Journalist

Hong Seung-woo
  • Korean investors keep record holdings of US stocks despite domestic market rally
    Korean investors keep record holdings of US stocks despite domestic market rally SEOUL, February 03 (AJP) - Demand for U.S. equities among South Korean investors remains strong despite a sharp rally in domestic markets, with holdings of American shares staying at record levels, according to data released Tuesday by the Korea Securities Depository. The benchmark KOSPI has climbed above 5,000 this year and the tech-heavy KOSDAQ has risen past 1,000. Yet South Korean investors’ holdings of U.S. stocks continued to grow. The data showed domestic investors held $168 billion worth of U.S. stocks at the end of last month, up about $4.4 billion from the end of last year. Tesla remained the most widely held stock among Korean retail investors, with holdings totaling $27.1 billion. The electric-vehicle maker, which has also drawn attention for its autonomous-driving and artificial intelligence ambitions, retained the top spot by a wide margin. Nvidia followed with $18 billion in holdings, supported by expectations of continued demand for AI chips. Alphabet ranked next at $7.7 billion, followed by data analytics firm Palantir at $5.4 billion and Apple at $4.3 billion. Analysts say the trend reflects investors’ belief in the structural strengths of U.S. markets, where many global leaders — particularly in artificial intelligence, semiconductors and cloud computing — are listed. A brokerage official said some profit-taking has flowed into local shares as the domestic market rebounded, but the U.S. market still enjoys an advantage in growth sectors and global competitiveness. "Direct overseas stock investment continues to expand, particularly among investors in their 20s and 30s," the official said. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2026-02-03 16:59:00
  • Heungkuk Securities Raises Hyundai Mobis Target on Electronics, Robotics Shift
    Heungkuk Securities Raises Hyundai Mobis Target on Electronics, Robotics Shift Heungkuk Securities said Wednesday that Hyundai Mobis’ fourth-quarter results met market expectations and that recovering tariff-related costs has reduced uncertainty, while its business shift toward automotive electronics and robotics continues. The brokerage raised its target price to 540,000 won from 500,000 won and kept its “buy” rating. Hyundai Mobis posted fourth-quarter revenue of 15.4 trillion won and operating profit of 930.5 billion won. Revenue rose 4.7% from a year earlier, while operating profit fell 5.6%. Heungkuk Securities said output from automaker customers slipped 1.4%, but a favorable exchange-rate environment, a higher share of high value-added automotive electronics parts in manufacturing, and price increases in the after-sales service business lifted sales. On profitability, the firm recovered about 2 trillion won of roughly 2.5 trillion won in parts-tariff costs incurred last year, sharply reducing the tariff impact. However, the after-sales service unit reflected about 870 billion won in tariff costs and about 600 billion won in one-time quality costs, pushing its operating margin down to 22.7% from the prior quarter. Heungkuk Securities said tariff-related pressure should ease gradually starting this year as after-sales prices rise and tariff recoveries accelerate. Ma Geon Woo, an analyst at Heungkuk Securities, said Hyundai Mobis’ actuator business for Boston Dynamics is being developed using the company’s existing core technologies, limiting the burden of research and development and capital spending. He said the company could expand supply beyond actuators to additional parts for humanoid robots, creating business opportunities as physical AI develops.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-29 08:48:00
  • Prosecutors seek arrest warrant for MBK Partners chairman over Homeplus fraud
    Prosecutors seek arrest warrant for MBK Partners' chairman over Homeplus fraud SEOUL, January 8 (AJP) - Prosecutors have sought an arrest warrant for Kim Byung-ju, the chairman of private equity firm MBK Partners, along with three other executives over supermarket chain Homeplus' abrupt filing for court receivership. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors requested the warrants for them late Wednesday night on charges of fraud and other alleged violations of relevant laws. MBK Partners, which acquired a 100 percent stake in Homeplus from British grocery chain Tesco Plc in 2015, later became financially strapped, leading it to request court-led rehabilitation in March last year. Prosecutors believe that MBK executives knew in advance that Homeplus' credit rating would be downgraded in February last year. Despite being aware of this, they issued large-scale asset-backed short-term bonds worth 82 billion Korean won (US$56.6 million) without disclosing the impending downgrade and filed for court-led corporate rehabilitation just a few days later. 2026-01-08 09:11:19
  • Safe-haven demand keeps gold in focus as market volatility grows
