As U.S. companies contend with high interest rates and uneven growth, South Korea’s industrial heavyweights – Samsung, SK Group, and Hyundai Motor – are quietly expanding their global footprint, adding more than $567 billion in assets over the past five years.
According to CEO Score, a Seoul-based corporate analytics firm that tracks the financial performance of Korea’s largest conglomerates, the combined assets of the country’s 52 biggest business groups have grown 43% since 2019, led by the nation’s so-called Big Three. Samsung Group alone added $114 billion, fueled by its dominance in semiconductors and consumer electronics; SK Group followed with a $96 billion jump driven by its chip arm SK hynix; and Hyundai Motor Group gained $50 billion, buoyed by surging global demand for electric vehicles.
The rapid buildup underscores how South Korea is tightening its grip on industries that U.S. leaders like Elon Musk and Jensen Huang have called “critical to the future of AI and clean energy.” From advanced memory chips used in NVIDIA GPUs to EV batteries powering Tesla and GM, Korean suppliers have become indispensable to America’s tech and auto ecosystems.
“While U.S. firms face rising costs and tighter labor markets, Korean conglomerates are doubling down on vertical integration and overseas expansion,” said one New York-based Asia market strategist. “They’ve become indispensable players in the very technologies Washington views as strategic.”
For American investors, the trend highlights South Korea’s dual role as both a trusted manufacturing ally and a rising competitor in high-tech sectors. Samsung, SK, and Hyundai all have multi-billion-dollar projects in the U.S. – from chip fabs in Texas to EV plants in Georgia – deepening economic interdependence even as Intel and Micron fight to reclaim ground in the global semiconductor race.
