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KBR Research Notes
Cash Disappearing from Wallets... Only 1 in 6 Payments Uses Cash: How Far Has the 'Cashless Society' Come?
According to a Bank of Korea survey, the proportion of cash payments among domestic adults stood at 15.9% by transaction count, plunging by about 61.5% over 11 years from 41.3% in 2013, leaving only 38.5% of that previous level. The year 2023 marked the first time (at 50.5%) that methods where physical cards are not presented surpassed physical cards in domestic merchant card transactions, with the gap widening further to 52.4% in 2024 and 54.3% in 2025. Simple payment services grew to an average of KRW 1.1053 trillion per day. According to parliamentary data, commercial bank ATMs decreased by approximately 7,700 units from the end of 2020 through mid-2025, with the reduction rate generally higher in regional areas than in Seoul. However, 88% of people still had experience using cash in face-to-face transactions within the past month, making the guarantee of cash accessibility a new policy challenge. On July 15, 2026, the Financial Services Commission officially designated Project Hangang Phase 2 as an innovative financial service, expanding participating banks to 9 and the deposit token holding limit per wallet to KRW 10 million, while the exact start date for live transactions has not yet been officially finalized.
김민경 책임기자 · 08/09/2026
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KBR Research Notes
South Korean Game Market Reaches KRW 23.85 Trillion… Entering a 5-Year Phase of 'Moderate Expansion'
최수진 기자 · 08/02/2026
KBR Research Notes
Is Soju Sales Still Tied to the Economy? The 'Inverted Correlation' Revealed by Data
이태민 책임기자 · 07/10/2026
KBR Research Notes
June 2026 CEO and Board Appointment Analysis: A Closed H1 Appointment Cycle and What Boards Chose
이태민 책임기자 · 07/04/2026
KBR Research Notes
Korean Factories Are Now Heading to the U.S.: Direct Investment Hits $10.1 Billion, Highest in 4 Years
이지영 기자 · 07/02/2026
KBR Research Notes
Samsung-SK's 800 Trillion Won Honam Bet Redraws South Korea's Industrial Map
At the Blue House National Report on June 29, 2026, it was officially announced that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will invest 800 trillion won to build four memory fabs in the Honam region. As Yongin and Pyeongtaek reach the limits of their power and water supply, the southwestern coast—abundant in renewable energy and water with lower land prices—was chosen as the new base. Creating a nationwide semiconductor belt spanning Honam (front-end processes), Chungcheong (packaging at 81 trillion won), and Yeongnam (materials, components, and equipment), this shifts the Seoul metropolitan area's unipolar system into a multi-core structure. However, challenges such as relocating core talent, infrastructure bottlenecks like ultrapure water facilities, and regional conflicts remain, with companies explicitly noting the possibility of investment changes in their disclosures. Because the 800 trillion won serves as a long-term guideline for the next 10 to 20 years, the success of this blueprint depends on the government's subsequent infrastructure supply, permitting, and conflict mediation capabilities.
이태민 책임기자 · 06/30/2026
KBR Research Notes
Are Salary Hikes Keeping Up with Inflation… The Widening Gap of 'Perceived Wages' in 2026
In the first quarter of 2026, the monthly average nominal wage for regular workers in South Korea rose 3.4% year-on-year to KRW 4.555 million, but inflation-adjusted real wages increased by only 1.3% to KRW 3.847 million, meaning a significant portion of salary increases was absorbed by inflation. With consumer inflation rebounding to 3.1% in May 2026—up from a stable 2.1% in 2025—and the Bank of Korea raising its annual inflation forecast to 2.7%, the possibility of real wages turning negative in the second half of the year cannot be ruled out. Wage recovery speeds varied significantly by company size; in the first half of 2025, large enterprises (300 or more employees) saw a 5.7% increase compared to 2.7% for small and medium-sized enterprises (under 300 employees), with the core of this gap stemming from special allowances such as performance bonuses. Disparities widened not only by scale but also by industry and employment type, with wages in finance and insurance versus accommodation and food services differing by more than three times, while wages for temporary and daily workers actually declined. According to OECD comparisons, South Korea's real wages grew by over 2.9 cumulatively compared to early 2021, surpassing the median value, but the recovery margin itself is modest. Ultimately, the answer to whether 'salaries are keeping up with inflation' depends entirely on which company, industry, and employment type one belongs to.
