Energy shock splits corporate Korea into winners and losers



Analysis Energy shock splits corporate Korea into winners and losers Import price surge and supply disruption create uneven earnings outcomes between exporters and fuel-intensive industries John LeeMay 12, 2026 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON ROK President Lee Jae Myung speaks to South Korea’s conglomerates and business leaders, Feb. 4, 2026 \| Image: Blue House, edited by Korea Pro The ongoing global energy shock is already visible in South Korea’s macro indicators, but its corporate impact is uneven. Import prices rose 18.4% year-on-year in March and 16.1% from the previous month, with crude oil prices in won terms jumping 88.5%, while producer prices for coal and petroleum products increased 31.9% over the same period. The result is a widening divergence across firms, as those with pricing power or secured inputs absorb higher costs differently from those exposed to volatile fuel and feedstock markets. This divergence is likely to become more pronounced in second-quarter earnings. Firms operating in globally-priced © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01Lee Jae Myung’s ‘pacemaker’ strategy tests South Korea’s leverage with Trump 02Trump’s Korea investment victory lap masks safeguards Seoul still controls 03North Korean POW dispute tests Seoul-Kyiv trust and future Ukraine policy 04South Korea’s CPTPP push exposes the cost of turning trade gains into consensus 05AI storage boom gives South Korea battery makers an EV overcapacity lifeline 06South Korea’s Mexico strategy runs into the hard limits of USMCA politics 07Preschool test ban forces South Korea’s English hagwons to rethink placement 08Lee Jae Myung’s Wall Street pitch tests South Korea’s capital market credibility

Analysis

Energy shock splits corporate Korea into winners and losers

Import price surge and supply disruption create uneven earnings outcomes between exporters and fuel-intensive industries

John LeeMay 12, 2026

Energy shock splits corporate Korea into winners and losers

ROK President Lee Jae Myung speaks to South Korea’s conglomerates and business leaders, Feb. 4, 2026 | Image: Blue House, edited by Korea Pro

The ongoing global energy shock is already visible in South Korea’s macro indicators, but its corporate impact is uneven.

Import prices rose 18.4% year-on-year in March and 16.1% from the previous month, with crude oil prices in won terms jumping 88.5%, while producer prices for coal and petroleum products increased 31.9% over the same period.

The result is a widening divergence across firms, as those with pricing power or secured inputs absorb higher costs differently from those exposed to volatile fuel and feedstock markets.

This divergence is likely to become more pronounced in second-quarter earnings. Firms operating in globally-priced

Energy shock splits corporate Korea into winners and losers

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John Lee