop, with cacao
01:18cutting 14
01:19seats, and Lata cutting 13. Hanjin-kal, Korean Air's holding company, narrowed its board size cap from 3
01:26to 11 members to 3 to 9, as the ownership gap with a rival bidder closed to 0.42%.
01:3314 companies also staggered director term expirations. Hanwha Group extended terms from
01:39a maximum of two years to three years across its main affiliates. Separately, Hyundai Motor Group broke
01:45ground on a $5.8 billion steel plant in Louisiana, with POSCO, its first U.S. steel base, producing 2
01:52.7
01:53million tons annually from 2029. Chairman Chung Yui-soon said the plant's output will also supply
01:59Hyundai's Atlas humanoid robot program and eventually aims to supply SpaceX rockets. A separate Seoul
02:06Economic Daily survey of 102 executives and labor experts found 85% want the current 52-hour workweek
02:14rule loosened, citing R&D and AI development roles as the clearest case for exemptions. And LG Uplus
02:21formed an alliance with GS Engineering and Construction to standardize modular AI data center construction,
02:28aiming to cut build times industry-wide. So, what does this mean for you? Earlier, we said conglomerates
02:36are restructuring their boards ahead of the cumulative voting rule. Here's what that actually means for you.
02:41Expect continued shareholder outreach and governance disclosure through year-end as companies court votes
02:48for their own board candidates, and prepare for renewed lobbying for defenses like dual-class shares
02:53or poison pills. Chung's Louisiana remarks point to a broader capital allocation shift, where steel,
02:59robotics, and mobility investments are increasingly bundled to justify U.S. tariff exposure.
03:05And the labor survey signals where a board-level workforce policy fight is headed next, toward job-based
03:11pay and workweek exemptions, sector by sector. What to watch? The cumulative voting rule taking effect
03:18September 10th, and how boards respond at the next reporting cycle. Hyundai Steel's Louisiana output ramp toward
03:242029, and whether the government pairs a U.S.-Korea capacity split with new tariff relief. And the pace of AI
03:32data
03:32center orders reaching LG Uplus' new PMDC alliance. That's today's AI Prism, CEO. This episode was
03:41produced with AI assistance based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting and reviewed by a human editor.
03:46AI Prism is a Juan Ifra award-winning series. We'll be back tomorrow.
03:51You've been listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
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