류현진 선임기자 · 06/22/2026
KBR Research Notes
Where Does South Korea's Humanoid Robot Technology Stand?
In the first half of 2026, South Korea's humanoid robot industry moved beyond exhibition demos into actual industrial site validation stages. Hyundai Motor Group showcased its fully electric Atlas at CES 2026 and presented a mass production roadmap aiming for phased deployment in U.S. plants starting in 2028. Multiple media outlets reported that Rainbow Robotics' mobile dual-arm robot RB-Y1, for which Samsung Electronics is the largest shareholder, has been deployed to Coupang logistics centers for pilot testing. Meanwhile, the government aims to invest over 1 trillion won through the K-Humanoid Alliance by 2030, targeting the development of a robot AI foundation model by 2028 and mass production of over 1,000 units annually by 2029. Strategies among major conglomerates also clearly diverge, with LG Electronics targeting a separate front in home-use humanoids. However, while hardware competitiveness is approaching global levels, AI software (physical AI) remains in a chasing phase behind the U.S. and China, leaving South Korea with the challenge of combining verified hardware with smarter brains and turning field tests into actual revenue.
최수진 기자 · 06/19/2026
KBR Research Notes
How Much Do We Spend on AI Subscriptions a Month? "One in Four Users Are Paid Subscribers"
One in four domestic generative AI users (24.3%) are paying for subscriptions, with those in their 20s recording the highest payment rate at 30.1% (Korea Consumer Agency's '2025 Consumption Life Index'). Based on KB Kookmin Card payment data, generative AI subscription customers surged by 413% and spending jumped by 516% over two years, driven primarily by text-based AI. In the U.S., the median monthly expenditure for paying households stands at $20, effectively becoming the 'base rate,' but spending is shifting upward as users in the upper $21–$40 bracket increased by 50% compared to 2024 (BofA). 'Multiple subscriptions' are on the rise, with users averaging 4 tools and spending $66 a month, and a clear 'lock-in' phenomenon is evident as the average retention period reaches 7 months. Across the broader subscription market, AI subscriptions increased by 8.4 percentage points year-on-year, ranking first in growth, while content memberships dropped by 5.7 percentage points, ranking first in decline, confirming a shift in the landscape that is squeezing out OTT services (OpenSurvey).
김민경 책임기자 · 06/15/2026
KBR Research Notes
100 Days of the Hormuz Blockade: Can South Korea's 200 Days of Strategic Reserves Hold Out, and When Will Oil Prices Stabilize?
South Korea's combined government and private oil reserves stand at 200 days (ranking 6th globally by IEA standards), successfully shielding the nation from short-term supply and demand shocks. However, government reserves fell to around 80 million barrels following a record release of 22.46 million barrels in March. International crude oil prices peaked at $119 per barrel for Brent crude on March 8 and have since declined to the $90 range as of June, but remain over 50% higher than pre-crisis levels ($50-$60 range). May consumer inflation rose 3.1% year-on-year, the highest in two years and two months, with petroleum products alone surging 24.2%. Experts predict it will take at least six months for the perceived stabilization of inflation even after oil prices settle. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley project Brent crude to settle at $90 by year-end based on a baseline scenario of resumed passage by late June, whereas RBC and IEA warn that cumulative supply losses could reach 1.5 billion barrels if the blockade is extended. This crisis has reconfirmed South Korea's structural vulnerability, with a 69% dependence on Middle Eastern crude and over 95% of it passing through Hormuz. Consequently, diversifying import sources and securing alternative shipping routes are more urgent tasks than ranking 6th in reserve days.
김민경 책임기자 · 06/11/2026
