South Korea in September 2026: the most important developments in economy
South Korea's economy in September 2026 was shaped by investment deals abroad, the artificial intelligence boom in chips and a volatile stock market.
Seoul deepened economic ties with Central Asia. Kazakhstan and South Korea expanded cooperation in energy, trade and technology, including a pitch for a logistics joint venture, a hydrogen energy exchange and a Doosan agreement on a power plant in Turkestan. Uzbekistan and South Korea anchored a partnership around projects valued at $12 billion, and the first South Korea-Central Asia summit on 16 September put critical minerals and energy at the front. Talks with the United States were more difficult. Seoul considered a $22.3 billion Texas gas plant to power AI data centres and on 22 September named it the first project under its investment arrangement with Washington. A parliamentary briefing was delayed after a last-minute snag in the talks, with obstacles reported over nuclear cooperation and funding. On 30 September President Trump announced that South Korea would invest $200 billion in the United States, including $54 billion for an LNG project in Alaska; Seoul had hedged on the Alaska pipeline.
Chips and AI drove corporate news. Samsung and OpenAI said they were working on next-generation chips, and Samsung opened an AI chip research hub in Japan, invested $1 billion in the KKR-backed AI infrastructure firm Helix and led a $3 billion funding round for Mistral. SK Hynix was reported to be in talks with Intel about making memory chips in the United States.
Markets moved sharply. Seoul stocks fell more than 3 percent on 14 September, rose more than 2 percent on 18 September as inflation fears eased, and ended the third quarter as the world's worst-performing market, according to one report. The Korea Exchange extended trading hours to 8 pm, and its first after-hours session was volatile. South Korea extended fuel tax cuts to the end of November and plans to cut Middle East crude imports to 50 percent by 2035.
In the labour market, the country added 184,000 jobs in August while youth unemployment reached a four-year high. POSCO's union held its first strike, and the Seoul bus union threatened one over wages.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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