Aju Press - Asia News Hub

Journalist

Ryu Yuna류윤아

ReporterFinancial Supervisory Service (FSS) & finance, capital markets, Southeast Asian affairs

Yuna Ryu covers finance, capital markets and Southeast Asian affairs.
She is drawn to the questions that numbers raise and the stories that data alone cannot answer.
Prior to journalism, she worked at Hyundai Motor Company and the Singapore Chamber of Commerce, focusing on business strategy and international affairs. She has also hosted diplomatic receptions and international conferences as an MC.

Ryu holds a master's degree in Media and Communication from Korea University, where her research focused on neuroscience-based studies of media effects. "Beyond every statistic is a human story waiting to be heard."

Latest by Ryu Yuna

Korea's penny stocks face delisting clock SEOUL, August 13 (AJP) — A little kindness can go a long way, but on South Korea's penny-stock boards this week, investors were wondering whether sympathy could go far enough to save a company from delisting. Online investment communities filled with anxious questions, angry recriminations and the occasional speculative wager after the Korea Exchange placed dozens of stocks under regulatory watch Wednesday in the first broad application of tougher rules aimed at pushing chronically weak companies out of the market. “Will it really be delisted if it can't get back above 1,000 won?” one investor asked Thursday after finding CMG Pharmaceutical, a South Korean drug developer, among companies caught by the country's new minimum share-price rule. Another investor offered what sounded almost like charity: “I might just buy 1,000 shares.” The advice came quickly. “I bought it yesterday because I felt bad for the company, but now it might hit the daily limit at this rate.” CMG Pharmaceutical was up 11.17 percent at 679 won as of 1:41 p.m. Thursday, showing how quickly a delisting scare can turn into a speculative trade. A total of 36 stocks were designated or additionally flagged Wednesday — nine on the main KOSPI and 27 on the junior KOSDAQ — according to KRX data. Six KOSDAQ stocks were already under regulatory watch and received an additional designation after remaining below 1,000 won for 30 consecutive trading days. For shareholders, designation does not mean their stock suddenly becomes worthless. It means the clock has started. Under rules effective July 1, a stock that closes below 1,000 won ($0.71) for 30 consecutive trading days is designated an administrative issue. During the following 90 trading days, it must remain at or above 1,000 won for 45 consecutive sessions or face delisting. The dollar conversion is based on the won trading around 1,414.40 per dollar Thursday. The same countdown applies to companies falling below minimum market-capitalization requirements. Since July 1, the floor has been 30 billion won for KOSPI companies and 20 billion won for KOSDAQ companies. The KOSDAQ threshold rises again to 30 billion won on Jan. 1, 2027, while the KOSPI requirement climbs to 50 billion won. Of Wednesday's affected KOSDAQ stocks, 21 failed the share-price test, four fell below the market-cap floor and two failed both, according to KRX. On the KOSPI, three failed the price requirement, five the market-value test and one both. Sympathy, anger and speculation The new rules turned company message boards into a mixture of blame, bewilderment and bargain hunting. On Hyungji Elite's board, one user blamed management, asking how the apparel company could be “so incompetent that it ended up like this.” An investor discussing Ilshin Stone, a processor and seller of construction stone including marble and granite, questioned the rule itself. “Why is it being put under watch just because it fell below 1,000 won?” Others were looking for an opportunity. The reactions illustrate the central risk of the new regime. Stocks facing a possible exit from the exchange can look extraordinarily cheap in nominal terms, tempting retail investors to bet on a rebound precisely when the downside risk is greatest. Lee Jeong-hwan, a professor of economics at Hanyang University, warned against buying such companies simply because their shares appear inexpensive. “Delisting is clearly not good news for individual shareholders,” Lee said. “There is always a risk because once a company is delisted, investors could be left holding shares that are worthless.” He said tougher removal rules are nevertheless necessary from the perspective of overall market quality, even if they impose losses on shareholders of individual companies. Some companies are already trying to outrun the clock. Shaperon, a KOSDAQ-listed drug developer, decided in June on a five-for-one share consolidation, reducing the number of shares while mechanically raising the price of each remaining share. The company has presented the move as part of an effort to stabilize its share price and improve market conditions. But regulators have anticipated that strategy. The revised regime contains safeguards against companies repeatedly using reverse stock splits or capital reductions simply to escape the penny-stock threshold. A consolidation can change the number on the screen. It cannot by itself repair the business underneath it. From penny stock to chip giant SK hynix offers an extreme example of what a genuine turnaround can look like. Long before becoming one of the world's dominant memory-chip makers, Hynix Semiconductor was itself a penny stock struggling through a severe liquidity and debt crisis. Its recovery required far more than lifting its share price. Hynix separated or sold noncore telecommunications and LCD businesses, disposed of assets and concentrated its resources on semiconductors. The company entered joint creditor management in October 2001 and eventually exited the program ahead of schedule after returning to sustained profitability from the second half of 2003. That distinction goes to the heart of the government's delisting campaign. The objective is not simply to make low-priced stocks more expensive. It is to remove companies unable to meet basic standards of market value, financial viability and disclosure, while forcing those capable of recovery to demonstrate it. The potential effect on KOSDAQ is significant. According to an NH Investment & Securities estimate, excluding weak companies targeted by the tougher regime would raise combined operating profit among KOSDAQ-listed firms last year to 18.8 trillion won from 14.1 trillion won, while cutting the market's price-to-earnings ratio to 31.3 from 112.6. The arithmetic captures the trade-off. Removing chronic loss-makers