Korea's Q1 payroll gains skew older while youth jobs slump SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - South Korea's payroll job growth accelerated in the first quarter, but positions held by younger workers continued to shrink to highlight an uneven labor-market recovery concentrated among older workers and service industries. The number of wage-worker jobs stood at 20.828 million in the first quarter, measured as of February, up 292,000 or 1.4 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Data and Statistics said Monday. The increase widened from just 15,000 a yea August 24, 2026

Samsung Electronics slumps, SK hynix rises after record payout SEOUL, August 24 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics fell almost 6 percent at Monday's open as investors sold into the largest shareholder return package a Korean company has ever approved, dragging the KOSPI down while the rest of the market climbed. The index shed 76.68 points to 6,836.27, a fall of 1.1 percent. The drag was almost entirely one stock. SK hynix rose 1.4 percent, the junior KOSDAQ market gained 1.5 percent, and shipping and non-ferrous metal shares led broad advances across the ma August 24, 2026

KOSPI rises on hopes for Samsung's huge shareholder return package SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - South Korean stocks extended their gains on Friday, with the benchmark KOSPI closing above 6,900 points. The index recovered from a sharp drop in morning trading as expectations for higher shareholder returns at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix helped offset pressure from rising U.S. Treasury yields. The KOSPI closed at 6,912.95, up 0.88 percent or 60.37 points from the previous session. It marked a second straight day of gains after the index surged 5.89 percent the pr August 21, 2026

Senior bureaucrat named new trade minister SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - Senior trade official Park Jung-sung was appointed South Korea's new trade minister, Cheong Wa Dae said on Friday. In a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said Park is "the right person to maximize the national interest while maintaining continuity in negotiations amid urgent trade issues with the U.S." Park's appointment comes about a week after his predecessor was sacked for unknown reasons, as Seoul faces mounting pressure from August 21, 2026

Newly appointed BOK deputy governor signals focus on stability SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - Seasoned foreign-exchange expert Kwon Min-soo was appointed senior deputy governor of the Bank of Korea. In his inaugural address on Friday, he highlighted inflation, household leverage, property prices and currency volatility, offering an early glimpse of a policy approach closely aligned with BOK governor Shin Hyun-song but shaped by his three decades of experience in foreign-exchange markets. Kwon said semiconductor strength had lifted growth beyond earlier expectati August 21, 2026

KOSPI opens lower as US yield worries return SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - South Korean stocks opened lower on Friday, giving back some of the previous session's sharp gains as higher U.S. Treasury yields, rising oil prices and losses on Wall Street weighed on investor sentiment. The benchmark KOSPI traded at 6,808.63 points at around 9 a.m., down 0.64 percent from the previous session. The junior KOSDAQ also fell 3.53 percent to 811.22, with losses considerably steeper among smaller growth stocks. The decline came after the KOSPI surged August 21, 2026

SK hynix buyback, foreign buying send KOSPI up nearly 6% SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - South Korean stocks rebounded sharply on Thursday, as a record share buyback plan sent SK hynix surging and foreign investors piled back into the country's semiconductor heavyweights following the previous day's rout. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 6,852.58 points, up 5.89 percent from the previous session, after rising as high as 6,904.55 during the day, as sharp gains in SK hynix and Samsung Electronics helped the index recover from Wednesday's nearly 6 per August 20, 2026

Hot Stock: SK hynix surges over 10% on 40 trillion won buyback plan SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - Shares of SK hynix surged more than 10 percent Thursday afternoon after the chipmaker announced a 40 trillion won ($28 billion) share buyback plan the previous day. Its shares traded at 1,676,000 won around 3 p.m., up 11.73 percent or 176,000 won from the previous session. The stock climbed as high as 1,720,000 won during intraday trading. The sharp rebound came a day after the shares tumbled 9.75 percent to 1,500,000 won amid a broader selloff in semiconductor stocks. August 20, 2026

KOSPI rebounds sharply on SK hynix's buyback plan SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI opened sharply higher Thursday, with SK hynix shares jumping more than 6 percent as the chipmaker began buying back 40 trillion won (US$28.8 billion) of its own shares. The index rose 159.10 points or 2.5 percent to 6,630.27 points shortly after the day's trading began. That recovered about two-fifths of the previous session's 398.66-point plunge, when the main index in Seoul fell 5.8 percent and the Korea Exchange triggered a August 20, 2026

Chip rout sends KOSPI down nearly 6% amid foreign selloff SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - South Korean stocks plunged nearly 6 percent on Wednesday, falling below 6,500 as a rout in U.S. chip shares hammered semiconductor heavyweights and triggered heavy foreign selling. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 6,471.17, down 5.80 percent from the previous session, after falling as low as 6,400.81 during the day. Losses were widespread, with just three stocks advancing against 703 decliners, while 32 finished unchanged. Foreign investors sold a net 3.49 trillion won August 19, 2026