    Safe-haven demand keeps gold in focus as market volatility grows SEOUL, January 06 (AJP) - Investor interest in gold has carried into the new year after international prices nearly doubled last year, with securities firms expecting the uptrend to extend through 2026 as geopolitical risks and demand for safe-haven assets support prices. According to the Korea Exchange on Tuesday, gold prices, after retreating late last year, have risen for three consecutive sessions since the start of the year. International prices also moved toward record territory. Gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed on Monday at $4,436.90 per troy ounce. Rising political and military uncertainty abroad has helped boost gold’s appeal relative to other commodities such as oil, analysts said. Choi Ye-chan, a researcher at SangSangIn Securities, said major supply disruptions in the oil market appear unlikely, while expanding military activity and heightened geopolitical tensions could continue to underpin demand for gold. He said a strategy of being “long gold and short oil” could remain effective in 2026. Some global investment banks have issued more bullish forecasts, predicting that gold prices could exceed $5,000 an ounce this year. Gold prices climbed from around $2,300 an ounce in early 2024 to about $4,300 by the end of 2025, a gain of roughly 87 percent, making it the best-performing asset among major asset classes during that period. The rally has also lifted returns for South Korea-listed gold exchange-traded funds. Gold ETFs posted an average annual return of 48 percent last year, according to market data. Korea Investment Management’s ACE Gold Futures Leverage led the group with a 132 percent gain. NH Investment & Securities, in its report released on Monday, named gold a core theme in alternative investment portfolios. Ha Jae-seok, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said volatility in financial markets is rising amid tariff-related risks and expectations that government bond yields will remain under upward pressure as major economies pursue expansionary fiscal policies. “In that macro environment, gold’s attractiveness as a safe-haven asset is likely to strengthen,” he said. 2026-01-06 16:35:26
  • Koreas Digital Asset Basic Act faces delay amid dispute over stablecoin rules
    Korea's Digital Asset Basic Act faces delay amid dispute over stablecoin rules SEOUL, December 31 (AJP) -South Korea’s government is preparing a Digital Asset Basic Act that would introduce stronger investor protections, including no-fault liability for damages and safeguards to prevent losses stemming from stablecoin issuers’ failures, but the legislation is stalemated by disagreements over stablecoin guidelines. According to financial authorities and National Assembly officials on Tuesday, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) is drafting the government’s proposal for the second phase of crypto-market regulation. Discussions are centering on tougher investor protections, enhanced governance standards for exchanges and clearer rules for digital-asset issuance. Under the draft, stablecoin issuers may be required to manage reserve assets in the form of bank deposits or government bonds and to place assets equal to or exceeding the outstanding amount in custody or trust accounts at banks or other authorized institutions. The aim is to prevent issuer failures from directly harming investors. The bill is also expected to introduce a no-fault liability rule, holding digital-asset operators responsible for damages caused by incidents such as hacking or system failures regardless of intent or negligence. Provisions similar to those applied in the traditional financial sector — including disclosure obligations, oversight of contract terms and restrictions on misleading advertising — are also under consideration. The government plan would additionally allow domestic initial coin offerings, provided disclosure requirements are met. Since ICOs were effectively banned in 2017, many Korean projects have issued tokens overseas before listing them domestically, a practice regulators now seek to correct. Governance reforms for major domestic exchanges — including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit — are also being reviewed. The FSC is reportedly considering introducing a major-shareholder fitness review and capping controlling shareholders’ stakes at around 15 percent, amid criticism that profits and decision-making power are overly concentrated among founders or small shareholder groups. The FSC cautioned that details have yet to be finalized, noting that submission of the bill is likely to be pushed into next year due to disagreements with the Bank of Korea over stablecoin issuance. The central bank argues that only consortia in which banks hold a majority stake of at least 51 percent should be allowed to issue stablecoins, citing financial stability and regulatory compliance. The FSC opposes this approach, saying it would unduly restrict participation by technology companies. The two sides also differ on inter-agency coordination. The central bank favors creating a separate consultative body that would require unanimous agreement among relevant authorities, while the FSC maintains that no additional body is necessary because the commission already operates on a consensus-based system. Other unresolved issues include where to set minimum capital requirements for issuers — currently under discussion within a range of 500 million won to 25 billion won — and whether exchanges should be allowed to engage in both issuance and distribution of stablecoins. An FSC official said the agency is coordinating with related institutions and reviewing all options as discussions continue. With the government bill delayed, the ruling party’s digital asset task force is reportedly preparing an alternative proposal based on bills already submitted to the National Assembly. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-31 07:58:22