(Seoul = News1) Journalist Kim Jin-hwan reports that on the afternoon of the 11th in front of the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, citizens holding cheering sticks and placards are calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol and the dissolution of the People Power Party.
In the home appliance industry, adverse conditions are piling up. Political turmoil has frozen consumer sentiment, making a contraction in domestic sales inevitable. Concerns about export damage have also increased as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has reiterated the “washing machine tariff” he imposed in the past. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which were preparing to boost their home appliance business starting with participation in the U.S. CES as usual, find themselves in deep contemplation.
According to industry insiders on the 12th, there is a forecast that the recent political turmoil, leading to a decline in consumer sentiment, will negatively impact domestic appliance sales. The Consumer Sentiment Composite Index (CCSI) of the Bank of Korea is announced on a monthly basis, and the figures for December have not yet been released. However, reflecting on the sharp drop in CCSI during the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2016, a similar trend is expected this time. According to the Bank of Korea, the CCSI, which was 102.7 in October 2016, fell to 96 in November as the impeachment controversy ignited, dropping further to 94.3 in December when the impeachment bill was passed on December 9th, and continuing to decline to 93.3 in January the following year.
A representative from the home appliance division of a major domestic corporation stated, “While it is difficult to speak in specific numbers yet, it is true that there has been a noticeable slowdown in appliance sales since the so-called ‘martial law situation,'” and added, “This slowdown hits hard for the home appliance industry, where growth has been continuously slowing.”
(Paris Reuters = News1) Journalist Woo Dong-myung reports that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump arrived at the Élysée Palace in Paris, France, on the 7th (local time) to attend the reopening ceremony of the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
The “Trump risk” has surfaced, setting off warning lights for home appliance exports. In a recent interview, President-elect Trump cited the imposition of high tariffs on imported washing machines produced by companies like Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics in 2018 as an accomplishment. He stated, “We imposed a 50% tariff on washing machines coming from China and Korea,” and claimed that thousands, if not tens of thousands, of jobs were created as a result of such measures.
The Trump administration’s first term implemented a safeguard, imposing a 20% or 50% tariff on imported washing machines. Although the safeguard ended in February last year, given Trump’s recent comments, there is a possibility that similar measures could be reintroduced when the second term administration begins.
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which had planned to make a “new leap” around their participation in CES next January, have encountered an obstacle. CES, held annually in Las Vegas, USA, is the world’s largest exhibition of consumer electronics and IT (information technology). Global companies compete to showcase new products and technologies and reveal their strategies. Samsung Electronics CEO and Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee and LG Electronics CEO Cho Ju-wan are scheduled to attend pre-CES press conferences to introduce their core business strategies.
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are expected to seek countermeasures at the company-wide level. Samsung Electronics will hold global strategy meetings, split into DX (Device Experience) on the 17th and 18th and DS (Device Solution) on the 19th, discussing internal and external risk responses related to home appliances in the DX meeting, and the measures to promote the recently launched “subscription” business. LG is also expected to hold an executive meeting later this month to review the home appliance business strategy of LG Electronics.