{"id":694,"date":"2026-06-21T15:04:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T15:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridgingculture.com\/?p=694"},"modified":"2026-06-21T15:04:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T15:04:34","slug":"korea-us-week-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.bridgingculture.com\/?p=694","title":{"rendered":"KOREA-US WEEK IN REVIEW"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bridgingculture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Week_in_Review_Banner-1-1024x538.png\" alt=\"KOREA-US WEEK IN REVIEW\" class=\"wp-image-695\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Korea-US Week in Review \u2013 Sunday&nbsp;&nbsp;June 21<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>Audio version:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/bridgingculture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-06-21_Korea-US_Week_in_Review.mp3&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1782083411207000&amp;sa=E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/bridgingculture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-06-21_Korea-US_Week_in_Review.mp3&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1782083411207000&amp;sa=E<\/a><br><br><strong>TOP STORY: Hyundai Moves to Take Full Control of Boston Dynamics<\/strong><br><br>Hyundai Motor Group is set to buy SoftBank&#8217;s remaining stake in Boston Dynamics for roughly $325 million, a move that would give the Group full ownership of the robotics maker behind Spot and Atlas.<br><br>SoftBank is exercising a put option from the original 2021 sale; Hyundai&#8217;s board is expected to approve the deal at a June 22 meeting.<br><br>Why it matters: Full control consolidates Hyundai&#8217;s bet on humanoid robotics and smart logistics under one roof, a through-line to its CES 2026 Atlas showcase and its $86B+ domestic R&amp;D push.<br><br>Expect tighter integration across robotics, AI, and manufacturing, and a cleaner strategic story for the Group&#8217;s mobility transformation.<br><br>Background: The original 2021 transaction valued Boston Dynamics at $1.1B, with Hyundai taking an 80% controlling stake and SoftBank retaining the balance.<br><br>BCW Take: No surprise here. The Boston Dynamics buyout is the logical next step in a story that has been a lead thread for Hyundai Motor Group.<br><br>It&#8217;s a further deep dive into robotics since the January CES reveal, where Atlas took center stage. Taking full ownership simply removes the last bit of ambiguity around a direction the Group has signaled all year.<br><br>ALSO LAST WEEK<br><br>Tariffs still the swing factor. Semiconductor and pharma tariffs remain open questions after the earlier cut to 15%, and a possible threatened upward snap-back.<br><br>$350B investment package in motion. Implementation continued on the U.S.-Korea fact sheet, a $150B shipbuilding fund plus ~$200B across semiconductors, nuclear, batteries and biotech.<br><br>Chips: Samsung &amp; SK Hynix lean into U.S. incentives.<br><br>Brand watch: Atlas goes to the World Cup. Hyundai launched a &#8220;School of Football&#8221; campaign featuring Boston Dynamics&#8217; Atlas ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026.<br><br>I see robotics moving from the lab into mainstream marketing.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>A quick note on our cadence: we offer the &#8216;Korea-US Trade &amp; Investment Intelligence Briefing&#8217; Monday through Friday, a special &#8216;Week in Review&#8217; on Sunday, and a variety of topics, on Saturday.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We&#8217;re always open to your questions.&nbsp; &nbsp;Text&nbsp; 310-866-3777<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bridgingculture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Week_in_Review_Banner-2-1024x538.png\" alt=\"TOP STORY: Hyundai Moves to Take Full Control of Boston Dynamics\" class=\"wp-image-696\"\/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Korea-US Week in Review \u2013 Sunday&nbsp;&nbsp;June 21 Audio version:&nbsp;https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/bridgingculture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-06-21_Korea-US_Week_in_Review.mp3&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1782083411207000&amp;sa=E TOP STORY: Hyundai Moves to Take Full Control of Boston Dynamics Hyundai Motor Group is set to buy SoftBank&#8217;s remaining stake in Boston Dynamics for roughly $325 million, a move that would give the Group full ownership of the robotics maker behind Spot and Atlas. SoftBank [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9,12,26,29,30],"class_list":["post-694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-korean-business-news","tag-boston-dynamics","tag-don-southerton","tag-korea-business-development","tag-korea-law","tag-korea-market-entry-expert"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Korea-US Week in Review: Tariffs, Won &amp; Chips \u2014 June 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Don Southerton&#039;s weekly Korea-US business brief: trade and tariff moves, the won, and the latest from Samsung, SK, and Hyundai.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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