Foreign Capital Pours In as K-Franchises Change Hands

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an 'AI-based personalized news recommendation and summary service' developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It provides six curated news items tailored to each reader type.

1. K-Food Planning and Know-How Drive Valuations Higher as Foreign Capital Eyes Sector

- Key Summary: The sale of management rights at BKR, the domestic operator of Burger King, is underway, with the enterprise value potentially reaching 1 trillion won ($740 million) upon acquisition. Foreign capital acquisitions of Korean franchises continue, including the Carlyle Group's completed acquisition of KFC Korea, Jollibee Foods' 100% acquisition of Shabu All Day operator Allday Fresh (approximately 130 billion won, or $96 million), and the transfer of management rights at Compose Coffee. Some menu items developed by BKR in Korea, such as the "Quattro Cheese Whopper," have been re-exported to the U.S. mainland, while Affinity is transferring BKR's digital know-how and menu composition to Burger King Japan, demonstrating that the planning capabilities of Korean franchises are being recognized as global competitiveness. Domestic investors including Bonchon, Mom's Touch, and Nolbu Tongdak are also beginning to market sales to overseas investors in earnest.

2. Mercedes and BMW Court Chinese EV Tech: "U.S. Entry Possible Within 3-5 Years"

- Key Summary: At the Beijing Motor Show 2026, which opened on the 24th, European automakers including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW unveiled new vehicles developed in collaboration with Chinese autonomous driving and software companies, embracing Chinese technology. Chinese EV technology, including BYD's nine-minute fast-charging battery, is now regarded as world-class, and Morgan Stanley projects Chinese automakers' average annual export volume at 1.2 million vehicles over the next three years, raising its previous estimate by 17%. China is targeting the U.S. market through Canada as a detour, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney lowered punitive tariffs to 6.1% for up to 49,000 Chinese-made EVs annually. Beyond vehicle exports, BYD is directly building its own battery infrastructure locally through a vertical integration strategy, posing a frontal threat to the three Korean battery makers: LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI (006400.KS).

3. Google Cloud CEO: "Full Stack From Chips to AI Models Complete, Will Surpass Amazon"

- Key Summary: Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, emphasized that the "full stack" strategy encompassing chips, data centers, and artificial intelligence (AI) models is beginning to deliver tangible results. Google Cloud's fourth-quarter 2025 revenue surged 48% year-on-year, and this year's revenue is expected to exceed $70 billion (approximately 102.94 trillion won), representing more than a 1.5-fold increase from 2024 ($43 billion). In the current $420 billion (approximately 617.65 trillion won) global cloud market, Google's share stands at around 10%, ranking third behind Amazon Web Services (AWS, over 30%) and Microsoft (MS, over 20%), but its growth rate outpaces competitors. Kurian explained that reducing dependence on external suppliers and expanding reinvestment capacity through the development of in-house Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips and AI models is the core of its differentiation strategy.

4. Defending Profitability With "Technology Fences": Korea-Japan Joint Response to Chinese Patent Infringement

- Key Summary: LG Energy Solution has filed a preliminary injunction against Volvo, Nissan, and Renault for patent infringement, mounting a strong response to prismatic NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) battery patent infringement by Chinese battery maker Sunwoda. LG Energy Solution holds approximately 51,000 registered patents and 90,000 patent applications worldwide, while Samsung SDI and SK On possess approximately 20,000 and 5,000 registered patents, respectively, in areas such as solid-state batteries and next-generation battery management systems (BMS). Meanwhile, Japan's Panasonic is jointly responding to Chinese patent infringement with LG Energy Solution through the patent management company "Tulip Innovation," forming a Korea-Japan versus China structure. Experts predict that as the battery industry enters maturity, patent licensing (royalty) revenue will become a key factor determining corporate value, similar to Qualcomm's communications patent model.

5. From India and Vietnam to Japan: Choi Soo-yeon Seeks Global Pathways

- Key Summary: Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver (035420.KS), accompanied President Lee Jae-myung on his India and Vietnam tour and then attended "SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026," Asia's largest technology conference held in Tokyo, Japan, where she introduced Naver's AI infrastructure design direction. During the tour, Naver signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tata Consultancy Services, the IT affiliate of India's Tata Group, to jointly identify local AI and cloud business opportunities, and also attended the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum. Prior to this, Choi discussed sovereign AI (independent AI that respects each country's culture and value system) and digital twin (technology that virtually replicates the real world) development with Spanish Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function Oscar Lopez during a business trip to Spain. Naver is expanding its business into the Middle East and Europe, establishing its Middle East headquarters "Naver Arabia" last year and acquiring Spain's largest C2C (consumer-to-consumer) company Wallapop.

6. CATL: "Going Global With Hyundai Motor"

- Key Summary: Li Xiaoning, Vice President of China's top battery maker CATL, said the company is discussing the installation of CATL batteries in Hyundai Motor's (005380.KS) extended-range electric vehicles (EREV) and plans to expand cooperation to plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV). Hyundai Motor equipped its localized EV model "IONIQ V," unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show 2026, with batteries developed in collaboration with CATL, and CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun personally visited the Hyundai Motor booth to propose a joint global market push. CATL has maintained its position as the world's top energy storage system (ESS) provider for five consecutive years with a 30.4% market share, and has supplied batteries to more than 900 electric and hybrid vessels through its subsidiary dedicated to electric ships. The company has also announced the launch of its third-generation NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) battery "Qilin" and plans to produce solid-state battery prototypes next year, signaling full-scale competition with the three Korean battery makers.