can improve the profitability and valuation profile of the market as a whole, but shareholders caught in the cleanup can suffer heavy losses. For investors now betting on stocks trapped below the new thresholds, getting back above 1,000 won may buy time. The stock may recover. Whether the company can is another question. AJP Takeaways • South Korea's new penny-stock rule has started a delisting countdown for companies trading below 1,000 won for 30 consecutive sessions, requiring them to recover above the threshold for 45 straight trading days within the next 90. • The crackdown is concentrated on KOSDAQ, where 27 stocks were caught in Wednesday's sweep, fueling everything from sympathy buying to speculative bets on companies trying to escape the threshold. • A higher nominal share price alone is not enough. Reverse stock splits can lift the price mechanically, but the SK hynix precedent shows that lasting recovery requires restructuring, stronger earnings and a viable underlying business. 2026-08-13 15:52:35
Satellite antenna maker jumps 41% in KOSDAQ debut SEOUL, August 13 (AJP) — Shares of South Korean satellite communications equipment maker KNS Inc. surged on their KOSDAQ debut Thursday, trading more than 40 percent above their initial public offering price. The stock was trading at 15,480 won ($10.93) as of 2:37 p.m., up 40.73 percent from its IPO price of 11,000 won. It more than doubled to an intraday high of 24,600 won before giving back some of the gains. The strong debut comes as the company expands from commercial maritime equipment into defense-related satellite systems. Founded in 2001, KNS develops equipment that connects ships and military systems to satellites. It introduced its first maritime very small aperture terminal, or VSAT, antenna in 2003 and became the first company in Asia to locally develop an antenna for submarines in 2021. Its push into defense has brought major military contracts. KNS has secured 33.1 billion won in orders for the country’s second-generation naval satellite communications system, known as MOSCOS-II, along with about 6 billion won for ANASIS, a separate military satellite communications program. Sales have also grown, though the company has yet to turn a profit. Revenue rose to 17.8 billion won last year from 13.5 billion won a year earlier, although it posted an operating loss for a second straight year. The company expects to turn profitable as work on the naval project secured last year picks up this year. Chief Executive Jin Byung-wook said the company plans to build on its satellite antenna technology to expand into overseas defense and next-generation satellite communications markets. AJP Takeaways • KNS Inc. shares traded at 15,480 won as of 2:37 p.m. on Aug. 13, 2026, up 40.73 percent from the satellite communications equipment maker's IPO price of 11,000 won on its KOSDAQ debut. • KNS Inc. shares reached an intraday high of 24,600 won on Aug. 13, 2026, more than double the company's IPO price. • KNS Inc., founded in 2001, develops satellite communications equipment for maritime and defense applications and became the first company in Asia to locally develop an antenna for submarines in 2021. • KNS Inc. recorded 17.8 billion won in revenue in 2025, up from 13.5 billion won in 2024, but posted an operating loss for a second consecutive year. 2026-08-13 15:29:26
LG Innotek enters MSCI Korea, four exit SEOUL, August 13 (AJP) —LG Innotek will enter the MSCI Korea Index at the end of this month as the country's sole addition in the global index provider's August review, setting up potential passive-fund buying as four Korean companies are pushed out. LG Innotek shares rose following the announcement, trading 3.81 percent higher at 626,000 won ($443) on Thursday morning. MSCI said LG Innotek will be added to its Korea Standard Index, while HLB, LG Display, POSCO International and Samsung Epis Holdings will be removed. The changes will take effect as of the market close on Aug. 31. The electronics components maker was already the largest constituent of the MSCI Korea Small Cap Index at the end of July, carrying a 2.43 percent weight. The MSCI Korea Index measures large- and mid-cap stocks and covers about 85 percent of the Korean equity universe, making inclusion significant for global funds that use MSCI benchmarks to allocate capital. Benchmark changes can generate mechanical demand from passive funds as they adjust their holdings to match revised index composition. Samsung Securities had estimated before the review that LG Innotek's inclusion could generate about 313 billion won of passive buying. MSCI reviews its Global Investable Market Indexes four times a year, in February, May, August and November. Its methodology incorporates company and security size, liquidity and foreign investability, with constituent weights adjusted for shares available to investors. The August reshuffle was broader across Asia. Japan recorded one addition and two deletions, India four additions and three deletions, Taiwan six additions and six deletions, and China 33 additions and 32 deletions, according to MSCI. AJP Takeaways LG Innotek is the sole Korean addition to the MSCI Korea Index in the August review, while four companies will be removed. The changes take effect after the Aug. 31 close, when passive funds tracking MSCI benchmarks are expected to rebalance. LG Innotek was already MSCI Korea Small Cap's largest constituent, and Samsung Securities had estimated its promotion could trigger about 313 billion won of passive buying. 2026-08-13 10:34:37
Shares of chip parts maker jump on strong Q2 earnings SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Shares of semiconductor parts maker Wonik QnC rose on Wednesday after it posted a more than twofold increase in second-quarter operating profit from a year earlier. Its shares closed 5.31 percent higher at 31,750 won (US$22.44). The gain came as consolidated operating profit jumped 119.1 percent from a year earlier to 30.9 billion won ($21.8 million) for the period between April and June, according to its preliminary earnings report released the same day. Revenue also rose 16.7 percent year on year to 271.9 billion won, while net income swung to a profit of 26.7 billion won from a loss a year earlier. Wonik QnC makes quartz and ceramic components for chip manufacturing including tubes, boats, pedestals and rings. It also provides cleaning and coating services and supplies major chipmakers and equipment manufacturers, with production facilities in Germany and Taiwan. AJP Takeaways: - KOSDAQ-listed semiconductor parts maker Wonik QnC closed 5.31 percent higher at 31,750 won ($22.44) on Aug. 12, 2026, after reporting strong second-quarter earnings. - Wonik QnC's consolidated operating profit jumped 119.1 percent year on year to 30.9 billion won ($21.8 million) in the April-June 2026 period. - Wonik QnC's second-quarter revenue rose 16.7 percent to 271.9 billion won, while net income swung to a profit of 26.7 billion won from a year-earlier loss. - Wonik QnC makes quartz and ceramic components used in semiconductor manufacturing and also provides cleaning and coating services for semiconductor parts. 2026-08-12 17:48:40
