00:06A new corporate governance law just forced Hanwha to split six CEO and board chair roles,
00:12and other conglomerates are watching.
00:14Samsung and SK are about to become part owners of Westinghouse,
00:19the U.S. nuclear giant, in a deal worth roughly 4 trillion won.
00:23NVIDIA just opened its next-generation data center rack design
00:27to every manufacturer on Earth.
00:30And a new government study says Korea's auto and shipbuilding exporters
00:34are already losing ground for staying outside CPTPP.
00:38It's Thursday, October 15th.
00:40Let's look at a business story shaping corporate Korea.
00:44Korea's board independence rules are pushing conglomerates
00:47to separate CEO and chairman roles faster than expected.
00:51At the same time, Korean industrial giants are chasing new growth avenues
00:55in U.S. nuclear power and global AI infrastructure.
00:59Trade policy is adding pressure,
01:01as Korea's absence from CPTPP shows up in shrinking export competitiveness.
01:07Here's what the numbers show.
01:08Hanwha appointed independent director Kwon Lee Kwon
01:11as board chair at its holding company on October 14th,
01:15separating the role from CEO Kim Woo-seok.
01:18The move follows Korea's revised commercial act on board independence,
01:21with at least six Hanwha affiliates expected to install independent chairs
01:26by the first half of 2027.
01:29Samsung C&T, Hyundai Engineering and Construction, GSE&C,
01:34Tucson Enerbility and SK Innovation are weighing a joint stake
01:38of 5-10% in Westinghouse, a deal sized at roughly 4 trillion won,
01:43or about $2.9 billion.
01:46Investment banks value Westinghouse at up to $30 billion if it lists,
01:51and under the Korea-U.S. agreement,
01:53Korean buyers get a 10% discount to the offering price.
01:57The U.S. and Korea agreed to build eight nuclear reactors in America
02:00for $120 billion,
02:03giving Samsung C&T and Hyundai E&C a shot at construction work
02:08and Tucson Enerbility a component supply deal.
02:11NVIDIA opened its Vera Rubin server rack
02:14and 800-volt DC power design to outside manufacturers
02:17at the OCP Global Summit on October 13th.
02:21IDC projects' spending on OCP standard data center gear
02:24will hit $800 billion by 2029,
02:282.7 times its earlier forecast.
02:31A new Korea Institute for Industrial Economics report
02:34found Korean competitiveness fell in 46 of 90 CPTPP-traded auto categories,
02:4156.3% of Korea's auto exports to the block,
02:45since the pact took effect.
02:47So what does this mean for corporate Korea's leadership?
02:50Earlier, we said a new law just forced Hanwha
02:53to split six CEO and chair roles.
02:56Here's what that actually means for you.
02:58If your company has Korean board exposure,
03:01expect similar separations as a board-level compliance item,
03:05not a choice.
03:06The Westinghouse and NVIDIA moves point the same direction.
03:09Korean industrial strategy is betting heavily on nuclear power
03:13and AI infrastructure as the next growth engines.
03:18And the CPTPP competitiveness gap is a reminder
03:21that staying outside major trade blocks
03:24carries a cost that shows up in your supply chain,
03:27not just in trade statistics.
03:29That's today's AI Prism, CEO.
03:32This episode was produced with AI assistance
03:35based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting
03:37and reviewed by a human editor.
03:40AI Prism is a Juan Ifra award-winning series.
03:43We'll be back tomorrow.
03:44You've been listening to AI Prism
03:46from Seoul Economic Daily.
03:48AI Prism is a Juan Ifra.
03:50You've been listening to AI Prism.
03:51You've been listening to AI Prism.
03:52You've been listening to AI Prism.
