Key View:

• Softbank’s major investment into Coupang affirms our view of South Korea’s e-commerce market being the global outperformer.
• Confirms our view that the impact on the investment community of the Khashoggi incident has been muted, paving the way for Saudi Arabia - through Softbank - to continue investing in high growth tech players.

So

Key View

• Significant increase in South Korea's 2019 budget for health, welfare, and employment.
• Increased emphasis on innovation will likely be positive for the country's long-term economic growth.
• South Korea's biomedical research and development sector will continue to flourish in line with growing investments by the government.
• We forecast

Key View

• Samsung Electronics will focus its medical device business on diagnostic imaging to create further synergies with its electronics business.
• The company is in talks to sell its IVD unit as part of the streamlining process.
• Samsung Electronics will seek to boost its competitive edge through investment in artificial intelligence and

Key View

We expect South Korea's opposition parties to reject the ruling Minjoo Party of Korea's offer for them to join President Moon Jae-In's cabinet, which we view as a bid to secure legislative support for his economic agenda. Moon's popularity is likely to fall further alongside the macroeconomic outlook, especially jobs growth, over the

We are revising down our forecast for South Korea's real GDP growth in 2018 from 3.0% to 2.7%. This is due to weaker export growth as a result of base effects and escalating global trade tensions, as well as the weak employment outlook in the country, which will weigh on private consumption.

We are revising down our forecast for South Korea's real

South Korea's banks are likely to continue enjoying benign credit costs despite heightened uncertainties especially from increasing global trade protectionism and the US Fed's policy rate hike.

Fitch expects the near-term performance of the Korean banks to be steady considering their moderate risk appetite, a tighter regulatory approach and Korea

South Korea's presidential election will result in a shift in energy policy with a greater emphasis on renewables at the expense of coal and nuclear power. The pharmaceuticals and healthcare sector will receive greater support, driven by the need to cater to an ageing population, while the ICT sector stands to benefit from greater R&D spending, as

South Korea's construction industry will continue to grow at elevated rates through 2019, but momentum will slow afterward as property-market cooling measures take effect and as major infrastructure projects reach completion.

We have upgraded our forecast for South Korea's construction industry in light of more recent data and expect growth to

Although we do not anticipate US military action against North Korea in the near term, the possibility will grow as Pyongyang comes closer to achieving the ability to deliver a nuclear strike on the continental United States. In this scenario, we consider the implications of the US attacking North Korea.

North Korea continues to make progress in