Pandemic hangover? Young Koreans opt solo as socializing gets pricey SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - For Jin, a corporate worker in his 30s, some friendships have simply become too expensive to maintain. “I feel uncomfortable meeting friends who want to eat somewhere expensive every single time,” he said. “I also don’t like taking turns paying for meals. Splitting the bill is just easier.” HJ Kim, 32, has reached much the same conclusion. What bothers her is not merely the price of dinner, but the invisible accounting that can begin once the plates are cleared. “Splitting the bill feels like the norm these days, but some people act as if even bringing it up is wrong,” Kim said. For people she is not particularly close to, Kim would rather leave the table owing nothing — and being owed nothing. “Even having someone pay for me feels burdensome now because I know I’ll have to return the favor,” she said. Dinner, in other words, can come with a second bill: obligation. For some young Koreans, that is becoming reason enough to decline the invitation altogether. Kim said she increasingly makes excuses to avoid company dinners and other gatherings she feels little need to attend. South Korea already has a rich vocabulary for doing things alone. There is hon-bap, eating alone; hon-sul, drinking alone; and hon-haeng, traveling alone. Collectively, those who embrace such habits are sometimes called the hon-jok, or “solo tribe.” Now rising prices and increasingly divergent lifestyles are giving solo life another selling point: it can be cheaper. ES Kim, 29, said expensive invitations have begun to make her reconsider which relationships are worth the time and money. “If I’m not close enough to someone to justify spending this much time and money, being asked to meet at an expensive place has started to feel like a burden,” she said. For JB Lee, 25, the friendship arithmetic eventually added up to a car. Tired of calculating who paid for what and the bad aftertaste that sometimes followed, Lee increasingly embraced an introvert’s life and spent more of his money on himself. The phenomenon has acquired its own vocabulary. “Friendflation” combines friendship and inflation to describe the rising cost of maintaining a social life. Another expression circulating on social media, “solo-maxxing,” gives the response a more upbeat spin: getting as much as possible out of being alone. Recent Korean data suggest the financial pressure is far from anecdotal. A July survey by part-time job platform Alba Heaven of 601 Gen Z respondents found that 93 percent had felt burdened by the rising cost of meeting friends or attending social gatherings. Nearly half, 49.1 percent, said they felt that pressure frequently. Their most common solution was straightforward: meet less. Some 71.2 percent said they had reduced spending on socializing with friends over the previous year. Of those, 83.9 percent had cut the number of gatherings. Food topped the list of financial strains, cited by 78.4 percent, followed by coffee and desserts at 40.1 percent, alcohol at 29.7 percent and birthdays and anniversaries at 25.8 percent. Travel, concerts and exhibitions also made the list. Cost is beginning to influence not only how often young people socialize, but with whom. Among those who reduced social spending, 88.8 percent said they had cut meetings with friends, former classmates or peers. Asked which friends were the most financially burdensome, 56.4 percent pointed to those who favor expensive restaurants. Even a respectable paycheck does not necessarily solve the problem. JS Nam, a medical resident in his 30s, earns a relatively high income but still sometimes questions what a weekend of socializing bought him. “After spending money going out over the weekend, I sometimes wonder where it all went,” he said. “Then I find myself having a sandwich for lunch.” The friendship gap Economists and sociologists caution, however, that splitting the check itself is not necessarily driving people apart. “Among people of a similar age, splitting the bill has already become the norm, so I don’t think that alone is much of a factor in distancing friends,” said Yang Jun-sok, professor of economics at the Catholic University of Korea. The more consequential divide may be what different friends consider an ordinary amount to spend. Kim Yun-tae, a professor of sociology at Korea University, points to what he calls “visual capitalism” — a social media-driven culture in which restaurants, holidays and experiences are continuously displayed and consumed as images. “Consumer culture has expanded across society, whether among the wealthy, the middle class or those with less,” Kim said. “At the same time, it has created enormous polarization. People are also increasingly divided by their tastes and spending habits.” Those differences matter because friendships that start on relatively equal footing often do not stay that way. College friends may once have shared cheap meals and similar budgets. A decade later, one may own a home while another pays a large deposit and rent. One considers a 100,000-won dinner an occasional treat; another barely notices the charge. Friendship suddenly has another compatibility test: not just whether two people enjoy the same things, but whether they can afford to enjoy them in the same way. Research suggests social networks already tend to reflect such economic similarities. A 2024 study published in Social Networks found friendships occur more frequently among people with similar socioeconomic backgrounds, although the researchers cautioned that this does not necessarily mean people consciously choose friends from the same social class. Where people live, study and work also determines whom they have an opportunity to meet. Kim said highly visible differences in consumption can nevertheless sharpen the divide. “People with greater financial means can end up excluding those who have less,” he said. “That can lead to feelings of deprivation and isolation and deepen social, economic and