SK Group Tops 2,000 Trillion Won, Closing In on Samsung

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an 'AI-based customized news recommendation and summarization service' developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.

1. SK Group Market Cap Tops 2,000 Trillion Won, Soaring to a Quarter of Domestic Stock Market

- Key Summary: SK hynix set a record high at 2,382,000 won based on Monday's closing price, pushing the combined market capitalization of SK Group's 21 listed companies past 2,020 trillion won. SK hynix accounts for 84% of the group's market cap, reflecting a structure in which the entire group's valuation is concentrated in the semiconductor business. Meanwhile, the ratio of SK Group's market cap to that of Samsung Group has rapidly narrowed from 37% a year ago to 74.1% on the day, while the combined market cap of the top five groups accounted for 71.7% of the domestic stock market. iM Securities analyzed that, given the high correlation between the U.S. Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the market caps of the two companies, a reversal in market cap ranking cannot be ruled out if the index rises further.

2. SK Telecom (017670), Partnering with Nvidia, Builds the Brain for AI Data Center Operations

- Key Summary: SK Telecom is developing an AI agent and a Time Series Foundation Model (TSFM) specialized for AI data center (AIDC) operations. TSFM is a technology that learns time-series data such as power usage, temperature, and cooling equipment to predict future states. Moving away from the existing reactive approach, it aims to establish an operating system that detects anomalies in advance and takes automatic action. The technology is linked to the AI factory partnership with Nvidia, and SK Telecom plans to operate its first AI factory in Korea next year before expanding its presence into the Asia region. In addition, SK Telecom CEO Jung Jae-heon presented 'AX (AI Transformation) Innovation 2.0,' embarking on a complete redesign of how work is done by assigning employee numbers to AI agents.

3. Domestic Slump Plus Union's 'Quadruple Pressure'... Hyundai Motor in Crisis

- Key Summary: Hyundai Motor's union has demanded more than 3 trillion won in bonuses, equivalent to 30% of last year's net profit of 10.3648 trillion won, in this year's wage negotiations, filing for labor dispute mediation with the National Labor Relations Commission. The mediation result will be handed down by the 25th, and if no agreement is reached, the union will gain the legal right to strike. In addition, the Ulsan Regional Labor Relations Commission ruled that Hyundai Motor must directly negotiate with the in-house subcontractor union, creating a situation in which the company faces pressure from both prime and subcontractor sides simultaneously. In the domestic market as well, May sales in Korea plunged 23.1% from a year earlier, with poor performance compounding the company's concerns.

4. Nvidia Skips Roadshow, Sells Out 38 Trillion Won in Corporate Bonds

- Key Summary: Nvidia issued corporate bonds for the first time in five years, fully selling $25 billion (about 37.835 trillion won) worth. After $85 billion in investment poured in during book-building, the company expanded the issuance from an initial $20 billion to $25 billion, with market confidence high enough to skip an investor roadshow. Earlier, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta also issued bonds ranging from $20 billion to $37 billion each to raise funds for AI infrastructure investment, and Nvidia also plans to use the proceeds for debt repayment and other purposes. Its AI inference chip market share rose from 66% in the first quarter of last year to 74% in the first quarter of this year, defending against competitors' offensive to expand their own chips.

5. "Korean Companies Also Interested"... U.S. Launches $300 Billion Iran Reconstruction Fund

- Key Summary: The Donald Trump administration is reviewing the creation of a $300 billion (about 454 trillion won) reconstruction investment fund, premised on a nuclear deal agreement with Iran. U.S. Vice President JD Vance confirmed a scheme in which Gulf region countries provide the funds and access is granted depending on Iran's fulfillment of its obligations, and a U.S. official stated that companies from Korea, Japan, and Europe are showing considerable interest. The detailed structure of the fund has not yet been disclosed, and as the Korean government has not received direct notification from the United States, it plans to watch the situation. Within Iran, there are also views interpreting the fund as effectively reparations, noting that its size matches the scale of war damage the country has claimed.

6. Hanwha (000880) Acquires Additional KAI Stake, Becomes Second-Largest Shareholder

- Key Summary: Hanwha Group expanded its stake in Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to 9.04%, pushing aside the National Pension Service to become the second-largest shareholder. Hanwha Aerospace (012450) and Hanwha Systems (272210) each invested 138.9 billion won and 125 billion won on the day to acquire additional stakes, and the board resolved on a plan to invest an additional 500 billion won by year-end to raise the stake to 9.97%. If the plan is realized, the group's total stake, including holdings by Hanwha Aerospace USA, will exceed 12%. Hanwha emphasized that, amid intensifying global space industry competition, combining Hanwha's technological capabilities in aircraft engines, radar, satellites, and launch vehicles with KAI's complete-aircraft development capacity could enhance national-level space and aerospace competitiveness.