Won, bonds stay calm despite BOJ hike; credit spread widens slightly SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) - South Korea’s foreign exchange and bond markets remained largely steady Tuesday despite the Bank of Japan’s first rate hike to 1 percent in 31 years, while corporate credit showed mild signs of caution following default concerns at JoongAng Group affiliates. The won closed at 1,513.5 per dollar, little changed from the previous session. Korean government bond yields fell. The three-year yield dropped 2.7 basis points to 3.717 percent, while the 10-year yield June 16, 2026

Impending peace deal with Iran lifts KOSPI as Nikkei briefly tops 70,000 SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) - South Korean stocks extended their rally on Tuesday as hopes for an impending peace deal between the U.S. and Iran later this week, along with SpaceX’s blockbuster Nasdaq debut, boosted investors’ appetite. Despite missing out on the record-breaking initial public offering (IPO), South Korean investors continued betting on artificial intelligence (AI), aerospace, and other growth sectors. Japan’s main index, meanwhile, briefly crossed the 70,000 mark for June 16, 2026

Seoul expands draft evader data disclosure to mirror sex offender registries SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) - South Korea's Military Manpower Administration expanded the public disclosure of personal information for military draft evaders, applying measures similar to the country's sex offender registries to enforce conscription compliance. According to South Korean conscription laws, all able-bodied men must serve in the armed forces. Because of this universal mandate, draft evasion remains a highly sensitive social issue where those who dodge the draft face severe publi June 16, 2026

Korea household debt ratio falls to 6-year low on high nominal GDP SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) - South Korea's household debt-to-gross domestic product ratio dropped to its lowest level in over six years at the end of last year, according to the Bank for International Settlements on Tuesday. While the financial industry attributes the decline to tighter lending rules, the shift was driven more by a surge in nominal economic growth than by a pure reduction in borrowing. Data by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) showed that the ratio reached 88.6 perce June 16, 2026

Police withdraw after forced entry to Jamsil vote venue fail SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) -Police withdrew Tuenday after an unsuccessful attempt to help employees of sports organizations re-enter Seoul's Olympic Handball Gymnasium, where protesters have blocked access to workplaces for 12 straight days since demonstrations over ballot shortages during the June 3 local elections began. Employees affiliated with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee arrived at the venue in Seoul's Songpa district shortly after 9 a.m. and tried to negotiate entry throug June 16, 2026

KOSPI higher while other Asian markets on hold on expected rate hike in Japan SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) -South Korea's benchmark index maintained its upward momentum from the preliminary U.S.-Iran peace deal, bucking a broadly cautious mood across Asia as investors awaited an expected rate hike from the Bank of Japan. As of 10:30 a.m., the benchmark KOSPI stood at 8,610.00, up 0.8 percent from the previous session. The index moved between an intraday high of 8,747.48 and a low of 8,540.41. The KOSPI 200 rose 0.9 percent to 1,372.00, after moving between an intraday high June 16, 2026

AI won't change the game dynamics: Nexon's gaming chief SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) - As artificial intelligence makes building games faster and cheaper, the edge will lie in the depth of context that no prompt can generate, the head of Nexon Korea. Kang Dae-hyun, co-chief executive of Nexon Korea, made the remarks Tuesday in the opening keynote of the Nexon Developers Conference (NDC), the country's largest game knowledge-sharing event, which returned to Nexon's Pangyo campus for a three-day run. "Implementation is getting easier, but it is June 16, 2026

Korea's import prices may have peaked out while chip exports power ahead SEOUL, June 16 (AJP) - South Korea's import prices may have peaked out after the Gulf war-driven oil shock eased in May, while soaring semiconductor prices continued to buttress the country's trade strength, central bank data showed Tuesday. The won-denominated import price index fell 0.3 percent in May from a month earlier, according to preliminary export-import price data released by the Bank of Korea. The decline followed a 2.1 percent drop in April after import prices had surged 18 June 16, 2026

Korean won, bonds rally on U.S.-Iran framework SEOUL, June 15 (AJP) - The South Korean won and government bonds strengthened Monday on signs of foreign return after a de facto resolution to the monthslong Iran crisis. The won closed at 1,511.1 per dollar in the Seoul foreign exchange market, down 8.7 won from the previous session. South Korean government bonds extended last week's rally. The yield on the three-year government bond fell 6.4 basis points to 3.744 percent, while the 10-year yield dropped 7.7 basis points to 4.118 percent June 15, 2026

KOSPI, Nikkei jump on US-Iran war deal; China lags SEOUL, June 15 (AJP) -South Korean and Japanese markets surged around 5 percent in early Monday session as uncertainties over energy shocks from the prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz were lifted upon the news of a peace deal between the United States and Iran. The KOSPI rose 415.20 points to 8,538.82, up 5.1 percent, by mid-morning. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 5.3 percent to a year-to-date high, while Chinese markets lagged, the Shanghai Composite gaining 0.6 percent; in Seoul the June 15, 2026