cultural polarization, which can ultimately create conflict.” Friendship now has a cover charge Friendflation is hardly unique to South Korea. In the United States, the cost of club memberships, lessons, event tickets, dining out and drinking away from home rose nearly 11 percent in the two years through April 2024, compared with a 7.5 percent rise in overall consumer prices, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. At the same time, many places where friendships once developed without requiring much spending — workplaces, schools and neighborhood networks — have become less central to social life. More socializing has consequently migrated to restaurants, gyms, hobby classes, concerts and other spaces where participation carries a price tag. Friendship was never free to begin with. It requires another scarce resource: time. Research by University of Kansas communication professor Jeffrey Hall found that people can require roughly 40 to 60 hours together to move from acquaintance to casual friend, and substantially longer to become close friends. Increasingly, those hours arrive with receipts attached. Not broke — selective There is an important wrinkle in the friendflation story. Young Koreans have not simply stopped spending. Long-term household data instead suggest they are becoming choosier about what deserves their money. Average monthly consumption among Korean households in their 20s and 30s declined from 2.57 million won in 2014 to 2.48 million won in 2024, according to a June 2025 Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry report based on government household data. But the composition changed. Among households headed by people aged 30 or younger, the share spent on groceries and non-alcoholic beverages fell 3.9 percentage points over the decade. The shares devoted to restaurants and accommodation and to recreation and culture each rose 3.1 percentage points. The chamber attributed the shift partly to the growing importance of travel, dining experiences and digital content. More recent banking data tell a similar story. According to NH NongHyup Bank’s October 2025 NH Trend+ report, people in their 20s and 30s increased savings while cutting some expenses and continuing to spend on experiences they considered worthwhile. Their savings rose 15 percent in the first half of 2025 from a year earlier, more than twice the growth among older age groups. Spending at bars and karaoke venues fell 8.8 percent, while transactions at golf courses and driving ranges declined 9.6 percent. Yet spending at sports stadiums surged 65 percent, and purchases through major online ticketing platforms increased 11 percent. The bank dubbed the behavior “treatonomics”: economizing on expenditures regarded as dispensable while continuing to pay for hobbies, health and experiences that deliver greater personal satisfaction. That complicates any easy conclusion that younger Koreans have become antisocial. Yang said tighter budgets may simply force harder choices. “People may prefer splitting the bill because their budgets are already tight, whether from everyday living costs or from trying to save for major purchases such as a home or a car,” he said. Kim of Korea University said the pressure extends beyond consumption. Spending on education and self-development increasingly reflects competition in a difficult labor market. “Young people are facing difficulties finding jobs, and there is also a growing divide in the quality of jobs available to them,” he said. “In that environment, self-development is not simply about personal satisfaction. It has become a strategy for survival.” A language course, professional certificate or gym membership can therefore look less like indulgence than investment. Against those competing demands, another expensive dinner with an acquaintance becomes easier to cut. Friendflation may therefore be exposing differences that were already there — in income, priorities, ambition and taste — rather than creating them. And higher prices do not inevitably mean fewer friends. Dinner can become a walk. An expensive restaurant can become a neighborhood noodle shop. Friends can cook at home. Splitting the check can be less a sign of emotional distance than an agreement that the relationship should remain financially sustainable. Being able to say “I can’t afford that” without embarrassment may even be its own form of intimacy. Not every friendship adjusts so gracefully. HJ Kim frequently travels for work with a colleague who insists on paying for her. The generosity, she said, can sometimes make her more uncomfortable rather than less. “He keeps trying to pay for me,” Kim said. “I know he means well, but it makes me feel like I have to do something in return.” So she would rather remove the debt before it enters the relationship. “Sometimes, I’d rather just pay for my own meal,” she said. “Then nobody owes anyone anything.” AJP Takeaways • “Friendflation” describes the rising cost of maintaining friendships as higher prices make meals, coffee, entertainment and other social activities more expensive. • A July 2026 survey by South Korean part-time job platform Alba Heaven found that 93 percent of 601 Gen Z respondents felt burdened by the cost of meeting friends or attending social gatherings. • Among respondents who reduced social spending, 83.9 percent cut the number of gatherings, while 56.4 percent identified friends who favor expensive restaurants as the most financially burdensome. • Young Koreans are not simply spending less: data from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and NH NongHyup Bank suggest people in their 20s and 30s are becoming more selective, cutting some expenses while continuing to spend on travel, hobbies and experiences they value. • Friendflation does not necessarily mean the end of friendships. Lower-cost activities, splitting bills and openly discussing budgets can help people maintain relationships without taking on unwanted financial obligations. 2026-08-12 17:04:38
