KOSPI's fragile rebound fails to calm jittery investors SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) - South Korean stocks snapped a three-day losing streak on Thursday, closing marginally higher after surrendering most of their early gains in a volatile session that underscored the fragility of investor sentiment. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 7,291.91, up 0.62 percent. The index opened 3.31 percent higher and briefly climbed above the 7,500 level, but the early rally quickly faded after Bahrain and Kuwait sounded warning sirens and Qatar issued emergency security alerts July 9, 2026

Seoul leads broad Asian rebound after three-day rout SEOUL, July 09 (AJP) — South Korean stocks led a broad Asian rebound Thursday as chip heavyweights surged ahead of SK hynix's highly anticipated Nasdaq ADR debut, while the Bank of Korea's upbeat view on the semiconductor cycle helped outweigh growing skepticism over AI valuations on Wall Street. As of 10:37 a.m., the benchmark KOSPI jumped 2.87 percent to 7,454.62 after tumbling more than 10 percent over the previous three sessions. The junior KOSDAQ climbed 3.66 percent to 813.7 July 9, 2026

AI peak fears hammer Asia, KOSPI for second straight session SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - A wave of panic selling triggered by fears that the AI chip boom may have peaked swept through Asia's technology-heavy markets on Wednesday, sending the KOSPI sharply lower for a second straight session and triggering sell-side sidecars on both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ as escalating Middle East tensions compounded the rout. The benchmark KOSPI tumbled 5.35 percent to 7,246.79, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ slumped 5.56 percent to 785.00. The KOSPI opened 2.7 percent lower, July 8, 2026

Ants deserting the KOSDAQ nest for chip harvest SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) — The KOSDAQ has long been the playground of Korea's "ants," the moniker in Korea for retail investors, who dominate the country's junior stock market. Now the colony is on the move. The tech-heavy junior market, which recently turned 30, has retreated more than 10 percent so far this year, ranking among the world's weakest performers, while the benchmark KOSPI has surged more than 82 percent. Its sluggish performance owes much to the desert July 8, 2026

KOSPI extends slide as chip conviction cracks SEOUL, July 08 (AJP) - South Korean stocks fell for a third straight session Wednesday morning as foreign investors kept unwinding the semiconductor trade, a retreat that record earnings from Samsung Electronics have failed to arrest and that has now circled through Wall Street and back to Seoul. The KOSPI opened at 7,443.8, down 212.5 points, or 2.8 percent. The drop follows Tuesday's 4.9 percent plunge, which triggered the main board's sixth circuit breaker of the year, and an overni July 8, 2026

Korean retail flow suggests stock frenzy may be fizzling out SEOUL, July 07 (AJP) — Korean individual deposits at brokerage houses are thinning fast while overseas stock buying is also losing momentum, suggesting the retail stock frenzy may have peaked and the firepower that has so far sustained the KOSPI against relentless foreign selling could be running out. Investor deposits — cash held in brokerage accounts for future stock purchases — fell to 112.21 trillion won ($76.7 billion) as of Monday, according to the Korea Financial Invest July 7, 2026

New Venture Capital Investment Platform Launched by Financial Supervisory Service and Naver Pay 금융감독원이 민간 플랫폼을 활용한 모험자본 공급 확대에 나섰다. 네이버페이가 구축·운영하는 'Npay 스타트업'을 통해 스타트업과 투자자를 연결하고 투자 절차를 표준화한다는 계획이다. 금융감독원은 7일 경기 성남시 네이버 1784에서 네이버페이와 공동 추진한 '모험자본 투자 플랫폼' 출범식을 열고 플랫폼 서비스인 'Npay 스타트업'의 3개월 시범 운영을 시작했다고 밝혔다. 이날 출범식에는 이찬진 금융감독원장과 박상진 네이버페이 대표를 비롯해 금융투자협회, 여신금융협회, 한국벤처캐피탈협회, 벤처기업협회 등이 참석했 July 7, 2026

Woori Financial Expands Venture Capital Support from Startup to IPO Startups backed by Woori Financial Group gathered to share their growth stories, highlighting the role of productive finance in nurturing innovative companies. The event took place on July 7 at Woori Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, under the auspices of the Woori Financial Management Research Institute.The conference featured discussions on Woori Financial's venture capital supply system and vision, growth cases from five startups originating from Dino Lab, and a panel discussion with inv July 7, 2026

Investors take profit instead of celebrating Samsung Elec record Q2 SEOUL, July 7 (AJP) — South Korea's main bourse sank Tuesday along with chip giants as investors took Samsung Electronics' second-quarter earnings as a cue to take profits rather than celebrate the record performance. As of 11:00 a.m., the benchmark KOSPI had plunged 4.29 percent to 7,697.18. The junior KOSDAQ edged down 0.41 percent to 843.60. Samsung Electronics estimated second-quarter operating profit at 89.4 trillion won, a figure that could approach 10 trillion won excludin July 7, 2026

Tiny Seoul studio bets on brutal dungeon survival sim SEOUL, July 02 (AJP) - Battle games are familiar. Fantasy worlds are crowded. Escape-themed entertainment has faded from fashion. But blend dungeon crawling, settlement management and punishing survival together, and perhaps there is still room for something new. That is the wager of a six-person studio in Seoul. In a compact office tucked inside Seoul's Gasan Digital Complex, six desks sit shoulder to shoulder, three on each side of a narrow room. At one, a developer patiently places pix July 2, 2026