Companies rethink strategies as economic outlook worsens

[Anchor]

Just like the cold weather, our economic situation is also freezing up.

With the export outlook for next year not looking bright, uncertainties both domestically and internationally are causing companies to urgently rethink their strategies.

First, we have Kye Hyun-woo.

[Report]

The price of Samsung Electronics' main DRAM memory, which is used in smartphones and PCs, has fallen due to a recent decrease in demand, leading to a 1 trillion won drop in Samsung's operating profit for the last third quarter compared to expectations.

The delay in the development of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which utilizes DRAM for AI and other applications, is also a reason for the poor performance.

[Kim Dong-won/Head of Research Center at KB Securities: "The decline in demand for general-purpose memory and the increase in inventory are causing semiconductor prices to continue to fall, and the supply of 5th generation HBM to NVIDIA is delayed compared to competitors."]

The problem is that this trend is expected to continue; securities firms predict Samsung Electronics' operating profit for next year to be 40 trillion won.

This is already a 20 trillion won drop from three months ago.

This is why Samsung Electronics' global strategy meeting at the end of this year is even more urgent.

At the meeting, where all nine overseas executives returned, discussions included the impact of the strong dollar and uncertainties such as the tariff bomb from Trump, leading to what is being called a 'perfect storm.'

[Joo Won/Head of Economic Research at Hyundai Economic Research Institute: "Since many companies export to the U.S., there are quite a few instances of circumventing exports to the U.S. through factories in places like Mexico. If tariffs are raised in the U.S., it seems likely that our products will suffer a blow as their price competitiveness in the U.S. market decreases."]

Human resources are also being mobilized for preparation.

LG Electronics has appointed Joe Hagin, who served as Deputy Chief of Staff during Trump's first term, as the head of its Washington office, while Hyundai Motor has appointed Jose Munoz as its first foreign CEO for U.S. operations.

Amid a lack of government leadership, corporations are scrambling to build connections with the second Trump administration. Meanwhile, Japan has pledged investments during a meeting with President-elect Trump.

This is Kye Hyun-woo from KBS News.