Shares of internet infrastructure firm fall despite strong Q2 earnings SEOUL, August 12 (AJP) - Shares of KOSDAQ-listed internet service provider KINX fell on Wednesday even after it posted a more than 50 percent jump in second-quarter operating profit. Its shares closed 6.99 percent lower at 151,600 won (US$107.14). The decline came despite a 51.15 percent jump in consolidated operating profit from a year earlier to 8.82 billion won ($6.2 million) for the period between April and June, according to its preliminary earnings report released the same day. Revenue also rose 8.56 percent year on year to 42.51 billion won, while net income jumped 67.24 percent to 6.77 billion won. KINX provides internet-related services and infrastructure such as internet data centers (IDCs), internet exchanges (IXs), content delivery networks (CDNs) and cloud services, and has been expanding its data center operations in recent years. Among them is its data center in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, which was built with an investment of about 180 billion won and began operations in late 2024 with a power capacity of 20 megawatts. KINX has also secured a long-term contract worth 32.13 billion won, running from August 2026 to July 2031, for services that allow customers to install their servers at KINX data centers and use high-speed networks and backup systems. AJP Takeaways: • KOSDAQ-listed internet infrastructure provider KINX reported consolidated operating profit of 8.82 billion won ($6.2 million) for the second quarter of 2026, up 51.15 percent from a year earlier. • KINX shares closed 6.99 percent lower at 151,600 won ($107.14) on August 12, 2026, despite the strong earnings results. • Second-quarter revenue rose 8.56 percent year on year to 42.51 billion won, while net income increased 67.24 percent to 6.77 billion won. • KINX operates internet data centers, internet exchanges, content delivery networks and cloud services, including a 20-megawatt data center in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, that began operations in late 2024. 2026-08-12 16:24:54
KOSDAQ roars back as leveraged bets unwind SEOUL, August 11 (AJP) — South Korea's long-neglected KOSDAQ is suddenly outrunning its bigger sibling and major stock markets around the world, gaining 19 percent in the first seven trading sessions of August as investors look beyond the leveraged chip trade that dominated the first half. The junior market closed Tuesday at 857.84, up 19.2 percent from 719.76 at the end of July. The benchmark KOSPI, by contrast, has lost 3.8 percent over the same period to 6,345.53. Among major global benchmarks tracked by AJP, KOSDAQ is the only one posting a double-digit gain so far this month. Yet the sudden reversal has barely dented the gulf built up over the year. KOSDAQ remains 7.7 percent below its 2025-end close of 928.99, while KOSPI is still up more than 50 percent from 4,214.17 at the end of last year. KOSDAQ, largely bypassed during the AI-fueled rush into Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and leveraged products tied to the chipmakers, is benefiting from a rotation as that trade cools. But the money flows so far point more to a tactical rebound than a broad vote of confidence in the junior market's earnings prospects. Korea Exchange data show institutional investors bought a net 1.52 trillion won ($1.07 billion) of KOSDAQ-listed shares between July 31 and Aug. 10. Retail investors sold a net 552.4 billion won, while foreign investors unloaded 1.01 trillion won. Investment trusts led the institutional buying with 515.9 billion won, followed by financial investment firms at 347.6 billion won, private funds at 247.5 billion won and pension funds and other institutional accounts at 222.3 billion won. Tuesday showed how quickly that pattern can change. Retail investors bought a net 558 billion won of KOSDAQ shares by the close, absorbing net selling of 482 billion won by foreigners and 98 billion won by institutions. The reversal underscores how fluid the rally remains. Institutions drove much of the rebound through Monday, but foreign investors have yet to return on a sustained basis. Woo Seok-jin, an economics professor at Myongji University, said part of the shift reflects Korean investors' strong appetite for higher-risk assets. “Korean investors tend to have a relatively high appetite for risk, and leveraged ETFs had been one way of pursuing that,” Woo said. “Now that tighter regulations have raised the barrier for retail investors to trade those products, some of that search for opportunities appears to have shifted toward KOSDAQ.” For institutions, he said, the motivation is more straightforward. “Institutional investors are naturally focused on finding opportunities that can generate returns.” Funds rediscover KOSDAQ Investment-trust activity provides another sign that fund managers have been rebuilding exposure to the junior market. Between July 31 and Aug. 10, investment trusts bought a net 590.7 billion won of KODEX KOSDAQ 150, one of the largest ETFs tracking major KOSDAQ companies, while also accumulating KOSDAQ-listed shares. ETF purchases and direct stock buying cannot simply be added together because of differences in the way the transactions are structured. Still, demand through both channels points to greater exposure to the junior market. The contrast with the main board is striking. Institutions were net sellers of KOSPI shares over roughly the same period while buying more than 1 trillion won on KOSDAQ, suggesting their appetite had tilted toward the junior board. But Yoon Jae-hong, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, cautioned that not everything recorded as institutional buying represents institutions making an independent bet on KOSDAQ. “A significant portion of the inflows came through ETFs,” Yoon said. “When retail investors buy ETFs, some of that demand is recorded under the financial-investment category.” The distinction matters because it makes the rally less clearly institution-led than the headline flow numbers suggest. Still, other forces are working in KOSDAQ's favor. Kim Dae-jong, an economics professor at Sejong University, pointed to the easing concentration in giant semiconductor stocks, bargain hunting after KOSDAQ's steep fall and expectations that government reforms will favor the junior market. “Some of the money that had been concentrated in large semiconductor stocks is spreading out, while KOSDAQ is benefiting from its steep earlier losses and expectations for supportive policies,” Kim said. Selling pressure has also eased as forced liquidation of margin positions subsided, he said, while investors returned to growth sectors including biotechnology, batteries, robotics and semiconductor materials and equipment. But Kim cautioned against mistaking a sharp rotation for the beginning of a lasting bull market. “For now, the move has more of the characteristics of a rotation driven by market flows than a long-term rally backed by earnings,” he said. “For the gains to become sustainable, we need to see continued buying by institutions and foreign investors as well as improvements in corporate earnings.” Woo pointed to another, less bullish explanation for renewed retail