00:02You're listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
00:30And Washington is squeezing Korea's nuclear export deal just as AI CapEx keeps flowing into memory.
00:36It's Tuesday, October 6th.
00:38Here's why global investors are paying attention to Korea today.
00:43AMRO's upward revisions reflect AI-driven exports and investment outpacing a slowdown in domestic demand from higher energy costs.
00:52The one's recent strength came largely from one-off dollar supply events, SK Hynix's ADR issuance,
00:58and a hawkish Bank of Korea that are now mostly priced in.
01:03Meanwhile, Korea's biggest companies face mounting friction abroad,
01:07from Westinghouse's reactor royalty demands to Trump's tariff threats over the Alaska LNG deal.
01:14Here's what the numbers show.
01:15AMRO lifted Korea's 2026 growth forecast to 3.3%, up 0.2 points from July and 1.4 points above
01:26April's 1.9% estimate,
01:29while trimming 2027 growth to 2.7%.
01:33The one fell from above $1,550 per dollar in early June to around $1,330 in September.
01:42A rally strategists expect to partially reverse toward $1,400 by year-end.
01:47U.S. market rates pushed past 5.1%, and the dollar index broke 101, and both are likely to hold
01:55near that level until the Fed pivots to cuts.
01:57The Korea exchange cut Samsung Electronics' futures margin rate to 42.60% from 49.95%, its first reduction this
02:08year after rates climbed toward the 50% ceiling through September.
02:11Seven semiconductor ETFs holding $18.9 trillion, about $14 billion, in assets face rebalancing on October 8th's options expiry,
02:23with Samsung Securities estimating roughly $90 billion, about $67 million, in fresh buying for SK Hynix alone.
02:32Westinghouse is demanding a higher royalty than the $175 million per reactor rate set in last year's agreement,
02:39and Trump has threatened to double tariffs if Korea doesn't sign the Alaska LNG deal.
02:45Kimiko pegged Westinghouse's total compensation at about $2 billion per APR-1400 unit, covering royalties, services, and fuel supply rights.
02:56AB's Ray Chu expects AI-related capex to stay elevated for 12 to 24 months, broadening from training clusters into
03:05memory, power, and data center efficiency, territory where Korean HBM and DRAM makers hold concentrated supply.
03:13So what does this mean for global investors watching Korea?
03:17Earlier, we said the ONE's rally may be running out of room. Here's what that actually means for you.
03:22Hedging costs could rise again as the pair drifts back toward $1,400, eroding some of the one-asset gains
03:29booked since June, AMRO's upgraded growth call, and the semiconductor ETF,
03:35rebalancing both support Korea's tech-heavy equity exposure in the near term.
03:40But the Westinghouse dispute is a reminder that bilateral friction with Washington remains a live tail risk for Korea's largest
03:48exporters, even as the macro backdrop improves.
03:51That's today's AI-PRISM, global investors.
03:55This episode was produced with AI assistance based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting and reviewed by a human editor.
04:02AI-PRISM is a Juan Ifra Award-winning series. We'll be back tomorrow.
04:06You've been listening to AI-PRISM from Seoul Economic Daily.