interest. “Some retail investors may have given up after taking losses, while others appear to be making one last attempt to recover before leaving the market,” he said. From leveraged chips to KOSDAQ? One catalyst coinciding with KOSDAQ's rebound has been the abrupt cooling of the speculative trade built around Korea's two biggest chipmakers. Financial regulators tightened rules on single-stock leveraged ETFs after extreme turnover raised concerns that the products were amplifying swings in Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and the broader market. The minimum cash deposit required for retail investors was raised from 10 million won to 30 million won, while authorities also restricted new products and advertising. Trading turnover in the products subsequently plunged from 12.45 trillion won on July 30 to 845.2 billion won on Aug. 7, according to KRX data. KOSDAQ began its sharp rebound at around the same time. The overlap raises the possibility that investors who had crowded into Samsung, SK hynix and leveraged products tied to them began hunting for returns elsewhere. It does not establish that money leaving those products went directly into KOSDAQ. “Some of the money appears to have moved over,” Woo said. The timing nevertheless marks a sharp reversal in the market hierarchy of the first half, when the AI chip boom sucked capital and attention toward a handful of KOSPI giants and left much of KOSDAQ behind. Rally meets a market cleanup KOSDAQ's revival is also arriving just as regulators are making it harder for weak companies to remain there. South Korea raised the KOSDAQ market-capitalization threshold for delisting to 20 billion won from July 1, with the floor scheduled to rise again to 30 billion won in 2027. According to corporate research institute Leaders Index, 152 KOSDAQ companies, or 8.7 percent of the market, had an average market capitalization below the current 20 billion won threshold in July. Another 83 had remained below 1,000 won for 30 consecutive trading days. At next year's 30 billion won threshold, 367 companies — about 21 percent of KOSDAQ — would fall below the market-cap benchmark based on their July average valuations, although falling below the line does not automatically mean delisting. Woo said the tougher rules could improve the credibility of a market long criticized for allowing financially troubled companies to linger. “Penny stocks like these should have been removed from the market much earlier,” he said. “If a company is financially troubled, it should not be allowed to remain listed and continue trading.” Allowing distressed companies to remain listed too long can instead attract speculative capital looking for heavily discounted assets, he said. But cleaning out weak companies solves only half the problem. For KOSDAQ to sustain investor interest, Woo said, Korea also needs to rebuild the venture ecosystem that once supplied the market with companies capable of delivering rapid growth. “Investors seeking higher returns are willing to bet on innovative companies because of their strong growth potential,” Woo said. “But there are too few promising venture companies right now. The venture ecosystem itself needs to recover.” Yoon pointed to another potential catalyst: plans to introduce a tiered KOSDAQ structure that would separate stronger companies into a premium segment. Such a structure could make it easier to build ETFs and other investment products around a smaller pool of higher-quality companies, potentially drawing more long-term money into the market. “There are expectations that retail investors will come in if ETFs are created around the premium segment,” Yoon said. “For the rebound to continue, the market reforms now being introduced need to be sustained.” For now, KOSDAQ has achieved something it rarely managed during the chip-dominated first half: it has investors' attention. Whether it keeps it is the harder test. Three decades after its launch, KOSDAQ's challenge is no longer simply getting investors back. It is giving them a reason to stay. AJP Takeaways • South Korea's KOSDAQ rose 17.79 percent from July 31 through August 11, 2026, sharply outperforming the benchmark KOSPI, which fell 3.16 percent over the same period. • South Korea's tighter rules on single-stock leveraged products coincided with the KOSDAQ rebound, as turnover in products linked to major stocks plunged from 12.45 trillion won on July 30 to 845.2 billion won on August 7, 2026. Economists said some investment may have rotated toward the KOSDAQ, although a direct link cannot be established. • Economists caution that the KOSDAQ rebound remains driven more by investment flows than stronger corporate earnings, meaning sustained institutional and foreign buying and improved earnings will be needed for the rally to last. • South Korea's tougher KOSDAQ delisting standards could reshape the junior market, with 367 companies, or 21 percent of the market, below the 30 billion won market-capitalization threshold scheduled to take effect in 2027 based on July 2026 averages. 2026-08-11 18:12:35
KOSPI closes higher as record August exports lift chip stocks SEOUL, August 11 (AJP) - South Korean stocks closed higher on Tuesday, buoyed by record exports in early August that lifted semiconductor shares, although lingering uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz limited gains. The benchmark KOSPI rose 0.73 percent to 6,345.53, extending gains for a second straight session. The index opened 0.95 percent lower at 6,240.06 before reversing course, though gains remained limited through much of the session. The turnaround came after stronger export figures released shortly after the opening provided fresh momentum for chip stocks. The country's exports rose 45.3 percent from a year earlier to US$21.3 billion in the first 10 days of August, the highest level ever recorded for the period, according to preliminary customs data. Semiconductor exports were a major driver, surging 155 percent to $10 billion. Chips also accounted for a much larger share of total exports, with their share rising about 20 percentage points from a year earlier. The figures helped semiconductor heavyweights rebound from early weakness. Samsung Electronics climbed 4.13 percent to 239,500 won, while SK hynix edged up 0.35 percent to 1,425,000 won after falling around 3 percent earlier in the session. The market's upside was limited, however, by continued uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz. Reports overnight said Iran had rejected direct negotiations with the United States unless Washington ended sanctions and military threats and agreed to compensate Iran for war damage, leaving investors uncertain over prospects for reopening the key shipping route. Trading flows were modest across investor groups. Foreign and institutional investors bought a net 44.3 billion won ($31 million) and 30.5 billion won worth of KOSPI shares, respectively, while individuals sold a net 70.7 billion won. Foreign investors showed stronger buying in the futures market. They purchased a net 476.5 billion won in KOSPI200 futures, while institutions bought 123.3 billion won. Individuals sold a net 545.8 billion won. Overall trading activity, meanwhile, increased from the previous session, with KOSPI turnover reaching 21.94 trillion won, about 2 trillion won higher than the prior day. Market volatility also continued to ease. The KOSPI200 Volatility Index, or VKOSPI, fell 11 percent to around 61, its lowest level since early May. The decline followed a 7.99 percent drop Monday, when the index fell below 70 for the first time since late May. Among other large-cap stocks, SK Square slipped 0.42 percent to 945,000 won, Samsung Electro-Mechanics lost 0.94 percent to 1,262,000 won, LG Energy Solution dropped 3.54 percent to 354,500 won and Hyundai Motor declined 1.23 percent to 403,000 won. Samsung Biologics, meanwhile, rose 2.55 percent to 1,609,000 won, while Samsung Life Insurance gained 3.21 percent to 289,500 won and Samsung C&T advanced 2.53 percent to 344,500 won. By sector, pharmaceuticals gained 3.02 percent, IT services rose 2.73 percent and insurance stocks added 2.47 percent. Transportation equipment and parts fell 3.37 percent, while metals lost 2.67 percent and food and tobacco declined 2.41 percent. The junior KOSDAQ followed a similarly volatile path. The index closed 0.39 percent higher at 857.84 after swinging sharply between losses and gains. It opened 0.69 percent lower at 848.59 and fell as much as 1.64 percent before surging as much as 2.42 percent. The index later gave up most of those gains before edging back into positive territory near the close. Retail investors were the sole net buyers on the KOSDAQ, purchasing 435.1 billion won worth of shares. Foreign and institutional investors sold a net 360 billion won and 96.6 billion won, respectively. Some of the KOSDAQ's largest stocks came under selling pressure. Alteogen, a biotechnology company and the KOSDAQ's largest stock by market capitalization, fell 5.89 percent to 327,500 won after a sharp gain in the previous session. Battery materials holding company EcoPro dropped 3.42 percent to 90,300 won, while its cathode materials unit EcoPro BM lost 4.36 percent to 109,800 won. Semiconductor equipment and materials stocks bucked the weakness. Jusung Engineering surged 12 percent, Wonik IPS gained 6 percent and Jeju Semiconductor climbed more than 3 percent. By sector, machinery and equipment gained 2.38 percent, distribution rose 2.12 percent and transportation and warehousing added 1.77 percent. General services fell 2.31 percent, while financials lost 1.45 percent and paper and wood declined 1.06 percent. Trading turnover reached 6.77 trillion won on the KOSDAQ. Trading on alternative exchange Nextrade's pre-market and main-market sessions totaled 12.57 trillion won. The Korean won strengthened to 1,417.50 per dollar from 1,418.40 at the previous close. Regional markets showed a mixed picture, with Japan's stock market closed for the Mountain Day holiday in observance of Mountain Day, a national public holiday celebrated annually on Aug. 11 since 2016 to give people an opportunity to connect with nature and appreciate the blessings of mountains. China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.82 percent to 3,934.09, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1.10 percent at 25,652.82 in late trading. AJP Takeaways: - South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.73 percent to 6,345.53 on August 11, 2026, reversing early losses and extending its winning streak to a second session. - South Korean exports surged 45.3 percent year on year to $21.3 billion during August 1-10, 2026, the highest level ever recorded for the period, while semiconductor exports jumped 155 percent to $10 billion. - Samsung Electronics gained 4.13 percent to 239,500 won and SK hynix rose 0.35 percent to 1,425,000 won, helping drive the KOSPI's intraday reversal. - The KOSPI200 Volatility Index (VKOSPI) fell 11 percent to around 61 on Aug. 11, 2026, its lowest level since early May, signaling an easing in recent market volatility. 2026-08-11 17:53:04
Crowded leverage turns Kospi boom into bust SEOUL, August 11 (AJP) — South Korea’s spectacular stock bull run has ridden increasingly on borrowed money, with retail leverage growing at nearly twice the U.S. pace, heavily concentrated in a handful of large-cap stocks and turning the rally into an increasingly high-stakes bet. Outstanding margin loans reached 36.7 trillion won ($25.7 billion) at the end of June, 5.5 times the 6.7 trillion won recorded at the end of 2016, according to a report by Lee Hyo-sub, a senior research fellow at the Korea Capital Market Institute. That translates into average annual growth of 19.6 percent. U.S. margin debt increased 2.8 times over the same period, from $530 billion to $1.5021 trillion, or 11.6 percent annually, meaning Korean margin borrowing expanded at roughly 1.7 times the U.S. pace. Crowding in the money where the borrowed money went raises bigger concern. During the pandemic-era retail boom in 2020 and 2021, roughly half of Korea’s margin loans were concentrated in the junior KOSDAQ market. By the end of June this year, 28.6 trillion won, or 78 percent of the total, was tied to KOSPI stocks, compared with 8.1 trillion won on the KOSDAQ. Lee said that suggests leverage has migrated toward large-cap stocks and become increasingly concentrated in volatile sectors such as semiconductors. The shift has come alongside an extraordinary run in Korean equities. The KOSPI climbed 176 percent in the year through June 30, according to the report, far ahead of Taiwan’s 107 percent, Japan’s 73 percent, the Nasdaq’s 29 percent, Britain’s FTSE at 20 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite at 19 percent. Lee attributed the rally to stronger semiconductor earnings, increased global liquidity and government policies aimed at reviving the domestic capital market. The sharp gains, in turn, drew more retail investors seeking higher returns through borrowed money and leveraged products. The appetite for leverage has spread well beyond margin loans. Assets in Korean leveraged ETFs tracking twice the daily movement of their underlying assets reached 39.4 trillion won at the end of June, more than 13 times the 3 trillion won recorded at the end of 2016. That represents annualized growth of 31.1 percent, roughly twice the pace of the global leveraged ETF market. The structure of that market has also changed. Korean leveraged ETFs were previously dominated by products tracking broad indexes such as the KOSPI 200. Since single-stock leveraged ETFs were introduced in the first half of this year, however, products tied to individual companies have increasingly driven growth. That makes the leverage more concentrated. Individual stocks generally move more sharply than broad indexes, meaning the same two-times leverage can expose investors to considerably larger swings. The bets are also overwhelmingly pointed in one direction: up. Inverse leveraged ETFs, which magnify declines in their underlying assets, held just 1.4 trillion won at the end of June, accounting for only 3.5 percent of Korea’s leveraged ETF market. Lee said the imbalance suggests retail investors are using leverage primarily to chase further stock-market gains rather than hedge risk. In short, retailers don't know the rules and stakes in the game. Unpaid stock purchases, in which investors buy shares without immediately settling the full amount, reached 1.4 trillion won at the end of June, up 57 percent from the end of 2024. Contracts for difference, or CFDs, rose 60 percent to 1.9 trillion won over the same period. Margin loans typically provide effective leverage of around two times. An investor putting down a 45 percent margin could lose about 67 percent of their capital if the underlying stock falls 30 percent, and could lose the entire investment if it drops 45 percent. Falling prices can trigger forced selling when collateral drops below required levels. Those sales can push prices down further, setting off a vicious cycle of another round of margin calls. Leveraged ETFs can create a similar problem. Because they target twice the daily return of an asset rather than twice its long-term performance, volatility itself can erode returns. If an index rises 20 percent and then falls 20 percent, it ends 4 percent lower. A two-times leveraged ETF would rise 40 percent and then fall 40 percent, leaving the investor down 16 percent. Fund managers must also continuously rebalance their positions to maintain target leverage. During sharp market moves, large hedging trades can become concentrated near the close, potentially magnifying swings in the underlying stocks themselves. The buildup, Lee claimed, is not simply as an investor-protection issue but increasingly as a financial-stability risk. Tighter restrictions on single-stock ETFs alone could merely push investors toward other leveraged products at home or overseas, the report said, adding that Korea needs to move households away from short-term leveraged bets and toward diversified investment. It recommended stronger tax incentives for Individual Savings Accounts and private pensions, improvements to retirement investment programs and greater benefits for longer stock holding periods, alongside stronger financial education. The warning comes with an uncomfortable twist for a market that has rewarded increasingly aggressive bets. Borrowing helped investors magnify one of the world’s strongest equity rallies. The concern now is what happens when Korea’s heavily leveraged market has to work in reverse. The key improvement is the framing. I would not make the U.S. comparison the whole story. It is your hook. The actual story is: Korea’s bull run has built a layer of leverage underneath it, that leverage has moved into KOSPI heavyweight stocks and semiconductors, and investors are overwhelmingly positioned for prices to keep rising. 2026-08-11 14:07:54
Google overtakes Naver in South Korea on AI feature SEOUL, August 11 (AJP) - Google has overtaken Naver, South Korea's dominant internet portal, in monthly mobile users for the first time, as artificial intelligence (AI) begins to change how Koreans search for information online. The Google app had 47.02 million monthly active users (MAUs) in July, slightly ahead of Naver's 46.85 million, according to Mobile Index data released Tuesday by South Korean data analytics firm IGAWorks. The gap was about 178,000 users, marking the first time Google overtook its local rival since Mobile Index began compiling comparable statistics in March 2021. Google has steadily expanded its reach in the country. Its monthly user base surpassed 40 million for the first time in May last year and 46 million this May. By June, the gap with Naver had narrowed to about 246,000 users, before Google overtook its local rival in July. Naver, by contrast, has seen relatively little change. Its monthly user count has remained between roughly 43 million and 46 million since January 2023. Google's Chrome browser also ranked third, with 42.46 million monthly users in July. The shift comes as the U.S. tech giant rolls out its Gemini AI model and expands AI-powered search features, while generative AI becomes an increasingly common way to find information online. The same trend is even more pronounced with ChatGPT, OpenAI's generative AI chatbot. It had 16.46 million monthly users in July, more than 2.6 times the 6.31 million users of Daum, the country's second-largest homegrown internet portal. That represents a sharp reversal from March last year, when ChatGPT had about 5 million monthly users, trailing Daum's 7.6 million. The chatbot overtook Daum the following month after crossing the 10 million mark and has continued to widen the gap since. ChatGPT, despite its rapid growth, remains far behind both Google and Naver in overall monthly mobile users. AJP Takeaways • Google overtook Naver in monthly mobile users in South Korea for the first time in July 2026, with 47.02 million monthly active users, compared with 46.85 million for Naver, according to IGAWorks' Mobile Index. • Google's lead over Naver was about 178,000 users in July 2026, marking the first time it ranked ahead of South Korea's largest homegrown internet portal since Mobile Index began compiling comparable data in March 2021. • ChatGPT had 16.46 million monthly users in South Korea in July 2026, more than 2.6 times the 6.31 million users of Daum, South Korea's second-largest homegrown internet portal. • Google's Gemini and AI-powered search features, along with the rapid adoption of OpenAI's ChatGPT, point to a shift in how South Koreans find information online, although one month of data is not enough to establish a lasting change in the country's search market. 2026-08-11 10:19:07